144.AMERICAN COOT
350.BLACK PHOEBE
Friday, July 31, 2009
Photo Phriday: The Duck Pond
I will blog about the duck pond and the super wonderful new lens that I rented to get these shots tomorrow. But here are the Photo Phriday shots, hope you like them.
144.AMERICAN COOT
350.BLACK PHOEBE
144.AMERICAN COOT
350.BLACK PHOEBE
Nerdy Birdy: Kenneth Hahn Duck Pond
Today I took the new rented lens out for a spin and I am so in love.
I ended up with six more birds to cross off the bird list.
144.AMERICAN COOT
350.BLACK PHOEBE
572.BREWERS BLACKBIRD
266.ROCK PIGEON
18.MALLARD
18.MALLARD
127.RED TAILED HAWK
127.RED TAILED HAWK
I ended up with six more birds to cross off the bird list.
144.AMERICAN COOT
350.BLACK PHOEBE
572.BREWERS BLACKBIRD
266.ROCK PIGEON
18.MALLARD
18.MALLARD
127.RED TAILED HAWK
127.RED TAILED HAWK
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Taste Buds: Deep Dish Apple Pie
This deep dish apple pie inside recipe is from my great family vault of recipes. Simple yet oh so perfect this is one of those staple recipes I come back to time and time again as a desert that everyone loves. Perfect for Thanksgiving or any large get together.
First Make ‘The Perfect Flaky Pastry Pie Crust’
Ingredients:
2 cups of sugar
¾ cup flour
2 teaspoon of nutmeg
2 teaspoon of cinnamon
¼ teaspoon of salt
10 Large Golden Delicious Apples (about 3lbs)
1 Lemon
¼ cup milk
peel and dice cut apples into equal sized pieces
squeeze a little lemon juice into the bowl to keep the apples from browning
mix all ingredients, except the milk, with the apples in a large bowl until all the apples are well coated.
Roll and put the flaky pie crust into a deep dish baking pan.
pour the apples into the flaky pastry crust
Dot the top of the apples with small pieces of butter
Cover with the other half of flaky pastry crust and then here is the secret of why this crust comes out oh so yummy, you need to spread the milk on top of the crust with your fingers evenly wetting the entire crust top.
Dust the top of the pie with sugar and cinnamon
Bake at 425 for an hour. Until the top is golden brown and the apples are cooked. Let the pie sit for 4 hours before serving to settle.
Serve warmed with vanilla ice cream.
Let your taste buds enjoy this Deep Dish Apple Pie. It is one of my favourites and always reminds me of the wonderful women in my family.
First Make ‘The Perfect Flaky Pastry Pie Crust’
Ingredients:
2 cups of sugar
¾ cup flour
2 teaspoon of nutmeg
2 teaspoon of cinnamon
¼ teaspoon of salt
10 Large Golden Delicious Apples (about 3lbs)
1 Lemon
¼ cup milk
peel and dice cut apples into equal sized pieces
squeeze a little lemon juice into the bowl to keep the apples from browning
mix all ingredients, except the milk, with the apples in a large bowl until all the apples are well coated.
Roll and put the flaky pie crust into a deep dish baking pan.
pour the apples into the flaky pastry crust
Dot the top of the apples with small pieces of butter
Cover with the other half of flaky pastry crust and then here is the secret of why this crust comes out oh so yummy, you need to spread the milk on top of the crust with your fingers evenly wetting the entire crust top.
Dust the top of the pie with sugar and cinnamon
Bake at 425 for an hour. Until the top is golden brown and the apples are cooked. Let the pie sit for 4 hours before serving to settle.
Serve warmed with vanilla ice cream.
Let your taste buds enjoy this Deep Dish Apple Pie. It is one of my favourites and always reminds me of the wonderful women in my family.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
A Little OCD on My Shoes
Five months ago I found these “Photo Storage Boxes” at Michaels and I bought 6 of them at $4.00 each. Since then I have returned twice to buy a few for the bathroom and for the computer room. They are the absolute perfect size for organizing small piles of things into blissful order and I LOVE them. A few days ago I stopped into the store for a few things and imagine my absolute glee when I saw that the same boxes this week are on clearance for $1.80. I decided because they were such a great price that I would finally buy enough to organize my shoes in my closet, so I bought 40 pure white ones, pure white with a black interior which is perfect to hide scuffs from shoes.
When I asked for the stock guy to help me get them off the shelf he about fell over when I told him that I wanted 40, after a moment where he collected himself he offered to help me get them to the checkout and into my car. I really love being female sometimes, yea we have the cramps and we have to give birth but damn the help that we get with everyday things is worth the trade in my opinion.
This morning I opened all the boxes and spread them out across the kitchen table.
