On The Count of Three!

As with all Tuesdays, it is new DVD, CD, and game release day.  I was waiting for Tuesday the 25th to come along as I planned on surprising my husband with a little something.  He loves games.  Plus he needs more games for his Xbox One system.

Off to Best Buy I went late in the afternoon.  As I walked into the store, a movie display with the new movie Thor greeted me.  I couldn't resist, I snatched up a copy of Thor.  We had planned on seeing Thor while it was in theaters but never made it, football season got in the way.  Next up was getting the game I had been waiting to be released.  I was soon on my way home.  Arriving home just minutes before Brad.

I planned on hiding the game and the movie in our living room.  Then saying something to draw his attention that would uncover the surprise items. Problem was he arrived home just minutes after me and I didn't have time to hide the items.  While talking to him about his day, I quickly smuggled the items out of our bedroom. I then began frantically trying to hide the movie and game before he came out of the bedroom. No such luck, he immediately came out of the room after me with a coy grin on his face.  I noticed his eyes headed over towards the counter in our kitchen/dining area. There sat a bag from Best Buy.  That wasn't my bag from Best Buy, my bag was still tightly in my grasp behind my back. I quickly asked, "What's in that bag?". He quickly asked, "What are you hiding behind your back?". We went back and forth questioning each other a bit more. We soon decided on the count of three we would reveal what we were concealing. 

We now have 2 copies of the new Thor! He had purchased 2 other movies along with Thor and I had purchased the game for his Xbox One.  So the only duplicate is Thor.  It was still funny to us that we both had the same idea on the same day it was released!

Colder Temps Return!

Just when I think Spring is truly on it's way. Just when I think the boy's space heater can go back in the closet, a few more cold wintery days arrive.  It's been quite nice.  Cody and the rest of the DFW area has thawed out.  Then this week came on the scene with colder temps. 

This week's colder temps shouldn't last too long.  Tomorrow things should improve somewhat.  Yesterday it felt like the perfect day to serve up some yummy chili as it was a cold drizzly day all day long.  Today is supposed to be colder than yesterday by about 10 to 12 degrees. It should reach a high of 37 degrees.  It's currently 32 with a wind chill that's making it feel like 25 degrees. Since I didn't have time to make chili last night we will be having chili tonight!

I anticipate it being difficult to convince the boys to go outside today, it's just that cold!  With a cold wind coming at you.  I was really struggling to get the boys to go out for their walks while it was super cold a couple weeks back.  Once our temps warmed up some the boys were back to being ready for each walk, no delaying.  I think between the two of them they will be full of delays today!  All 3 are currently cuddled up in front of their space heater as I type this. A spot they are not likely to want to give up in the next few minutes to go outside. 

Who would've thought?

The boys get regular baths given by me! Lucky them! ;)  However, despite being short-haired dogs that do not need to be groomed, I still have to take them to the groomers periodically.  You see the boys have banded together in agreement to not ever let mommie come near them with nail clippers.  For the sole purpose of getting their nails professionally clipped they go to the groomers.  Plus it's a nice break for me once in awhile to not have to bathe them!  This past Thursday I was on the phone setting an appointment for the pugs to be groomed.  Now it's a Thursday, I was not trying to make the appointment for the following day on Friday, I was instead interested in an appointment the following week(this week).

I asked what they had available on Monday as well as late in the week.  Nothing was available on Monday(today).  I was then told my only options were Thursday(the 27th) or a split appointment on Friday(the 28th). A split appointment means one pug's appointment would begin at 3:30 and the other pug's appointment begins at 5:00.  For them to have so few options available sounded odd to my ears.  Especially since I was attempting to make this appointment somewhat in advance I was not expecting next day grooming at all.  I know from previous experiences groomers are quite busy around the holidays, mainly the bigger holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. However, none of those holidays are immediately upon us.

