and then came

Friday.  I was so happy to see the sun come out and hear water dripping off the house.  It wasn't what everyone predicted but it was cold and wet.  Yuck.

photo-a-day, day 35

To stay warm, Strat and Lucille cozied up and slept most of the time.  In other words, it was a regular day for them.  I think we should refer to them as Lazy 1 and Lazy 2.  Lazy and Lazier?  A Tale of Two Lazies?  I'll stop there.  You're welcome.

photo-a-day, day 36

I know I'm still behind.  Maybe I'll be caught up to day 38 by the end of the day.  Maybe.

because i'm almost

certain I will lose power at 6:00, I'm taking care of my post now.  When threat of all the cold weather came, I figured my water pipe outside was covered.  Well, late Tuesday evening I saw that it wasn't.  Not only did I dread getting out to go to the store, I really didn't think they'd have any supplies left.  I thought of different things I could use to wrap the pipe but nothing seemed good enough.  If I only had some insulated padding...  Then it hit.  I remembered an insulated shipping bag from my Scentsy bars.  Perfect.  It doesn't look like the little black foam things everybody else uses but it works.

photo-a-day, day 34

As soon as warm weather hits, I need to address those discolored bricks.

today can be

summed up with one picture.

photo-a-day, day 33

At 6:00 this morning our power went out.  It was off and on inconsistently until almost 1:00 this afternoon.  I even tried to track the off/on times to try and find a pattern thinking maybe there was a way I could know how much time I had to accomplish things once the power was on.  That was a waste of time.  There was no pattern.  This whole rollover blackout across the state really messed up the day.  Eric stayed home and we sat most of the day without power.  We caught a time close to lunch with the power on and worked like mad in the kitchen to reheat leftovers before we lost electricity again.  The good news is the power has been running steady for a while now.  The bad news is tomorrow and Friday will probably be the same but with sleet and snow.  I'll just go ahead and start crying now.

for lunch, there

was a fail.  I wasn't thinking about my beans in the refrigerator and just grabbed a meal out of the freezer.  I didn't think about it until the meal was half done.  I did the next best thing and put a spoonful of beans on the plate and added them to my lunch.  Sure, it wasn't a bowl of beans and rice but at least I got my bean fix.

Let's hope I don't have a dessert fail.  I'm making a blueberry crumb cake.

photo-a-day, day 32

Just so I wouldn't have a plain picture of blueberries, I decided to mess with the filters in Photoshop.  You know, the "artistic" filters that in no way look like a photograph or in this case, a dry brush.

once again,

I'm falling behind.  I do have a good excuse.  The first excuse being the main reason and the first photo.  We spent the weekend lounging.

photo-a-day, day 29

Once the weekend was winding down, it was time to switch to another gear.  By a "Cinderella story", I don't think anyone meant being down on hands and knees scrubbing grout with a nail brush.  I might give it one more try when that can be my sole chore of the day.  That's tough work but I think it's meant for someone with a heavy duty machine.

photo-a-day, day 30

I really don't know what the deal was with yesterday and my hands.  I could not quit slamming them into things.  It was bad.  After "EFF!!!" a few times (if you know me, you know the word that came out of my mouth actually was "eff" and not another word), the last time was actually an "O-M-G, REALLY???"... It hurt.

photo-a-day, day 31

Just a warning that as hard as these last three photos were hard to come by, number 32 might be harder.  The weather turns wet, windy and cold today.  I'm not leaving the house until Thursday, seriously.

i didn't check the mail

Friday or Saturday but this morning I did and a letter from Eric's school caught my attention.  I first wondered how they could tell me he's missed too many days when the semester just started.  Here's what I read:

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Adame:
One of the most enjoyable aspects of a principal's job is to able to recognize students who have made a positive impact on the school community.


It is my pleasure to inform you that Eric has been named as a CHS Student of the Month for January 2011.  The Student of the Month program is intended to acknowledge students who not only meet their academic responsibilities but also serve as an excellent role model to other students because of their active participation in class, consistent consideration of their peers, and cheerful attitude in all activities.


After Eric was nominated for this honor by one or more teachers, his name was submitted to a committee consisting of both administrators and instructional leaders.  The committee members unanimously approved the selection of your child as a Student of the Month.  One nominating teacher wrote that "Eric is a bright young man who contributes to any class discussion."


