Sorry it has been so long, here is a long story to make it up to you.

So I have two little goals in life.  Well of course I also have big goals relating to family, kids, and God.  But I have two little dreams.  One is, as you know, to someday be an extra on the show Madmen.  Maybe I didn't win the contest, but that doesn't mean that I still don't want it all the same.  The second, is to be a contestant on the NPR radio show: "Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me."

I have called and left messages at 1-888-WAIT-WAIT.  I have left so many messages I cannot even tell you how many it has been.  I have sent email.  I even included a photo once.  I want Carl Kasell's voice on my answering machine so badly I can't even stand it.  I listen to the show each week.  I know all the guests and all the games.  It is a highlight of each week for me.

So last fall, when i found out that Wait Wait was coming to Houston to do a Iive taping, I said to myself, "this time you will not be lazy and you WILL buy tickets."  That's what I said.  And that is what I had planned to do.  Until the tickets went on sale and then they were gone...just like that...and i forgot to get them.  Two shows - sold out.  I grieved for a while, and then said that it was for the best, because really - it is a radio show and i didn't really want to see the show, because that may ruin my mental image of Peter Sagal and Carl Kasell up on stage.  

All was well until I heard this week that the shows were going to be on Thursday and Friday.  and then i was sad, so very sad.  But i reminded myself that it was my own fault and that i needed to get over it.

On Friday, michael and i were offered the very greatest of gifts from our friends maggie and george.  a night out with free babysitting!  they said, "take as long as you want, you can even eat dinner and see Avatar!"  (that is some serious love, from some seriously nice people.)

So on Friday afternoon we were trying to decide what to do with our evening.  Looking through the Houston Press, Michael passed a photo of Paula Poundstone.  I ran over and stopped him - "look that's for Wait Wait!...oh yeah......the show is tonight..."  (followed by deflated sigh and pouty face)  After that, he tried with all his internet savvy to find me a ticket.  Craig's list, Ebay, phone calls - nothin.  SOLD OUT.  I was hopeful, then disappointed, but i refused to let my issues ruin our date.

Then, into the house walk the awesome babysitters.  and they came with a gift.  Maggie hands me an autographed program from Thursday night's Wait Wait Don't Tell me.  Signatures from Peter Sagal, Carl Kasell, Paula Poundstone and Tom Bodet.  They went and they met them all!  I was so happy for them!

and then i went to the bathroom and cried.

I didn't mean to cry.  it just sort of happened.  Then Michael walked in and saw me crying while putting on my make-up.  He said, "we're going down there, and we are going to see if we can get some tickets."  I said, "who is going to scalp tickets to an NPR show?"  but I decided that we have a God who sometimes sees fit to give silly gifts to his children, so why not give it a try?

The show started at 7:30, we arrived to the downtown theater district at about 7:10.  We drove past the Wortham.  There was NO ONE standing outside looking like they were wanting to let go of some tickets.  Again, who on earth tries to scalp NPR tickets?  This is not U2, it is a nerd festival that only nerdy people care about. 

Driven, michael decides to park the car and says that we are going inside.  Amazingly, we found a free parking spot. 

We get inside, and there we are, just standing there watching all the other geeks going up the escalator to the show.  We continue to stand there - watching them all smiling and laughing in their snooty public radio loving way.  I get depressed and say that we really should just leave, because this is just too sad.  Michael says, "no, let's just stand here a while longer." 
We make a loop around the lobby, no one is interested in selling tickets.  We end up next to the ticket booth (that is vacant because the show has been sold out for months).  The theater gives the 10 minute warning and people begin moving quickly up the escalator.  I say, "i think it is time to go."  Michael says no.  We wait another 5 minutes or so, when i notice that there are two men who are standing near us just staring and looking kind of like we are.  I wonder if they are pitifully hoping for some tickets, too.  A lady walks in the ticket line and one of the men approaches her and asks if she needs a ticket.  I get excited and we call him over.  He only has one ticket.  Then a man who looks like Santa Claus in a suit and long black trench coat approaches and says that he has two tickets.  He says his wife bought them and then someone else offered them box seats so he came downstairs to see if he could make at least part of their money back.  Two tickets, 65 dollars each, but he would sell both for 65 dollars total.  Orchestra: row K.   