Then I began the laborious process of taking a photo of every single pair of heels I owned, I realize I may have too many. But sometimes I don’t feel like I have enough, it is a curse. I am cursed with a love of shoes.
Seurat is my constant shadow and with the shoes spread across the kitchen floor he was all for helping me organize and photo. He is such an adorable helper, although I don’t think he actually helped that much. He is a bit of a diva like that.
So after taking photos of each pair of shoes I then had to crop them and print them out on the computer. Unfortunately that was not what I call super fun.
After they were all printed I had to fill the boxes with the shoes and then paste the photos on.
Hours later I could finally put them all in my closet, nice and neatly organized into beautiful neat rows. Order from chaos makes me very happy.
When I asked for the stock guy to help me get them off the shelf he about fell over when I told him that I wanted 40, after a moment where he collected himself he offered to help me get them to the checkout and into my car. I really love being female sometimes, yea we have the cramps and we have to give birth but damn the help that we get with everyday things is worth the trade in my opinion.
This morning I opened all the boxes and spread them out across the kitchen table.
Then I began the laborious process of taking a photo of every single pair of heels I owned, I realize I may have too many. But sometimes I don’t feel like I have enough, it is a curse. I am cursed with a love of shoes.
Seurat is my constant shadow and with the shoes spread across the kitchen floor he was all for helping me organize and photo. He is such an adorable helper, although I don’t think he actually helped that much. He is a bit of a diva like that.
So after taking photos of each pair of shoes I then had to crop them and print them out on the computer. Unfortunately that was not what I call super fun.
After they were all printed I had to fill the boxes with the shoes and then paste the photos on.
Hours later I could finally put them all in my closet, nice and neatly organized into beautiful neat rows. Order from chaos makes me very happy.
Taste Buds: The Perfect Flaky Pie Crust
Ingredients
5 ¼ cups of flour
3 Teaspoons of sugar
2 ½ Teaspoon of salt
1 Cup Crisco
1 Stick of Butter (make sure it is cold)
Put the flour, sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl and blend well.
Add in the Crisco
Cut the butter up into small pieces and add it to the bowl
Cut the fat using a pastry knife or use two knives to cut the fat (Crisco and butter) into the dry mixture. Keep cutting until the pieces of fat are broken down into small pieces.
Drizzle over slowly 1/3 cup of water and stir with a spatula.
You want to mixture to hold together but not be sticky or too wet. Too wet and the crust will come out harder and not flaky, too dry and you will have a hard time getting your dough to roll and press into a pie pan. I usually err on the side of caution and go too dry. You can always add more water later. Add about 1 Tablespoon more of water and then press your spatula against the dough. If it holds together you are done. If not add just a bit more water.
After you get it to the right consistency divide the dough in half. Wrap each half in saran wrap and freeze for at least an hour before you roll it out for a pie. This solidifies the fats so when you roll it out it holds together. This will make two round 9” pies or one deep dish pie, like my wonderful deep dish apple pie which I will post tomorrow using this dough recipe. You can leave the dough in the freezer up to 6 months just make sure to thaw it out a bit so it is still cold but not frozen solid.
Let your taste buds enjoy this prefect flaky pie crust with any type of fruit filling pie.
5 ¼ cups of flour
3 Teaspoons of sugar
2 ½ Teaspoon of salt
1 Cup Crisco
1 Stick of Butter (make sure it is cold)
Put the flour, sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl and blend well.
Add in the Crisco
Cut the butter up into small pieces and add it to the bowl
Cut the fat using a pastry knife or use two knives to cut the fat (Crisco and butter) into the dry mixture. Keep cutting until the pieces of fat are broken down into small pieces.
Drizzle over slowly 1/3 cup of water and stir with a spatula.
You want to mixture to hold together but not be sticky or too wet. Too wet and the crust will come out harder and not flaky, too dry and you will have a hard time getting your dough to roll and press into a pie pan. I usually err on the side of caution and go too dry. You can always add more water later. Add about 1 Tablespoon more of water and then press your spatula against the dough. If it holds together you are done. If not add just a bit more water.
After you get it to the right consistency divide the dough in half. Wrap each half in saran wrap and freeze for at least an hour before you roll it out for a pie. This solidifies the fats so when you roll it out it holds together. This will make two round 9” pies or one deep dish pie, like my wonderful deep dish apple pie which I will post tomorrow using this dough recipe. You can leave the dough in the freezer up to 6 months just make sure to thaw it out a bit so it is still cold but not frozen solid.
Let your taste buds enjoy this prefect flaky pie crust with any type of fruit filling pie.