During the conversation with the groomer I said I was surprised they didn't have more options for a week in advance.  She then told me why.  Due to the new healthcare law(Obamacare), they are restricted on how many "bather's" they have on staff during the week.  The boys only receive baths while at the groomers, no trimming of their coats.  Therefore due to the new restrictions, the boys need to go on days when the groomer has an extra "bather" on staff for the day.  If the boys were needing to be trimmed then they could go to a full-service groomer on staff.  Since they don't get trimmed they are instead taken care of by "bathers".  Bathers on staff are still getting their complete grooming license, they are essentially doing an internship.  They're working with animals while pursuing their full license. 

Apparently from now on I can expect few options when making the boys grooming appointments. Anyway, after the appointment was made it was a bit funny to me that the new healthcare law is affecting the pugs. Now who could have predicted that? 

7 Minutes!

We love watching movies.  Lately we haven't had very good luck picking a decent one.  On a scale of 1 to 10 we've seen too many movies we'd rate 6 or 7. 

The other night we were in the mood for a good movie.  We decided to take a break from non-stop Olympics watching, so out to dinner we went.  We discussed going to buy a movie at Best Buy after dinner.  Sometimes you can get some for a reasonable price.  Since all our Blockbusters went out we have to Red Box it or buy movies we want to see. We have yet to try out the Red Box system. I'm not sure what is holding us back from trying out Red Box but we haven't been interested in it yet.  We came away from Best Buy with the movie Contagion.  We'd thought about many times renting Contagion, as it a good amount of well known actors in it.  

Soon after getting home.  We got the boys busy with rawhides, checked in with the Olympics then it was time to pop in the movie.  There we were curled up on the sofa with popcorn popped and some candies to munch on too. The moment the movie starts people are coughing all around and getting sick.  Contagion is about an outbreak illness that takes out millions of the population.  Similar to the movie Outbreak. Gwenyth Paltrow's character died within a few minutes of the movie. There I am already feeling uneasy about munching on our movie munchies while everyone on the TV screen is getting sick...then it happened....a scene were they went to study the body of Gwenyth Paltrow's dead character.  As soon as I realized what was happening I promptly hoisted the couch throw pillow up in front of my face, then started screaming, "Turn it off. Turn it off."  Meanwhile Brad is groaning in disbelief as he is shocked at the images he didn't cover his eyes for. 

A new record!  Seven minutes!  We lasted a lousy 7 minutes watching Contagion.  That's the quickest we've ever turned a movie off. Thank goodness it was not a full price movie we bought, it was on the $5 rack.  I think I know why such a relatively new movie is selling for only $5.  It was rated pg-13 so I thought I could make it through it.  Wrong!  Too gross for me! I'm a wimp!

Valentine's Day!

We had a quiet evening at home for our Valentine's day celebration.  I wasn't interested in going out.   The days leading up to Valentine's day featured busy stores.  Since it was a Friday I knew restaurants would be slammed.  I told Brad about ten days prior to Cupid's day, I likely just wanted to order in pizza and relax at home.  Brad will take me out to dinner any night of the week so making my husband take me out on crowded Valentine's day is not mandatory for me.

As is tradition I made Brad a special Valentine's treat.  I made him a snack mix, featuring Chex cereal, white chocolate, powdered sugar and peanut butter.  Simon taught me a long time ago, everything is better with peanut butter! 

I was super happy with my Valentine's day gift from Brad, I'm the proud new owner of a pair of pink sapphire earrings.  Yes folks, Brad did good!  Two thumbs up!  As I type this he is trying out one of his gifts....a new Xbox One game.  I got him "gamed up".  The second game I got him I pre-ordered, it'll arrive in the mail as soon as it's released, something for him to look forward to.

We kicked back, munched on pizza, and watched the Olympics as well as some of the NBA All-Star weekend kick-off.  We had some champagne with chocolate covered strawberries I made too.  Simon was wondering why he didn't get any champagne but we limit his consumption to one day a year:  New Year's. 

It was the quiet evening we wanted!  It was special without being over the top.  No need for over the top! Hopefully, everyone reading this had a good Valentine's day too!

   

Valentine's Day Week!

