Not everyone can be the academic type

So my daughter kind of struggles at school. She is very meticulous, but slow. Most of her grades are lower because she gets the 'late' markdowns. 

Anyway, she tells me this week that her physics teacher meets her at the front of the school before school starts all excited to see her. He asks her how she thinks she did on her physics test and she says "probably okay". He proceeds to tell her that she made a "GREAT grade". She made a 105 on her physics test. Apparently, he was much more excited than she was about it.

I still haven't ordered her senior pictures. I will, but with holidays, all my recent car maintenance (2 cars), and cat surgery expenses.....blah. So watermarked photos for now.

Because she is a senior, we are getting all kinds of mail from colleges. Hayley told me that she's also getting Email from colleges. She said the Emails start with......"Based on your academic achievements, we'd like to invite you to apply..." So again, I'm going to win mother of the year for this....we laughed for 1/2 an hour about how they obviously didn't look at her academic achievements. 

I hope everyone is in the Xmas spirit. We did a 6 inch 'real' tree this year. Hayley said she didn't want to bother putting up a tree, decorating it, and then taking it all back down. I felt a little like Scrooge, so I did pull out the lights for the outside of the house.

So one year, I decided I wanted purple lights. The only place I could find them was online. They showed up and they look way more pink than purple. I wrapped one of my trees in  in the so-called purple lights. It looks like I have a breast cancer awareness tree in the front yard, but its lovely.

Cat in heat and the Arboretum

So Peaches, our kittie, who just got surgery to get her external fixator off last week (after being hit by a car and breaking her femur) has now gone into heat for the first and last time. My daughter summed it up correctly. It's like there's a magnet on the ceiling and one on her butt. She is driving us crazy.

So last weekend, I went to the Dallas Arboretum for the first time. Even though my runflat tire has a screw in it, I decided it was a nice day for a convertible ride. Runflats really do run flat. I drove on it for 6 days....well really more than that because I didn't know it had a screw in it, but 6 days between the time they told me it was punctured until UPS delivered the new tire this week. What a great day for December. Walked around saw the Chihuly glass exhibit. It was a little overcast and chilly out in the morning, but then again it is December. It was warm and sunny by noon.

Afterwards stopped by Uptown Dallas and had a late lunch at S&D Oyster Bar. Yum. Love that place. I hate cole slaw, but I like theirs. Also, had some oysters on the half shell. http://www.sdoyster.com/dnn/

Then saw the Ginger Man bar. http://dallas.gingermanpub.com/
I hadn't been there since get this....I remember 1995, or 17 years ago. Stopped to have a beer on the patio as the sun was out and it was a beautiful day. I'm not a big beer drinker, but I had a Young's Double Chocolate Stout that was awesome. 

Saturday evening, decided to take a walk through my neighborhood. There are three what I like to call "Christmas Vacation" homes, but they are even better because they have hundreds of tiny cottages all lit up. Hard to see in the picture, but they are in front of the fence and then inside the yard too. All of these homes are next to each other and extended family live in all of them. I wish the pictures could do it justice.

So we continued the walk to Frisco Square, but my pictures are not that good because the lights are timed with the music and hard to get it when all lit up. From there, we walked to Frisco City Grill for dinner. I love that I can walk from my house to go out to eat.

Ichthyosis or scaly skin

Today's blog is a public service announcement about Ichthyosis. Growing up, I always had really dry itchy skin in the winter. My skin would flake and look kind of scaly. The skin on the back of my shins would get so dry sometimes that they would bleed. My mom took me to specialists and everyone told me the same thing. Slather on baby oil or Vaseline. Well that was pretty disgusting and didn't make it much better, but it made me really slippery.

If I was in the sun, my skin was completely normal. Thank goodness I live in Texas and it is sunny and warm most months. January and February were always rough months on my skin.

So fast forward a decade or two. I was 36 years old and living in Grapevine. I go see this 82-year old doctor for a physical. So while I was there, I thought I'd ask one more doctor about my skin. He looked at me and said "You have Ichthyosis." WTH? 

Well that was a huge turning point in my life..,.well between that and the Internet. I came home and Googled Ichthyosis. For years, not one doctor diagnosed me and this is a genetic thing that affects 1 in 250 people. That is pretty dang common. How could none of these doctors ever heard of it?

Ichthyosis Vulgaris is one of the more commonly seen types of ichthyosis. Sometimes called Common Ichthyosis. It appears in approximately 1 in 250 individuals. Ichthyosis vulgaris often goes undiagnosed because people who have it think they have simple “dry skin” and never seek treatment.