Congratulations to you for raising such a fine young man.  I appreciate the time and effort it takes to produce a teenager with the many positive attributes that your son possesses.

So, the fact that his room is a wreck or that my car is littered with popcorn and other crap is being overlooked right now and we'll probably have lunch at the establishment of Eric's choice.

tonight they went on

a real date.  Sure, they've hung out at the house or gone to grab a bite to eat or gone to the movies but tonight they dressed up and went out to dinner.

photo-a-day, day 28

i love beans like

you wouldn't believe.  No, I seriously love beans.  Cosme thought I was odd when I first met him because I'd order bean nachos with a side of beans... no lie.  (and a Coke, of course)  I love beans.  I even like lima beans.  I'll even eat cold pork & beans out of a can.  My favorite fried chicken establishment is Popeyes and part of that reason is for the red beans and rice.  Today I tried something for the first time.  I made a pot of red beans to be served with rice tonight.  They're ready and I REALLY like them.  They're spicy and tasty.  I found a recipe online with good reviews and made them. (Okay, it's Emeril's so I figured it was legit.  I mean I've liked all the food I've had in his restaurants.) I can't wait for dinner.  Now I just need to make a pot of rice and get some French bread warmed up in the oven.  Yum.

photo-a-day, day 27

just an observation

I made...

It looks like one of my shoes could fit inside one of Eric's shoes.

photo-a-day, day 26

today is

Eric's birthday!  Last night we had his birthday dinner.  After dinner we put candles back in the half-eaten cake and sang to him again.

photo-a-day, day 24

Since we were singing again and it's her birthday too, we also sang to Paige.

photo-a-day, day 25

we cut Eric's birthday

  cake yesterday with Mom and Dad here.  We sat at the dining table, lit candles and sang... Strat was there too.

photo-a-day, day 23

the last photo

was Thursday (day 20) and it was number 19.  It's Monday the 24th.  I have some catching up to do.  The last few days were busy ones.  Yesterday I realized I still didn't have anything so I tried to find stuff.  Here's the photo-a-day make ups.  These are things I saw when I rode with Mom to empty out the rv.

for Thursday
photo-a-day, day 20

for Friday
photo-a-day, day 21

for Saturday
photo-a-day, day 22

i started a post but

it's just getting me worked up and hey, I just live here.  All I can say is I'm fed up with so many things regarding our government and our society.  It's pretty bad when our words are banned or shunned.  Next they'll be telling us how to think, or maybe they already are.

photo-a-day, day 19

I know, I know... the day 19 was yesterday.  I'll get there.

i spent most of today

in the kitchen.  It was another attempt at a new recipe.  This one was Ina Garten's coq au vin and I made it in my new red dutch oven.  It was so good.  Cosme and I loved it... Eric wouldn't try it.  Oh, I also made a cake but that's nothing new. I've wanted to try this particular recipe for about a year and it finally happened.  Now I'm ready to chill out.

photo-a-day, day 18

and then there was

none.  I made fudge last week and once I had the ingredients coming to a boil and almost ready for the chocolate, I realized I didn't have any chocolate.  I had chocolate bark, but that wasn't what I needed.  I did some quick research and added peanut butter.  I went ahead and broke up some of the chocolate bark to sprinkle over the hot peanut butter fudge while it cooled.  I was eventually able to spread it.  Once it was cut and ready, I couldn't keep my hands off the stuff.  It'll be a LONG time before I make fudge again.  I can't handle it.


photo-a-day, day 17

yesterday was a

lot of lounging and movies.  It was totally awesome.  For Christmas, mainly as a gag gift, Mom and Dad gave Lauren and I Twilight fleece blankets.  Yes, it was very funny and we laughed and laughed but that thing definitely gets used... like ALL day yesterday.

  photo-a-day, day 16

every once in a while

(by once in a while I mean every few years) I get bored and my inner Lauren comes out... but I pull out a camera.  I put on lots of makeup and take pictures.  The makeup freaked Cosme out.  He wasn't expecting to walk in the room and find this.  Cosme and Eric do not dig the makeup look.  I think Lauren liked it.

photo-a-day, day 15

The funny thing is, I remember wanting to go out dancing when I was probably 13 or so and I told Mom to put makeup on me and make my eyes look like this

Again with my inner Lauren...  I am proud to say that after reading the book that Madonna's brother wrote and letting Lauren read it, I don't think she's as much of a fan these days.

