I had to go to the Emergency Room.

No no, sorry to scare you! Like 2 years ago.

I had to go to the Emergency Room a couple of years ago (better?).

And while it certainly wasn't a laughing matter, a couple of things happened that made me laugh until I cried.

Mostly because I was in a lot of pain (freakin gall stones!), but they were seriously hysterical.

So I had to go to the ER, and since it was my 2nd trip in a week, and they knew what was wrong, I got to wait with all of the other people-with-non-life-threatening conditions. And wait, and wait...

Anyway.

I'm sitting there - in pain - waiting. From across the room a lady woman starts hollerin - and I literally hollderin - that her boyfriend's butt hurt and someone needed to see him NOW. Let me try to recall the quotes for you:
"His butt hurts!"
"He's got a huge boil on his butt!"
"Someone better help him soon, this boil on his butt hurts!"

Over..and over...loudly. The entire waiting room was trying not to stare, as her boyfriend slunk lower, and lower in his chair. While avoiding sitting on the butt cheek in question... (staph infection of course). She was oblivious to his humiliation, and focused on his pain. Oh dear...

The second story requires a little bit of background (or perhaps it doesn't, but I'll share it anyway).
In Texas, a certain ethnicity brings the whole family to the ER with them. That's right...when one has to go, they ALL go. And I'm not talking about mom, dad, and kids. I'm talking about mom, dad, kids, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, and the neighbors. The whole barrio meets them there.

There had to be 20 people in there from this one family.

My friend (kind-hearted soul that she is drove me to the ER) and I were sitting near the doors, and as they all came in, she suddenly burst out laughing.

And could.not.stop.laughing.

She laughed until she was crying.

Sobbing even. Couldn't catch her breath.

And I had no idea what in the world she was laughing at.

So I'm staring at her like she's a loon, waiting for her to fill me in.

She finally catches her breath long enough to tell me.

"That guy that just walked in. The one in the pajama pants."
(I try to look around without staring...)

"He doesn't have on underwear!"
(erm, how is that funny, still waiting for the punchline)

"His thingy is all flopping around and you can see it through the flap! Wait until he walks by again."

So apparently my friend got flashed in the ER.

I never saw what she say - thank goodness.

The moral of the story? Unless you have a life-threatening injury, don't go to the ER.

You're welcome.

Crafty Alert!

In my spare time, I made these earrings with some kits I got from a recent "big show".

Aren't they gorgeous?? I especially like the pair on the right.

Super simple and easy to make. I'll be doing a quickie tutorial in the next couple of weeks.

Here's another preview: This is a charm I did for a few DFW Pug Rescue volunteers

What's cool is that when I say "in my spare time", I really mean it. Each step takes maybe 10-15 minutes, so it's a nice little break during the day. I stop by my craft desk, add some glue, add the next layer or a bale, and on it goes!

Stay tuned for the tutorial...and I'll also include the links to my dealer...supplier!

Enjoy your new day!

Hyperventilating

Someone needs to drag me off the cliff before I hyperventilate. Or jump. I think hyperventilation is the more immediate fear though.

I'm going to meet - and eat - Ming Tsai.

Did I just say I was going to eat Ming Tsai? not *exactly* what I meant of course. I mean I get to eat his cooking.

Oh say what? you don't know who Ming Tsai is?!?!

Girlfriend, get out from under your culinary rock!

Ming Tsai is THE East-Meets-West chef. Click the link to check out his website. He's currently competing to be the Next Iron Chef, and also hosts Simply Ming on public TV.

 Here's a photo of Ming and his mom - photo courtesy of Simply Ming's FB page.

Ming is a James Beard Award Winning Chef (are all of those supposed to be capitalized?!! gah! should have paid more attention in grammer. err grammar school. aw heck!), and his Boston restaurant, Blue Ginger has also won many awards.

Ming's latest book - Simply Ming One-Pot Meals will be released November 1st. Annnnnd on November 10th he'll be doing a demo and book signing here in Dallas at the Milestone Culinary Arts Center.

If I was prone to squealing, this is where you'd hear me squeal.

But I don't squeal. Just giggle like a school girl. So giggle with me, ok?

Ming is going to demo 7 techniques which can be used to create one-pot meals. And here's the menu:

--Braising - Aromatic Short Ribs with Root Vegetables
--Wokking (wok it out! hahaha) - Black Pepper Sake Mussels with Granny Smith Apples

--Sauteing - Mom's Famous Vinegared Shrimp --Roasting - Mushroom Chicken Fricassee with Edamame --Flash Frying - Flash Fried Eggplant with Honey Lemon Syrup --Tossing - Tea-Smoked Salmon with Preserved Lemon and Fennel Couscous Salad; Soup - Shrimp Bouillabase

Holy drooling batman! (ok, except for the mussels, which I'm not all that fond of).

Don't worry. I promise to take my camera and record the evening for you. I'm dedicated like that!

Enjoy your new day!

Signs that it's time to call it a day

or really, just one major sign.

I think I've shared with y'all (if you didn't know) that I work from my home. I have an office, etc.

So this afternoon I ran to take a shower, thoughts of work transitions, travel next week, what's for dinner tonight, and so on - running through my head. I rushed through my shower, got dressed, put on my shoes to wear around the house (I no longer run around the house barefoot, but that's a different post), let the dogs out, and headed back into my office to work for another hour or so until my BF gets home from work.

