14 hours and no Pictures

My good friend Melissa, that I met in San Diego,worked with for years and became great friends with, lives in Austin. We reconnected after years with no contact about 4 months ago.

Well yesterday evening, she came down for an impromtu visit, and I forgot to take any pictures with her.
We did have a fabulous dinner out with great conversation, tons of giggles, and loads of girl talk. And food, really good food, so fun. A comfy lat enight ont he couch with bad B rated horror movies wine and Casey. And an easy mellow morning with good coffee and Pj's.

So now she headed back home and I am posting minus a picture, DAMN IT!

5 years ago today...

Five years ago today, Casey and I were married at a lovely winery with friends and family all around. Happy Anniversary Casey!!

The Mother Load of Food and Pictures

This was what the weather was like this morning, rainy!! I love the rain but having it pour during school commute time is not fun!

Warning: Folks there will be heavy pictures and mucho love for food from this point on!

Last night Alex and I went to the new Bass Pro Store that opened out here with my parents. Our mission was a sleeping bag for Alex, which I got for an AMAZING deal. Oh, I got Fudge too, Milk Chocolate, Peanut Butter and Candy Corn for Bugman. It is very much like Cabella's (here is my post on that!) One of the main differences is that you get to actually touch most of the animal displays, seriously, if you want to pet a dead stuffed grissly, go right ahead.

The eagle was one of my favorites.

They didn't have nearly as many stuffed animals as Cabela's, and honestly the store seemed a bit sparse (maybe because it was the week after their opening weekend), but truely the best thing about the Bass Pro Shop was the restruant.

If you know me, you know I am always up for food. I can eat it, talk about it, make it, plan it, read about it, watch it, whatever, food is always a Go for me. Alex and I were going to have dinner at my parents house, lasagna, but then Dad (a fellow mega food lover) and I spied the restruant connected to the shop. Okay first let me say we were drawn to the restruant inside BPS because of this AMAZING fish tank, seriously Sea World quality. So we smushed our noses up to the windows and looked around, there were some people there, but it looked like staff training since the sign outside the door said the Grand Opening was the next day.

But on our way out, Dad had to get a menu from the girls at the door of the restruant just because he is always on the look out for a good seafood place. Once he gets a paper copy, we ask what is going on tonight because some people are going in. They ask us if we are friends and family??? Me being Cheeky and well me, say "We can be your friends and family!" She being GENEROUS and welcoming says "Okay, your entire dinner is on the house then!" Seriously, they invited us to the friends and family event that they were having. So our appetizer, entrees, salads, drinks, and dessert were totally on the house!!

Warning: This is were I moan and sigh over the food we had and pretty much show what turns me on.

OKAY, here goes...

First Funny Sea Monster and Alex, gotta have the cutie Kiddo in here.

Appetizer: Venison Stuffed Mushroom Caps ( I am not a mushroom fan but I told my Dad that we need to order things that we would normally never order, plus it said it was smothered in cheese, can't go wrong there)

I LOVED these, loved them!!! I ate my moms and pretty much stole the last one from my dad. Then I scraped every bit of cheese off the plate and told the waiter that he couldn't take it away. The mushroom caps were AMAZING, seriously the best appetizer I have ever had!

Salad: Cesar Salad ( different from my usual House with Ranch)

This Cesar was tangy and spicey, not your everyday garden variety dressing. Very very yummy, but I had to set it aside so I could eat my entree...

Bread: I didn't get a picture of it, but it was called Bimini bread, and it was sweet and had raw sugar on it. So good and a great balance to the food. Dad and I both said that a good solid heavy bread like a Sourdough is still the best to have with fish.

Entree:

Mine: Grouper Portafino with Key West Shrimp and Lobster Sauce, baked Potatoe, and seasonal veggies.

Once again, AMAZING!!! I only ordered the grouper because our waiter reccomended it and its a slight silly for Casey and I, since he says I sometimes Grouper kiss...

