Blast From the Past

This morning, James & I went to the Methodist Church with his family to tell them the news, and I had a moment that made me laugh out loud.

Usually, when we go to church with his family, I know more than half the songs they sing there, but today, I thought I only knew two. In the middle of the service, the choir started up a lively song that I have not thought about in YEARS...

Anyone remember the "See Your Mama Cooking Quaker Oats" song???

The presentation was a bit different (IE: tambourines & maraca gourds), but the jubilant feeling of the song took me straight back to Camp Blue Haven.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Quaker Oats song, it's an African song meaning "We are Marching in the Light of God".

I lol'd :)

We've Set the Date!

Ok, I promise I'll try not to let this blog become Wedding Central, but just to let everyone know, We've Set the Date! (in case you didnt gather that from the title...)

December 6th, 2008

In a tent in the backyard of my parents new house!



Let the Diets
Begin!

GUESS WHAT ELSE?????

Here's where:

And here's what:

I can't stop giggling. :)

and i may or may not have bought a bride's magazine at a newsstand on the subway...

GUESS WHERE I AM???

Today for lunch, We are going to have Philly Cheese Steak Sammiches. I have never had one before, so I figure, if I'm ever going to, now's the time. Why, you ask? BECAUSE I'M IN PHILADELPHIA!!!!

That's right, Pennsylvania. Last night, around 12:30, James said, "Let's go to New York tomorrow!" So, here we are, been up all night packing, left austin (after a "randomly selected" delay) at 5:30 this morning, swapped planes in Atlanta at 9:45, and here we are, driving down Broad Street headed for my very first Philly Cheesesteak!

YAY!!!!!

**Update: I had a "Whiz wid" (a cheesesteak sammich w/ cheesewhiz & onions), and james had a "Prov Widout" (cheesesteak sammich w/ provalone, without onions), we shared some YUM "freedom fries", and some Birch Beer (INCREDIBLE rootbeer). YUMMMMStuffed.

It's been awhile...

So the living room & kitchen are mostly done... they just need to be cleaned & accessorized a bit. I'm waiting to photograph until all the stuff for the bathroom is out of the floor. The dining room is mostly done, except that I haven't finished putting up the new baseboards, and the chandelier doesn't work yet. The entryway needs one last coat of paint, and the front door hasn't been painted yet. Haven't replaced any door knobs yet. The bathroom has been gutted, and now has 2 new pieces of sheetrock up (thank you JR!!!), but still has a looooong way to go.

Mom came up & stayed with me for a few days last week, & helped me make the new living room curtains.... THEY'RE GORGEOUS. There was a poker tournament in Pleasanton on Saturday as part of the "Cowboy Homecoming" festivities, so I went home with Mom so I could play with Dad. We've played in this tournament before, and if you can get even a leeeetle bit lucky, you can really clean up. Unfortunately, neither of us did.

Mom & Dad are living with my grandmother & great aunt now, and I was evidently allergic to something at their house, because i spent the whole weekend in a fog of sneezing, stuffiness, itchiness, & without oxygen.

Sunday night, I got to spend some time with Caleb, Daniel, Jamie, Jennifer, & Mike, so that was really nice. I hadn't gotten to be with them much in several months. Jenn & Mike's new house is lovely, and I loved their new small kitteh, Macchiato, and am anxious to see whether my annual baby will be a pink or a blue. (I only hold one a year... will it be Jenn's or Erin's Miss Liz or Jenn Tolbiert's little blue one???) Sheesh, girls, good thing that stuff's not catching...

Dad drove me back home on Monday, played in my poker game Monday night, then woke up early with us to help me drag James to the acupuncturist yesterday morning (his foot has been bothering him). Had lunch with dad, then came home, took a nap, & made supper (see previous post).

That's about all I've been up to lately. How about you?

PS: HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY, KLUB!!!

There's a Grasshopper in the Ham!!!

Tonight, I made us a lovely supper of homemade chicken cordon bleu with fondue sauce & asparagus wrapped in pancetta. Unfortunately, somehow a little friend got into the ham while I was cooking, and when I yelled, "There's A GRASSHOPPER in the HAM!!!", nobody understood what i was talking about. I had to yell it a bunch of times before James came to take care of it for me... Anyway, Aspen got a little treat tonight.

Kids: Gotta love em!

I was at Ikea the other day, when a little kid actually made my day.

A little boy that looked to be about 2, was kinda wandering around behind his shopping parents, eating an ice cream cone. All of a sudden, the ice cream fell off his cone. I prepared myself for total meltdown, but the kid was totally unconcerned. Rather than freak out or tell his parents, he simply reached down, picked up the blob of ice cream, & stuffed it into the pocket of his cargo shorts.


I just kept walking, laughing my head off.

You may call me June Cleaver.

Today, I cleaned & cooked, wearing heels & pearls. JK on the heels & pearls part...

I cleaned up the kitchen & living room, & decided to surprise James with a nice meal :)

I made Engagement Chicken, something I've made several times before, but for the side dish & dessert, I decided to branch out a bit.

LOOKIT!

Engagement Chicken

RATATOUILLE!!!
I had this for the first time in Vegas, and LOVED it, but it didn't look like Remy's Ratatouille. I did some searching, & found the recipe used by the people at Pixar!

And for dessert: I decided to try a new-to-me twist on an old favorite... Peach Pie!
(I've never done the latticed crust before.)