trying to finish off a box

and having a different brand of oatmeal yesterday makes this HEB brand I'm having today even more awesome than usual.  I know I've mentioned it several times in my quest to find the most delicious cinnamon oatmeal but for real, HEB has the best.

Maggie was being unusually calm for a minute yesterday.  They had just finished breakfast and done a little running around and Maggie came over wanting scratches, no licks involved.

She licks.  She gets excited and licks the air.  She loves to lick.  Yesterday she was totally chill and just wanted to hang out.

Then time was up and she started licking again.  Oh, and that licking the vet told me she needed to stop?  She's still doing it.  I put some lavender oil in a dish with some water and rubbed it on her go-to scratching/licking spots yesterday.  She seemed to like it (or maybe it was just the rubbing) and I liked the smell.  Archer wanted a little too so they both smelled a little fresher yesterday.  I'll put some more on her this morning.  If nothing else, she'll smell nice for a little bit.

i tried another new

recipe last night and I really had high hopes.  It was THIS ravioli I found on Pinterest.  We also finished off the chicken I made the other day.  That recipe also came from Pinterest and was HERE.

So this was the chicken that we thought needed a pasta to go with it after we only had zucchini with it the first time.  We decided this pasta was probably not the right match.  First of all, I didn't have any capers for the ravioli.  Second, Cosme doesn't care for artichoke unless it's with spinach and lots of cheese in a dip.  Third, I found out that I don't care for sun dried tomatoes.  Oh well.  I really, really wanted it to be a hit but it just wasn't.  It wasn't that it was bad, it was more of a "it's not you, it's me" thing.

Back in shower news, I spray painted a chair.  Somewhere, packed deep in the 11 years of this blog, there is a picture of a little red chair.  It was a chair I got from Dodo that she had in the shop for a little bit.  She said it was Dad's so I asked if I could have it when she was done with it.  I guess she had painted it pink for the shop because I'm sure Dad didn't have a pink chair.  Anyway, she gave it to me and I painted it with a white crackle paint.  When photography entered the game, I painted it red.  Now that there is a baby coming, I sanded it down, primed it, and painted it again.

I roughed it up a little.  And a side note, if you paint something with crackle paint, those remnants are pretty much around forever.  I sanded and sanded and sanded.  I ended up leaving some of it since I was going to distress it afterwards.  Here is a close up of a few spots where I roughed it up.

I think I'm done with it.  The more I look at it, the more I wonder if I should do more to it.  Anyway, that should match some of the other stuff they have going on in her room and if it doesn't, I'll keep it here and maybe paint it again.  Ohhh, or maybe paint designs or pictures on it.  Okay, now I'm just getting carried away.  Maybe I'll just keep it here.

Right now the dogs don't care what my plans with the chair are, they're just worried about their breakfast plans.  Before I go feed them, I have to tell a little story about something that happened yesterday.  First of all, I leave the tv on sometimes with the sound turned down.  Anyway, I was checking to see if a package had been delivered and Archer started barking one of his territorial barks.  I walked back to the living room and asked what it was, wondering if he saw someone trying to get in a back window or something.  He looked at the tv and back at me.  There was a cat on tv.  It was funny.  The commercial ended and he never got worked up again.  I'll give him breakfast now and keep him from getting worked up again.

i've been working on

things for the baby shower this weekend.  I started off searching for sugar free punch recipes, then I went with homemade sugar free lemonade and after Paige tasted it last night, I've decided to stick with the original punch recipe (even though I haven't sampled it) and also bring a jug of unsweetened tea.  Cosme originally thought the lemonade was pretty tart but Paige thought it was really sweet while I thought it was fine... considering it was sugar free lemonade.  I'll sample the new punch before serving it but I won't mix it until the day before.  Let's hope it ends well.  Other than figuring out the perfect sugar free lemonade, I've been spray painting and crafting.  One of the hostess gifts was also delivered.  Five minutes after it arrived, Strat claimed it.

Guess what also came in the mail.  Seriously, guess.

A Montgomery Ward catalog.  Montgomery Ward.

I didn't even know that was still a thing.  The Cowboys crock pot is pretty cool but they also have cordless phones, jam boxes, walkmans, Atari, and other high-tech things, in addition to housewares and stuff.  Who knew?  Not me.

I was at Walmart buying spray paint the other day and I saw this.

I thought it was cute.  I didn't buy it because I welcome the little sheets.  Maybe I should have bought it for Mom.

