A blogging mess!

I enjoy writing these blogs, because it fulfills several needs. It meets the required prerequisite of my life: that I write down every little thing that happens to me, because, as we all know, the world revolves around me. Next, I love to write. I've been starting and stopping journal entries from about 6 years old on. At Christmastime, my family would buy different notebooks, fancy diaries with little magnetic lockets, sketch pads, and every writing implement imaginable. I remember one Christmas when my aunt Phyllis bought me 500 pencils. I think that may have happened more than once actually. I was ecstatic. And 500 pencils richer, I still didn't have enough to share, of course. I think the pencils had my name on them and then Aunt Phiss ordered another set that said "School days mean Homework." Markers, pens, crayons...I loved to write --the painting and drawing never really worked out. As I got older, I learned calligraphy and played around with that for about a year. As high school descended on my life, writing became an obsession. Every day, three or four of my friends would expect a "note" detailing what had happened in the last 24 hours. I imagine the notes were something like "My mom picked me up from school. I came home. I did my homework. I ate dinner. I went to bed." I can't imagine it being anything else, but then again I remember writing 10-12 pages of "notes." Weird. We would fold these notes up in intricate shapes with a little corner triangle hanging out that said "pull." The more complicated the folding pattern--the better.

So back to the point: I love to write. Also, I love pictures. The photos in thepioneerwoman.com really make her blog special. Of course, she doesn't use her Iphone. She uses a super special professional camera, but whatever, she's amazing. I have no idea how she keeps up with her web site. I secretly think she has trained blogging monkeys to help her out.

Blogging keeps challenging me with its "techie" ways, but that just adds in a little more fun. Unfortunately, there are some side effects to the "blog flu."

I can't imagine how the apartment got to look this way. I am so tidy; I'm so clean and well organized. This is my side of the bed, nearest the closet. This is Tom's side of the bed, nearest the balcony.

The bathroom looks OK, but I won't get a close-up shot. This is the kitchen; I never leave cabinet doors open. The dogs must have done this.I'm just sparing your eyes. Even Artimus looks a little disappointed in me.

This photo illustrates Artimus' protest against my blogging. He will shred paper towels and newspaper if he disapproves of how I'm spending my time. Of course, I should always be giving him food or affection or finding some game he would enjoy. He expects to "go" somewhere every day. He expects me to produce "SQUIRRELS" out of thin air.

I'm surprised how fun this blog has become. My home might take a hit, but I'll be documenting its demise the entire way!

Visiting an old stomping ground

The weather determines whether or not Artimus and Gollum can go outside. (Weather and whether in the same sentence. hee hee i'm such a dork.) They do not like wind, rain, cold, or extreme heat. Gollum overheats very easily because of his dark hair. These past few days have been very nice, so we decided to visit one of our old parks. The park actually DOES have grass, but I didn't photograph it very much. Gollum and Artimus prefer to walk on the bricks and concrete. I'm not joking.When we lived in the Houston Lofts, we went to this park that was right in front of the old convention center entrance. It's named General Worth Square. It's near Del Friscos, between Commerce and Houston streets....on Main St. Since the park is divided by Main Street, I keep a close eye on the dogs. They are extremely trustworthy, but I have to watch out for those clever squirrels who will lure them into the street. We haven't seen a squirrel there in more than a year, so I'm not concerned. We visited both sides of the park, then I decided to take them to the water fountain in case they wanted a drink of water. The fountain resides just a few yards away from the park. We went down some steps then they barely looked at the water fountain. They were more concerned with the smells from where all the shrubs had been cut down. I hope the parks department plans to do something to replace the plants, because it was a lot prettier before. In this photo, Gollum is running back toward me. A ladybug probably scared him. Anyway, after they explored a little more, I decided we should head back home. We went back up the stairs...and oh.my. A "S.Q.U.I.R.R.E.L"---the dilemma here: tell Artimus there is a squirrel and watch him unsuccessfully try to spot it on his own. Even though the squirrel may be waving around his arms and have fireworks shooting out his bottom, Artimus seldom spots them on his own. Option number 2 requires a careful approach on my part, so that Artimus picks up on my body signals and starts to look around. Once I say "squirrel," I leap in the direction of the marmot, and Artimus does the rest, while Gollum, hopefully, gets some kind of enjoyment out of all the action. If he's tired, he will just yawn and move along. Luckily Artimus chased the squirrel up the nearest tree, and Gollum had enough energy to follow. They both saw a squirrel. They smile and trot like they've slayed a dragon. It's so fun. I took a picture of the squirrel who obviously had no idea what kind of animal just chased him. He was so curious that he just sat in the crook of this tree until we all walked away. Did you know squirrels eat leaves? I thought they just ate tree nuts, but I saw this one eat the leaves.

What am I gonna make for dinner?

How many housewives go through this dilemma? I've made a million crockpot dinners, a trillion meatloafs, sandwiches are for Fridays only, and I can only make spaghetti so many times. First question: "What am I gonna make for dinner?" Second question, "Do I need to go to the grocery store, or do I have ingredients on hand?"...Then the inevitable 30 minutes of opening every cabinet and drawer. Examining the contents of the refrigerator until I feel guilty for leaving the door open for so long and wasting electricity. "Make up your mind, it's really not that hard!" Ok. So start with the meat....turkey (only for Friday), chicken (already had crockpot chicken this week), steak (what are we, millionaires?!) HAHAHA Hot dogs, gross. So, what about fish? Can't stink up the apartment, besides I don't know how to cook fish anyway, and now is not the time to learn. Ok so, what's the plan....Meatloaf.

