i lied. give me

a break.  I don't feel well.  I have a sore throat and it's making me feel miserable.

omg, can we say

NEGLECT?  I will get out of the house this week and I will have something to talk about.  Today I'm cleaning.

wait a minute

hurricane season just started and there's already this thing out there, busting through the gates. 

I hope the next four months aren't going to be this active but something tells me hurricane season is sitting there like Al Pacino saying, "I'm just getting warmed up!" - hopefully it's not throwing in an "Oorah!"

i think a habit

is forming.  Don't expect a post today either.  I'm leaving this morning and will be helping Cindy today.  I might take my camera and might have something to say later... but don't hold your breath.

ugh.

It's going to be one of those days.  Just took a Zyrtec D.  Maybe I'll have something to post later.

the way the guy in the

striped shirt casually walks past the man in the gray shirt as if they don't know each other, one would never know they made a little exchange outside the liquor store five minutes earlier.

I'm just saying...

yesterday i ran to

Houston with Cindy.  We were in a fabric store and I was sitting at one of their tables.  All of a sudden, there was a head resting on my arm and the side of my face was being licked.  Meet Toro the Argentine Dogo.

He was huge.

Seriously huge.  Look how big his paw was compared to my hand.

It was the same size.  Toro liked to sit in this chair.  At times he would curl up like a lap dog but he would also sit up like a person and look out the window.

Look at his butt in the chair.  His head is at the same height as a person.  Here's Cindy sitting next to Toro.

Toro liked Cindy.  Cindy liked Toro.  He was a really sweet dog.

She got up to talk to the saleslady and Toro wanted her back.  He sat straight up in the chair, held out his paw and waved it, motioning for Cindy to come back and scratch him a little more.

So she did.  I think she wanted to haul something else home in Earl's new truck besides fixtures for the shop.

sometimes a little

fried mush makes everything better.

Every once in a while I get a craving for Jack in the Box tacos.  Yuck, I know, but like I said, every once in a while.  Yesterday I forgot breakfast, was on the road most of the day and lunch was overdue.  Fried mush is fast, cheap, sounded good and it was good.  Try it one day.

queue the chorus of

angels... and... the headlights work.

What is that I hear?  A trumpet?  No, it's the horn.

Progress, my friends.  Progress.

i bought a new pair of shoes

and I love them and I want more.

They are so comfortable.  I recommend these for everyone.  They are Sanuks and I can't decide which pair I'm getting next.

wow, i really needed

that rest.  I honestly planned on posting Friday but I was too tired.  Eric had an accident on his skateboard Wednesday night so we called an ambulance because he hit his head and was pretty much out of it.  The ER doctor called Eric's doctor and we were told to stay the night until he could come in the next evening.  We were released around 11:00 Thursday night.

Since when did hospital meals consist of hamburgers and fries?

I thought it was all bland chicken with unsalted vegetables and jello for dessert.  Hey, where's the jello?  When did they start serving ice cream sandwiches?

Oh, and the watered down tea?  Forget that too, now it's cans of Coke.

So much for nasty hospital food, this stuff wasn't that bad.  Just ignore the Whataburger cup, they don't serve that.  We were hungry first thing that morning and had been warned by one of the nurses to not expect much from the cafe.  So when my friend Norma called, I asked if there was any possible way she could swing by with a Whataburger delivery.  She did and we were SO thankful.

This was my little area on my bed/bench.

i'll be back later

I'm off to a slow start.  I'm tired plus I need to catch up on laundry and take Dodo to her party today.

today i saw the commercial

for this.  It's for real.

You have to see the commercial.  They have it on their website here.

a while back i mentioned

that I was intimidated by yeast.  I've been working with it more and now I think it's a little fun.  We've been depending less on delivery for our pizza and making more at home.  See how my relationship with yeast has blossomed?  It's doubled in size.  (get it?  doubled in size?  okay, I'll stop there.)

Here's the first of three pizza crusts.  We like them thin and crispy, thank you very much.

That was before...


...and this is after.  Here's one of two pepperoni pizzas.  Yum.

