Procrastination...

Here's the recipe for my soon to be famous Red Bean Salad:

1 tbsp fresh thyme

1 tbsp fresh rosemary

1 tbsp fresh parsley

Chop fine and put in your big bowl-the one you will be serving from cause there ain't no sense making a big mess-this is supposed to be quick and easy!

1/2 to 1 tsp onion powder

1/2 to 1 tsp garlic powder

You can use fresh but I am all out and going out of town so why bother? I recommend a very fine dice on these if you do use fresh-I like the red onions I've used in the past for this btw.

Salt

Fresh ground black pepper

crushed red pepper flakes

To taste of course-I like kind of a lot

1/2 cup celery diced fine-like 1/4 inch dice-it's not that hard and when it's that small it's just crunchy.

I also chop up the leafy top but some people don't like to-whatever!

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

1-2 tbsp lemon juice-go ahead and use the little squirt bottle stuff-no sense blowing 5 bucks on lemons this time around!

4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Give a little stir

1/2 jar of roasted red peppers

1 can artichoke hearts

Rough chopped of course.

Give all of this a really good stir, taste it, and add any other seasonings you think it needs.

1 can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed.

Fold these into your mixture and let sit for a few minutes-well 10 to 15 at least would be nice!

This salad only gets better in the fridge and it is very good cold or at room temperature.

My favorite is room temperature with a nice slice of toasted bread-baguette or sourdough usually- and the girls the same. This is an extra juicy recipe because I like to sop up the extra "dressing".

Big Daddy D likes a little meat though, so for him I put in some canned chicken or tuna. This works out well since he gets home and eats well after we do and we all get what we like.

Enough procrastination-I need to get the Kid's room finished while she's not around to mess with everything as I'm trying to get it put away.

Today is a Wonderful Day!

So once again my super twin powers did not activate(probably because I don't have a twin, since I know-I just know-I have super powers!) which left me with an extremely sore back-probably whiplash related as it is a pain that runs parallel to my spine, all the way down to the tip of my tail bone. But I am not here today to whine about pain and life's toils and troubles.

We have exciting things coming up in the months ahead!

Very exciting!

The Kid and I are off to Florida again next Monday for close to 3 weeks so that B can finish out her job on the horse farm. That has the potential to be great because I will be close to my cousin(of the original They fame), a FB/blog friend, and of course the rest of my sisters-all just a couple of hours away! My other sister and her kids are coming up to the Farm too!

When we finally get home I will be making another trip up to Wandering Girl's place to pick up my new.....KITTEN!!!!!!! I am so excited. She rescued 3 little kittens who had lost their mother in a tragic road crossing and posted pictures of these tiny little things and there he was! This little orange kitten I just knew without saying was a boy, that he was for me and that his name is Blue. I think he's polydactyl too!

(Did I ever tell you how I was plotting to steal a Hemingway cat one time when we were down in Key West but this morally upstanding guy I'm married to put the brakes on my "evil" plan?)

They were only 3 weeks old at the time of rescue so WG has spent many hours taking care of these little precious fluffballs and teaching them how wonderful people can be and I am so grateful I can't express how much!

Last but certainly not least we have a Foreign Exchange student coming here the first of September! She is from France and will probably be staying with us the entire school year. I am really looking forward to this opportunity for all of us. Wouldn't it be nice if B was able to go and stay with M and her family next summer? What an exciting prospect! I do hope the girls get along! Fingers duly crossed.

That is it for now.

Whoops! I need to go change clothes and get ready to pick up the Kid. We have a date to go fly a kite this afternoon!

*I got the picture here: http://madmonq.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/wonder_twins1.jpg

Fuckin' Friday Ya'll!

It's another Fuckin' Friday and I have a big WHAT THE FUCK going on right now.
We went on vacation for 2 weeks at the beginning of July, as you know. What you might not know is that I gained FOUR FUCKING POUNDS!
I came home determined to lose the FOUR FUCKING POUNDS by resuming my gym/treadmill activity and the usual cutting back on calories. My goal was/is to reduce by 5lbs and 3 inches(cumulative) in 4 weeks.
It has been TWO FUCKING WEEKS and I have not lost even ONE FUCKING POUND!
I confess I have no accurate idea about the inches except to note that my clothes nearly fit the way they did FOUR FUCKING WEEKS AGO.

MOTHER FUCKER!

The Hangover

(These pics are from my own trip to Vegas three years ago- with my grandma, mom, and my oldest-4 generations on the best road trip ever. No rufies or hangovers here-just an awesome 3 weeks on the road out West!)

No no, I'm not talking about mine-one of which I do not have for the record. I'm talking about the movie which is outrageously hilarious. Thank god we went and saw it on a weeknight well after the opening. I laughed so loud and so hard and talked to all those crazy guys on the screen so much that any other day I would have been politely escorted to the door. The only reason I think I was permitted to stay is that it seems I was saying things the rest of the people were thinking. Don't ask me anymore. All the laughter and the beer and the sex have become jumbled up in my mind and have left me with vague fuzzy memories of just how it all went down.

Just kidding.

The funniest part was... well all of it. Those of you who have seen it know it's true. The capper? As we were leaving one guy turns to his companion and said "I need a rufie" so I turn to him and ask(cause I do indeed feel perfectly free to eavesdrop and then clarify what I just heard with the eavesdropee) "Did you just say you want a rufie?" and he said "Yes, yes I did." Then we all laughed. I bet he goes to Vegas soon.

For the record laughter is not only the best medicine it is also a powerful aphrodisiac. I tell ya, things here go back and forth and up and down (gosh you have a dirty mind-oh wait...that's me) but last night was an excellent reminder of why it is worth sticking out this rough patch.

