Sheesh I'm tired

Once again I became fixated on something...unfortunately, Andy did too.  (sounds ominous doesn't it)

Andy has begun a new workout routine and diet.  The diet calls for him to eat a ton of protein every day.  So, we got a whole bunch of things that would provide that protein and not have him eat the same thing every day.  Translation: lots of cooking and therefore lots of cleaning.  

And somehow I ended up with several soup recipes to make too.  Well, we bought the ingredients for these recipes.  Now I need to make the soups before the fresh ingredients go bad.  I'm happy to make food for Andy, especially since I know he really enjoys them.  But why oh why did I set myself up for so much work...not smart Mary!  I'm a few days into the work and have a few days left.

Here's what I've made so far:

Black Bean Soup

15 Bean Soup

Many Bean Soup

Blueberry Soup

Peach Soup

Cucumber Soup

Cucumber Fresca

Cucumber Yogurt Dip

+ food for our daily consumption (aka dinner)

Here's what is still on my list to make:

Creamy Bell Pepper Soup

Watercress Potato Soup

Minestrone Soup

Mashed Potato Casserole

Peach Tomato Gazpacho

Italian Spinach Soup

Spicy Tomato Sauce for a breakfast dish

Crazy, I know!  I told you it was a lot of work.  Are you thinking "where is she going to put all of this food"?  I realized after the first soup or two that I really have to work on our freezer so that I can fit them all in there.  Yeah, that's a looming task too....  By the time I'm all finished, I imagine that one of our two freezers will be completely full of these soups.  I don't think that I'll have to make much else for his snacks.  I'll only have to worry about lunch and dinner; that's two out of his six meals...

I Love Lucy moment

I was making pizza dough the other day using a new recipe and method.  It sounded easy enough to do; the recipe gave me the option of using a food processor or mixer.  I thought that I'd use my fabulous food processor since it keeps everything contained; I always seem to make a bigger mess with my mixer which is also fabulous.  

So, I combine the hot/warm water, yeast, and sugar in the food processor; it sits for a few minutes.  I throw all of the other ingredients into the food processor too and start mixing.  It seemed to be too wet still so I added small increments of additional flour and mixed.  I was surprised how much extra flour I needed to add but kept going.  After a little while of this process, I notice that there is dough seeping out of the bottom of the clear part that locks into the base.  I promptly turned the food processor off and unplugged it.  I was proud of myself that I thought to unplug the thing!  After that self congratulatory moment, I thought great, this does not look good.  I grab hold of the handle to unlock the clear container from the base.  It normally is a little stiff but this time the clear container isn't moving.  I thought great, I'm not able to unlock the two parts.  I figured that if I wasn't going to be able to use it, I might as well use some elbow grease to try to unlock this and if it breaks I already wasn't going to be able to use it.  But my strength prevailed; I heard this crack sound.  Again, I'm thinking this is not good; I've broken it for good now.  As I try to lift the clear container away from the base, I see that the base is covered in dough.  Apparently, the dough managed to go up inside of the blade and down the hole in the center of the clear container.  Since I couldn't see the middle of the base, I wasn't able to view the dough until it had coated the base and spread all of the way to the outside.  So, I go through the process of cleaning up this HUGE mess from the clear container and base.  I even make sure to thoroughly clean around the center peg of the base that actually rotates the blade.

Since this last round was done with what I thought was the dough blade, I said forget that I'm trying it with the normal blade.  Everything starts well.  The dough needs a little more flour again.  After adding it, I start mixing it, and it almost forms a ball (like it is supposed to).  I notice that the speed has dramatically slowed down in the past five seconds.  I quickly turn the food processor off and unplug it.  Does anyone feel like they've heard this before?  We most definitely were singing the same song, second verse.  I unlock the thing and lift the clear container up with bated breath.  And there wasn't dough all over the place...YEA!  But why would the speed have changed so much, so quickly?  I investigate and find that there is some dough that has dried at the bottom of that center peg of the base.  Could the dough have gone down into the motor?  I don't know, but I am starting to smell something weird.  After looking around, I notice that smell is strongest at the bottom of the base.  Again, I'm thinking uh oh, I've broken my fabulous food processor.  I waited to find out how bad this is; Andy didn't call me back for several hours.  After explaining the like five ways that I might have broken the food processor, he said that this didn't sound good...  When he got home, he pronounced that he thinks it's okay.  I've not tested this theory yet.