This is Valentine's week!  I was at Kroger the other day, they are bursting with Valentine's Day stuff.  They had desserts on display, candy bouquets, balloons, and flower bouquets.  I've always wondered who gives a balloon on cupid's day? Seems odd to me! It also seems to be too early for some of what Kroger had on display.  I wouldn't buy a dessert now I'd wait until the day of.  Every year Kroger also sets up a large tent in their parking lot...the Valentine's day tent.  That's a little odd to both of us too!  I guess Kroger desires to be the one stop shop for Valentine's day!

To get into the spirit of the upcoming day of love, Brad will be receiving a small treat each day of the week.  I have something planned for each day. Every morning I make Brad a container full of fruit along with some other things to take to work for a easy/quick breakfast since he doesn't have time otherwise.  Yesterday and today I cut his fruit into heart shapes. When he got home last night he was giggling about the heart shaped fruit. LOL! He said he ate a piece before realizing the shape. On his 2nd piece of fruit he noticed the shaped heart.

I also plan on focusing this week's meals on some of Brad's favorites.  I love surprising him with extra special meals.  I love seeing his face light up as he walks into our home for the night then notices the aroma overtaking his senses!  Last night I planned a meal he grew up loving.  I was bursting with excitement as I waited for him to arrive home to notice that familiar aroma! Tonight is another one of his fave meals...jambalaya!  I sure do enjoy making it as well! Based on the nasty weather outside as snow flurries and sleet are in the forecast for this afternoon, jambalaya will be quite tasty at the end of the day!

Oh the Diferences!

It's no secret men and women think differently.  We've all heard, men are from Mars and women are from Venus.  Right?  Well I have a story that demonstrates this point.

A couple weekends ago Brad had to get up early(super early) to go play tennis.  The weather was nasty, no big surprise.  I suggested he take the Pathfinder since his car does not handle snow or icy conditions well at all.  Out the door he headed with the Pathfinder keys in hand.  In a matter of moments I remembered there was something in the Pathfinder I needed before he drove off.  I was almost certain he was likely long gone but I quickly flew out our door and down the long hallways toward the parking garage.  Now let me say I was a sight folks!  It was early in the morning, so that means I had my long hair piled up on top of my head in a clip, I was wearing sweats and had on slippers. Yes, I was quite the sight! I didn't have time to put on a coat or even REAL shoes.  When I arrived at the door leading to the parking garage, I ran out to see my husband cleaning the side of the Pathfinder with what he could easily grab from the backseat.  What was this easy to grab item he found in the backseat.....my sweater.  Yes, folks my husband was cleaning bird doo-doo off the side of our Pathfinder with my sweater!  I couldn't believe it!  I always keep a light sweater in each of our vehicles because I get cold easily.  It's for when I get cold when we go to the movies or something it's not in the backseat to clean bird doo-doo with!  Geez! LOL!

That right there is a huge difference between men and women in my opinion.  What would I have done?  Well, I likely would not have worried about bird doo-doo on the side.  As long as it wasn't blocking my view out the windshield I'd most likely ignore it until later.  And I never would use an article of Brad's clothing to clean it off with!

The other day I washed the sweater, the events of the bird doo-doo cleaning incident have stained my sweater.  After washing it and seeing that the stain didn't come out I chased Brad around the house while attempting to whip him with my bird doo-doo sweater. He owes me a new sweater!   
I honestly wasn't mad!  It's been quite the funny incident to both of us!  LOL!

Winter Continues!

We all made it through the snowstorm on Thursday.  Brad didn't go to work on Friday so I didn't have to worry about him driving in it.  We spent most of Thursday and all of Friday at home. We got a reprieve from the super cold temps on Sunday.  The weekend featured cold temps not super cold temps. Trust me I'll be happy with any type of reprieve! 

I must say I miss the sunshine.  I looked down at my skin the other day and I couldn't believe how pale I am.  Yes, I'm normally quite pale but I'm even paler than normal.  I recently thought my skin tone and my make-up aren't matching up as well as usual.  I guess that's what happens when you don't get much sunshine during winter. LOL!  