It is great to be a little drunk, raucous and silly with someone who gets me and enjoys playing with me when I get that way-and I am still not talking about sex...yet. There are many things that we are talking about and working through. Our history, the shared victories and tragedies, the inside jokes, the looks that we understand-all of it- is not something I want to give up or have to start building with someone else.

On to the sex.

Haha.

Some things I will keep to myself.

Lets just say it was hours of awesome crazy fun and that it's a good thing the Big Girl is out of town and that the Kid is a sound sleeper.

I aahhh, have some toys to put away and some laundry to do and then it's off to the gym for another workout.

Catch ya later!

I'm thinking about unpacking my bags today.

Just thinking about it mind you.

I made a major decision last week. I decided to keep the boots. That doesn't sound like a huge thing but trust me it is.

I had been lusting-panting, longing over-these boots. Frye belted harness in chestnut. So as you recall when the IRS and taxpayers everywhere sent us some moolah just for working(hehehehe)I promptly ordered a pair.

From Zappos, not the Frye company itself(I'll NEVER do that again).

What came in the box appeared to be seconds. Now I don't mind buying seconds if the price is right-but I had paid full price for these suckers that had a cut on the shaft, two very different hides had been used(as in the boots looked completely different from each other!) significant scuffing(as opposed to deliberate distressing)and to top it all off the shaft height differed by more than a half inch between the each boot.

I don't think so.

FUCK!!!!!!!

I immediately called the company(Zappos) and to their credit quickly received assurance that a replacement pair of boots that would be individually looked at by warehouse personnel to assure that at least the boots would match each other. Free shipping on the returned boots and on the new pair and a discount for any future orders.

The boots that arrived were...not perfect. The burnishing was not symmetrical. The dye was not exactly even. The grain of the leather did not perfectly match. I am more than a little OCD about some things and symmetry is high on the list. I also have problems with letting go of disappointment when my admittedly high expectations are not met.

ARGH!!!!!!!

This time I took pictures and emailed the Frye company itself. I got a quick reply and offers of personal service in the obtaining of a new well-matched pair of boots.

I would just need to return the other pair to Zappos and get a refund in order to have the cash to buy this other pair.

Then I lost my debit card.

Piss.

Then the Kid was sick. Again.

General family disturbances and just plain life happening all around me.

Then San Fransisco.

Then Big Girl sick.

Then me sick.

Then off to Sunny Florida for 2 weeks.

Home again and staring me down was this box with my coveted yet disappointing pair of boots inside.

I thought to myself I'll put them on and wear them in the house and just see how it goes. See if they are the right size and all that. Make sure it would be worth the effort of obtaining another pair.

I had a major moment.

The boots are not perfect.

They are not identical to each other.

But they are awesome.

Hot.

Their leather encasing my calves.

Soft supple.

The little slap against my skin with each step.

I think I'll keep them after all.

PS Do you have any idea how difficult it is to take a full length picture of yourself?

I "found" a great little Hispanic farmers market the other day and stopped and got some fresh produce and dried beans.
Lovely stuff, all colorful and succulent.
Made tortillas last night from scratch.
Also lovely, soft and warm.
Veggie quesadillas for supper, a colorful patchwork on our plates.
Had so many thoughts running through my mind last night and have since forgotten them all.
And now, just writing to write.
I am so sleepy.
The Kid is exhausting me.
Still not unpacked all the way.
Still not caught up on laundry.
Still haven't looked at vacation pictures.
Still haven't done any yard work.
Wait...
Thinking of all these "still haven'ts" is exhausting me too.
Oh well.
I do at least have supper in the fridge.
HAH!
One thing done.
Oh wait...
I took a shower and blow dried my hair.
I read a book.
I folded laundry.
I washed dishes.
I piddled around online.
Piss...
I need a nap.

Fantasy

There I was minding my own business on the interstate when he went speeding by.
Broad shoulders, heavily muscled arms bare, the faintest hint of black ink against his dark skin.
Narrow hips followed by hard thighs gripping his bike.
Leaning forward, focused.

Suddenly I was there.

He was leaning over me, focused.
Hands planted beside my shoulders
Arms braced.
Chest taut.
Abs hard and gleaming.
My legs, so pale around his dark hips, gripping tight.
My heels dug in, urging him on.
My hands clutching, sliding off those hard thighs.

God what a ride.

*sigh*

The sun is hiding from me today and the clouds are crying in my yard. Opal offers what doggy comfort he can and Reepacheep lays just inside the door, not wanting to be in but not wanting to get wet either. The birds are quiet so the only sound I hear is the waterfall in my washing machine and the occasional deep doggy sigh.

I told myself i wasn't going to...

but I did it anyway.
I played catch-up.
Now I am done.
I need to get to the gym but before I go I wanted to say that I am so glad to be home. I like my house. The rooms are large, it is full of quiet except for the birds singing and the cat purring and squeaking his funny meows.
I still have much unpacking to do and pictures to look at. I have time though. The kid is in summer camp for 2 weeks and I have the mornings to myself again. B is still in Florida, working on a horse farm and will be there til school starts. We are having an additional room built upstairs for the foreign exchange student that will be staying here for part or all of the school year. She is from France and I am very excited that we have this opportunity. Plus now we have 4 bedrooms and some interesting nooks and crannies(smirk-Mom!) that I have definite plans for. Now to just convince Big Daddy D to get his Star Wars collection organized and displayed in a way that lets us both have things just the way we like them-our way*grinning*.
I am sitting here with a smile.
Right! Off to the treadmill!

Well Hello there Handsome!

*Snort*
Got in around 9:30 tonight and well. 3 beers later that is all I can think of. You understand right?
I knew you would.
I will write more when I am sober and rested.
I did have a good time(if you had any doubts...)
Toodles.