So Long August!

Is it bad that it's only Wednesday and I'm already super anxious for the weekend? I just realized earlier today that this weekend is Labor Day weekend. Which makes it even better!

Woo-hoo! This is the last day of August. It seemed to go by slowly this year for me. August always flew by when I was a kid dreading the start of school, nowadays it slowly lingers on. I'm always eager to get through August. It's hot! There's not much happening as it seems I'm waiting around for the US Open and football season to start. So bring on September and some cooler temps....please.

Now here in Big D the beginning of September marks a very important event for little Simon.....acorn season! The acorns have started to fall. The non ripe ones have begun hitting the ground luckily for the acorns Simon isn't picky. He doesn't insist on them being ripe!

I haven't had time to enjoy any US Open action today. But the best part of the US Open to me is that there's matches played at night in a time zone that's only an hour ahead of mine. So I'm always able to catch up on the action in the evenings. Which is exactly what I'll be doing tonight. Hopefully some good matches will be featured.

Weekend Fun!

It's a rather quiet day here for us. My boyfriend is currently out at the Finals of the Texas Tennis Open. We will meet up later to attend a birthday party. I baked brownies as a gift for the party. It should be fun I look forward to tonight.

Last night we went to a pool party at my boyfriend's apartment complex so we're quite the party animals this weekend so far. LOL! The pool party was rather warm but for me once we were out there for awhile I got used to it. Plus it helped that the sun went down soon after the pool party started.

Cowboys play tonight but we'll be busy. So it's unlikely that we'll catch any of the game. I must say I'm ready for pre-season to be done. Bring on the regular season!

Cody's Tanning Bed!

Oh it's never a dull day in the world of the pugs! Despite sleeping large portions of the day away there's always a few interesting moments. Some times it's pure joy type of moments. Playful puggie time! Other times it's not so joyful as the pugs get into a squabble, suddenly viewing their pug counterpart as their enemy. No matter what though it's entertaining. This morning featured some annoying moments for Cody.

I purposely chose an apartment that got very little direct sunlight. Our previous apartment got major afternoon sun and I wanted to avoid that with this apartment. My only regret is that Cody does love to bask in the sun on a daily basis. For the most part since moving to this place Cody has given up his suntanning ritual. However, just a few months back I discovered some nice sun rays come through the window of the spare room at a certain time each morning. I have now placed an old bed in front of that window. Every morning soon after the morning walk I go in the spare room and pull the blinds up just far enough so that the entire dog bed is getting the full amount of sun rays. Cody typically follows me in there and witnesses me preparing the blinds for his suntanning session. He then promptly lays down to enjoy.

Well, today he was busy getting a drink and when I called for Cody to come in the spare room I got Simon first, Cody second. I'm not sure why Simon feels the need to respond to Cody's name when Cody is busy but he always does. So Simon came in the spare room and immediately got cozy in the sunbathing bed. Cody moseyed in a moment later to discover his little brother in his area. He tried to find an area to lay down near Simon and still get the sun but that didn't work for him. He gave a long sigh! Meanwhile, Simon held his ground! Completely unfazed by his older brother's disapproval of where he lay. Cody left and went to another room. About 15 minutes later Simon emerged from the bed and the spare room. As soon as Cody saw Simon come out of the room he hustled off to re-claim his sunny bed. Cody then fell fast asleep in his "tanning bed".

And We're Off To The Texas Tennis Open!

The Texas Tennis Open is here in the Dallas area. It started on Monday. My boyfriend has made the scene once already and we are preparing to go later today. I'm drinking as much as I can now because it's going to be hot out there and I don't want to get dehydrated. I also don't want to get a sunburn.

It's a hot one today! I hope I'm ready to sit out in the heat for so long. I think being a former Zonie certainly comes in handy when it comes to being in the heat. At least I get to watch versus the players that are running around on the court. I will be anxious though for the sun to go down.

I'm certainly not new to sitting out in the heat. I've sat out in the August heat at pre-season Cardinals games and gone to some pretty hot Sun Devil games as well. As anyone from AZ knows just because September arrives doesn't mean you'll feel much of a difference in the temps until October. This will be my first ever tennis tournament to see. So I'm hoping for some good matches and just a simple fun evening with my boyfriend.