For the past decade, I have been using a couple of different lotions that make my skin look and feel like normal even in the winter. I have to use lotion that has alpha hydroxy or lactic acids. I prefer Dermal Therapy, but you have to order it from Canada which can take a while to ship. You can pick up AmLactin or Lac-Hydrin Five at Target or CVS. At Target, they keep it behind the pharmacy counter, but no prescription is needed. I believe these lotions are also used commonly for diabetics. Market Street also keeps some generic alpha hydroxy lotions behind the pharmacy counter that are a little less expensive.

Dermal Therapy with Alpha Hydroxy

I also hear using Voda soap or soap with Shea butter is helpful, but I have not tried it since the lotions seem to work just fine.

In addition to just dry scaly skin, this condition causes you to not sweat which makes you overheat. Seriously, I can do an hour-long cycle class and barely begin to perspire.

 Itchyosis FIRST

I no longer have minors and this blog is kind of gross

So let's talk about Hayley.....my youngest child that just turned 18 this week. The photo to the left is the one that cracks me up the most. We always said she looked like Uncle Fester.....we just needed the light bulb in her mouth.

Below is a shot of her being mean when I made her clean  up her old car to sell....the one that was totaled  three days later anyway (not Hayley's fault). Still same attitude as when she was a baby.....the bad kind. It is definitely the same look.

Because it is holiday time and her birthday, she has gotten money and has been shopping. She told me last week that she felt so good. She was wearing all new clothes. She had her nails done and used her new curling iron to have awesome curls in her hair. She said she felt so pretty that she hated to go to work. I told her the key is to work to get the things that make you feel good. As an adult, I don't work for clothes or acrylic nails, but I love my convertible. If you are going to work hard, you might as well have something that makes you feel good. Oh and my nice golf clubs.

So Tuesday was her birthday. I took Hayley along with her BF and BFF out to Texas Land and Cattle for dinner. Afterwards, her first act of grown up revenge was to go get her tongue pierced. She had mentioned it before and I told her NOT to do it.

So yesterday, I'm living it up with the people of Walmart buying groceries and she calls. She is blubbering something about pudding and soft foods. I had a "I told you so moment". Anyway, I bought her apple sauce, pudding, ice cream and Ramen soup. I have since been told that the Ramen noodles wrap around the ball of the tongue ring.....yuck. Also she has to rinse her tongue off with dish washing soap. Gag. I told her to at least cuss it up before she rinses her mouth out with soap.

So I'm not an empty nester yet, but its getting near. Once she graduates in May she wants to hang here while she goes to Paul Mitchell school which is another 9 months or so. When she leaves I'm going to party like a rock star here at my house all alone. :( 

Well party with the cat and dog. Hayley says she's taking the mean cat with her....good. Little Peaches gets her external fixator off on Monday. Poor thing. I heard a cat screaming when I was in the shower this morning. I jump out and Peaches' external fixator (the the metal thingy that attaches to the pins placed in her broken femur and attached to outside of her body) is caught in the string of the mini blinds. She is hanging upside down and tangled. I got her out. Just glad I was home when it happened.

Surfside Beach

Took a short trip to Houston and Surfside Beach. 

First stop. Houston. Boyfriend attends tennis conference. A must so he can write off part of the trip. We have a hard time finding the Downtown Met Racquet Club. We finally stop to ask directions...Go over the skybridge, through the double doors, go further down and through the next set of double doors, follow the yellow path to the garage, go to elevators, go to the 6th floor. Well, voila, there is a beautiful indoor tennis and basketball facility with restaurant and pro shop. Who'd a thunk it?

So while he's in class, I go shopping. I pick up FOUR....I mean four sweaters at Macy's for less than $100. Awesome. Then, I do a Yelp search and find a hair salon with good ratings. I get a haircut for $15. This lady washed my hair twice, conditioned it, dried it and styled it. Awesome. I was going to get a foot massage, but boyfriend only did a short session the 2nd day, so we could go to the beach early.



We went to the Houston Aquarium for dinner and it was really good food and not overly expensive. We even rode rides. We rode a train that went in a tunnel where sharks are swimming. That was awesome, but the flash on the camera made for lousy pics.