By the time Monday rolled around, bitter cold temps were back.  Off and on it misted freezing rain.  Slap you in the face cold winds accompanied the not so nice outdoor temp.  As for Tuesday, more of the same.  The morning commute is forecasted to feature freezing rain.  I think it will be a similar day as Monday, drizzly and super cold.  I think I speak for the greater Dallas area when I say....we're ready for Spring!  It's been a cold winter!  Most likely the coldest winter I've ever experienced.  Then again I was born in AZ so that's not saying much!  LOL!

My mom texted me last week complaining about Phoenix's 60 degree temp day.  I promptly told her with the wind chill outside it feels like 8 degrees here.  I think she quickly decided to be okay with the 60 degree temp she was experiencing.

I'll close with this lovely visual....there I was walking the boys on Friday, I had my big puffy coat on which is mostly black with some nicely placed sections of winter white.  On my hands I had my best gloves which are also white to match with the black and white coat.  I was literally tip-toeing my way through the icy pathways.  I had my hands positioned with my palms flat, facing down towards the ground.  I was ready to brace myself should I fall. All of a sudden I started laughing at myself as I realized I likely look like a penguin.  I'm in a black and white coat with hands positioned close to my body and I'm tip-toeing....yep, it was my best penguin impression for sure!

Let It Snow!

Brad walked out the door to head to work only to return within a few short moments.  As he came back inside he delivered news that's it's snowing outside. I immediately said, "What" It's snowing?"  I knew it was supposed to be bitter cold today but I didn't realize snow was going to fall. I quickly finished getting ready then took the boys out right away.  I didn't want the conditions to get any worse. 

So picture this...the three of us walking in the snow.  Both boys were bundled up sporting fleece shirts as they were forced by their crazy mommie to walk in the snow.  Cody was an unhappy camper the entire time!  He kept digging his heels into the snowy ground putting the brakes on in an effort that his mommie would turn for home. He got his wish, likely not as soon as he wanted his wish to be granted, however we didn't stay out long.  It's super cold!  In some areas with the wind chill factored it it's zero degrees.  The weather alert on my cell phone says 4 degrees! Both boys are curled up in front of their space heater.  They look cute! Not sure where little Piper is, most likely she's under the couch sleeping.  She loves to get under the couch, it's her private area.  An area only she is small enough to get to.

So it's a snow day here!  Most businesses will open late, close early or not even open at all.  Most schools are closed.  Very few are open. The snow is light and fluffy right now.  I think it might get more iced over due to the wind chills.  Until my husband gets home tonight I'll be worrying about him driving in the conditions.  I'm sure his work will close early.  It's supposed to snow until around 2:00 this afternoon.   

At some point last week while we were dealing with super cold temps I told Brad it needs to just snow and be done with teasing us.  He agreed!  It's been a bit weird having so many cold temps yet it hasn't produced much.  We had freezing rain on Sunday but otherwise just extremely cold temps.  Well it's finally producing something!  Bring on the snow!  I'll be throwing some snowballs later!  Look out boys!

Seattle Wins!

I can't believe it...the Seahawks are the champs!!!!  WOOO-HOOO!  Awesome!

Well I must admit I thought Broncos would take care of business.  Of course, I hoped my Seahawks would be competitive but I anticipated having to be the one to watch my mate glow as his team went on to victory.  I had even given myself a pep talk early in the day to not be a poor sport!  I was astonished by the way Seattle played.  They couldn't have played a better game!  They came out to play at an intense level and they never let up.  Broncos seemed to come out thinking it was going to be an easy task.

Our Super Bowl get-together turned into a party of two get-together.  The weather here in big D is far worse than the weather in NY at the Super Bowl. Brrr, it's cold!  Understandably no one wanted to risk driving in such yucky conditions.  However, everything went on as planned from my standpoint.  I was at a point of no return with the food, so to speak, when I got word from Brad that no one was coming over.  No biggie!  But man, do we have a lot of leftovers.  I made the pie, the munch mix, and the layered dip all last night.  When Brad called late this morning after meeting up with his tennis buds to tell me no one was coming over I already had one crock pot filled with an entree and another being prepped with the other main entrée. Yep, point of no return!  I kind of thought the weather might foil our Super Bowl plans but you know me....I don't want to be unprepared.  I over plan everything.  Better to be ready to host company than being caught off guard, in my opinion.