On another note, I was cleaning out a cabinet yesterday with some of Eric's drawings from elementary school and I came across a sketch pad.  When I have nothing else to draw or want to warm up for something, I always fall back on drawing my hand.  This hand just happen to have a spray can in it.  It's nothing big, I just decided to share.

It's little because it was made with my phone.

i'm scrambling here

with what to post for uneventful days.  Although yesterday was anything but uneventful, I didn't get a picture.  This morning I decided to do a recap and here's what I came up with.

I found a healthy recipe I was determined to make and headed to the store early yesterday.  One ingredient was sesame seeds.  First, let me say I do not care for sesame.  I can handle small doses but too much ruins it for me, much like coconut and ginger (fresh, not ale).  Anyway, I gave in and had to ask for help.  I had no idea where to find sesame seeds.  At first I thought it would be with the Asian foods, then maybe with the other things like sunflower seeds in produce, then I wondered if maybe it would be with the salad toppings.  I asked and I never thought to look in the spice aisle.  Hmm.  It really doesn't matter because I was so unimpressed with the outcome, we had to pick dinner up.

photo-a-day, day 13

While I finished all my grocery shopping before 9:30, the only downside to finishing that early is that the liquor store isn't open yet.  I don't normally need to stop at the liquor store but again, a recipe.  I'm finally going to make Ina Garten's coq au vin today or tomorrow and I needed cognac for that.  We'll see how that turns out. If it turns out to be another recipe flop, I guess I'll pick up a new hobby... cognac.

photo-a-day, day 14

today needs to be

a day of putting away and cleaning.  I should probably start with the Christmas tree but I dread it.  Since the twelfth day of Christmas was last week, I think I'm way past due.  I like having the tree up and on.  Oh yeah, I also hate taking each ornament down and packing them away.  Enough talk, I am getting up to do it now... but first I need to do some laundry.

photo-a-day, day 12

if you found this blog

by searching Scentsy from an ISP in India, we're on to you.  Stop now because you're wasting your time.

i told the exchange

student from Germany to please disregard half the things he picks up from Eric.  After Eric took Simon to Whataburger to experience a triple meat cheeseburger, they came home so he could then be introduced to Beavis and Butthead.  (insert long sigh here)  Fortunately, Netflix was acting up so the online instant viewing was unavailable.  That was okay, Eric had a backup plan.  I found this stack the next morning: The Saboteur (a video game of killing Nazis), Inglorious Basterds (a movie of Nazi killing), Valkyrie (a movie about attempted Nazi killing) and then there's Scarface (cocaine and killing).  He liked it.  I hear he really liked Whataburger too and his eyes got big when he took his first bite.

photo-a-day, day 11

michael jackson advised

us to not stop till we get enough but in the words of Depeche Mode, I just can't seem to get enough.

photo-a-day, day 10

another bad by

me.  I didn't post my photo-a-day.  I guess I need to realize there will be days I won't get posting done.  In such a case, I will make it up... as I'm doing now.

We needed to run to Pearland yesterday and I had a coupon for Gringos that was expiring soon.  There was really no sense in letting it go to waste.  So we used it and it was good.  They have something that isn't on the menu and it's a layer dip and it's pretty tasty.

photo-a-day, day 9

my bad.

I was running around like crazy yesterday.  It was seriously a very busy day.  I had to make myself stop, sit down and eat lunch (as well as watch the previous night's episode of RHBV, or to all you non-Bravo people, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills).  Anyway, as soon as lunch and RHBV was over, it was back to business.  