My Texting Like a Fool Mom!

I started texting my mom many months ago. Just a little text here and there. Usually a holiday type message or a picture mail message. Slowly but surely my frequency of texting her and her ability to text back has increased. For me, when I do use my cell phone it's most likely being used to text not chat. For my mom it's just the opposite. However, she has slowly but surely gotten better and better at texting. I think she recognizes the convenience of it. I have no doubt she prefers to talk rather than text but she's at least able to do both now! I'm fully impressed with my mom's texting abilities. Furthermore, I can appreciate that she now even thinks to text me random thoughts.

I think it's a convenient way to chat with someone especially when you're busy doing your daily routine. I'm glad she's gotten more and more comfortable with texting over the last few months. I now have a rather text-savvy mom! Look out world!

Much Needed Lazy Weekend!

It's been a much needed lazy weekend. No real plans just kicking back and enjoying ourselves. It's been nice! Baked some brownies yesterday which was fun. It's still super hot but we're dealing with it. Cody continues to dream about 78°...so do I. September is inching closer and closer!

We've watched quite a bit of tennis this weekend. I'm anxious for the U.S. Open that starts in 8 days. I will be glued to the TV during those 2 weeks. As of right now, I'm wasting time before the Cowboys pre-season game starts. I can't believe we don't get a pre-game. I'm spoiled to the pre-games and tonight there isn't one. Likely because it's nationally televised not just locally televised.

Just a little bit ago Cody was playing with his ball and it bounced into the fireplace. I had to immediately stop what I was doing and tune into the Cody Show. He's super funny to watch when a toy of his gets into a precarious spot. He delicately surveyed the situation while plotting his best strategy to retrieve his ball from the depths of the intimidating fireplace. The best part was watching how gentle he was about each move he made. As if he was in slow motion! LOL!!!!

If you haven't seen the movie Rio, it's a good one. If you are into animation that is. We both liked it. I would love to watch it again. I like the choice of animals that the movie centered around and the vivid colors. Most surprising part to us was that it made us laugh quite a bit too. I laughed more at Rio than I have at numerous Hollywood blockbuster comedies. Some Hollywood comedies make my boyfriend and I question how they classify them as comedies?

Various Thoughts!

Geez, didn't realize it had been so long since my last post. Been rather busy. Lots going on here. We got a brief reprieve from the hot temps over the weekend. Which was nice and it finally did rain. And boy did it rain! It poured!

Today was bath day for the pugs. They were starting to smell too much like real dogs so I had to bathe them. LOL! Now that I bathe them in the sink it's a breeze! Plus slippery little Simon isn't constantly looking for an escape route when he's up so high in a sink!

My DVR went out! I'm sure it's the DVR too. There's nothing wrong with the cable once the DVR is unconnected. I have yet to get it replaced as I've been meaning to take time to watch the items taped on my DVR. So I currently have basic cable since the TV only goes up to certain channels without the DVR box. The worst part is not being able to pause something. Oh well, I'm adjusting and it's not like I'm an avid TV watcher! If it wasn't for On Demand ExerciseTV I wouldn't even have the DVR. I actually considered getting rid of my DVR right before I discovered On Demand ExerciseTV...darn it! Now it's my fitness craze!

Tonight for dinner is Parmesan Crusted Chicken again. I'm having a craving for a simple chicken recipe and my seasoned potato wedges that I love to make. Plus I want to perfect my chicken dish some more!

DFW Happenings!

It's raining...it's pouring...Simon is snoring! Okay only one of those is true! Can you guess which one? My little Sime is snoring. He had his dinner and his after dinner walk and now it's time to get some ZZZ's.

I went to get my car washed today. Boy did it need it since it's been parked by sprinklers too many days in a row in an effort to grab some shade. As I was at the car wash I thought maybe now it will rain. I wouldn't be opposed to some rain even if it did mess up my freshly cleaned car. A couple of hours later I look out to see clouds rolling in. It was suddenly darker than usual and windy. The clouds looked like they meant business. I woke the boys up and made them do their rain dance which they gladly performed! LOL! Apparently it was all in vain because we never actually got any rain. However the day felt a lot better than it would've minus the clouds and wind. Rain is due in this weekend. So I hope it really does pour! Thanks to the slightly cooler temps the 1980 heat streak will NOT be broken. I'm certainly not shedding any tears over that fact! It's been the hottest summer on record since 1980 in big D.