Uh, huh. So meatloaf again. Well, fine. I'll make some for dinner then freeze the rest. Third question, "What starch?" Potatoes or pasta? Tom leans toward the pasta side of life. Which pasta? Well, angel hair is a favorite. I also like cooking bowtie pasta, because it's so cute, and the middle always stays a little undercooked and I like that extra texture. Spirals are fun. Penne holds too much sauce. Spaghetti and linguine are a little too thick. So for tonight? Mini-spirals. Cute and Fun!

"What vegetable?" Oh boy, by this time the exam is getting too tough. If it were crockpot chicken, I could just throw some frozen vegetables in on "High" the last 15 minutes and we're done. But meatloaf with mini-spirals needs a whole separate vegetable side dish. Broccoli or carrots...or just open up a can of corn. Hmmm.

Well, one thing is for sure. We are skipping the "bread" and "dessert" questions altogether.

My Meatloaf Recipe:
1 large egg
(Divide in half) 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes with Italian herbs, undrained
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup minced parsley
1/2 cup oats
1/3 cup parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
1 lb Italian sausage
1/2 lb ground beef

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, crack and lightly beat egg. Pour in half can of tomatoes, oats, parm cheese, parsley, onion, and spices. Mix in beef and sausage by hand then form into one large loaf and transfer to shallow baking sheet. Bake one hour; remove and add the rest of the tomatoes on top. Bake another 30 minutes.

I used dried parsley instead of fresh; I grate the onion with a cheese grater so that there aren't "chunks" of onion in the meatloaf. I use whatever combination of ground turkey, ground beef, sometimes even Owens/Jimmy Dean sausage--just make sure it adds up to 1.5 lbs. If your can of tomatoes doesn't include the Italian spices, just put a tablespoon or so of oregano, basil, a little garlic salt/powder and thyme. I like to pour a generous amount of spaghetti sauce over the top of the meatloaf for the last 30 minutes along with the other half can of tomatoes. This can bake even longer if you have the time. Tom and I like the edges a little burned. YUM!

Do we really want to change this?

When we have a view like this, it's hard to imagine a voluntary move. However, we don't own this, and it's not for sale. I think the financial security of paying on a mortgage sounds reassuring.But, anytime day or night, we have an unbelievable view. We face the east, but we can see the sunsets in the buildings at night. It's the best of both worlds. Sometimes we have a view of the moon. Of course, with the lights of downtown, we can't see many stars, but Tom still manages to name a few constellations every now and then.

Of course, near Christmas, downtown is so bright, there are no stars to be found, but then we have this loveliness to look at. Sometimes the tree is straight, sometimes it looks like a bullet, sometimes it looks like it will fall over. However, the tree is always cool.It's the right time to buy a new place. It's definitely a "buyer's market." I am spoiled. I like the underground parking, the service exceeds anyone's expectations, and we don't have neighbors around very often. They live here only part-time. Some people go to Nantucket half the year; some are in Hawaii; others are in Germany; most have lake houses for the weekend. So, it's private, quiet, and so....what was I complaining about again??

Forget it. I love this place. I love my life.

Goodbye Vodka

Dear Vodka,
You've been a great friend for a long time. I'm sorry I abused you. I realize now that you just wanted to be appreciated for who you are instead of taken for granted. I will respect you from now on. I will visit from time to time, but no more all night uninvited visits. Thanks for not coming down too hard on me.
Your devotee,
Andrea

My husband, Tom

Tom loves his balcony. He loves watching the hawks, the doves, and the people downtown. He would rather be on this balcony than anywhere else. He works the NY Times crossword puzzles Thursday through Sunday here, and he smokes a cigar and relaxes here nearly every day. Even in the bitter cold, we get dressed in layers, he puts out heaters or heating pads and we brave the weather. I love spending time out there with him. We've even held umbrellas out there to wait for the rain to pass.Tom works at Texas Greenhouse Company a few miles away on Northside Dr. Sometimes he takes his bike to work and several times he's even walked. We take the dogs walking along this route too. On the other side of this hill is the river. It's a pretty walk along the Trinity River, so when the weather cooperates, it's a fun way to fit a little exercise into the day.

Gollum and I are on the couch in the evenings. This chair belongs to Tom and Artimus. It's a love fest. Artimus will rarely come to bed if Tom is still in the chair.Tom takes care of me and the "boys" very well. He drives us to the dog park sometimes on the weekends. These two pictures were taken at the dog park in Fort Worth, "Fort Woof" on Beach Street inside of Gateway Park.Artimus bonded more closely with Tom than me. I'm not sure why, but I guess Artimus and Tom have similar personalities. Gollum and I like to let Artimus and Tom worry about the big stuff. Thanks for everything handsome husband!

I love you, Tom!

Opera Day sabotaged by baby

My friend, Mary, took me to see a brilliant, young opera singer. Sara is undeniably brilliant. However, I forgot to take a picture of Sara, because the evening took quite a sweet turn. This tiny little girl came into the world only three weeks ago. Thanks to Mary and her connections, we got to hold her most of the evening. Although my attention was clearly divided, I respect opera so much more today. It was an all around incredible evening. Thanks Mary!