Alex: Fried Shrimp and Fries

HUGE shrimp! HUGE! In fact Alex is having Shrimp for lunch today!

Moms: Crab Cakes

She said that they were not as good as Aunt Bea's Crab Cakes, but honestly in 20 years, nothing has ever been as good as Aunt Bea's, they tasted pretty great to me!

Dad: Sushi Grade Tuna Steak

On the menu they had a tuna steak with Wasabi sauce, which is what my other choice was, but Dad got the regular tuna steak for his entree, and man alive, that was a good choice. I can only imagine how amazing the steak with Wasabi sauce would be.

So after we stuffed ourselves with our entree's, we got to order dessert...

Dessert: Chocolate Chip Cookie Skillet

So good, so neglected since we were so stuffed! I immediately thought of Lisa with her love of dessert's.

Now it's time for some restruant shots, the inside was pretty amazing!

Yes, dear readers, you too can dine with a Great White chasing a bunch of Yellow Fin Tuna over your heads...

Or if a Hammer head Shark over part of the aquarim is more your style, fine...

But the Marlin going after Mahi Mahi will always be waiting along with various other fishes and things...

Alex gives Islamorada Fish Company, One Fist up!!

Point and Click

The Men

The weekend was awesome, a complete and total surprise for Casey. Good times with good friends near and far and with WAY to much booze. Add on super early morning flights, rental car issues, a hyper bugman, and you now have one tired Nikki.

Who can't sleep...

So I am mapping out my day tomorrow since that was what I kept going over and over in my head, who I need to call, what I need to do, what is left lagging on my to-do list, etc. I am feeling slightly less antsy mentally now that I have done that, making a list always helps. I must admit to feeling way out of the loop since I wasn't using my planner this past week. So many things slipped through the cracks!

So now I will go to bed with my down comforter for the first time this year. Yeah for cold weather.

Birthday Surprise

Today my honey Mister man Casey turned 30!

He should be finding out about his birthday surprise in about 50 minutes, in Houston, returning for a business trip. Charley is coming to visit, and is going to meet him there to travel the rest of the way home with him. I wish I could see the look on his face, I know he is going to be SOOOOO surprised. And Happy. And Glad to be home.

Saturday, we are having a get together at the house with friends and family.

And then Sunday, he has to leave early for another business trip.

But at least the next 36 hours will be FUN and FAST and PERFECT.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CASEY!! I love you so much and am so happy to have spent the last 14 years with you.

XOXO

Poodle Mixes are the Reasons for Dyson's

Today was a Red Letter Day in Betty's world, she FINALLY went up the stairs all by herself. Up until now she has been a down the stairs only kind of girl. She gets her tail moving as a balance and just hops the whole way. She had made it up the stairs by herself, but only half way then she chickened out. So we always carried her up, the Baroness that she is. But today her desire to be with us upstairs over ruled any fears. Horray for puppy accomplishments.

I also had my first hands on expierence with the Dyson. My friend Shonda let me borrow her pink dyson (so cute!) and let me tell you I was only slightly impressed with the job it did downstairs. I guess the current vaccuum had been doing an okay job. The dirt and dust and the weird powdery substance was pretty gross though. BUT, but, then I did the stairs and I fell in love with the telescoping arm and the mountains of grossiness that was in the canister. Emptying the Dyson canster is the equivelent of popping a zit, you gotta look and see what was in there! Gross I know, but you know you do it too!

Seriously I want one, and I want the ANIMAL model, because I have four dogs and I don't like to vaccuum and I want suction and I want it even more because of the amount of fur on the stairs from a dog only going down it by herself, and now she will be making BOTH trips. Double the fur.

Seriously DYSON = Housekeeping LOVE

Money Rules the World

Mrs. R (Alex's First grade teacher): What is the capitol of our Country?

Alex ( after much hand waving): Washington Mutual.