Along with the news of the heat streak not being broken there's other things going on in Dallas. The Cowboys pre-game is currently on as their first pre-season game is against the Broncos. I'll be watching! Other news of the day is that the Governor has decided to run for President. That news is popping up everywhere, overshadowing the Cowboys for the moment. He plans on officially announcing his candidacy on Saturday. I was a little surprised just this past November he was re-elected. So for half of his new term he's going to be seeking the White House. Interesting!

Recipe Sharing Time!

Last night I made Parmesan crusted chicken. The first meal my boyfriend made for me was Parmesan crusted tilapia. It was my first introduction to tilapia. We have that same Parmesan crusted tilapia somewhat frequently. It's ready-made and makes a very easy entree you just have to add some sides to. Yesterday I randomly thought to myself, "What about Parmesan crusted chicken?" I began looking for a recipe. Most recipes I found added bread crumbs and some serious breading. I wasn't into that due to the fact that I wanted it to be as healthy as I could make it. I finally came up with the idea of leaving some of the heavy breading out. It was excellent! We both agreed this way of doing the chicken is a keeper!


Ingredients:
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
couple dashes of Italian Seasoning(optional)
couple dashes of pepper(optional)
1 egg
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
boneless skinless chicken breast( I had a 1 lb package which I made all of)

1) In a shallow bowl, combine the flour, salt, garlic powder, pepper, and Italian Seasoning. In another bowl, beat the egg. Place the Parmesan cheese in a third bowl. Coat the chicken in the flour mixture, then dip in the egg and roll in the Parmesan cheese.

2) Bake in a baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake, uncovered at 375° for 20 minutes. I then switched it to broil and stood watch for the Parmesan to get slightly browned. It didn't take long but I didn't time that part.

Yum!! I served it with au gratin potatoes and green beans!

I'm ready for....

I am ready for...Football and Fall weather! I've had enough of the heat. I can hardly wait for the temps to begin dropping! People in general seem meaner in the hot summer days. That's possibly my imagination but I think it melts peoples brains. Lately when driving around town people just seem so mean in traffic. I got freaked out in traffic today!

One thing about walking the boys in the hot August heat is that they certainly don't disagree when I say it's time to turn around to head home. During nicer weather they are much more likely to want to keep on going. I read years ago that pugs have trouble withstanding anything hotter than 90 degrees so I keep my eye on them when it's super hot.

I'm also ready for some football! Tomorrow night is the first of the pre-season games. The Cowboys play and so do the Cardinals. I'm very anxious to watch some football. Woo-hoo!

Texas Foods I Crave!

The other night we went to Outback Steakhouse. I've never been there before. I was excited to go since I've heard great things about it. All I have to say is.....I can't believe I ate so much! I had the mixed grill which came with a small section of baby back ribs, 4 coconut shrimps, and a small barbecued breast of chicken. It was all AWESOME! Highly recommend trying Outback if you have not been there. The bread that was served before the meal was delish as well! A lot of times when I go to a restaurant I can't decide what to get but as soon as I opened the menu and spotted the mixed grill I was sold! It was a lovely date night for us! In many ways it was reminiscent of our first date! I love going out to dinner with my boyfriend and having those special reminiscent moments of our first date.

Now lets continue talking food! When I lived in AZ I obviously craved Mexican food a lot. Enchiladas and chimichangas...oh and the occasional rolled tacos at Filibertos. Now I've noticed it's barbecue that I crave.

I'm currently craving barbecue! I'm lucky to get through the week without indulging in a burger or some form of barbecue. I'm not talking a McDonald's or Burger King burger folks. I'm all about the Texas style hamburgers and barbecue. A Texadelphia burger or a Braum's one or a burger from Cheddar's, one of my ultimate fave spots to go. Cheddar's is my new Chili's! As for barbecue so far my faves are Rudy's and Sonny Bryan's.