So Surfside Beach... I have wanted to check it out for a long time. The water is a nice Texas brown, but the beach is nice. They even allow you to drive on the beach and have fires.  Nice. The hotel was awesome and in walking distance to restaurants. It is the most laid back town I have ever visited. Everyone there is super nice and so friendly. Hmmmmm. Much unlike the Frisco hood where I live. I mean there are a few nice people....a few. They are the ones NOT in their cars. :)

Let's talk Colorado

I watched Squawkbox this morning. They were talking about how legalizing marijuana in Colorado would really help boost the economy....with all the Twinkie and Cheetos sales and water bongs, etc.

So I thought about retiring in Florida some day, but Colorado just might do. I'm not being serious...well at least I don't think I am. I'll revisit that idea in about 10 years. But seriously, I wonder if people will relocate to Colorado....or....will the real potsmokers be too unmotivated?

"Forty million  Americans smoked marijuana; the only ones who didn't like it were Judge Ginsberg, Clarence Thomas, and Bill Clinton" -- Jay Leno

The link below is a little outdated because pot was only available with a prescription when it was created. This links is totally inappropriate, totally disgusting, but funny...if you can get past disgusting. Click link at your own risk. The first time I saw this I cried I was laughing so hard.

http://www.southparkstudios.com/full-episodes/s14e03-medicinal-fried-chicken

So Trader Joe's is the bomb. I went today and bought 2 bottles of wine, some crackers, some wasabi seaweed snacks and some sushi....It was only $16. I spend that much typically just on grocery store sushi. The sushi was not that great, so I'll pass on it next time.

When my daughter's boyfriend's mother found out who he  voted for she had a cow. Hayley said she started screaming at him and told him he needed to move out and to start paying for his own car and cell phone. Priceless!!!! I told Hayley to break up with him. She hasn't done it, but I'm sure she'll figure it out soon enough.

So I'm headed to Houston and Surfside Beach for a short getaway. I'm going to sit on my patio, drink my 3-buck chuck, and just listen to the surf and seagulls and do absolutely nothing except think about my next meal.

Love me some Halloween

So last night for dinner, I had Milk Duds, Twizzlers, and white wine spritzers. I'm pretty sure that is not on the Petite Advantage Diet. Hayley was correct in her Halloween assessment: the 'good' parents took their kids to the $$$rich$$$ neighborhoods. I only had 6 trick-or-treaters and 2 of them were older with no costumes.  

So I was watching a commercial for Blue dog food where a lady cannot believe how bad her dog food is for her dog. Well glad she wasn't at my house last night. She would have been appalled if she saw my boyfriend feeding the dogs Twizzlers....no protein or nothing.

So back in high school, we used to go to Del Taco and get burritos with green sauce. Thanks Liz. Well, I haven't had Del Taco in 30 years. I didn't even know if they still existed. A Del Taco just opened by my house. My boyfriend and I went a couple of times and he had the beef burrito. He decided to try my bean burrito with green sauce. He is addicted. It's crazy. He used to come to my house a couple of times a week. Now, he comes to see me all the time bringing his bag of burritos. I'm glad to see him more, but I'm a little jealous knowing that the burritos are part of the reason I see more of him recently. Sigh. 

So today, I made a trip to my local Walmart on my lunch break. Did you get that...WALMART? Anyway, I parked next to a brand new Maserati Grandturismo still sporting the paper tags. Gorgeous car. I guess people with Maserati's still need groceries and home goods. The one to the right is probably not it, but it was that same color. I've decided that if I ever buy a lotto ticket AND win, I will do my civic duty and help out the economy by purchasing a Maserati.


So I borrowed a kitty carrier so that I could take Peaches to the vet when she got hit by the car. Well, I just tossed it on the refrigerator. Billie Jean has made that her new napping spot. I only have a picture of the carrier. I missed the shot when she had her head sticking out the top.

Oh and for November 1st....I'm sweating in Texas.

Boo!!!

Happy Halloween!

So my daughter informed me that she is going trick or treating. She will be 18 years old next month. I told her I hoped she was dressing up as a 12-year old, since that's about the maximum age for treating. She said no. She is going as a bat. Confused as to why the bat costume involves a black tutu, but I guess that's neither here nor there. I'll try and sneak some pictures of her. Oh, and she has nail designs of bats on her finger nails that are so cute.

I'm going to dress up the Rottweiler as a cat (if I can find the cat ears) and let her sit outside and scare kids with me tonight. I'm not dressing up the cats. Cats don't play those kinds of games. My daughter thinks we won't get many trick or treaters because the rich neighborhood is down the street and any 'good' parent would drive their kids to the rich houses. That's fine with me. I have already broken into my goodies of Heath bars, Kit Kats, Rolos (my fave), Reese's Pieces, and Milk Duds (another fave).

