Monthly Archives: August 2009

Sus, did you attend a wedding this weekend?

Yes, Dear Reader, I surely did. It had been awhile since I had been to one, so naturally I took the opportunity to go shopping for some new threads.  And by new threads I mean clothing that wasn’t imprinted with a corporate logo that I picked up at a giveaway booth at a street festival.

What did you wear?

I wore the only thing that fit..  After trying on approximately 2874878786824 dresses, I found a lovely little sheath dress at Macy’s.  And by lovely I mean that it didn’t cling to all the wrong parts.

Did you already have the accessories to go with the dress?

Silly reader, one knows that one NEVER has EXACTLY the right accessories to wear with something new.  At least that’s what one tells the husband. I did buy the necklace and earrings, but I had the shoes, a killer pair of Stuart Weitzman’s which I purchased a year ago in Chicago that were just looking for the right occasion to wear (although Mr. CPQ said that I could wear them every day if I wanted to and preferably with ..oh, I can’t go there…this is a family blog.)

So, killer shoes, huh?

Yeah, by the time I got to the church I was ready to DIE because they weren’t really broken in yet, plus I had a momentary brain lapse and didn’t think “spike heels + walk in the grass garden wedding = broken neck.   But I took one for the home team as did my other friends who had the same problem I did could commiserate.

I heard it was an outdoor wedding. Isn’t it hot in North Carolina in August?

Why yes, yes it is.

Did you see a fashion violations while you were there?

You mean other than foundational garments gone awry combined with the inappropriate wearing of extensions after the age of 50?

I just couldn’t resist….

Have a nice day.

It’s Friday, and I’m liking…..

1.  That I get to sleep in tomorrow morning.  Can I get an Amen?

2.  That I get to go shopping this morning to buy a new dress to wear to a wedding.

3.  That last night I saw the first promo for the new season of Fringe.

4.  That I get to help a friend with her cooking class tomorrow.  And eat some of what she cooks, too!

5.  That a friend told me that club soda would remove stains from a carpet.  It only took a liter plus two rolls of paper towels to remove the evidence of Travis’ bloody nose the ritualistic animal sacrifice that happened in the boys’ bedroom.

6.  That the coffee fairy showed up this morning.  As he does every single morning.

7.  That I finally have some energy after d.r.a.g.g.i.n.g for the last couple of weeks.

8.  That I was one of the first 250,000 to sign up for the Chick-Fil-A Chicken Wave and I got a free sandwich.  Y’all KNOW how I feel about Chick-Fil-A.

9.  That August is almost over because it’s truly my least favorite month of the year.

10.  That it’s exactly one week until I get to have a bloggy MIRL with Lisa, and Amber.  I’m hoping that Steph and Jen can join up as well because I do love a party and the more people are there, the more it won’t be obvious that I’ve had more than my fair share of pizza.  Could I have used the word “more” one more time?

Apparently, I could.

Have a nice day.

So  I was very excited about fixing and eating my shrimp and grits for supper last night.

That is, until my people started filtering into the kitchen and said, “I don’t like shrimp.”, “Uh, what’s THAT?”, and “No chicken!”  (Travis calls every white protein “chicken”.  Comes in handy when I’m trying to feed him frog legs.)

I kid.

Sort of.

See that pure and utter deliciousness of my shrimp and grits? They are the reason I haven’t lost a blessed pound in the last month even though I’ve been working out hard enough to make my eyelids sweat glow in that sparkly-blue-eyeshadow-you-wore-as-a-sixth-grader way.

Did you have sparkly blue eyeshadow like I did?  I also had a green and purple duo shade that I loved to wear, because nothing says sophisticated middle schooler like a swipe of Crayola across the eyes.  Add a glob of some Bonne Bell Lip Gloss (clear with the rolling ball applicator, please) and I was ready to command the attention of everyone in class.

Oh, I got attention alright.

As in “Do you see what she’s wearing?” whispers, I’m sure.

I’m sure I got whispers in the car pool line yesterday when I showed up wearing clothes that may or may not have matched, blended, or even gone together.  It seemed the thing to do at the time until Mr. CPQ came back home and gave me that little surprised look that he thinks he’s hiding but he’s not.

Oh well.

Better luck next time.

Have a nice day.

I’ve been in a cooking mood since I watched Julie & Julia Sunday night.

Notice I said “in a cooking mood”, not “I have been cooking.”

Ergo the saltines and peanut butter that passed for lunch yesterday.

But I’m rallying today, channeling my inner Ina Garten,  and using the bits and pieces of stuff in my vegetable bin to throw together one of my favorite suppers that’s quick, easy, and company good. And in case you haven’t decided what’s for dinner at YOUR house, there’s still time to run to the store and pick up an ingredient or two if you don’t keep them stocked.

Here’s what we’re having tonight, and if you don’t like grits, this would probably work over rice.

Or cardboard.

Shrimp and Grits

Grits:

Whatever the box tells you to do. 

Except add a little more butter or heavy cream because you’re special.

Keep warm.