Are you kidding me?  I thank him profusely, tell him he must be from the Lord and ask if I can give him a hug.  He agrees and then escorts us to the ticket scanner just to prove that his online tickets are legit.  He even shows us his badge proving that he works for the sheriffs' office. 

The show was perfect.  I smiled from ear to ear as I saw all my friends on stage and watched them interview ZZ Top.  How cool.  I didn't even know that ZZ Top spoke.

I love little presents like this from God.  I already love Him and believe in him, but its this kind of crazy stuff that reminds me that he is pretty freakin' cool, too. 

James 1:16-18 (The Message)

 ^16-18So, my very dear friends, don't get thrown off course. Every desirable and beneficial gift comes out of heaven. The gifts are rivers of light cascading down from the Father of Light. There is nothing deceitful in God, nothing two-faced, nothing fickle. He brought us to life using the true Word, showing us off as the crown of all his creatures.

this that and pancakes

I need to clean my house today.  So therefore, i am limiting this post to just a quick review of 4 recipes that i have tried in the past week. 

the first was AMAZING if you like indian food.  if you don't - i would skip it.  but if you are a fan of aloo gobi, you will be so proud to make it yourself.  it is the Smitten Kitchen's Indian spiced cauliflower and potatoes.  so so good.  i plan to make her yellow dal and chana masala next.  i actually intended to make the chana masala with the cauliflower and potatoes, but i just ran out of time and didn't want to eat dinner at 9:00 at night.  so michael had to eat vegetables and rice for dinner- once again.  i am pretty sure that this will not be the last time, either. 

the next is Joy the baker's Black and White cookie.  I made these for our 4 1/2 mile church hike on saturday.  The hike was awesome, the cookie was - eh.  the icings are really nice, but the cookie is much more of a cake than a cookie, which is weird because you think that you are going to be eating a cookie, but it turns out to be a cupcake top that is flipped over and iced on the smooth side.  i did of course eat many of them, but michael and i both had a real problem with the nomenclature of this recipe. 

The third recipe of the week is the Pioneer Woman's salsa.  Amy said it was good, and it was yummy.  really yummy.  the recipe is for Restaurant Style Salsa, and that is exactly what it tastes like.  it reminds me of shannon's recipe also, but if i refer to this website, i don't have to type out her recipe, which i didn't ask her permission to do, and i hate typing recipes, anyway.  Note: it makes A LOT of salsa, you could half it if it is for just one family.  i have a problem of not thinking things through when i cook, and if i had envisioned just how much a 28 oz can of tomatoes plus 2 cans of rotel would make, i would have halved it.  we'll be eating salsa all week.

at kelly's recommendation, i tried Edna Mae's Sour Cream pancakes.  they rock.  they are from the PW's cookbook, but were featured on the smitten kitchen blog.  doesn't all this recipe sharing from blog to blog seem incestuous?  maybe so, but we are getting good recipes for free, so bring it on! 
The sour cream makes them so different from any other pancake.  My only issue, is that in my home we will always have to double this recipe, because my boys can pack away the pancakes.  (seriously, i made them for frank, ford and me - and i only got one little pancake.  these boys could win a pancake eating contest.) 

I have many pancake recipes that i love, and I will continue to make them all depending on what ingredients are in the house and what we are in the mood for.  i am also crazy about the Pam-cakes that were on the cover of Southern Living 2 months ago.  they are made with buttermilk and are perfect.  My favorite healthy pancakes are from Everyday Food and are made with whole wheat flour, buttermilk, and brown sugar.  And of course - you can never go wrong with the Joy of Cooking's Buttermilk Pancake recipe.  it is just plain good, but you have to look that one up yourself, because i've got laundry to do.     

Erin: 34, Stinkhorns: 17

Frank is officially my stinkhorn spotter.  He finds them, then holds the bag for me while i dig up the eggs and the dirt that is contaminated by their yuck.  We make a good team.

