For those who care.

Due to changes to my DVR I’ve had to reevaluate my priorities as related to TV shows that I watch. In order to efficiently use the available space on my DVR I had to purge my series recording list. The results below are what were left after the dust settled…

Keeping:

Modern Family – best new show on television, hands down
Cougar Town – starring Courtney Cox
Brothers & Sisters – the Walker clan in all its glory
Nightline – a nightly ritual, keeps me up on world news
Chelsea Handler – a much needed comical look at today’s news
Real Housewives of New Jersey – “la mieux” of the Bravo series
Wipeout – this show and wine/beer go well together
The Office – seriously, who could get rid of this show

Ditched:

Desperate Housewives – ditched this dumb ass show a year ago
Ugly Betty – sorry, Betty, needed space for more interesting/believable series
Gossip Girl – whatever drew me to this stupid ass show – oh yeah, Blake Lively
Parks & Recreation – I see enough of this in live and living color at work
Iron Chef – it repeats ad nauseum daily so no need to DVR this show

It's Official!

I’ve booked one of my two upcoming summer vacations. I’m heading off to Cancun over the 4^th of July holiday. I cannot wait. It’s been so long since I’ve taken a real vacation - I think the last real vacation I took was to NYC last year. Originally we were going to stay four days, but adding two additional days only added $50 dollars to cost of the trip so why not. I’ve never done an all inclusive resort so I’m nervous but excited. We opted for a much nicer hotel than originally anticipated, 4 stars built in 2007 complete with 10 restaurants and 11 bars on the premises so hopefully we won’t have to venture too far off the beatin’ path – this after American tourist are being shot and beheaded in Mexico. Though, I’m not really ‘that’ worried as the violence is occurring in the border towns such as Juarez and along drug trafficking routes. I’m wondering what a 4^th of July in Mexico is like…similar to the USA holiday with fireworks and celebration or will it just be Sunday, July 4^th an average Sunday. We shall see. One thing is for damn sure; I better come back with a tan that could pass for a George Hamilton look-alike.

Tom, ta-Tom, Tom, Tom’s…

So I went looking for some new shoes this weekend, and as usual, wound up at Nordstrom. Didn’t find what I was looking for, but did come home with a new pair of shoes. A new, super-trendy, navy pair of Toms. Now, some (my mother, two sisters, and father) may baulk at these barely there canvas gems, but not me. I bought a pair and never looked back. Sidebar: for every pair of Toms shoes you buy, “Tom” the owner of Toms shoes gives a pair to a child in need. Very awesome and altruistic… I wasn’t sure how comfortable the shoes would be, after all, they are nothing but canvas and a very thin sole. Well imagine my surprise when I put them on and they were SUPER comfortable. Now, I will say this – you will get a couple looks and stares, and not so nice comments (as I did from my family), but they are totally worth it. If nothing else, you’ll be helping a kid in need. Go get a pair today!

Wings...that I DIDN'T like!

So we all know how much I love wings, as in buffalo wings. I can (and have) eaten them numerous times in one week. I pretty much have never found a wing that I didn’t like – until now. AND imagine my surprise when I found it at an establishment known for its wings. Yes, I’m talking about Hooters. I know, I was surprised and disappointed too. I met a friend at Hooters Friday night after I got off work. Wings sounded so good, and I thought, sure, what the heck…and Hooters wings are famous, so let’s go there. They were not good. First, they were fried, but not like a regular wing, they were fried like something that KFC would serve. Second, they didn’t have any sauce, or what little sauce was on there couldn’t be tasted. Third, as I always do, in ‘high maintenance’ style I asked for extra wing sauce on the side. When it arrived it looked like mayonnaise mixed with some sort of red powder. It was pasty and disgusting. So, take it from me; stick to tried and true favorites, Buffalo Wild Wings (BWW), Chilis, and/or The Loon (A Dallas exclusive).

One last note, I will say this, Hooters Fried Pickles were really good. Wings and service, not so much.