It's the the little things in life that make me  happy...like these beautiful Simply Vera house slippers. I love these things. I think I'm going to ask for a matching robe for Xmas. I hate walking barefoot on  my hardwood floors. My feet always feel gritty and my socks get really dirty, so these are perfect.

So I'm kind of selfish beyotch sometimes. I made these delicious crab-stuffed mushrooms yesterday. I was going to take some to my boyfriend's house, but I ate them all. 

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/savory-crab-stuffed-mushrooms/

I didn't follow the recipe. Nothing new there. I forgot the egg and I didn't have dill and they were still awesome.

14 hours at State Fair

When I bought my old house, I had the entire house remodeled so everything is new EXCEPT for the yard. Now, I'm dealing with a plot of dirt that has been neglected for 40 years.

Saturday, I decided to rid myself of some of those junk trees that were growing in the flower bed on the side of my house. Well, it was liking pulling one thread and unraveling an entire sweater.

I thought I'd cut down a small tree and dig up the root. Well the roots went under my house, all over my yard, and then would be attached to another tree. Then I had a root the size of my wrist going under my flower bed. I used a chain saw and cut it out of the bed and then realized that it probably belonged to my Pecan tree about 10 ft away. Oops. 

Oh and while I was in my root-cutting frenzy, I accidentally clipped the power to my a/c unit. Anyway, I did yard work for about 8 hours on Saturday and was worn out....so how to spend Sunday? How about.....

14 hours at the State Fair (See photos at bottom of page)

So here's a recap of how to spend 14 hours at the fair. 9:30am to 11:30 pm.

1. Figure out how to pay for DART parking and get tickets for DART and take DART train.
2. Wait in line to go through metal detector to get in to fair.
3. First things first: Fletcher's corny dog and sausage sandwich.
4. Go see memorial to Big Tex and take pictures.
5. Go shop for hot tubs. Talk to all the sales people. Realize hot tubs are so expensive that boyfriend decides he misses his boat and would rather have a new boat than a hot tub.
6. Let the Dead Sea Salt guy perform mini-facials on us. We passed on the $400 worth of products, but yesterday bought same products on Amazon for $90.
7. Go the midway and avoid the games and rides this year. Did rides last year.
8. Go in the greenhouse area with the pumpkin carving and model trains.
9. Go to the Sensodyne vendor and brush our teeth and get free stuff.
10. Take pictures in Chevrolet booth.
11. Go to 5 hour energy booth. We are both winners on the wheel and get free headphones and energy drinks. This was awesome because my cat just ate my headphones recently....well the cord.
12. Spend at least an hour at the Lottery Booth. Boyfriend spun the star so he got to go into the money booth. He caught 30 bills which according to the lady is really good. He is very proud of his physical prowess. I was dancing to "Jump, jump, jump" and the announcer gave me a free lottery shirt for having spunk. We also got tote bags which were much needed by this time.
13. Go to the fiber and food pavilions. Felt the need to see the butter sculpture. Boring.
14. Car Show. I think I posted last year that a new Corvette was $76K. This year it was $125K+. Sat in a convertible Camaro, but windows too small and I could barely see over dash. Sat in the convertible Ford Mustang. Boyfriend said that the Mustang looked better on me, but I still think my Z4 looks best on me. The Hyundai Genesis and some new sporty Scion were cool. 
15. Getting a little tired. Found an area with a TV so sat and watched Cowboys for a while. We bolted before the end of the game and the referee issues.
16. Bunny area. Looked at the beautiful award-winning bunnies. Went through the petting zoo. Probably won't do that again. If there was a fire, we'd be dead. It was packed and the animals were all full so they wouldn't eat the animal food.
17. By this time, it is already 4ish. Getting hungry again. Go to food court. Spend an hour in this crowd looking at the food trying to figure out what to eat. Decide on the tator twisters. This was a time-consuming venture as everyone else decided on the tator twisters too.
18. Take pictures at Bounty  paper towel booth surfing...but I looked the wrong way.  Whoops. He said to pretend a wave was coming beside me so I looked other way.
19. Feet are tired, so we go to the vendor area with the massage chairs. They have different types. We each get a chair and get a 15-minute massage. We switch chairs and do another 15-minutes. We also spend time talking to the sales guy about these $7500+ chairs. These are awesome, but after a few minutes, the new boat is sounding better than a big chair.
20. We ended up stopping to watch some jazz musicians. Bob the toothless state fair guy is dancing with all the ladies. It is a sight to see, so we hang around a while. We see a totally drunk girl fall on the cement and take her very drunk boyfriend down with her. Apparently drunk people bounce right back up.
21. We go to the Chinese Lantern exhibit and rest 45 minutes until it gets dark and then we take the tour.
22. Hang in the beer garden and watch the light parade.
23. Go the laser light show.
24. Back on the DART and we are worn out.