I swore off electronics for the rest of that day since I had an earlier incident with another electronic/computerized device.  I was able to make the dough the next day with my fabulous mixer and dough hook.  It turned out very well!

Every time that I think about the process of making dough with my food processor, I think of the I Love Lucy episode where she bakes bread but put cups of yeast into the dough.  Everything is fine until the dough has been in the oven for a few minutes.  Unbeknownst to Lucy, the dough has grown.  It suddenly starts trying to foam out the edges of the oven; then, it starts pushing the oven door open.  Lucy attempts to keep the door closed, but eventually, the dough takes over the kitchen.  I know that my experience pales in comparison, but I'll remember it as my mini Lucy moment.

Doing Dishes rather than Playing with Pictures

After watching Cari do all kinds of cool tricks on Photoshop, I was excited to try it out on some of the pictures that we have.  If you've been reading you understand that there might not be many of those, but I was going to pull some out of the archive.  I knew that we had Photoshop on our laptop; I had looked at it a handful of times without really using it.  Feeling so inspired, I even read some other blog postings about more cool stuff you can do with the software.  While neat, I felt overwhelmed with all of the things that I was reading.  I figured that I needed to get my hands dirty with it; that's really the only way to learn any new software in my opinion.  So, I pull up a picture that I want to play with, right click to chose which program to open it in, and select Photoshop Create.  The only problem with this was that it wasn't Photoshop but Photosmart Create - TOTALLY not the same thing!  Now, I'm bummed that I can't so some of the cool basic stuff.  I was always realistic that I probably wouldn't be making these mind blowing pictures (my pictures are better than they use to be but don't have the potential for mind blowing).  So, there is the part of me that says oh well, you didn't really have any pictures to work on anyway.  But dang I hate the teasing; I have to drop too much from the anticipation.  On the upside, I won't waste hours tonight playing with Photoshop...haha...I guess I will finish washing the dishes before going to bed.

Maddy's 1st Birthday Party

Logan and Cici's daughter, Maddy, turned one last week.  They drove up from San Antonio to celebrate with family and friends at the ranch.

Cici and Maddy are checking to make sure that all of the food is out for the party.  The girl is being trained early to help throw parties.
Maddy was not happy that we were trying to put a hat on her.  It took three or four people to get this cute picture.  Cari, you took a great shot and showed us all some of the cute tricks that you've learned in photoshop.  So, this is shows how cute she was before the cake.
This is the after.  Cici was really smart and had two cakes for the party.  One was a small round one that we put the candle on; this was Maddy's cake - the one that is now all over her hands and face.  The other rectangular one was for all of the guests.

Everyone had a great time!  There were tons of pictures taken because we had at least 5 cameras.  We were really fortunate that several people had there USB cords; Cici and Mary Beth got all of the pictures from several of those cameras before people left the party.  I didn't get them, so the last two pictures on the post are stolen from Cari's blog.  Thanks Cari for always putting good pictures up!

The photobook of Jimmy & Mary Beth's party

Nicole Hager took wonderful pictures at Jimmy & Mary Beth's 30th anniversary and vow renewal party.  Cici and I had decided before the party that we wanted to make them a book with these pictures.  After scanning and trying to restore color to all of their wedding photos, I decided to incorporate them into the book for a bit of a "now and then" theme.  I started with Shutterfly but wanted more artistic choices.  Then, Cari recommended Mixbook.  It really let me make an art book rather than just a scrapbook.  Yes, it took me several days and many, many hours to get the book where I wanted it.  (FYI: like all software, it does take a while to feel comfortable with the program)  I think that it turned out really well!  Sorry it doesn't show the full layout all at once; I didn't figure out how to do that.

| View Sample Photo Books | Create your own Photo Book

Andy started the Clothes Swap Party early

When Andy got home from work, I showed him the clothes and accessories that I set aside for the swap. He was able to find two pairs of my jeans that fit him. He loves being able to take jeans of mine. He already has one pair of my old jeans that I didn't love the way they fit. He would love to have my Lucky jeans that are too small for me right now. There is no way that I am letting go of those. He does look good in them, but so did I. And he has the habit of messing clothes up...I can't take that chance with my Lucky jeans; they are the best pair of jeans that I've ever owned!! Anyway, he found some clothes from my closet; he just missed the "Swap". No worries ladies, I still have another pair in my stack...  Start making your own stack!!