I tried a new recipe last night, Rustic Chicken with Garlic Gravy.  I didn't get a picture but I found it on Pinterest HERE.  I don't know if Eric and Paige enjoyed it (they came over for dinner) but Cosme and I liked it.  I didn't follow the recipe exactly but I went by it.  I ended up adding more butter, in addition to cream, to the sauce and I didn't cook the chicken in it but added it towards the end.  Oh, I also added mushrooms to the gravy.  I served it with rice and green beans and will have rice and gravy/sauce for lunch today.  I tried another new recipe last week and Paige came by on her way home from work to take extras home for their dinner.  I didn't get a picture of that one either but it was also chicken thighs and we all liked it.  Eric asked last night why I've been making so much chicken lately.  Easy.  It was on sale for 88 cents a pound.  And actually, I haven't only been making chicken lately, but it just happened to be what we had the two times he ate with us.  There's also the fact that Paige is on a restricted diet right now so when I have something that fits into it, I offer some to them.

I also picked up a few more baby items off the clearance rack.  I'm addicted to deals!  It could be worse.  Oh wait, there's Coke too.  And sweets.  Whatever.  You only live once.

why do I even bother

pulling the nut grass from the flower bed?  I took this picture the day after I pulled it all.

Yeah, I know you have to get it by the root and sometimes I do but there has to be a way to kill this stuff.  I did a little research and one article said when it's in your lawn, you can pour sugar on it.  I was tempted to try it for a minute but that would take a lot of sugar and would I rather have nut grass or ants?

I finally made the banana bread this morning.  I didn't feel like it yesterday but today the bananas would definitely have to end up in the garbage.  Speaking of the bananas, this is what I have them in.

I bought it in San Antonio at the market.  On the walk over from the hotel, I told Cosme he was going to have to hold me back because I knew I'd want so much stuff.  It'll be a while before I go back to a Mexican market, if ever, so the market in San Antonio is the closest I can get.  Speaking from experience, when I do go to a Mexican market, I want EVERYTHING.  I saw that wooden bowl dish and knew I needed it.  I bought other things too, including this baby dress.

Once I got it home and checked it out, I questioned the head hole.  Let's hope it fits.  We used to wear the Mexican dresses all the time in the 80's and I thought they were great.  I knew I had to buy that dress as soon as I saw it... and two shirts for myself.  I also ended up having to buy a bag to carry my stuff in.  I'm not big on shopping but I can seriously get busy in a mercado like that.

Anybody need to go to San Antonio for shirts?  I'll gladly tag along.

have you ever been

outside grilling and the hamburgers smelled SO good and then you thought how awesome it'd be if those cheeseburgers had bacon on top?  I hardly ever make bacon cheeseburgers but this weekend was different.

It was good.

Another thing happened this weekend.  A lost dog found me.  I was sitting in the garage waiting on Eric and Paige to come by and this guy showed up.

He was super friendly and sweet.  I tried to put him in the cat carrier so he wouldn't run off and get into trouble but he wasn't having it.  Also, I was only trying to keep him around to give the neighborhood time to see my post so his owner could claim him.  We waited a while and he followed me everywhere.  He wasn't wearing a collar and he smelled really bad so we wondered if he didn't escape but was dumped instead, but on the other hand, he was plenty big and obviously hadn't missed any meals.  I didn't want to hang around outside anymore so I set him up on the front porch with a towel, milk bone, food, and water.  He had water but that was it.  Something was able to distract him long enough for me to get away and get inside.

He found me and started scratching at the door.  That annoyed me.  It annoyed me more when he started barking, setting off ALL of our animals.  I felt really bad for him but there was nothing more I could do.  I let the neighborhood know (63 people had already seen the message) and I set him up with food and shelter in case he needed it.

Then he left and we never saw him again.  I'm hoping somebody took him in or the actual owners claimed him, you know, as long as it was a happy ending.  I didn't end up with a third dog so I guess that's happy enough.

I have nine bananas that are ready for banana bread and I think the recipe calls for 6.  I might could math it out and try to make muffins with a half batch of batter or I could just put those extra 3 in the garbage.  It depends on how confident I feel with baking time/temp and measurements when the time comes... and if those measurements needing to be divided are basic enough.  I'll see what my calculator has to offer.  More importantly, I'll see what my schedule has to offer.

Now I need to make a grocery list and feed the dogs.

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while we were in

San Antonio, the dogs were at the vet for boarding.  They've never been left anywhere before and I felt bad for Archer because he doesn't like going to the vet for a regular appointment, much less a whole weekend.  Anyway, Friday morning I pulled out the leashes and they were so excited.  I got them hooked up and we went out to the car.  I loaded them up in the back and by the time I got to the driver's seat, they were both piled up in the passenger seat.

Oh, happy Archer... if you only knew where you were headed.