Jupiter and Mars

After cleaning the pit called a bathroom and exposing myself to the fumes of various chemicals, some I am certain I should not have mixed, all I wanted was to blog about a lame memory, one of those where I show how much of my foot I can fit into my mouth, but I only see damn errors on my CD player, there goes the theme music. The universe is against my tunes, my CD player is having a sit in against Hump de Bump and Charlie and that pisses me off. So my laptop is pumping it all out on its tin-ny speakers, but it slightly satisfies.

I have fallen woefully behind on my garage sale prep. Seriously, I need to crack down this week and purge and pile. Alex's room is still slightly clean. His clean clothes are calling out for their hangers and drawers, but they escape my line of sight by sitting so quietly in the basket, so they wait.

And my piles of dirty clothes look just fine on the floor, really, they make adorable beds for Betty. Nothing is cuter then a half blind and deaf doggie sleeping away on my dirty jeans, panties, and tees.

Casey, smartly, pointed out that we should change our food storage situation. Currently everything is piled on the pantry shelves and over flow hangs out on the floor. Things like the Halloween candy and potatoes keep the linoleum floors warm. But now we have to be aware of Betty, our constant indoor floor sweeper. I don't think it would be pretty if Betty OD'ed on Nerds and raw potatoes.

If the above paragraphs don't clue you into my blah mood, let me just tell you that I am blaming country music. Since the damn error messages have been coming up on the CD player I have been listening to the only radio station, COUNTRY. Nothing can bring a happy girl down like the repetition of blame and cheating and where I was on 9/11 and trucks that get stuck in the mud. Not even the occasional ditty about butterfly kisses. It all has a melancholy undertone. Hence my blah mood. Just ask Casey, I have been sloth like and unmotivated and even the pink ring showing up around the drain of my sink can't wake me up to DO.

Damn country music. I should pirate the station and play nothing up Chili Peppers.

Something to look at

Scrap Happy

I think I am finally getting my scrap groove on for Autumn. Last night I just had to create this. the wind was blowing, the house was making small creaks, Bugman was sleeping, Casey was mellow, and I had time to shuffle things around and MAKE something.

I am going to a crop tomorrow with a friend, 10 hours of scrapping and girlies and fun. I am going to cram as much into the day as I can since our schedule is full tilt till Christmas. Every week is a busy week, a week to keep track of things people dogs events, a week to get a lot done, and hopefully time to take loads and loads of pictures.
This HUGE pile of goodies is my Poppy Ink Kit for the month. THANK YOU! Seriously folks, there is so much in that pile. An amazing amount of goodies to create with.

BlogJolt: ReCycle, ReThink, ReUse

Today started off wet and gloomy outside. I was in need of a quick satisfying craft project. I discovered a melty goodness project at Bebestages . Not much can beat taking something that is a bounty of excess, melting it down, and making something newly fun to use. Alex's teacher loved the idea so much, she turned it into a mini science project for the class. This also totally fit into my garage sale plan, if I don't use it, won't use it, then I toss it. But in this case I got to convert it into something newly usable and fun for Alex. Check out the above link to see Bebe's steps, my process in pictures is below.

First: You get the joy of making your fingers and nails smell like a crayon box. A new box of crayons is one of my Mom's favorite smells.

Second: You get to sort them out into color stories. Here are ours in order: Autumn, Easter, Grass, Pumpkin, Sunshine, Ocean, Vineyard, Valentine, Candy, Rainbow, Stone, and Coal.

Third: They melt into swirls of color.

Fourth: After they cool you get muffinettes of color fun!

Cotton Candy People

I must have been in middle school when I read a story about a boy who discovers his neighbors are made out of Cotton Candy. They watch the weather like hawks and their sinks were always spotless. He discovers that they will melt if a single drop of water touchs them. They were fragile.

My mom had to go to the hospital today, I didn't find out until hours afterwards and only by calling my mom on her cell with my typical "where are you at?". Dad gave me the run down and I slowly welled up. I waited till Casey was back from his walk and then I cried. My mom is home tonight, but they still don't know what is wrong with her, they have an idea, but nothing confirmed.