So to make up for Friday's photo-a-day as well as today's, here are two.  

photo-a-day, day 7

photo-a-day, day 8

because the video

of the former panhandler, Ted Williams, is everywhere and I find myself fascinated with it all.

photo-a-day, day 6

luckily, this pistachio

cake is pretty good and won't be around too long.  I really don't know how we'd tell when it started to go bad with it being green and all.  I've been thinking about a pistachio cake for almost a week and finally made it yesterday.

photo-a-day, day 5

this sums up

my day.

photo-a-day, day 4

this was taken

yesterday.  It was originally going to be my photo for the day but once I found the red velour underwear, everything else was put on hold.  Hey, I didn't want anyone to miss out on the spectacular finds on Telephone Road.

photo-a-day, day 3

Now that I've put the fork in it, this post is done.

just in case anyone

needs red velour underwear, I found some.

photo-a-day, day 2

and so it

begins.  The first day of the new year and the first day of my assignment.  I never said my photos each day would be posted promptly at the crack of dawn so here we are Saturday night with the photo-a-day, day one.

What would be more appropriate than New Years Day lunch?  (Answer is not much.)  I hope this was enough to handle my money and luck for the next 12 months.

wow, this thing is

dusty.  I've had a nice break.  January 1st will bring a new assignment.  It's nothing new, a lot of people do it but I'm making it my new project.  It will be a photo a day.  We'll see how it goes.  I plan for it to last all year... plan, that is.

I had to make a few changes on this thing too.  I was so tired of the orange, not a big fan.

i have a new

favorite thing and it wasn't even supposed to be mine.  I remember back on several Christmases and Lauren received a "gift with purchase" for a present.  No, she did not receive the bottle of perfume required for this free gift but she received the free gift.  Period.  Over the past few years, I've tried to bring this tradition back.  I don't only give her the free gift but I do like to wrap it and give it as an individual gift.  This year was going to be the same.  I went down and bought my powder and the gift was a free robe.  I had a choice between white, pink or white with hot pink polka-dots.  The last one screamed Lauren so I picked that one.  Several stores down the row, I found out Lauren had no need for a robe.  (Hey, I do like to be practical so if she doesn't need it, I won't waste it.)  I decided I would just keep it for myself.  I went back to the car to get the robe, back to the store to swap it out (for white since white with hot pink polka-dots does not scream Melanie) and came back home.  I wrapped other gifts I picked up that day and went on with my business.  Once finished, I opened the robe up to try it on.  OMG.  I have been living in that thing.  That is the softest most comfortable thing EVER.  Maybe I'll start keeping the free gifts for me.

this is just an update

for the post from earlier.  It is not my head being screwed on wrong but it is this day that is messed up.  Once I finally got Eric's computer to read my card, the pictures were horrible.  In the middle of it all, well, I'll just say at least she did it on tile and not carpet.  For now I'm going to take a break and try this again later... along with redo's on the pictures.

things need to

turn around fast for me today.  I don't know if I just don't have my head screwed on straight or what.  The day started off fine but then I got out of bed.  I made Eric cheese toast for breakfast (requiring the broiler), woke him up to eat, went out to get his car warmed up while he got dressed, turned the water on to get the ice off the windows but couldn't get the heat or defrost to turn on.  I came inside and we decided I'd drive him... as he's walking out the door.  I had to run inside to get my purse and keys without bothering to change out of my pajama pants.  (Actually, they aren't even pj pants but knit pants I cut off to make shorter.)  I'll save the expected drama now and say that no, I didn't have to get out in public wearing cut-off knit pants.  We start to leave and realize I don't have the garage door opener, it's in Cosme's car.  Eric had to get out and push the button and run.  Heading to the end of the driveway, I look back and notice I left the MG's lights on.  Eric had to run back and turn those off.  We're halfway to WC and I wonder if I turned the broiler off.  I get back to the house and water is running down the driveway.  I never turned the hose off.  I walk around to the front door in my cut-off pants, long winter coat, white socks and slip-on black shoes while hoping nobody sees me and wondering if the kid riding by on his bike is laughing.  Turned the broiler OFF as went through to open the garage door and hear a squeal after pressing the button.  I sprayed the stuff on the garage door down with WD-40, hoping that won't turn into another dilemma later in the day.  I came back in and as I sit here to write this post I wonder a) what next and b) should I go back to bed.

i feel as though i'm

almost back to normal.  Since Thanksgiving I've been trying to fight off a cold or something like it.  I took vitamin C, ate numerous oranges daily, took Benadryl, sinus/allergy headache medicine, Mucinex D and dragged around A LOT. Today is the first day I haven't needed any medication and I actually feel a little bit of energy.  I made soup and baked a cheesecake.  Now I'm going out to finish what the yard guy didn't do right yesterday.  Oh well, at least the poison ivy is gone.

the season is

here!  Yes, Christmas is approaching but that's not what I'm referring to.  Cuties are back in season!  I'm so happy!  Don't remember what Cuties are?  Look here. (Read the second half because it's definitely not the season for a road trip.)  Anyway, I bought a bag day before yesterday and it's almost gone.  If anything, it should help in my fight against this cold (or whatever it is)... and also, my hands smell delightful!