I ended up watching a good portion of the second half by myself as Brad couldn't take it anymore. He takes football very seriously!  What can I say?...he's a Texan! :)

I'm still sitting here on our couch watching the hoopla.  Enjoying every minute of it!  I was trying so hard to be fair during the game though.  I was not in any way rubbing it in to Brad!  I promise I wasn't!  I stifled many of my celebrations!  Which was somewhat easy since I was in such disbelief of the amazing plays of the Seahawks.  Seattle dominated like I never thought possible!  Woo-Hoo!  Seattle's defense will go down in history for their performance tonight!!! Congrats to the Seahawks!

Serving Up Super Bowl Sunday!

Alright it's arrived, we're now in the wee hours of Super Bowl Sunday!  Picture me in Seahawks colors, picture Brad in his Broncos jersey with his orange and white sneakers!  His orange and white sneakers he bought with the Texas Longhorns colors in his mind. However, for tomorrow they'll help him represent his preferred Super Bowl team. Oh yeah, and picture Cody in his lime green collar and Seahawks football sweater.  Simon doesn't know this yet but he'll be dressed in a Seahawks football sweater too.  His ORANGE shirt that he wears to represent Texas Longhorns but could double as his Broncos gear tomorrow will not be placed on him.  I'm mommie...hear me roar....I choose the pugs gear for them!  LOL! Piper-Pipe will not wear clothes! She prefers to run around with nothing on.  She's undecided anyway!  No clue what football is! LOL!  On a side note....Just the other night while walking the boys Brad said to me that we need to get the boys more "intimidating" attire!  I laughed then came back with, "what's wrong with their clothes?"  A snowman and penguin sweater is not intimidating?  Since when?  Shirts with a floppy eared dog depiction does not evoke terror in the minds of other dogs outside?  The boys football sweaters and Cowboys shirts make them look tough!  I think! Perhaps I'm ruining Simon's street credit a little at a time every time I make him go outside in a snowman or penguin sweater. Poor Simmie!

Enough of that, back to the Super Bowl talk!  Two weeks ago when the Championship games were on I organized a game day menu to reflect the teams playing.  I had appetizers representing the two NFC teams.  Plus I had 2 types of cupcakes to represent the AFC teams.  For the NFC appetizers I had Seattle Seahawks Trail Mix.  I remember all the many walking trails throughout the city, a trail mix represents Seattle well.  I just did my own thing with the mix, using flavors I felt accurately represented the Emerald City.  As for San Francisco I tossed some more stuff together using Chex cereal and some candies then called that mix 49ers Gold Rush Chex mix.  Ha-Ha!  For dessert we had Mile High Peanut Butter cupcakes and Boston Cream Pie cupcakes to choose from.  I made the same cream filling that goes in Boston cream pie then dug a hole in each cupcake and spooned it in. I frosted them with a glossy ganache.  The Mile High cupcakes where almost too high, I made a super thick peanut butter frosting that I swirled on top then I made a chocolate dip, tipped the cupcakes upside down and dipped them in the chocolate dip I made.  They were a sight!  And yes they were high...mile high!

So what about tomorrow's menu?  My husband knew I would have something unique in mind for the menu as he coyly asked earlier this evening what the official Super Bowl menu is in our household?  Ah yes, I did my research before formulating my menu!  Yes, I'm crazy!  But according to my husband I'm the good kind of crazy, the fun kind of crazy. ;) What a relief!  Okay, so I knew a lot about Seattle already, food items paying tribute to the Emerald city is a piece of cake to think of!  Denver I had to do more research for.  Here's the menu I came up with for our Super Bowl get-together!