Burgers and barbecue are the things I look forward to going out to eat now. Times have changed. I even like ribs now! Yeah, pork ribs! My mom will likely fall out of her chair after reading that I like pork ribs now. LOL! What can I say? I'm slowly but surely becoming a Texan! Same goes for Cody and Simon as I noticed they are starting to grow some longhorns! Lol!

Dead Battery!

Quite a day I have had. I went out to my car somewhat early this morning to discover that my car battery was dead. It was a done deal! Not a huge surprise to me since the last time I got my car serviced the battery barely passed the test. Still it's always an annoyance when it comes to anything unexpected like a car issue.

After a few minutes the decision was made to call AAA. An hour wait for them to come out. I wasn't sitting next to my phone so maybe it rang and I didn't hear it although I doubt it. But anyway time went by it was soon noon and still no AAA service had shown. I noticed a missed call on my cell phone. I then called into the AAA dispatch the lady informs me the service guy showed up but I didn't provide them with a security code to get through the gate so he left. THERE IS NO GATE!!!! And I gave great directions with the nearest crossroads and everything. I also told the dispatch lady that I had been going outside a frequently to watch the entrance in an effort to spot the AAA service truck. She tells me their trucks don't say AAA so I likely wouldn't have noticed their service truck. Whatever! Not sure what happened to my first request for service. The story I was getting from her was rather odd though. So she then tells me she can't make a new request for service so I must hang up and call the main AAA number again. The second lady that took my 2nd request for service was much nicer I must say! After waiting 90 more minutes for service the guy arrived. Yay! Oh and his truck clearly said "AAA Battery Service". While I'm sitting out in the parking lot with my car my mom texts me then calls me to tell me about her photo radar issue. Little did she know I was sitting in the hot sun on a curb while chatting with her. We were both having car related issues however very different ones!

I now have a new battery in my car but I still have to get it worked on some more because one of the cables going to the battery isn't able to fully connect to it. It's been pinched together to stay on for now, it's certainly an issue that needs attention within the next day or two. I can't help but envision going down the road and that cable comes loose. Which I'm sure would mean the battery would die on the spot which could mean a huge accident if it dies while I'm moving along in traffic. Needless to say until that cable is secure my driving will be limited.

Why is it that when you deal with these types of issues you feel extra tired? Is it the stress of having to deal with it? Is it because I had to sit out in the hot sun for so long while my car was checked and then worked on? I don't know what it is but I'm certainly more tired than usual tonight. This time of calling AAA and getting service certainly did take longer than it's ever taken before. It was nearly 3 in the afternoon before the battery was fixed. Needless to say I just want to kick back and chill for the rest of the night!

Strange Sight!

Lately I've been rather shocked at how people act sometimes. I mean people are people and not everyone acts the same....obviously. Recently though I've been flabbergasted quite a bit by peoples actions. Today was one of those days.

I got up early to take the boys out for their morning walk. Dallas has had some scorching heat so the earlier I can get up and out the door with the boys the better it is for the 3 of us. So we are walking along on the side of the street that has a private membership only golf course. It's a rather pleasant view walking along this fenced in golf course. It's pretty, it's green, there's nice waterfalls to look at not to mention some seriously lovely homes that are sitting adjacent to the golf course. All of a sudden a dog comes running at us. No surprise there! However there was a fence preventing him from getting to us. Much to my surprise this dog was on the inside of the fenced membership only golf course. Wild guess on my part but I'm thinking this dog was not a member! I then turn my head to notice not just one LARGE dog but two and a woman walking a little ways behind them. She could careless that her dogs were being distracted by me and my dogs. She never broke stride as she walked! In her hand was a chuck-it. For those that are unaware of what a chuck-it is....it's a piece of equipment that helps a dog owner throw a ball for their dog further than what a typical non Peyton Manning type of person can throw a ball. Chuck-it's are a very common sight at any dog park. It was plain to see this golf course was her make-shift dog park! I was totally taken back by this sight. Unbelievable! The nerve of some people! I would like to add she didn't have anything to clean up after her dogs either!

What would she have done if there had been people out golfing? Her dogs would've been such a menace to any golfer. Just imagine as they set up to putt a large dog comes at them...that would be scary especially since seeing a dog on a golf course is not a typcial sight. I'm still surprised by it all.