Shrimp:

However much shelled, deveined, raw shrimp your family will need, sprinkled with cajun seasoning (I use 1-2 pounds, sprinkled with Emeril’s)

8 ounces andouille sausauge, sliced

1 cup finely chopped yellow/spanish onion

1/2 cup each chopped red and green bell pepper

1 teaspoon minced garlic

2 tablespoons chopped spring onion (green tops only)

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

1/4 cup heavy cream

In a large skillet, brown andouille sausage in a little vegetable oil and remove once browned.  Add in seasoned shrimp and just barely cook through.  Remove them from the pan as well.

Add 1 tablespoon of oil to the skillet and saute the yellow onion and the green and red bell peppers until soft.  Sprinkle with a little more cajun seasoning and then add in the garlic.  Cook for about 30 seconds until fragrant.

Add the chicken broth in and let it boil/reduce for 5 minutes.

Add back in the shrimp and andouille, cream, green onions and parsley.  Let it simmer for 3-4 minutes and then serve over the grits.

You’re welcome.

Have  a nice day.

I’m a little bit zippy as I type this entry to post in the morning.  I met a friend for dinner at Pei Wei and then went to Starbucks for coffee afterwards because we hadn’t used up all of our words at the restaurant and we still had to discuss important things like the tragic news that the “it” colors for fall are purple and grey/gray and neither of those colors do a thing for me.

Ordering at Starbucks always makes me a little nervous.  I feel like such a poser when I walk in the door because I don’t go in often enough to have a standard order that just rolls off my tongue.

It’s the same way with hamburgers.  I never order them the same way twice in a row.  Somedays I feel like mustard and pickle and other days I feel like mayo and tomato.  Drives Mr. CPQ crazy. It really adds zest to our marriage.

At any rate, I tried the cinnamon dolce latte and in my desire to keep it relatively healthy, I focused on getting the word “skinny” out of my mouth (and trust me, that’s not a word that gets used a whole lot in my personal little microclimate) and I forgot that the word “decaf” would be equally as important seeing as I was tossing this puppy back at 9:00 at night.

Sadly, I don’t even have anything on Tivo to keep me company tonight while I watch the minute hand rock around the clock.  I’m all caught up on back episodes of General Hospital Meet the Press, and the boys’ 115 recorded hours of Max & Ruby and Go Diego Go just aren’t going to cut it.

Speaking of cutting, I’m getting my hair cut, colored, and foiled next week.

Try not to get whiplash from that segue.

I’ve been coloring my own hair to varying degrees of disaster success for the past couple of years, and I’m finally going to bite the bullet and just have a professional take care of it for me. I’m a little bit nervous about it since my hairdresser just got back from Toronto with a new technique that I get to be the guinea pig for that she’s anxious to try on me.  She’s used the terms “umbrella pattern”, “caramel” and “violet” in the same sentence, so who knows what it’s going to look like.

Hey, now that I think about it, isn’t “violet” another word for purple?

I guess I’m going to fashionable this fall after all.

Have a nice day.

Why was Mr. CPQ  so far removed from me on our date night visit to the store?

Can you see him?  Blue shirt…waaaaaay in the back of the picture…OUTSIDE the store and practically across the parking lot?

Apparently there’s a little known Man Law that required him to not be within 150 yards of…….

Have a nice day.

1.  Never, and I mean NEVER, try to bluff your personal trainer into thinking you can handle whatever she’s about to dish out.  Confidence has NO place in the gym.

Bow.

Grovel.

Talk about your bum knee or that old war injury so she’ll go light on you.

Do NOT casually mention that you used to do similar workouts in high school.  She will take that as a personal affront and will then school you and leave you in a painful heap of unidentifiable quivering flesh in the middle of the gym floor.

Your leg muscles will twitch involuntarily.  Your lungs will crawl out of your esophagus trying to grasp whatever oxygen they can possibly find. You will consider cursing the day you were born on this planet.

You will also be so dad blamed sore that you cannot think coherently or lift your fingers to be able to type your blog post.

You have been warned.

2.  I will do anything for food.

I even faked being a teacher.

I mentioned Wednesday that I had a fun little project going on.  My IRL friend Gretchen is homeschooling this year and I off-handedly offered to do a multi-cultural lesson for her if she wanted me to, and she took me up on it.  Stunned with the realization that I now had to come up with a lesson plan, I went to the market to pick up some typical foods that I ate as a youngster in Guatemala to take to her kids.

Gretchen warned me that her kids were a little hesitant to try new things, but they made a liar out of her.  They tried everything.  And liked it.  And asked if they could keep the goat’s milk caramel at their house.

I also learned these are REALLY cute kids because I wouldn’t leave my caramel with just anybody.

3.  I learned that a week’s worth of gym work can be undone by one visit to Kellie’s house.

Umm, that’s chocolate.

On yeast bread dough.

Go bug Kellie for the recipe or look for Chocolate Swirl Bread in in your mom’s Betty Crocker Cookbook.

You’re welcome.

Oh.

My.

4.  I learned that it takes more time to write about a sheen-yon than it does to make one.

I also learned that I still want to have a girl.

5.  I learned that I cannot stand to have a list that isn’t numbered to 5 or to 10.

I also learned that I can’t just have one sentence and leave it there without putting some running inane commentary underneath it.

And italics.

And.

One.

Word.

Sentences.

For.

Emphasis.

Have a nice day.