The Interview
Last night I got a phone call for a three month freelance gig and I panicked. I had just become comfortable and happy with my daily routine and had finally come to terms with not working for a long while. I was going to concentrate just on being happy, making Mr. Rogue happy, and take care all of those little things so when he was home we could just spend time together. Then I get this call, a simple sentence that shattered the fragile calm.
“I have an cool project, are you interested.”
The decision for me to stay home was multipronged. First I got laid off from my first job and I am still collecting unemployment so technically I was still making a little bit of money. Secondly Mr. Rogue has gotten a lot busier at work, which in turn meant that I was inevitably getting stuck with more and more of the housework and then almost all of our free time was spent running to the store and getting stuff done that did not get finished during the week. We both thought it would be nice for me to stay home and handle those tasks during the week so we could relax more together during the nights and weekends. Also the economy was tanking and in reality the jobs that were available that I was finding either were not that appealing or that were offering half the salary that I had been making at my previous job for the same amount of work. After looking for three months and realizing the prospects were bleak of me finding something that I loved that would pay the right amount Mr. Rogue and I sat down and had a conversation. Basically we came to the same conclusion. I was happier at home, he was happier that things were getting done around the house, our relationship was better because we had more free time together, we could afford for me to stay home, and we were also talking about starting to try and get pregnant soon and since I want to be a stay at home mom at least for the first few years then did it really matter if I just stayed at home and did not take a job.
That decision was not saying that I would never work again, I may in time, it is just for now that I do not feel it is that important. I may change my mind and I always said in my mind that if something amazing did come up I would consider it. So when the phone call came and the job did sound interesting I agreed to meet with them today.
Choosing the outfit for the interview, slipping on a pencil skirt and a pair of closed toed high heels felt odd and yet a bit exciting. I did all the things I always do when I interview, a series of set tasks that I feel make the interview process more controlled. I washed the car, I got there an hour early so I could make sure I was not late, and I brought a good book to read so I would be nice and calm when entering the office instead of frazzled and sweaty.
As I sat in the lobby of the agency I felt the mood in me suddenly shift as if I was picking up again that old familiar feeling of urgency and purpose. Assistance were running back and forth on numerous errands, people were coming back from lunch in groups discussing campaigns, phones were being answered and problems delt with. This was a world I had walked away from six months ago, a world I have not missed one bit since I turned my back, and sitting in that busy reception lounge I had a roiling of mixed emotions. One part of me, the cut-throat business woman part perked up her ears, her back was a little straighter, her game face fell across her features and the power of how much I loved my job and what I did for a living coursed threw me. The happy jobless hussy part of me, the soft mothering Martha Stewart part shrank away from the hustle, the advertising jargon that I had not heard in months being bandied about, the constant chaos and craziness of the office.
I sat there a boiling pot of opposing emotions trying to sort through what I was really feeling when my interviewer walked in. I put my best foot forward and of course he loved me. I said all the right things, the project sounds wonderfully exciting, and he seemed pretty interested to have me on board. After an hour and a half I walked out of his office feeling confident we could work well together, the only issue with me not getting the job would be the amount of time I would need to take off in the three months that they need me. I have a weeklong Mexican Cruise, a two week Philippine trip, and a two week long Hawaii vacation planned. This of course is much cause for concern. They are discussing it and will get back to me and for that I am grateful. Grateful that I have a few days to sort out how I feel about all of this and come to terms with the fact that I may enter again into the workforce if only for a few months. Part of me hopes I don’t get the job; the other part desperately wants it. Either way I figure is ok. So basically I guess it is a win/win situation.
“I have an cool project, are you interested.”
The decision for me to stay home was multipronged. First I got laid off from my first job and I am still collecting unemployment so technically I was still making a little bit of money. Secondly Mr. Rogue has gotten a lot busier at work, which in turn meant that I was inevitably getting stuck with more and more of the housework and then almost all of our free time was spent running to the store and getting stuff done that did not get finished during the week. We both thought it would be nice for me to stay home and handle those tasks during the week so we could relax more together during the nights and weekends. Also the economy was tanking and in reality the jobs that were available that I was finding either were not that appealing or that were offering half the salary that I had been making at my previous job for the same amount of work. After looking for three months and realizing the prospects were bleak of me finding something that I loved that would pay the right amount Mr. Rogue and I sat down and had a conversation. Basically we came to the same conclusion. I was happier at home, he was happier that things were getting done around the house, our relationship was better because we had more free time together, we could afford for me to stay home, and we were also talking about starting to try and get pregnant soon and since I want to be a stay at home mom at least for the first few years then did it really matter if I just stayed at home and did not take a job.
That decision was not saying that I would never work again, I may in time, it is just for now that I do not feel it is that important. I may change my mind and I always said in my mind that if something amazing did come up I would consider it. So when the phone call came and the job did sound interesting I agreed to meet with them today.