NOTE: It's almost 5:30 and I'm about to have my third one for the day.  I'm addicted.

just so you'll know

"Many hunters know that a simple buttermilk brine does wonderful things to venison and wild turkey as it mellows strong, gamey flavors."

I found this while researching cooking methods.  I already knew to soak venison in buttermilk but had no idea it would do wonderful things for Wild Turkey.  Bartender??

doing a search for

"fallow recipes" brings up "how to follow a recipe".  I don't think I'm in that bad of shape.

What I've learned from my internet search so far is that fallow doe tastes better than buck and while it's not as good as some, it "ain't that bad".  Glad I bought chicken for backup.

every once in a while

I'm so tired I dread getting out of bed and moving.  The thought of having things to do on those days only amplifies my unwillingness to become motivated.  This is one of those days.  I am exhausted.  I would love to stay in bed and chill while watching tv... at least until noon.  I can't do that today.  Instead of having my usual peanut butter toast for breakfast, I've decided to go all out.  I'm having a breakfast taco and a Coke.  I've even put egg on it with the hopes of egg having something to do with energy.  Oh, and the extra bacon was a necessity since I ... FORGOT TO PUT SALT IN MY TORTILLA DOUGH.  Oh well.  That added crunch was nice and the salt was needed.

I think today is already off to a better start.

Sorry for the tiny picture, it was taken with my phone.

it's that time of year

again.  It's tamale time!  What happens when it's tamale season?  All of the ingredients go on sale.  Remember this post?  I'm here to report that two years later, not only are hog heads still only 59 cents a pound, but the images are still enough to make me prefer chicken.

Again, I love bacon and ham but I don't really want to eat a pig head.  I especially don't want to eat a pig head after it smiles at me.

it's as if yahoo

read my last post.

Did I mention how much I like calendars too?  They've given us a whole calendar to help plan for Thanksgiving here.  I might try it but I'll probably fall back on my Thanksgiving day list.  (Now THAT'S a list... a breakdown of which items need to go in the oven and when, times, temperatures, which dishes for what...)

I will end it here.  I'm sure my carrying on about my organized lists have everyone thinking A) "I wish my to-do lists could be as well planned out and organized as Melanie's" or B) "I sure am glad I'm not as crazy about what needs to be done as Melanie and have all that extra time to do other stuff".  Because I'm sometimes a positive person, I'll assume you picked A.  Now I've got business to tend to and the lists to prove it.

sometimes I get

a little obsessed with things, or getting things done.  There are many times I think something needs to get done and it simply cannot wait and the idea of having to wait will put me in a totally foul mood.  Right now I have a lot of things that need to be done.  I know that over the the next few days these things will get done.  When it gets like this, part of my obsession involves making lists.  I like lists.  I like detailed lists.  I like seeing and following the lists.  I like marking things off the lists.  I like to be ready and on top of things.  I like a plan.  Sometimes I have a list within a list.  Right now I have two lists going and I couldn't be in a better mood.  Productiveness is about to happen and I can't wait.  For now, I'll work on my lists.

Unfortunately, before this post could be posted, one of those lists just got a little longer.

today is veteran's day

so I'm seeing my share of war documentaries on the History Channel.  The one Cosme watched last night was about World War II.  I asked him if I'd ever shown him a folder I have of my great-grandfathers.  I pulled it out and was flipping through the pages.  It's medical stuff, formal letters and telegrams.  The cool thing is as they talked about August 14, 1945 on tv, I flipped to a telegram from the same day.  "CEASE OFFENSIVE OPERATIONS AGAINST JAPANESE FORCES. CONTINUE SEARCHES AND PATROL.  MAINTAIN DEFENSIVE AND INTERNAL SECURITY MEASURES AT HIGHEST LEVEL AND BEWARE OF TREACHERY OR LAST MOMENT ATTACKS BY ENEMY FORCES OR INDIVIDUALS."