Chinese Lantern Exhibit

Sausage sandwich

Big Tex memorial

Resting in the greenhouse looking like Buckwheat

Catching Cash

First ever DART ride

Crisis averted

So today, Peaches turned a specific way and under her external fixator, her skin was all red. I freaked and called the vet thinking she might have an infection. She was able to see us right away. The vet comes in and says that is not red, it is hot pink like the gauze on her fixator. Crisis averted. However, they told me she needs to be in the crate for the entire 6 weeks. Shoot, she's been jumping around all over the house.

So I figured out this Petite diet plan. Basically eat salads, chicken, fish, shrimp and NEVER have a piece of meat. Well tonight, the buck stops on my grill. I'm making a little filet mignon. I so can't wait.

I'm really enjoying my Greek and Roman Mythology course from the University of Pennyslvania.

https://www.coursera.org/

There is a lot of reading. I just finished Odyssey. You read the books and then watch video lectures followed by tests each week. I also have two writing assignments to do. 

Hope everyone is enjoying this great Texas weather.

Peaches is home

$200 for x-rays and medication 

$1000 for orthopedic surgeon

$500 in other surgery costs 

Peaches back home...Priceless! 

Peaches was hit by a car right in front of my house. She is such a trooper. Her femur was broken crossways and detached. They pinned it together and put some external fixator on her. You can't see it in the picture. It's on the other hip. She is walking around pretty well and she seems as happy as before the trauma. Zena slept on the floor by her crate with her all night long. The dogs seem to sense that she is injured. They are very careful around her.

So, I did the Petite Advantage Diet last week (for the most part). I stuck exactly to plan for 4 days and then I just ate pretty healthy on the weekend. Down 5 lbs in a week. Yea! The mango salsa recipe was terrible. The mango was much better when it was cooked with shrimp and basil.

Update on Hayley. Rudy's let her rescind her 2 weeks notice and gave her a raise. She is quitting the Lemon Bar after 3 days of working there. She did not like it at all. The good news is that this weekend, we picked up brisket, two half chickens, jalapeno sausage, a bottle of sauce, a package of buns and it was $20. That 50% mom discount is awesome. 

I was watching the end of the Cowboys game and my boyfriend made me put the game on pause so he could go to the bathroom. He says the Cowboys have a better chance of winning if he is watching.....Should I have told him that the officials did not stop play while he was in the bathroom? 

Dang it Cowboys. Well at least it was an exciting game. I feel partly to blame for their loss because I got busy running around and forgot to put on all my Cowboys stuff, but then again, I've worn it for many other games and it sure didn't help.

Oh, and then my beloved Longhorns....I couldn't even watch the 2nd half. I chose to go plant my flower bulbs and water my grass seed. You can thank me for the rain Saturday night. It would have never rained if I hadn't watered. Happy Monday!!!

Uh oh

Hayley has been at her new job for two days and so far....she hates it. I won't go into details, but I was quite appalled by what she has told me about one of the managers....Completely inappropriate. 

Tonight, a different manager will be there. I told her to give it a week and if she still hates it, that she should just stay at her other job. The bad news is that they told her they'd let her waitress in a few weeks which could be good money. 


The good news if she quits, I still get my Rudy's half-price discount. Bada-bing. I doubt Rudy's St. Louis ribs are on my new diet.

So far the Petite Advantage Diet is not so bad. I'm full all the time. Yesterday's lunch was a sweet potato with reduced fat sour cream, reduced fat cheese, pinto beans and raw broccoli. The raw, hard, broccoli on a soft steamy potato sucked. Next time, I'll steam the broccoli first. Tonight, I'm having scallops with mango salsa. Curious to see how that tastes. This diet requires a lot of cooking. Good thing I like to cook. I think a lot of people could never stick with it. I had an open-faced BLT (turkey bacon of course) with cottage cheese. Cottage cheese is okay if you add cinnamon and Stevia.

So last night, I hung up all my Halloween stuff.Tonight, I'm going to make some Jackolanterns and roast up some pumpkin seeds. I'm going to try NOT to burn them this year.