Choosing the outfit for the interview, slipping on a pencil skirt and a pair of closed toed high heels felt odd and yet a bit exciting. I did all the things I always do when I interview, a series of set tasks that I feel make the interview process more controlled. I washed the car, I got there an hour early so I could make sure I was not late, and I brought a good book to read so I would be nice and calm when entering the office instead of frazzled and sweaty.
As I sat in the lobby of the agency I felt the mood in me suddenly shift as if I was picking up again that old familiar feeling of urgency and purpose. Assistance were running back and forth on numerous errands, people were coming back from lunch in groups discussing campaigns, phones were being answered and problems delt with. This was a world I had walked away from six months ago, a world I have not missed one bit since I turned my back, and sitting in that busy reception lounge I had a roiling of mixed emotions. One part of me, the cut-throat business woman part perked up her ears, her back was a little straighter, her game face fell across her features and the power of how much I loved my job and what I did for a living coursed threw me. The happy jobless hussy part of me, the soft mothering Martha Stewart part shrank away from the hustle, the advertising jargon that I had not heard in months being bandied about, the constant chaos and craziness of the office.
I sat there a boiling pot of opposing emotions trying to sort through what I was really feeling when my interviewer walked in. I put my best foot forward and of course he loved me. I said all the right things, the project sounds wonderfully exciting, and he seemed pretty interested to have me on board. After an hour and a half I walked out of his office feeling confident we could work well together, the only issue with me not getting the job would be the amount of time I would need to take off in the three months that they need me. I have a weeklong Mexican Cruise, a two week Philippine trip, and a two week long Hawaii vacation planned. This of course is much cause for concern. They are discussing it and will get back to me and for that I am grateful. Grateful that I have a few days to sort out how I feel about all of this and come to terms with the fact that I may enter again into the workforce if only for a few months. Part of me hopes I don’t get the job; the other part desperately wants it. Either way I figure is ok. So basically I guess it is a win/win situation.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
She Put on the Veil
Yesterday Ms. Dancer picked me up for her appointment with her first wedding dress store. Her mother who was visiting from out of town and her little sister who has finally moved to LALA Land both came as well. With Ms. Dancer and I being best friends for so long I call her mom, mom and I consider her little sister my little sister as well. They picked me up at 9:00am and LORDY it was pretty difficult to get my butt out of bed. Probably because I generally like to sleep in but mostly because I did not go to bed the night before until 3am. We were all hungry, I was ravenous, so we stopped and had breakfast along the way. I teased the little sister, I talked to mom about what has been going on with me since the wedding when we last saw each other, and we talked about potential venues and times for the wedding. It was a comfortable family meal filled with light and laughter.
Ms. Dancer was excited when we finally got to the bridal store, excited and filled with a little bit of healthy fear. I remember when I was first asked the questions by the stylist. What style did you want, when was the wedding, what was the venue, do you want a sweetheart neckline or a cathedral length trail. The bombarding of questions is a bit intimidating. Thankfully we glossed over those questions with a simple, we are not sure let’s try on a bit of everything. Although we did not go completely nuts trying on dresses we did manage to find a style that I think Ms. Dancer likes after only three dress try-on’s, and the fourth dress, sigh it was exquisite. She thinks it may even be the one and it is so different and original I think it is perfect for her, made for her, but we will see after it marinates for a few days. I am not going to blog about the details, and I do know you all want details, and you know I would hold nothing back if it were about me, I would tell you each and every little detail pinkie swear, but they are not my details to tell and I am “trying” to be a good matron of honour. I did however call the bride a few minutes ago and the conversation did not go well for me, and therefore not well for you either. I asked if I could post some of the photos I snuck at the boutique, the ones that I was kindly asked not to take, the ones that I continually kept sneaking, the ones that I got a few stink-eyes from the sales lady for taking. I thought I was going to get thrown out. But I was firmly told no! I tried to then suggest that I post a crop of her in one of the wedding dresses, and it is not even THE wedding dress that she loved. Again I was met with my least favourite word, no. So I did not even ask if I could describe THE dress in detail here, I did not even try to sneak that one by because by this time the no was becoming a repetitive theme to my questions and honestly I was getting a bit tired of it. But she is the bride, this is her time, I had my time, so I am gonna be a good girl and not tell you anything but that I am frustrated to be told no.
Other than not being able to tell you any details or show you any photos I can say that I felt so happy for her in the hour and a half we were there. She was so beautiful in all her wedding dress finery trying on. And when they put on the veil I almost wept with my happiness for her. She is one of the most genuine open hearted people I know and whenever I really need her she is always there.