They were tumbling over each other and it was a bit crazy.  Then we pulled up at the vet and it was a lot crazy.  I've compared our situation to a circus act and people in the waiting area found it amusing.  They definitely got a few laughs, especially when Archer was trying to creep towards the door and somehow ended up standing there with Maggie's midsection stuck on top of him with her hind legs in the air and two front paws planted on the floor.  It took a vet tech to help me get them untangled.

The show ended and I made it out the door.  They were good and even got a bath while there.

I picked them up Monday and neither one paid much attention to me at first.

Maggie took the usual spot in the front seat.

Archer was done with it all.  He found a safe spot in the very back of the car, hidden under the trunk cover.

They were happy to get home and happier to roll around in the grass to get the freshness of the bath off.  I do love the smell of dog shampoo so I let them hang out with me in the kitchen for a while.

I'm ready for another long weekend, if not to be a tourist and see a new place, then at least to have that clean dog smell again (from somebody else's doing).

i started a post for yesterday but

I got sidetracked with everything else on my to-do list.

We made it to San Antonio and back and now the vacation I wanted/needed is over and I need another one to catch up on rest.  One of the awesome things about the hotel we stayed in was that it was downtown and walking distance from several things I wanted to see/do.  This is probably why I'm so tired now.  We walked a lot.

But first, the room:

Our room at The St. Anthony was at the dead end of the hall.  You can't tell from this picture but the chandeliers were really pretty.

I liked that the room had a foyer.  I accidentally deleted the picture but this is another looking into the foyer from the bedroom.  The door was to the right.

The minibar in the foyer.  Slide those little booze bottles back and there were soft drinks.  Those would be the only two Cokes I would see until Sunday.

Stir sticks because why not...

I really liked the bench in the foyer.

Looking into the bedroom from the foyer.

The bathroom.

THE SOAP.  I LOVE THIS SOAP.  I used bar soap AND shower gel just because it smelled that good.  It's citrusy with maybe a drop of vanilla and it just smells clean.  While it does smell like a woman would have no problem using it, it smells masculine too.  I decided I wanted to buy some so I googled it.  I found the brand's website but not this scent.  They have other scents but I decided I won't be buying any.  Why buy a bottle of hand soap for $65 when I can get Soft Soap for less than $2?  I did stick the hand lotion in my bag before we left though.  Oh, I also went to the bathroom before we left and all the soap was gone.  I asked Cosme about it and he had put the rest in his bag.

They say the hotel is haunted and I believe it.  We had a few odd things happen, mainly with the lights.  I already posted most of it on fb.

The weekend started with dinner.  Remember that non-haunted hotel I wanted to stay in originally, Hotel Havana?  They have a Cuban restaurant, Ocho, and I knew I wanted to eat there.  We had mojitos and appetizers of artichoke dip and empañadas.  Having two appetizers, we decided we'd share the 12 oz ribeye instead of getting one each.  It was good.  We shared flan for dessert with a cup of "Cuban" coffee.  The bartender googled it and said it was espresso poured over a sugar cube.  That might not be how I had it in Miami but it was still good.

We walked back to the hotel and hung out at the pool before going back to the room to rest up for the next item up on Friday's to-do list.  We started our walk over to the Alamo around 9:30 because I wanted to get a picture of it at night.  I got a few and I hope they turned out but I don't know because
I still haven't taken the card out of my camera.  Actually, those are the only pictures I got with my camera.  On our walk over, San Antonio seemed like a familiar place.  Once we got closer to the Alamo, I realized that SA reminds me of the French Quarter in New Orleans.  It was just the vibe it gave off, I guess.  I got my picture and we headed back to the hotel.

The next morning I woke up pretty early and just laid there and chilled on my iPad but decided to wake Cosme up when the bathroom light came on.  We got ready and went for breakfast at The Original Blanco Cafe. Or is it just the original Blanco Cafe?  Whatever.

I had migas.  They were fine but I like Cosme's better.  They did have homemade corn tortillas and that is something I don't get regularly ever.

I was wearing my "Tacos y Texas" t-shirt.  I felt like their sign was trying to one up me.

We walked back to the hotel to wait for the market to open and then started that walk around 10:00.

We stopped at the San Fernando Cathedral.  I took a picture but my phone didn't save it.  (That's a problem I have with that phone.)  I did get these two pictures that I thought was really cool.

We finished our walk over to the market and I bought stuff.  We were going to grab a bite to eat there but it was a long wait.   We headed back to the hotel after shopping and walking to cool off and rest for a minute.  My toes and legs were hurting and Cosme was just sleepy.  We were trying to think of somewhere to have a late lunch/early dinner.  That was hard.  We didn't want to wait until 5:00 and we didn't want to eat at a chain that we could have in Houston.  We decided to walk a couple of blocks over to the Riverwalk and find something.