Alex and I had gone to their house to let Sammie out, while they wore each other out, I cleaned up and worried. Later once the evening had settled (there was a trip to Costco, a birthday party at Chuck E Cheese, calls to Casey, and clean up) I talked to my mom. She worried me. And made me think of Cotton Candy people.

Halloween Junk-O

Halloween is pretty much the only holiday that gets me with it's themed candy. Halloween Oreos and Jones Soda Candy Corn soda. Seriously, we paid money for the soda. It's craptastic and Alex loved.

Cheese a la MexiAmerican

Growing up there was always one thing that my Dad excelled at in the kitchen, Cheese Toasties. To him the creation of the perfect Cheese Toastie was a fine art. We tried all sorts of cheeses, breads and techniques. In time, he taught me how he makes them, and I have adapted them to my style and my families taste. We use the whitest white bread I can find, processed American cheese slices, butter, and start them off in a barely warm skillet. There are zero caloric benefits, but it can't be beat in the feel good department.

Last night, Casey and I were craving warm late night comfort food, but we didn't have a lot of time before Jarhead started. We ended up making the same food just different regional influences. I was in charge of the Cheese Toasties, Casey was in charge of the Cheese Quesadillas. Add some Bean and Bacon soup and we had tummies full of water simple goodness.

Alex and I spent some time yesterday pulling out all the Autumn decorations and sprinkling little bits here and there. He is happy to have his Spookytown Village all setup and I am happy to have my fledgling pumpkin collection here and there. Add in some of my favorite mini quilts from my mom and it is Autumn in our household.

Treats of Cleaning

I decided to purge the sliverware drawer. It tends to get full of stuff just because of its location. Needless to say, I really had no idea how many bottle caps were in that drawer. Can you tell we preffer bottle caps to wine corks?

Excess in Spades

Piles and piles and stashes and stashes, all around me. Our home is over run with excess, too many toys, too many clothes, too many craft projects, to much debt (self inflected), to much weight ( my hips and gut really don't lie), to many things to stumble over, way to much to clean up.

Introducing Operation Garage Sale:

1. I am going to take over the front room and make it my Pile and Price room. that way anything I want to get rid of in the sale will have a place to go to be organized. Right now I have three piles in seperate rooms that are vaguely marked for garage sale. And I want to price everything too.
2. Price stickers will be lazer printed.
3. El cheapo ad in the paper will be made.
4. Signs for the entrances of the sub division will be made.
5. Will strictly follow the room purge rules of: Do I need it? Do I use it? Does it make me Happy? Does it Fit?
6. If the item is one of those on the fence items, I will store it in a box for three months. At the end of that time, if I have not retrieved it, I will donate the entire box without opening it. (scarey).

I plan on doing it right, getting rid of all the excess, piles to numerous to count. So I have to be brutual about the purges. That will be easy everywhere but in my craft room. But it has to go. While I purge I am also going to reorganize, and clean. All most like a mini mega spring cleaning.

Here is my room purge schedule:

1. Alex's Play Room
2. Alex's Bedroom
3. Casey Office
4. Nicole Craft room
5. Kitchen
6. Pantry
7. Hall Closet
8. Garage
9. Shed

Goal Date for the garage sale: October 28th!

Current Music: RHCP Hump de Bump

Current Reading: Massive To-Do Lists

For all those who asked

I have received numerous emails asking how I did my BBB cover. It is super simple, just use cardstock weight paper and coat the entire back in a sheet of adhesive (I used my Xyron), then apply to cover. Of course you have to figure out all the measurements, but it really is as simple as that. If you don't have a Xyron, then you can buy sheets of adhesive "stick" or use a glue stick! For all the embellishments on the cover I just cut them out of patterned paper and ran them through my Xyron and applied. Easy as Pie.

As for the monograms on the inside, I used some umounted stamps from Walmart and just stamped. :O)

My hips don't lie 58% of the time