Ms. Dancer was excited when we finally got to the bridal store, excited and filled with a little bit of healthy fear. I remember when I was first asked the questions by the stylist. What style did you want, when was the wedding, what was the venue, do you want a sweetheart neckline or a cathedral length trail. The bombarding of questions is a bit intimidating. Thankfully we glossed over those questions with a simple, we are not sure let’s try on a bit of everything. Although we did not go completely nuts trying on dresses we did manage to find a style that I think Ms. Dancer likes after only three dress try-on’s, and the fourth dress, sigh it was exquisite. She thinks it may even be the one and it is so different and original I think it is perfect for her, made for her, but we will see after it marinates for a few days. I am not going to blog about the details, and I do know you all want details, and you know I would hold nothing back if it were about me, I would tell you each and every little detail pinkie swear, but they are not my details to tell and I am “trying” to be a good matron of honour. I did however call the bride a few minutes ago and the conversation did not go well for me, and therefore not well for you either. I asked if I could post some of the photos I snuck at the boutique, the ones that I was kindly asked not to take, the ones that I continually kept sneaking, the ones that I got a few stink-eyes from the sales lady for taking. I thought I was going to get thrown out. But I was firmly told no! I tried to then suggest that I post a crop of her in one of the wedding dresses, and it is not even THE wedding dress that she loved. Again I was met with my least favourite word, no. So I did not even ask if I could describe THE dress in detail here, I did not even try to sneak that one by because by this time the no was becoming a repetitive theme to my questions and honestly I was getting a bit tired of it. But she is the bride, this is her time, I had my time, so I am gonna be a good girl and not tell you anything but that I am frustrated to be told no.
Other than not being able to tell you any details or show you any photos I can say that I felt so happy for her in the hour and a half we were there. She was so beautiful in all her wedding dress finery trying on. And when they put on the veil I almost wept with my happiness for her. She is one of the most genuine open hearted people I know and whenever I really need her she is always there.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Goldie Locks
I can’t explain why that title popped into my head when I first looked at this photo, but it did and as you well know I like to write things exactly as the pop into my head. It keeps this blog real, and you all know how I like to keep it real. Sometimes that gets me into a lot of trouble and other times I just look plain crazy, still other times it leaves you, my unfortunate reader staring off into space wondering how in the hell you ever happened to be on my website. Believe me dear reader I understand.
Anyways I think here my brain came up with Goldie Locks because of the beautiful “Oh my God I am dressing my kid in this color so when she plays in traffic cars won’t hit her” gold frock. I love that I can say frock here and to be able to say gold frock, well that is damn well fantastic. So that may have explained the gold thing running through my mind, and also the locks part, I mean look at all that hair on my little younger me. That is not just enough hair for one person but I had enough hair for eight children. I cannot help but think that because I got an overabundance of hair that eight other little children were running around quite bald, sad in the fact that that one little girl managed to hit the hair lottery in life. I do sadly remember a bad side to those luscious locks. I remember crying often when it was washed and brushed and brushed and brushed because it would never stay untangled for long.
I can also say that I am probably sitting in this position, prim and proper with my hands folded because if I moved a single muscle those lovely curls that my mother must have spent hours putting into my long long hair would immediately tangle into a million knots. In fact I vaguely remember I was sitting still because my mother bribed me to not move an inch for candy. Ummmm candy, I would do anything for a single little piece.
Anyways I do look sweet an innocent here, so maybe my brain came up with Goldie Locks because she too was just a good girl trying to make her way in life. I mean the poor girl had a bad day, she gets lost in the woods and just wanted something to eat and a place to lay her weary head. I sympathize with her.
Anyways back to that dress, it is “AHEM” a unique shade of gold. So unique in fact that I do want to commend my mother because how in the world did she get a pair of earrings that would match so perfectly. Hopefully one day I will have a little daughter to love and color coordinate as much as my mother obviously loved and coordinated me.
Anyways I think here my brain came up with Goldie Locks because of the beautiful “Oh my God I am dressing my kid in this color so when she plays in traffic cars won’t hit her” gold frock. I love that I can say frock here and to be able to say gold frock, well that is damn well fantastic. So that may have explained the gold thing running through my mind, and also the locks part, I mean look at all that hair on my little younger me. That is not just enough hair for one person but I had enough hair for eight children. I cannot help but think that because I got an overabundance of hair that eight other little children were running around quite bald, sad in the fact that that one little girl managed to hit the hair lottery in life. I do sadly remember a bad side to those luscious locks. I remember crying often when it was washed and brushed and brushed and brushed because it would never stay untangled for long.
I can also say that I am probably sitting in this position, prim and proper with my hands folded because if I moved a single muscle those lovely curls that my mother must have spent hours putting into my long long hair would immediately tangle into a million knots. In fact I vaguely remember I was sitting still because my mother bribed me to not move an inch for candy. Ummmm candy, I would do anything for a single little piece.