I didn't want to keep them all plain so I put some onion, red pepper and mushrooms in a pan to saute

and then out of the oven came this

I think my next project involving yeast might be cinnamon rolls but then again, I've been wanting to try it for about six months now.  Okay so maybe that whole intimidation factor is still there. 

cosme and i went out to

eat Saturday night.  We didn't really have anything planned but as we exited onto Elgin we remembered this show .

and one of its contestants having this restaurant

so we decided to stop.  Great idea.  The food was so good.  We weren't real sure going into it because there were a few bad reviews but we really enjoyed it.  We left completely satisfied.  You can read all about the restaurant t'afia, its Saturday morning cooking classes and farmers market here.  No, Monica Pope did not advance on Top Chef Masters but we're definitely going back to her restaurant.

We each had one of their cocktails and shared the chickpea fries with curried ketchup for an appetizer, along with some awesome bread and butter.  Cosme told me to pick an appetizer and I was hesitant on my selection but we both loved the fries.  My entree was shrimp with grits and came with green beans and tomato jam.  Cosme had a chicken breast with potatoes.  They were both good.  For dessert I had creme brulee topped with two herbed shortbread cookies.  Normally I don't order creme brulee because I'm not a fan.  I had to try it and... yum.  Cosme enjoyed his chocolate bread pudding.  Yeah, we'll definitely go back.

i woke up at 1:45 this

morning and went to make sure Eric made it home from the movies (hours earlier).  He was up watching tv so I sat on the couch and he told all about the movie he saw.  All of a sudden somebody knocks on the door and it pretty much freaks me out.  Eric went outside to see what was going on and he found this

So at 2:00 this morning Eric ran outside yelling all sorts of profanities telling whoever did this to come back and clean it up.  (He has a very short temper.)  Our yard was covered with toilet paper, silly string and plastic forks stuck in the ground.  Oh yeah, they left artwork in the driveway too.  He knows who did it.  Let's just hope he's not like me when it comes to getting even.  I'm afraid he is.

one of my goals is to

get to the beach by sunrise to get some pretty pictures.  Today was the perfect day but there was no sun, just clouds.

The water was so calm.  I snapped a picture with my phone and sent it to Cosme letting him know that makes me want to go fishing.  Look too at how high the tide was.

The tide didn't seem as high down on the free beach but I think I like the pedestrian beach better.

For now I'll do as the sign says and stay on "beach watch" waiting to get a sunrise.  Actually, it doesn't have to be sunrise, just some early morning sun would be nice.

here's the ecard

Mom got

This place has some of the funniest cards but they're not meant for everyone.  Lauren and I decided we'd each send this one to Mom but she should get them at the same time.  Mine read "don't worry, I won't tell Lauren" while Lauren's read "don't worry, I won't tell Melanie".  Luckily I called Mom to see if she got my ecard because she didn't know what it was and it was sitting in her spam folder.

happy birthday to

Mom!

Mom really likes starting off a good birthday with a cake.  Then again, who doesn't? 

I often wonder what a good gift would be.  Something tells me a funky red hat and jewelry is something she would like.

As much as she likes accessories, I bet a trip to Acapulco would put a bigger smile on her face.  (I'll let Dad take care of that one... but let me know and I'll come along!)

But a skillet?  As sure as I am this skillet was appreciated, it looks like she's ready to smack whoever gave it to her.

(This was a copy of a picture so I apologize for the quality but the image itself was so great I had to post it.)

As soon as Mom gives me some ideas on what she might want for her birthday, I'll get to work.  But first I guess she needs to worry about Mother's Day that came and went and she still hasn't told me what she wants.  She better step it up... or she just might get another skillet.

in case there was any

doubt in my mind that school's out, all I had to do was open my eyes.

With all the evidence they've left behind, I sure hope Eric and his friends are having a good time so far.

you might remember

a post from a few days ago about my loyalty issues.  No, it's not the yard, the yard is fine.  It's my nails.  I sent a text asking if the girl was available to do my nails.  Guess what.  She quit.  I was so disappointed.  My friend Mindy and I went last week for pedicures and I had to use a stranger... a man stranger at that.  I have a problem with men giving me pedicures.  Oh well, the whole man nail tech is a totally different story but I think it has something to do with my "don't touch me" issue.  So for now I'm without my regular girl for my nails.  It makes me sad because I knew she did good work and she also knew how to deal with my ticklish feet.  The benefit is I don't have to rely on her schedule to get my nails done.  So it comes down to the fact we "broke up" and now I'm playing the field.  So much for loyalty.

how was your memorial

day weekend?  Mine was pretty good.