My Newest Obsession

Fried Green Tomatoes! This all started from a lunch at the Black Eyed Pea. They were a featured dish for one of their lunch specials. Well, let me just say that they were so good. I’ve tried to recreate them with regular red tomatoes but they just weren’t the same. Apparently, there is something about green tomatoes that makes them taste better and the their texture isn’t the same a regular hothouse red tomato. One problem – I cannot seem to find green tomatoes anywhere! Kroger, Farmers Market, Wal-Mart, Albertsons, nowhere. But, in case you run across some, below is the recipe. And if you guys run across green tomatoes in your many travels – I better get a text, e-mail, or phone call.

INGREDIENTS

3 medium, firm green tomatoes
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup milk
2 beaten eggs
2/3 cup fine dry bread crumbs or cornmeal
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

METHOD

1 Cut unpeeled tomatoes into 1/2 inch slices. Sprinkle slices with salt and pepper. Let tomato slices stand for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, place flour, milk, eggs, and bread crumbs in separate shallow dishes.

2 Heat 2 Tbsp of olive oil in a skillet on medium heat. Dip tomato slices in milk, then flour, then eggs, then bread crumbs. In the skillet, fry half of the coated tomato slices at a time, for 4-6 minutes on each side or until brown. As you cook the rest of the tomatoes, add olive oil as needed. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Food Network TV!

I cannot seem to turn this channel off at my house. It just seems that watching TV about food (delicious sounding & looking) is addicting. Whether I’m watching Barefoot Contessa, or Cook Like a Restaurant Chef w/ Ann Burrell, or Chopped, or whatever (NOT-The Neeley’s eugh.) I just get so engrossed I can’t turn the channel. It’s been like this since I was a child…I can remember getting up early on a Saturday mornings as a child and instead of turning on cartoons or something of the like I turned on Yan Can Cook. I’ve learned a lot from these shows too. For instance, fruit and vegetables don’t get marinated, instead they are macerated, only meat is marinated. I learned that you should always salt (and a lot) of the water you cook pasta in because after its cooked pasta isn’t able to absorb salt. So the only way to get salt in the pasta is to add it to the water. How many people already knew that? That’s what I thought…

Aldi, shammaldi!

So I fell for it. I’ve been seeing all these commercials for this new Swedish grocery store chain, Aldi. They supposedly have good quality food at very low prices. And while, I’m not poor, I’m not made of money either. Well let me tell you it was traumatic from the second I set foot on their parking lot. Before entering the store I went to retrieve what I am convinced was a shopping cart the size of a 1960 Plymouth. BUT, before I was able to drive it into the store I had to deposit a quarter to use the cart. STRIKE ONE.

Aldi only sells their brand of food, no modern day mainstream brands. No Heinz ketchup, no Cheetos brand chips, no Kraft cheese, and no Coca Cola Classic. Instead its Aldi brand everything. STRIKE TWO.

I was brave and bought some chips, sandwich meat, and bread + a couple of other items. So far the bread is the only thing that hasn’t tasted like shiz. I threw the sandwich meat away as it had a golden/yellowish hue. While checking out I had to pay for the shopping bags that I used to take my groceries home in. $0.06 for paper and $.10 for plastic. STRIKE THREE.

Oh, and they don’t accept credit cards, cash and debit only. STRIKE FOUR

Let me just say that this, though my grocery bill was only 36 dollars for the week, only 8% was edible - I WILL NOT BE BACK.

Thursday ALMOST Friday

You know...I'm really mad at myself. I had three, possibly more really great blogs I was going to write to share. However, as soon as I had said epiphany I thought to myself "self, this is so good, you don't want to forget this - write it down now." And, what did I do? Didn't write it down and here I am now wracking my brain trying to remember what it was. Well - I can't. I will continue trying to think of it, because, trust me, they were really good. In the meantime I'll just leave you with my weeks ramblings...