So You Think You Can Dance

We love So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD) on Fox. I was checking the website for a couple of months before it started for the summer. I was so excited to see the premier; life got better when they announced that the show will be on in the fall as well...woo hooo!!! It's been on now for a couple of weeks, and I'm excited every Wednesday night when the dancers perform. Next week, it will be the top 10 performing. They are fabulous! If you enjoy watching dancing and haven't seen the show, you should check it out. There are all kinds of styles of music and dance. You get to see some of the best choreographers work with the dancers in practice as well as the performance by the contestants. Some nights there are a lot of good dances and one or two great dances. Other nights are really special with a lot of great dances. There are some dances that stay with you because they were beyond great - they were special. Here are some of my favorites from the past and present.  I'm sure that I've missed a few so feel free to post any others as a comment.  Some of these are so good that when I hear the song played I remember the dance; the two are forever tied together in my mind.

Bleeding Love

Sweet Dreams aka The Table Dance or The Boadroom

The Garden

Chairman's Waltz aka The Hummingbird and Flower (you can skip the first minute)

Calling You aka The Bench

Imagine

Waiting for You

Felt Mountain aka Crash Test Dummies

Mercy aka The Door (you can skip the first minute and a half)

Travis and Benji Finale (two white boys; there are lots of jokes that you get if you watched the whole season)

Black Mambo

Argentine Tango

Ruby Blue aka Jewel Thieves

Clothes Swap Party

I've decide that I want to do a Clothes Swap Party.  I've been thinking about it for a few weeks and get more excited about the possibility the more I think about it.  I know that I have lots of clothes that I don't wear but are in good condition.  I have a hard time donating everything that doesn't fit because I feel like I wasted money.  Well, if exchange clothes or accessories with other women, then it wasn't a total waste of money.  So, this is a heads up to all of the ladies out there who are in the area or will be in the area, that I am planning to have a party to swap out clothes and accessories sometime in September.  I'll be asking that everyone bring at least ten items; more would be welcome, and probably, easy to find in every woman's closet.  I've been going through my closet and have found about 50 items (clothes, shoes, jewelry, purses, wallets).  There are some items that I don't really wear because I lack the occasion or the extra 10 pounds don't quite fit in them (I'll be fixing this before long...the rest of the summer should be less hectic).  My plan right now is to donate any remaining items to charity - women finding jobs (they need work clothes for interviews and the weeks before the first paycheck) and battered women's shelters (they probably left with little so as not to arouse suspicion; their first priority would be children's safety).  We'll have food, drinks, music, clothes, and accessories.  I also will be asking for any leftover or unused perfumes; it would be great if everyone got to leave with a new scent that they like rather than keeping one that they are tired of or don't care for.  If anyone is interested in attending or donating items, please let me know.  I also welcome any ideas.  I hope that others are as excited about free "clothes" as I am, and that this will go as I envision it.  I see this also as a time of fun and fellowship because I will be inviting guests to bring along a friend with their items.  The more people and items that walk in the door, the more possibilities there are for us to choose from.

Stayin Busy

I'm back again!  With all of the things that have been going on, I get ready for an event/gathering, have it, and then recover.  This means that I've neglected the house, laundry, food, etc.  I can't seem to catch up with all of this personal stuff before it is time to get ready for another event/gathering.  I will try to be better about put up some short little updates.  In the mean time, here is a quick run down of what we've been up to.  Please forgive me if I forget some things.

At the end of May, we had Jimmy & Mary Beth's 30 anniversary and vow renewal party (they are my in-laws).  Aside from the rain throughout the BACKYARD party, we had a fabulous time.  I'll put up pictures when we have them.  I love party planning!!!  I was also able to make several cakes for people to enjoy; at our house, they don't get eaten entirely.  Jimmy & Mary Beth did a ton of work on the landscaping at the ranch; it looked great!  Thanks to everyone who helped setup, bring food, let us borrow things, gave ideas, listened to me go on and on and on (okay, obsess) about the party (primarily my partners in crime, Cici and Andy).

My cousin, James, got married in Colorado the last weekend of May.  Unfortunately, we couldn't be there for the celebration.  We send our love to James and Amanda!!  I can't wait to get to know Amanda even better!!