So is my brain not processing correctly? I thought the weatherman told me it was going to be a beautiful 82 degrees today. I went out at lunch. It was 65 and raining. Maybe he was daydreaming about Florida.

Petite Advantage Diet

I was browsing at the library and found this book. Well since I've not lost any weight lately, I decided to check it out. I would like to lose a minimum of 10 lbs and ideally 15, but I haven't done much to even try lately. Well today is the day. I will update the blog as I go along.

The plan is 1100 calories a day for 2 days, followed by a 1600-calorie day. The plan is high protein, high fiber, low calorie, and low fat. You eat more calories in the early part of the day. He recommends some fiber capsules before dinner. On this diet, you can also drink tea, coffee, and wine (in moderation of course). He says wine with a meal works to metabolize food faster. YES!!!!

The book says petites should NOT do long sessions of intense cardio as it just makes you hungry and even 28 extra calories a day on a short person really adds up. It says 3 times a week of weight training and 60-90 minutes a day of unintense (is that a word?) cardio. Well the exercise definitely is up to par with me. Last night, I did my favorite workout: 20 minutes of weights, 15 minutes of cardio, and 15 minutes in the sauna. 

So this diet plan is very specific. Typically, this is what kills most diet plans, but I have the time to cook and plan, so I have no excuses. This morning, I had scrambled egg whites with turkey bacon, reduced fat colby cheese, and pineapple. I could barely eat it all I was so full. Lunch is 1/2 sweet potato with reduced fat sour cream and cheese, pinto beans and broccoli. Dinner is fish with spinach salad and ONE glass of wine. I'm planning on sticking to the 21-day meal plan. 

So Hayley got a new job as a hostess at a restaurant. http://www.thelemonbar.net/
They gave her a nice raise and told her they would do another money review and raise in 90 days. They also told her that she could wait tables when she turns 18 which is in 8 weeks. 

Not just a blonde moment......40 minutes

Happy October! I'm going to pull out my Halloween decorations soon. I did buy my new cute napkins yesterday.

So I've had fleas in my yard and on my animals all summer long. Yesterday, the Home Depot guy recommended a different spray with Nylar, so I bought it. I came home and  hooked it to the hose. I sprayed the flower beds really well because the dogs like to sleep in there. I also did the front and side yards. I went around to my big backyard and did all of that too including under the shed.

So I go to unhook from the hose and the bottle was full. UGH. This bottle didn't only have the tab to open it  up, but another button that had to be turned and then pushed in. So anyway, I had to start all over. Basically, I spent 40 minutes spraying my yard with water. 

Last night Hayley and I went to pick up some Whataburgers. The 2-lane drive through was packed so we thought we would go in. Wrong move. One couple brought 3 items back to complain to the manager, then the kids immediately in front of us ended up bringing two items back to the manager. This place was packed. That poor manager. My boyfriend said that at the end of her shift she needed to tell her employees to quit going out back to smoke pot on their breaks, so that they could get the orders right. LOL.

So the Cowboys were so disappointing last night. I put myself out of  my misery and went to bed early.

Shrimp with Mango=Yummy Goodness

When I find recipes, I write them down on yellow stickys. If I make the recipe and I like it, then I transfer it to an index card and add it to my recipe box. I haven't been a big mango eater in the past, but maybe that will change. This recipe made the recipe box and it was so easy to make. 

• 1 lb shrimp
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 mango (1/2" cubes)
• 1/4 c basil
• 1 tbsp scallions
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Throw spices on shrimp and refrigerate for 30 minutes.  Cook shrimp in olive oil for 2 minutes. Add mango, basil, and scallions and cook 2-3 more minutes. Done.

As I sit here doing laundry which I hate, it reminded me of my college days in Austin. I found a laundromat that would do my laundry for me. I paid by the pound. I was working 2 jobs and barely getting by, but having my laundry done was such a bonus for me. Plus, they folded my stuff really nice.  I miss those days.....well and partying down 6th street, going to Barton Springs, Zilker Park, Krause Springs, Hamilton's Pool, Town Lake, the Flats, Oasis......blah, blah, blah. Such a great town for single people....not so much when you are busy raising kids.

Visited my local Lemon Bar for happy hour last night. Nice, big, plenty of TVs, good food and great happy hour prices. Will definitely go back.  I didn't hang around long, but they were going to have a live band with karaoke last night.

I'm patting myself on the back because I've been to the gym every day this week and going again today. Granted, I only stay 30 minutes, but that's much better than 0 minutes which is what I had been doing for the past 6 months.