I am so ready for summer. I can't wait to be laying by my parents pool sweating the pounds away and working on my tan with Krit. I could certainly use a little R&R.

Aside from the cold weather that I am sick of, was this recent snowstorm not the greatest thing? I mean, who would have thought a record snowfall of seven inches in Dallas was in the cards. Pretty awesome. Weslee didn't know how to act - nor did I. I can just see all of my nieces and nephews playing in it.

Taking a weeks vacation in March; but, what to do or where to go is the question. If I were a homeowner I would pick some chore or task like painting a room or cleaning out the gutters, but alas I am not. So I would like to take a short trip somewhere. Just not sure what to do yet.

Thinking about buying the following books: The Politician (Andrew Young) which covers the John Edwards scandal and/or I am Ozzy (Ozzy Ozbourne) which is an auto-biography that covers the "Prince of Darkness." Not that I am a fan of either John E. or Ozzy O. just thought they might be an interesting read. Your thoughts?

What a hell of a week at work its been. I am certainly earning my pay - though never enough.

Omniscient omelet

All of this Food Network viewing has finally paid off! I actually mastered the art of omelet making, after 10+ years of torn, burned or just plain nasty attempts. I saw a recent episode of Alton Brown’s show and he was coaching viewers on the finer art of omelet creation. Once you know what NOT to do, it’s actually pretty easy. Check out my custom creation. I created a delectable gourmet fare complete with feta cheese, tomatoes, bacon and topped off with sour cream and chives. Better watch out IHOP – I’m coming after you!

Snow me...one more time.

What a beautiful morning it was today. Me and Wester headed out this morning for our standard morning walk and we both did a double-take. Neither of us had seen this much snow in a while. I really wanted to take him out and let him play in it for a little while, but A) apartments don’t allow much space for grass so space was limited, B) Wes has to be on a leash 24/7 when outside so I don’t know how easily I could have snapped the pics with a leash in hand, and C) it was 7:20 am in the morning and I didn’t want to be out playing in the snow at that time…when I should have been on my way to work.

Cut to this evening when I got home from work. Snow is covering everything! It wasn’t really that slick when I stepped out for lunch, but my car was all over the road on the way home. I wish it would snow all night and give everyone the opportunity to take a “snow day.”

Tipping the scales...in my favor!

Who would have thought…me, sticking to a diet? Well, believe it or not – I did! I have been on Weight Watchers since January 2^nd and I have lost a hair under 11 pounds. My goal was 20, but honestly 11 +/- wasn’t that hard so I might just bump my goal up to 25. We shall see. Let’s just hope that the momentum continues. I hope to go to the beach for one of my vacations this summer and don’t want a potbelly in tow. More to come later…

Weight Watchers really does work. If you want to lose a few pounds or a few sizes you should check it out. Seriously people, if I can do it, anyone can!

Lobsters, Sous Chef's and Paella - oh my!

I am so disturbed. Since beginning a diet I have become obsessed with the Food Network. I suppose since I can no longer eat any/everything I want anymore, the next best thing is to see it and drool over it. Nonetheless, I watch pretty much anything on the Food Network with the exception of “The Neely’s” as I cannot stand those two idiotic, fake, annoying, fools. I was watching a recent episode of Iron Chef | America and I was completely appalled. The sous chef was preparing a lobster and simply ripped its tail and claws off – while it was still alive! Now, I know that lobsters are boiled alive, but as inhumane as that is, it seems like a quick death, but ripping appendages off of it while it’s still alive just seems so barbaric. The sous chef grabbed its tail and ripped it off and the poor lobster started throwing its claws up and squirming, only to have its claws ripped off momentarily. While I certainly LOVE lobster, I hope that the future lobsters I consume are cooked in as humane a manner as possible.

Sidebar: new dish to sample at a restaurant then attempt to prepare at my home – paella. It looks so Mmm Mmm good!

I'm the kind of person who...

Believes that if you push the elevator button multiple times - it will arrive faster.