We found a restaurant that was packed.  We thought the food must be good.  Wrong.  The sangria was good.  I originally wanted a Bulleit and Coke but I enjoyed the sangria while a case of Pepsi glared at me.

The jalapeño corn dip would have been good if it had less jalapeño so I could actually taste something else.  The beef fajitas were not what we're used to so I'm glad we only shared a plate for one.  We're picky when it comes to fajitas, very picky.  These did not meet our standards.  I always heard San Antonio was supposed to have awesome food but in our whole weekend, Ocho was my favorite.  I will point out two things though: 1. We were downtown near the Riverwalk and that whole area is a tourist section.  So I guess if someone is there from some other state who might not be familiar with TexMex, that food might be okay.  2. Like Lauren pointed out, why would I think the food in San Antonio would be any better than other Texas towns...

We figured San Antonio is a Pepsi town.  Even our hotel had Pepsi on the menu so I can't understand why they had two cans of Coke in the minibar.  I don't understand it but totally appreciated it.

So we had our food and drinks and I could have passed out right there.  I guess walking all day in the heat and then topping it all off with cold sangria will do that.  We went back to the hotel to cool off and rest again and shower.  We didn't make it out again after that and ended up ordering burgers from room service.  Our bathroom ghost must have known we were exhausted and not in the mood for shenanigans because after being on all day, we turned the bathroom light off and it didn't come back on.

We checked out the next morning and stopped at Lulu's Bakery for breakfast and a 3 pound cinnamon roll to-go.  (We heard about in on Man vs Food years ago.)  We have a whole 12 oz cup full of icing that we distribute as needed.

It's good.  We really didn't see much difference between it and Mrs. Baird's.  They should really add more cinnamon filling with all that bread though.

So we made it back home and here I am.  I actually woke up this morning not feeling exhausted.  If I don't go let the dogs out though, my to-do list will grow with a mess to clean up.

let's rewind to when I ordered

the new rug.  A few days later, I went to Walmart to buy a little fluffy rug for the cats.  We decided to get that to maybe keep them off of the new rug so much and let them still enjoy the fluffiness.

It started raining the other day and Strat took to the rug.

Sometimes they both get on but usually, it's only one.  The rug reminds me of the piece of boat scrap from the end of Titanic. Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio both could have fit but sticking with the plot, he had to die.  Oh yeah, spoiler.  It really seems like the prop crew would have made a smaller piece of scrap.  Anyway, the rug is our Titanic scrap.

Yes, he knows you're there, Lucille. He just doesn't care.

I heard a joke the other day.  What do you get when you cross the Atlantic with the Titanic?  Halfway.

Okay.  On a similar but more serious note, ever since before the wedding I've been making comments about needing to take a vacation.  I don't need anything major.  I don't need a week in Scotland or anything, just a little road trip.  One place I've always wanted to go is San Antonio.  I've driven through and made a few stops but never spent the weekend.  Cosme and Eric always do their convention every year but because of the animals, I never go.  We finally looked over the calendar at the upcoming months and picked the best weekend.  I knew of a hotel I wanted to stay in that I read about a few years ago.  After doing my trip research, I decided I might not want to stay there.  We decided to leave it up to Priceline.  (We all know I love to name my price and gamble a little.)  We did it.  We booked a 5-star hotel.  How can you go wrong with a 5-star hotel?  Let me tell you.  You start reading reviews and find FREAKING GHOST STORIES.  I asked Cosme if I dare search The St. Anthony being haunted.  I knew I shouldn't but he said to go for it.  I enter "haunted st anth" and the first option I'm given is "haunted st anthony hotel san antonio".  Awesome.  I click on that option and there it is, listed in the top five most haunted places in San Antonio.  Actually, those weren't the exact words but the exact words included the word "evil" and I'm trying to stay positive here.  I'd normally feel really awesome about a 5-star hotel for less than $200 a night but right now I'm feeling like Priceline screwed me over.  Yes, I went on to read the ghost stories.  I also went on to search videos.  I also searched how to keep ghosts away from you.  I'm trying to look on the bright side and came up with a few things:

 ONE.  Cosme said ghosts and things never come around him.  (Whatever, we've both seen an orb float through our room and although asleep, he was still there the night I woke up to our bedroom door opening and then closing.)

TWO.  I've researched and know where the most activity is so maybe we can request to not be put near the fifth or tenth floors... and especially not room 536.

THREE.  I've done more research and already have two bottles of holy water on hand.  I also know where I can get more.  I will be prepared.

Those are the only definite points I have right now but I'm still working on it.  I'll be prepared and if it gets to be too much, we'll come home.  So while I'm preparing myself to ward off spirits, I'm also reminding myself of the people who leave with no ghost stories.  I'm hoping to be added to that list.