Looks like we are expecting cooler weather this weekends 80s......be sure to enjoy it while you can.

Working Out Hurts

These are some of Hayley's senior pictures. Obviously, I haven't purchased them yet or there wouldn't be writing across her face.

So Hayley and I missed the Body Pump class on Monday. Let me explain. On the way home from work I saw a cop looking at my windshield and I realized that my inspection sticker expired back in August. Oopsie. Being that we are at the end of September, I thought I better take care of that right away. The evening was not a bust. We arrived at the gym in time for a Cycle class. Hayley had never been to one before. We cycled about 15 minutes when she looked over and asked me how long class was.

The look on her face was priceless when I said an hour.

We stuck it out. I also did some circuit training. Good thing I saved money by NOT buying the cute sweater or getting my mani/pedi. I spent $70 on my inspection....of course, I needed new wiper blades....sigh. Then, after our workout, Hayley and I bought new sports bras, workout pants, and another yoga  mat.

I was so sore last night that I went straight from the gym to the mall to that place that does the chair massages. So tack that onto the budget too. Hahaha. This lady was awesome.

So I'm taking this online course at the University of Pennsylvania: Greek and Roman Mythology. There are 50,000 people enrolled. Yes, no mistake: 50,000. Amazing.

Adult Time Outs

So my daughter who will be 18 years old in a few weeks told me that she was having a really bad day at work the other day. A customer really upset her and then a coworker accidentally spilled hot water on her. She said she just go so upset and started crying. Her manager put her in a 10-minute time-out at the back of the store. I thought that was pretty funny, but probably appropriate for plenty of us.

So my cats just love my white comforter and I want to keep the white, so this was my feeble attempt to keep the cats off the comforter.

I have one of the smallest cars available to mankind, but it was so dirty that it took me 3 hours to clean it this weekend. I thought about replacing my TWO floor mats that were really dirty. I looked them up online to see how much it would cost. $80. WTH?

Needless to say, I found some miracle carpet cleaning product called Folex for $5. My floor mats look like brand new. 

I was way over budget last month, so I'm trying to be good this month...of course I say this every month. Last month, I was 'good' on my budget for 2 days in a row. That's about all I can say about that. There was some good news the month before. For the first time in 15 years, I wasn't charged the $40 toll tag fee. That is a FIRST, but don't worry, I've already been charged this month, so back on track. Last year I paid $120 in tolls for a month or two....I had sold my other car. I thought because I took the toll tag out that I wouldn't be charged tolls. Apparently they link tolls to your license plate so I paid for the buyers tolls for 2 months. And apparently he was blowing up and down the toll a lot.

I went to the mall at lunch. I saved $45 by NOT buying the cute sweater (that was on sale)that would have really looked good with my black leggings and boots. WAAGGHHH. I also did NOT get a mani/pedi on Friday another $45 saved when I really wanted one. I did paint my fingernails a bright blue and they look AWESOME!

I hope everyone has a great week! Me and Hayley are going to the gym to do a Body Pump class tonight. The last time, I did one, I couldn't walk for 2 days.

Yoga and my mascots

Now that the weather is getting cooler again, I rejoined 24 hour fitness. Hayley wanted to join too. So the personal trainer asked me what our goals were. I told him I wanted to sit my big butt in the sauna and steam room this winter and that my daughter wanted to work on getting a bigger butt. He said he could help her out. WTH? Anyway, I think he got the picture that I am not interested in hiring a personal trainer. I want to do a 30-minute workout and hit the bonus rooms to relax.


I love my animals, but it is really hard to do yoga with them in the house. I get in a downward dog pose and there is a cat between my hands and feet underneath my belly and a dog kissing me in the face.

For those of you who don't know what downward dog is....see images below.

I'm not sure who in the pics has the proper form. I'm going to have to go with the dog on this one.

I can't even begin to tell you what it is like to try and do push ups in this household. All animals have to get the boot outside for that.

So I'm back to cooking. This week was mini spinach quiches, baby back ribs, pork chops in a ginger sauce with wild rice, and chicken in a brown sugar mustard sauce with bell peppers in red wine vinegar. I wouldn't make the ginger sauce again or put the red wine vinegar in with my bell peppers. I think said items are better with some garlic and spices.

So I was going to make a shrimp mango dish tonight, but no mangoes at Kroger and I wasn't about to go on a mango search after the day I had....Me and technology were not getting along which sucks when that is what you do for a living. Also, my commute was slow because of ONE little stalled car. So instead, dinner will be broccoli and cheese, filet mignon and sweet potato.