Anyways I do look sweet an innocent here, so maybe my brain came up with Goldie Locks because she too was just a good girl trying to make her way in life. I mean the poor girl had a bad day, she gets lost in the woods and just wanted something to eat and a place to lay her weary head. I sympathize with her.
Anyways back to that dress, it is “AHEM” a unique shade of gold. So unique in fact that I do want to commend my mother because how in the world did she get a pair of earrings that would match so perfectly. Hopefully one day I will have a little daughter to love and color coordinate as much as my mother obviously loved and coordinated me.
Life Saver
“My Blog is saving my life.” I know that seems a little bold, or all encompassing, but in the time I have been writing every day, in the time that I have started this new outlet for my creativity I have found a space where I can be true and real to who I am. I have found a place to create accountability to myself. A place that I can try things out or write about things that are bothering me that I just cannot seem to speak out loud, a place that I can continue old hobbies and start new ones, a place that I can use to help push myself further, a place where I can spread out my dreams and hopes and turn them into realities, a place where I can see the friend in me, and a place where I can meet new friends and create a new community of possibilities. I love my blog and I heart you!
Sunday, July 26, 2009
77. Make my Husband Breakfast in Bed
I completed one of the things on my Rogue Life List today. Some of the things on my list are little things like making my husband breakfast in bed, but a lot of times we forget that the little things happen every day around us and sometimes the little things matter the most. I would really like to say that I woke up early, before dawn to do create a surprise breakfast but this is me and well I just adore sleep more than a fat kid loves cake. I guess it is a good thing that Mr. Rogue likes to sleep in longer than me on the weekends.
So I woke up at 11:00 am, hey we are childless and stayed up late, and this is LALA land where the nightlife is wild and the days are quiet. So like I said I woke up and I was laying there looking at a slumbering Mr. Rogue thinking how lucky I am to have the best husband in the entire world; how he tells me the hard things when I need to hear them the most, how he takes care of me when I hurt myself, and how he gets me McDonalds when I am hung over (damn those Peartini’s, those luscious delightful super delicious Peartinis). And then I decided to do something nice and unexpected randomly, and not because it is his birthday or because it is our anniversary but to just make him breakfast in bed because I love him, I love everything about him.
It was simple but I love that I know exactly what he likes in the morning, I felt so wife-like. I whipped together a toasted sandwich with butter on one side, two eggs sunny side up, one slice of American cheese, a small glass of OJ, and a little bit of fruit. I have made countless, endless, unlimited amounts of breakfasts for Mr. Rogue. But this was the first ever breakfast in bed I have made in my life. It felt good, he appreciated me, I appreciated him, I may be addicted to this high.
Then he got up and did the dishes, truly the best husband ever.
So I woke up at 11:00 am, hey we are childless and stayed up late, and this is LALA land where the nightlife is wild and the days are quiet. So like I said I woke up and I was laying there looking at a slumbering Mr. Rogue thinking how lucky I am to have the best husband in the entire world; how he tells me the hard things when I need to hear them the most, how he takes care of me when I hurt myself, and how he gets me McDonalds when I am hung over (damn those Peartini’s, those luscious delightful super delicious Peartinis). And then I decided to do something nice and unexpected randomly, and not because it is his birthday or because it is our anniversary but to just make him breakfast in bed because I love him, I love everything about him.
It was simple but I love that I know exactly what he likes in the morning, I felt so wife-like. I whipped together a toasted sandwich with butter on one side, two eggs sunny side up, one slice of American cheese, a small glass of OJ, and a little bit of fruit. I have made countless, endless, unlimited amounts of breakfasts for Mr. Rogue. But this was the first ever breakfast in bed I have made in my life. It felt good, he appreciated me, I appreciated him, I may be addicted to this high.
Then he got up and did the dishes, truly the best husband ever.
Hangover and Horseback Riding
Because of the evil Peartini’s last night I woke up with one of the most terrible hangovers this morning. So terrible that I considered never leaving bed again, although even laying there and breathing hurt. I cursed the delicious Peartini’s, I cursed alcohol in general and then I downed some chicken noodle soup and two Tylenol and went back to bed. Between 7:10 am and 3:45 pm I woke up, ate, drank water and went back to sleep 4 times. I needed to get it together because tonight we had plans with Mr. & Mrs. Cutie Pie to go on a horseback riding trip at the Sunset Ranch. Thankfully I managed by 4:00 pm to pull it together at least enough to shower and get my butt out the door. By the time we got to the ranch an hour later I was feeling marginally normal.