My sister's family flew in for a quick trip at the beginning of June.  Greg was home (North Carolina) on leave for about two weeks.  They wanted to be able to see Mother, and getting to Texas from North Carolina with three kids is no small feat.  So, Meg and Greg brought William, Teresa, and Peter to Texas for three days.  They stayed at the Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine, TX.  What a great place to stay with several kids!!  There is a water park, restaurants, and other activities.  Apparently, there are several of these hotels throughout the nation.  I would highly recommend it to anybody traveling with kids.  I would love to put a picture of us up, but the pictures are all on Meg's camera.

I immediately began organizing the tubs of stuff that we have out in our garage so that we have easy access to them when we go to North Carolina for Thanksgiving.  Andy was able to bring in a few tubs at a time so that I could sort through them in the living room.  Thankfully, I can send pictures of some of the larger items for Meg to think about so that maybe we don't have to take everything.  Once we saw how much stuff there really is, Andy said there was no way that it would all fit in our little Civic; I had hoped that we might be able to consolidate enough.  Mary Beth has kindly offered to let us use her vehicle for our trip.

The second week of June brought the heat; we moved into the high 90s and low 100s.  I had been managing fine with the high 80s, but that week I could feel the change in my energy level and physical capability.  On the other hand, I am so thankful that I am able to do things; I remember last summer and shudder.

The last weekend in June brought a gathering out at the ranch.  That Saturday several people came out to work cattle.  Doug and Correy joined us out there Friday night.  Because Mary Beth is working full-time at TCU and taking classes for her PhD, see wasn't going to be at the ranch on Saturday.  (She is taking two or three classes this summer.  It's no wonder where Andy gets it!)  So, I got to plan the menu; it was a little mini party planning.  MMM...I made some great dishes including Creamy Basil Pesto Party Squares (appetizer) and Vanilla-Champagne Soaked Fruit (breakfast or dessert) and Peanut Butter Brownies with Strawberries (dessert).

This past weekend was the Fourth of July.  My aunt, Janice/Meme, with the help of everyone in the family threw my grandmother, Charline/Nanny, a party for her 80th birthday.  There was so much wonderful food, and everything was displayed really nicely!  It was a great success!!  Meme had so much that was already ready so that it wasn't crazy hectic.  Johnny & Teresa brought lots of fabulous food!  Some cousins from Louisiana surprised Nanny by coming the day before the party.  They put together a great fruit dish and did tons of behind the scenes work during the party.  I can't tell you how many dishes they washed when we were running low.  I ran around doing all kinds of things like replenishing food, gathering dishes, cutting cake, and taking pictures.  I took some really nice pictures (I hope) of the food, decorations, and displays on Meme's camera.  Is anyone seeing a theme here with me not having the pictures...haha...  Then, I spent some time with family up at Nanny's lake house.   It was wonderful being able to spend time with them.  This is about the only time of the year that I get to see them.

Oh, yeah, the 4th was also our nephew's 1st birthday as well; this is Greg and Meg's youngest son, Peter.  With everything that was going on, I forgot to wish him a happy birthday; I know I'm a bad aunt.  However, in my defense, I sent all three kids' presents earlier this summer so that they could have them for the summer.  Happy Birthday Peter!!

So, this week I've been in recovery mode and am trying to make some progress on the house.  So far, the progress has been very little.  And rather than being up doing things, here I sit updating y'all on our lives.  Saturday, we are going to the ranch for our niece's 1st birthday; this is Logan and Cici's daughter, Maddy.  Happy Birthday Maddy!

We also have Teresa (our niece, not my aunt), William (our nephew), and Andy's birthdays in the next few weeks.  I've already given Andy his birthday presents.  I was at Target the other day shopping for who knows what, when I happened to look at the men's clothing.  They actually had small shirts in both athletic and fitted cuts.  This is one of the few stores that we've found that carries true smalls.  Knowing that we rarely find them, I grabbed everything that fit this description for Andy to be able to try.  So, when he got home he was able to try all of these on and pick what he wanted.  It was wonderful for him to have so many choices; this is not usually the case.  He looks so cute in some of his new shirts!  We also discovered this week that he might even be able to wear Target's pants.  I'm hopeful!!  Ohhh, and I've even found a few great pieces to add to my wardrobe that were on sale!!  I can't wait to wear my new purple walking coat!!