So American Express offered my 17-year old daughter a credit card today. Hmmmm. I've had AMEX for 14 years now and they've been awesome, but I'm not sure about a 'real' credit card for her at this point. She has one 'real' credit card, but I'm on it with her and it comes out of my account. What to do, what to do??? I want her to get credit so she can refinance her car out of my name one of these days. Advice taken on this topic.

Hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful Texas weather. I had to put the heater on in the convertible on my way to work this morning.

Is food wasted if the dog eats it?

I went and saw a few of my old high school buddies. I hadn't seen some of them in 10-30 years. Wow. It was so nice to see everyone.

So Saturday night, I went to FC Dallas Stadium to see Kings of Rock. It was a bunch of tribute bands...Metallica, AC/DC, Guns N Roses, Allison in Chains, etc. The bands were awesome. HARDLY anyone there. I bet there were maybe 200 people and most had free tickets from radio stations. It was downright embarrassing and obviously didn't generate any revenue for Frisco. The tickets were only $10. The concert went from 2:30pm to 11:30pm. It was a fun time. Still shocked no one showed.

So after buying a couple of MyFit Food meals, I decided to go back to cooking. The meals are okay, but when I microwaved some of them to heat it up, it overcooked the food. Fresh food is always good. Plus, I do like to cook. I just need to make the time. So yesterday, I was on a big kick. I made some chicken breasts in a different type of marinade. It was different and smelled good when cooking and it tastes good too.

1/2 cup olive oil

• 1/2 cup ranch dressing
• 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
• 1 teaspoon lime juice
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon Stevia

Then I made a huge salad and made my own salad dressing with apple cider vinegar, oil, crushed strawberries and some other stuff.

On Tuesday, I'm making baby back ribs. I made a marinade out of spicy mustard, ketchup, Worcestshire, lime, Slap Yo Mamma seasoning, and some Stevia. It is spicy and good.  

My daughter and I just can't eat that  much and she refuses to eat leftovers, so I'm cooking two chicken breasts at a time, two pork chops at a time and only 1/2 a rack of ribs. I read that Americans waste a lot of food. Mine doesn't really go to waste as I have a dog that eats our leftovers. Anyway, that got me to thinking. In a survey, is food counted as waste if your dog eats it?

Oh and I still have my beautiful and yummy mini cheesecakes from last week. I froze them. I ate one of them out of the freezer this week and it was really good cold. I also added a dab of whipped cream with some cinnamon sugar sprinkles.

I hope everyone enjoyed our lovely weather this weekend. You can't beat it.

So today's lunch time trip is to Trader Joe's in Plano. Hopefully it won't be too crowded since they just opened on Friday.

2012 Season: Cowboys Undefeated! and Ft Worth Zoo

I was waiting to blog about the zoo until I could add some photos. Here is a sweet little kittie and a crocodile biting my boyfriend's bottom.

The trip to the zoo was lots of fun and lots of walking. They had a baby giraffe and a baby chimpanzee. Both were adorable.  Tatu (giraffe) was only 8 weeks old and was born 6ft tall. He is expected to be 15 ft tall.



We partied at Flying Saucer, went to the Water Gardens and walked around Sundance Square. It was a beautiful weekend. We got some rain and it was breezy. Pretty uncommon for August in Texas.

We also went to the Kimbell Museum. Lots of great artists and wonderful pictures. My favorite is the Torment of St. Anthony. It was Michaelangelo's first painting when he was 12 years old. 

Beautiful yet disturbing all at once. Here is more information if you are interested. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Torment_of_Saint_Anthony_(Michelangelo)

So we think my boyfriend's cat might have been killed by a bobcat or a nice family has taken her in. Several cats have disappeared lately and a bobcat has been spotted in the neighborhood. We are praying for 'nice family'. 

This week my sweet kitties killed a bird. They looked very guilty and left the carcass in my backyard by the storage shed. I picked it up while I was on doggie poo duty. The one nice thing about 100 degree weather is that the doggie poo is petrified and no smell.

Cowboys Rock! I know everyone (in their right minds) were thinking the former SuperBowl champs at home would win. In all honesty, I really thought the Cowboys would pull this game off and they did. 2012 Season: Cowboys Undefeated!!!

So one little rant today. WHY oh WHY do some  people have to STOP the car to make a right turn?

Looks like we are supposed to have an awesome weekend...80 degrees for the high. Hard to believe we are going to drop from 100+ to 80s. What happened to the 90s?