Then there is one from August 15.  "...HEARTIEST CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU AND THE OFFICERS AND MEN OF YOUR COMMAND ON YOUR DRAMATIC SUCCESSES CULMINATING ON THIS MEMORABLE DAY IN COMPLETE VITORY.  YOUR OPERATIONS IN THE PACIFIC AGAINST OUR BITTER ENEMY WILL BE RECORDED AS THE MOST BRILLIANT HISTORY.  WE OF THE ATLANTIC SALUTE YOU."

I just thought it was pretty neat to read all these documents as they talked on tv and I do find history pretty interesting.  (Okay, fine, I think that stuff is pretty cool.)  Anyway, I figured I would share that since it is Veterans Day... which happens to be said great-grandfather's birthday.

i've been working on

a Christmas wish list.  I added two things today.

Does this make me a nerd?  Or does it only reinforce my last post of needing to get out of the house?  Either way, I'm not taking them off my list.

i need to get out

of the house, with camera in hand.  End of story.

nhs

induction tonight.

the day has come

for one party to display their bitterness.

Get over it.  It's part of the election process.  If you're unhappy with the results, just remember there are only four more years until the next election.  If you're happy with the results, just remember there are only two more years until the next election!

i never thought this

time would come but I think I might actually want something.  Sure, I've always thought it looked so official and "I must know what I'm doing because I have one of these" but I've never enjoyed using one.  For me, they are a bigger hassle than anything.  But now I see it in a different light.  Now my interests are branching out and I'm not only starting to think one might just be helpful but also necessary.

I've tried using Mom's mixer for cakes and desserts but I'm looking beyond that.  I'm trying to forget about the messes I created doing those things and see the other possibilities.  I want to use it for it's dough hook.  I want to add a pasta attachment.

Then I stop and think.  I've done fine mixing doughs by hand.  A bag of pasta is not much more than a dollar.  So do I really need a $300 mixer with a $300 pasta attachment?  A waste of time?  Hardly.  A waste of money?  Most definitely.

Problem solved.  Ten minutes ago I was searching online to find the best deals.  It took two sentences of a blog post to change my mind.  Everything should be so easy.

he's in

this blog has totally

been neglected.  I need to get out this weekend and get motivated.  I was using my computer's breakdown as an excuse at first but now I've figured Eric's laptop out a little more so there's really no excuse there.  I'm turning all the blame to the fact that I haven't been doing much.  It's lame but true.  Starting right now I'm setting a goal to get back on track, computer or not.  Okay, maybe not right now, give me an hour or so.  Promise.

because a quiz

on Facebook said this is which Beatles song I am





and most resemble this musician

this morning i've

been talking with a friend about New York which has made me go back to my posts from the 2008 trip which has reminded me how much I like Boston.  I want to go back but next time I want to do a few more things and next time I'd prefer not arriving in the middle of some freak nor'easter.  I guess when I start thinking about how much I want to go visit Boston, I just need to remember the horrible nor'easter of spring break 2010.  That was the coldest, wettest, most horrible weather I've ever experienced but I'm glad I did.

I could post a video reference but the only thing that comes to mind would be a song by Boston and I'm not going there. You're welcome.

I guess we need

a video post since today is John Lennon's birthday.  No, I did not have this day marked but I just realized it was today so here's a video

i think i might

have figured something out.

Look!  A picture!

It's the iMac and I still don't know if it's what I want.

don't give up on

me just yet.  Although I'm still without a computer, I have taken steps... steps toward the dark side.  Yes, that is correct.  I've been researching Macs.  As much as I don't want to be a Mac snob, I think it might happen.  I've been comparing, talking and contemplating.  I am very close to maybe having a decision.  Right now I'm leaning towards the iMac.  I know it's not portable but it looks very clean.  There is one cord and a 21.5" monitor.  (Does Mac call them monitors?  I don't know.)  Anyway, the 27" is a little more than I need.  We'll see.