In the car ride I learned that Mr. Rogue and the Cutie Pies had not been on a horse since they were 7. YES SEVEN. So I got really worried. I am love horseback riding, a passion I share with my mother and over the 30 years I have been on this planet I have spent a lot of time in the saddle. But your first time you cannot walk and it is a little bit scary being at the whim of a huge horse. All in all I think our little group did rather well, although Mrs. Cutie Pie had quite the ostentatious horse and got a tiny bit frazzled we all managed to stay ON our horses and there were no major catastrophes.
I was less than pleased with their new mandatory helmet law, in the past they had a waver where you could opt out of the helmet. It totally did not go with my outfit.
I got a great intermediate horse named Shiloh. She was sweet and very easy on the reigns. If I could own a horse it would be one like Shiloh. Midway through the ride I took this photo of her and got a little sad that she was so tied up.
I imagined her running free with a herd of horses, unencumbered by ropes and buckles, and then I remembered that we all have our JOBS in life, we all have obligations and stresses that tie us down and then I found out that all the horses retire on a huge ranch in Denver and I felt better that after her time of work is over she has wide open fields to spend the rest of her days in.
The trail takes you through Griffith Park with great views of the surrounding city sheltered in the canyons of the hills. I loved being so high up, I loved how quiet it was, and the vistas were breathtaking. I just had my point and shoot Canon camera since my large camera is to nice to take horseback riding but this shot of a eucalyptus tree with the city behind was one of my favourite nature shots of the night.
The ride takes an hour and a half and then you stop for dinner at a Mexican Restaurant where they have pretty decent food and wonderful margaritas. As you can see I am the only one without a drink, I just was not prepared to deal with more alcohol in my system. Mrs. Cutie Pie tried to get us to leave her at the restaurant. She begged for us to leave her and come and pick her up in the car later but after one margarita she bucked up and got back on her ornery horse for the long track back to the ranch.
On the way back the guide showed us a favourite place that lynx like to wait. I think I was the only one sad that he was not in his usual place. And even though I was disappointed we did not see the lynx I was mollified when I did spot a small coyote not more than ten minutes later.
At the end of the trip none of us were walking very well, Mrs. Cutie Pie vowed to never get onto a horse again and Mr. Rogue is going to consider joining me horseback riding again. I even asked about going to photo some of the horses for one of my Photo Phridays. We will see if I get permission.
In the car ride I learned that Mr. Rogue and the Cutie Pies had not been on a horse since they were 7. YES SEVEN. So I got really worried. I am love horseback riding, a passion I share with my mother and over the 30 years I have been on this planet I have spent a lot of time in the saddle. But your first time you cannot walk and it is a little bit scary being at the whim of a huge horse. All in all I think our little group did rather well, although Mrs. Cutie Pie had quite the ostentatious horse and got a tiny bit frazzled we all managed to stay ON our horses and there were no major catastrophes.
I was less than pleased with their new mandatory helmet law, in the past they had a waver where you could opt out of the helmet. It totally did not go with my outfit.
I got a great intermediate horse named Shiloh. She was sweet and very easy on the reigns. If I could own a horse it would be one like Shiloh. Midway through the ride I took this photo of her and got a little sad that she was so tied up.
I imagined her running free with a herd of horses, unencumbered by ropes and buckles, and then I remembered that we all have our JOBS in life, we all have obligations and stresses that tie us down and then I found out that all the horses retire on a huge ranch in Denver and I felt better that after her time of work is over she has wide open fields to spend the rest of her days in.
The trail takes you through Griffith Park with great views of the surrounding city sheltered in the canyons of the hills. I loved being so high up, I loved how quiet it was, and the vistas were breathtaking. I just had my point and shoot Canon camera since my large camera is to nice to take horseback riding but this shot of a eucalyptus tree with the city behind was one of my favourite nature shots of the night.
The ride takes an hour and a half and then you stop for dinner at a Mexican Restaurant where they have pretty decent food and wonderful margaritas. As you can see I am the only one without a drink, I just was not prepared to deal with more alcohol in my system. Mrs. Cutie Pie tried to get us to leave her at the restaurant. She begged for us to leave her and come and pick her up in the car later but after one margarita she bucked up and got back on her ornery horse for the long track back to the ranch.
On the way back the guide showed us a favourite place that lynx like to wait. I think I was the only one sad that he was not in his usual place. And even though I was disappointed we did not see the lynx I was mollified when I did spot a small coyote not more than ten minutes later.