Will try to cook something along with a cooking show, only to throw all the food away when it tastes like crap.

Has to have all of the bottles, cans of soda, bottles of condiments, etc in the refrigerator facing the same direction.

Carries on 5+ min conversations with myself and/or my dog.

Thanks to his grandmother, is extremely superstitious, and WILL NOT put shoes on any table or a hat on the bed.

Thinks that beer, wine, or liquor just tastes better after midnight.

Balances my checkbook old-school style with a register, calculator, and bank statement once a week.

Despises voice mails.

Loves getting mail - even bills.

Won't touch raw meat, instead I wear kitchen or latex gloves when handling raw meat.

Tuesday Afternoon, "I'm just beginning to see, now I'm on my way..."

Anyone know where that title hails from?

Well, well, well...It's been a little over one week and get this, I've lost 4 pounds! Can you believe it? I still can't, let's hope that I have the will power to keep this up. Granted, it's not that hard, it's just time consuming trying to figure out what to eat before you actually eat it, and counting your points, other than that Weight Watchers isn't that hard to follow. I will admit it's much easier to just pick something out and eat it - not worrying about points, but I'll be happy with around 20 pounds, so I'll keep it up.

This past weekend I finally found a new computer! I have been looking since Christmas, and I wasn't able to find just the right one. Well, I finally did! I'm typing this very blog on my brand new pimped out Sony Vaio. It's awesome, though, it's going to take me some time to fully figure out Windows 7, and though I have the 64 bit version, I'm not really sure what the difference is between it and the 32 bit version. It's the perfect size, slightly over 13 inches and it couldn't be any faster! This is my second Vaio, and both receive and A+ in my book.

Since being turned on to Ina Garten (Ms. Barefoot Contessa) by Telly, I've become vexed by her and her cooking show. There is something about her and her show that I really like, her recipes are classy, delicious, yet down to earth and doable. In another [read: prebusiness school years] life I wanted to go to culinary school. Maybe when I retire I can finally do it. Oh, but I do have to say this. I HATE the Neely's who also have a show on the Food Network. Their gratuitous use of the words: honey, baby, mmmmm, Mama, Ugh weee, etc make me want to vomit all over the remote. I cannot stand their annoying asses. Food Network, can them, no pun intended.

Is it just me, or is the new Microsoft Bing restaurant/vampire commercial scary & disturbing? It gives me a rapid heart beat & chest pains every time I see it!

Couple of thoughts...

David Guetta
My latest obsession: David Guetta. You may, or may not have heard of him. I hadn’t until about three weeks ago. He is very well known music producer in France who is just now beginning to break on to the scene, so to speak, in the United State. Um, what can I say besides uber talented. His music style isn’t for everyone, but it is for me. It very techy, electronic, and catchy. You most likely have (or soon will have) heard his latest song featuring Akon – Sexy Chick. Check it out here.

Winning Points, Winning Choices
I officially started the Weight Watchers, Winning Points program at the first of the year. It was a little challenging at the beginning, but I’m pretty sure that I’ve got it now. So far, no cheating and I’ve have stayed within my daily points range. I’m being realistic, so I really like the fact that Weight Watchers still allows for eating out and some occasional fast food. I weigh in again on Monday, results to follow. 20 pounds or bust…fingers crossed.

Patience is a virtue...
So I had a bit of an impulse by the other day. I found this very cool and different cologne that was being described on TV by a celebrity. One problem, it’s pretty much only available in Europe. Not to worry, though, FedEx delivers! I can’t wait for my new colognes arrival. I am big on buying things before I even get to see, touch, or smell them, and this purchase is no different. I bought my Lexus without even seeing it, special ordered it and had it shipped in from Japan. I bought my current car without even driving it. I purchased it and the first time I drove it, was off the lot. I’m a bit of a cologne whore so this will fit nicely with my collection – I hope!

Standing before an open door never resulted in a single changed life. Walking through an open door changed the lives of many. Are you willing to walk thru it?