I worked for 15 minutes or so, when I heard the dogs do their "let me in" bark, so like any good dog-mom, went to the back door to let them in.

As I got to the door, I had this vague notion that my feet kind felt strange.

That's when I looked down:

yeah, that's right. I totally put on one flip flop, and one slide-on boat shoe.

Please forgive the fat, lily white legs. I thought you might could be kind enough to over look those in exchange for the laughter generated by the fact that it took me over 20 minutes to realize I had these two shoes on my feet.

You're welcome.

That's when I knew it was time to take a break...

The Fast Food Problem

Side topic - I finally "get" why people are ticked off at places like McDonald's and blaming them for the obesity epidemic. I used to think that it was people who made choices about what to put in their mouths...and thus it was people's problem, not McDonald's. I've changed my mind...

I was hungry (go figure...3 cups of coffee + 2 hour conf. call with my wicked client), and didn't want to spend time cooking anything. So I ran out to McD's, intending to pick up a salad. When I pull up to the speaker, it's all I can do not to gaze at the delicious-looking fries, hamburgers, apple pies, shakes, etc. I had to hunt all over the menu board for the teeny tiny salad section. Then it took every ounce of willpower I had to stick with my original intention and order a salad. I so wanted a burger, fries, or nuggets. I even considered getting the salad, and then a small burger to fill that craving.

I'm happy to say I didn't cave into the craving. But it did piss me off that all of the unhealthy food is so vividly portrayed on their drive-thru menu board...no wonder it's so hard for us (me) to exercise willpower to make healthy choices. When you've got a juicy burger and salty-sweet fries staring you in the face, a grilled chicken salad is the last thing you want!

I've been to NYC several times (mostly on business - but hey, there are worse places to travel), and the restaurants there are required by law to post the calorie count on their menu boards. At first I was offended - that the denial part. I didn't want to acknowledge the calories I was unconsciously consuming. Eventually I began to LOVE the calorie count - it made me pause and really think about what I was ordering. This was true anywhere from Starbucks where they had to post the calorie counts for their drinks and their evil mini-donuts, to the nicest sit down restaurants. I recall making a decision NOT to eat 5 Guys Burgers & Fries at the airport in NYC, because I was appalled at the amount of calories that added up so quickly.

I hope more cities and states will adopt legislation around posting calorie count. It's one more step in this obesity war (which I am myself fighting...). I mean, I know I have issues with food that go much deeper than surface-denial of how many calories I'm consuming. Deep down I know that a burger and fries have a butt-load (pun intended) of calories. I need the help that posting calories gives me with my willpower and decision making.

One step. One step...

I really am making an effort to eat healthier, and eat smaller portions. Little steps perhaps - like a salad instead of burger + fries from McD's. I mean, come on - we know that a salad with ranch dressing and bacon on it isn't the most healthy meal. But it's better than that burger & fries I considered.

So here's my question for you - how do you motivate yourself to make healthy (or healthier) eating choices?

Enjoy your new day!

Home Cooking with Love

Yup - another crafty project!
And this one fits in perfectly with my other hobby - cooking. 

It's a recipe book/stand/holder (Idunno exactly what to call it!)

This is done with October Afternoon's Thrift Shop, Cherry Hill and Farm Fresh lines. The book itself, chipboard shapes and letters are all Maya Road.
The colors are cherry, aqua, yellow, and white which I totally dig!

Here's the in-process project, quite messy, eh?

(are you Canadian, eh?)

(PS: Happy Thanksgiving to the Canadians, eh!)

(good morning....I digress!)

aaaaannnnd the finished project! (lots and lots of pages!)

isn't the little dress form with the apron adorable?! 

And the bowl of flowers? 

And a MILKCAP! 

And we start off with Breakfast Recipes. All good days start with a healthy breakfast! 

And appetizers (one of my favorite sections!)

 

Somehow I think this section will stay pretty empty... 

 

Another section I need to focus on - Veggies! 

 

And this would be anything that doesn't fall under beef, poultry or pork (as you'll see momentarily)

Hmm. somehow I missed a pic of the Poultry page. Sorry! 

You can see the tab in the pic above though.

Can't forget the chicken. It's a stable staple (how embarrassing!) in this household! 

I think I need to find a picture of a cow for this section: 

 

And then... and then. there's this section: 

Mm mm love me some pig!

Next up is the fresh catch of the day: 

 

And the last two tabs are my fave: desserts and drinks! 

 

 

Do you like??? 

So here's where I need your help - I need to fill this with recipes!! 

Who's got some new recipes to share? 

Anyone? 

Bueller?

Bueller?

ah well, enjoy your new day!

My Life is Rough, by Dre

I have a tough job. I have to make sure mommy stays on task and gets her rescue work done. 

It takes really close supervision.

Like stuck up under the arm close. 

"Poor me"

My job makes me really tired. 

But still, I'm dedicated. I keep an evil eye on mom to keep her in line. 

"work faster mom - help get those homeless pugs forever homes!"

"I see you. Stop goofing off!"

"I"m not sleeping on the job! I just blinked!"

 

"I said focus! Don't make me angry!"

"That's it. I give up. You're hopeless"

 

That's my girl. Rotten to the core...and yet she's glued to my side. 

Enjoy your new day!