At the end of the trip none of us were walking very well, Mrs. Cutie Pie vowed to never get onto a horse again and Mr. Rogue is going to consider joining me horseback riding again. I even asked about going to photo some of the horses for one of my Photo Phridays. We will see if I get permission.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Evil Peartini Robbed my Common Sense
Yesterday Ms. Eden came over in the late afternoon to hang out. We were planning on meeting with the girls later that night and decided to get together earlier and carpool later that evening. I love how honest Ms. Eden and my conversations are and we filled the house with outrageous laughter. Time came near where we needed to get ready to go. It is so much fun to get ready with another girl, you can ask advice, you can borrow key items you are running out of, and just the joy of having another girl in the house makes the chore of getting prepared to leave a happy time. I missed this bonding time growing up without a sister and once I got to college I soaked in all the girl time with my various roommates. Now, as the only female in the house, I come home with my latest shopping loot or I just can’t decide which black heel to wear with that dress and sadly I only have Mr. Rogue to turn too.
As we were changing, Ms. Eden tried on her choice of dress for her date the next evening. It was a first date and she was super excited to go. She came around the corner with the dress on and I could not contain my reaction. She looked great, no better than great she looked super hot, BUT she looked super hot in a sex on legs kind of way. We talked about first impressions, we talked about the message she wanted to convey and the goals she had. Her goals, marriage and kids, did not really mesh well with the sexy tiny black dress in my opinion. Whether or not she followed my advice I won’t find out until tomorrow but i love when friends can give each other constructive criticism and that it can help us to grow. For instance this blog is hard for me sometimes because I do love to write but my grammar and spelling are something that I was never comfortable with. It is not a strong skill of mine and I know I make a lot of mistakes. She has offered to send me messages on my more common flaws so I can make myself better.
We met the girls at the delicious W Hotel in Westwood. A venue that was classy, where we were not in fear of getting beer sloshed on us by our drunken neighbours, where we were guaranteed comfy seating and more importantly so we could talk without screaming over deafening music.
I ordered the Peartini and soon the other girls trickled in. The Peartini kind of became the drink of the night and MAN WERE THEY STRONG. Originally I had only planned on having two. I did after all have plans the next evening that I wanted to be game for, that plan however went out the window. After two drinks my judgement just is not as clear and with Ms. Eden able to drive home I threw the “Plan” out the window and had another two martinis. Very happy and very drunk we all had a great time and stayed for four hours talking about everything from pets to making love. It was wonderful to get together, some of us had not seen each other for a few weeks and we needed the face time to catch up on all our crazy lives. There were a lot of antics like Ms. Eden getting a second opinion to the group about her date dress and the bouncer even throwing in his two cents. Or when Ms. M mimed me that she was not a sweet girl but a hard core kind of girl, even inebriated I managed to document that one it was just too funny. Seriously if I learned only ONE thing last night it is that you just don’t mess with Ms. M.
Ah to be with such a great diverse group of women was so much fun and so enlightening. We had a great time and plan a dancing outing next.
As we were changing, Ms. Eden tried on her choice of dress for her date the next evening. It was a first date and she was super excited to go. She came around the corner with the dress on and I could not contain my reaction. She looked great, no better than great she looked super hot, BUT she looked super hot in a sex on legs kind of way. We talked about first impressions, we talked about the message she wanted to convey and the goals she had. Her goals, marriage and kids, did not really mesh well with the sexy tiny black dress in my opinion. Whether or not she followed my advice I won’t find out until tomorrow but i love when friends can give each other constructive criticism and that it can help us to grow. For instance this blog is hard for me sometimes because I do love to write but my grammar and spelling are something that I was never comfortable with. It is not a strong skill of mine and I know I make a lot of mistakes. She has offered to send me messages on my more common flaws so I can make myself better.
We met the girls at the delicious W Hotel in Westwood. A venue that was classy, where we were not in fear of getting beer sloshed on us by our drunken neighbours, where we were guaranteed comfy seating and more importantly so we could talk without screaming over deafening music.
I ordered the Peartini and soon the other girls trickled in. The Peartini kind of became the drink of the night and MAN WERE THEY STRONG. Originally I had only planned on having two. I did after all have plans the next evening that I wanted to be game for, that plan however went out the window. After two drinks my judgement just is not as clear and with Ms. Eden able to drive home I threw the “Plan” out the window and had another two martinis. Very happy and very drunk we all had a great time and stayed for four hours talking about everything from pets to making love. It was wonderful to get together, some of us had not seen each other for a few weeks and we needed the face time to catch up on all our crazy lives. There were a lot of antics like Ms. Eden getting a second opinion to the group about her date dress and the bouncer even throwing in his two cents. Or when Ms. M mimed me that she was not a sweet girl but a hard core kind of girl, even inebriated I managed to document that one it was just too funny. Seriously if I learned only ONE thing last night it is that you just don’t mess with Ms. M.
Ah to be with such a great diverse group of women was so much fun and so enlightening. We had a great time and plan a dancing outing next.