Appetizers:
Denver's Mile High Layered dip....this dish features a lot of flavors that are apparently popular in Denver. And it's layered and has some height or depth to it so the name works!

Blitz the Seahawk Munch Mix....Blitz is of course the name of the Seahawks mascot.  I looked in my cupboard and saw some goldfish crackers I was forced to buy when the last snowstorm hit and the stores ran out of Cheez-its.  I then asked myself what can I do with these goldfish crackers that we still haven't eaten.....Ah, yes, make Blitz the Seahawk proud!  I made a caramel sauce from scratch on the stove. Next I dumped in goldfish crackers and some nuts then I transferred it to a cookie sheet and baked it...viola, Blitz has his own munch mix named for him in this household! LOL!  It's similar to a caramel corn mix minus the popcorn, the goldfish crackers are the star!  A seahawk eats fish!  Get the simulation? Yes, I know I'm crazy!  But the good kind of crazy!

Meal:
Broncos Pulled Beef and Pork BBQ.....Yum!  I love this recipe!  It's not really called that, for the purpose of tomorrow it will be! Ol' West and barbecue beef in particular is popular in Denver. I have an assortment of rolls to put the beef/pork mix on plus an assortment of cheeses.

Emerald City's Chicken Teriyaki Wings.....the most surprising thing to me about Seattle food when I moved there was the obsession with teriyaki chicken and sriracha sauce.  I never knew of sriracha sauce until Seattle.  Just recently I'm noticing a rising popularity of the extra spicy chile sauce. Subway recently unveiled a sandwich featuring sriracha sauce. So I have the wings plus the sriracha sauce for dipping.  I'm going to do my best to recreate Seattle's most popular dish!

Sides:
Nothing too unique here, my creativity has it's limits!....just your typical coleslaw along with an assortment of chips. If I have time tomorrow I'll add in some green chile cornbread to represent Denver and another dip to represent Seattle. Onion dip is hugely popular in the Pacific Northwest as they produce lots of onions...hence the Walla Walla onion!

Dessert:
I had an idea for an apple pie since Washington is the apple state. They're university rivalry game is called the "Apple Cup", a trophy with a giant apple atop a cup is awarded to the winning team each year.  Apple pie goes perfect!  Then in my research I noticed the state of Colorado's top producing fruit is.....APPLES!  Well there you go one pie and I've got both teams represented!  Starbuck's coffee will likely be served up too! I'm not a coffee drinker but I'll have a pot of coffee going for sure when dessert time rolls around


So there it is....our Super Bowl Sunday menu....appropriately representing the teams that will do battle!  Hopefully its a great game!  A close game!  Should be fun!

February Arrives!

Welcome to February!  Yikes!  What will the weather have in store for us this month?  Brad and I have commented to each other in the last few days leading up to February...Wonder how cold it will be?  Wonder how much snow we'll see?  The month of February is generally the coldest.  I have yet to go through a February that didn't feature a snowstorm.  Remember the year Dallas hosted the Super Bowl?  We were hit by a major snowstorm that brought the city to a stop for a few days.  By the time Super Bowl weekend rolled around things were returning to normal but the days leading up to it we're treacherous! 

As for this past week, we experienced a 40 degree drop in temps from Monday night to Tuesday morning.  We woke up to an outside temperature of 11 degrees with the windchill factored in. The last two days have been a perfect reprieve from the coldness!  However, tomorrow is predicted to be nasty!  Freezing rain is due to hit town in the early afternoon followed by snow in the late hours heading into Monday.  The weather report states a 90% chance of ice/snow. Judging by the feel of it outside when I took the boys for their final walk of the day it's definitely getting colder with a chilly wind swirling around. I've already looked ahead to notice the morning hours will be warmer than the afternoon.  We'll be getting up early to get the long walk in!  We always get up early on Sunday though, nothing out of the ordinary.

For some reason I've been bracing myself for February.  I seemed to sense that February could be very....well February!  Like I previously stated I have yet to see a February in Dallas where snow didn't take centerstage for a couple days or more.