We arrived home today from the zoo to find 4 stinkhorns and 5 eggs in the front bed.  I said, "eeew, Frank, we've got some work to do."

he said, "that's okay mommy, it's just stinkhorn season."

as i was putting Ford to bed, Frank stood outside and really gave the fungus a piece of his mind:

"Stinkhorns: I am NOT going to take your season anymore!"

"My mommy HATES you!"

"I'm going to put up a sign: NO STINKHORNS ALLOWED."

here is the sign that he cut, drew, and then gluesticked to the front door:

 

it may be hard to tell but that is an orange stinkhorn with brown goo, with the standard circle with the line through it.  

I had nothing to do with any of this, other than cleaning the gluestick off the door and replacing it with tape.

Michael came home and said that i have corrupted my son's mind.  I say it's bonding.

Here is me digging up stinkhorns last week

here is frank looking like frank

and here is ford, making the quintessential Ford gesture of greeting and excitement.  forgive the lighting, but i have never been able to capture it in a picture before:

two index fingers pointed at you...as if to say, "Duuude. what's up?"  where could he have learned this from?  yes, that is roman, his most favorite person in the world, behind him.

and here is my most favorite person in the world

 

today he came home early.  he told me not to bake the cookies i had planned on making because it was a nice day and we should get out.  said he needed a new wallet.  we all got in the car, and as we were driving towards the store, he stopped in front of a spa and said i had a 5:00 massage scheduled with Venetia.  

mighty mike.

I am very opinionated this week

A few nights ago, I saw a movie that i loved, Moon, with Sam Rockwell.  Why wasn't he nominated for an academy award?!  I am a little outraged.  Does he have enemies in the academy or something?  He was awesome and unquestionably better than George Clooney.  The movie was made with very little CGI, and the sets were done the old fashioned way, like in Star Wars.  i thought it was great. 

This leads me to a movie that i hated: District 9.  Good heavens i hated this.  it made both michael and i nauseous after about an hour of watching.  we had to turn it off.  disturbing visually and emotionally.  maybe it got better in the last half.

While i am at it, let me just review some good ones from our recent Netflix history:
 -500 days of summer.  so good.  so good.
 
-Public Enemies.  A michael mann film with Johnny Depp as John Dilinger - i loved this so much, i watched it one and a half times in two days.  (i like michael mann.  i really like johnny depp.)  

-Ricky Gervais: Out of england.  if you are a ricky gervais fan, you will like this.  a bit dirty, but he makes me laugh out loud.  i love anything that makes me laugh out loud.

-Julie and Julia.  enough has been said about this one.

-Earth.  we enjoyed watching this with frank.  i was more upset by the lost elephant and hungry polar bear than he was.  He doesn't apply human emotions to the animals like I do.

-Grey Gardens.  i recently re-watched the original documentary.  and while it is not a riveting, edge of your seat thriller kind of film - it is still fascinating to see into those two women's lives.  The daughter had such style despite their circumstances.  i look forward to watching the HBO movie based on them.

-Au Hasard Balthazar.  a very strange and sad french movie from 1966.  not sure if i can recommend...do you like black and white movies about an abused, forlorn girl and her pet donkey?

That's all that is worth mention from my past few months, not very exciting.  But as I scrolled back through the Netflix history, here are the ones worth mentioning from the last few years:

-The Counterfeiters.  this was terrific.  a true story.  
-Eastern Promises
-It Happened One Night
-the Apartment
-Apocalypto
-To Sir, With Love
-John Adams
-The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
-The Butterfly
-The Painted Veil
-Spirited Away

And just for the sake of completion, my most favorites (same as my fb favorites):
-Gone with the Wind
-Rear Window
-Kitchen Stories
-3 Burials of Melquiades Estrada
-The Princess and the Warrior
-Philadelphia Story
-Breakfast at Tiffany's
-Talk to Her
-Harvey
-Babette's Feast
-The Godfather
-Oh Brother Where Art Though?
-Sunset Boulevard
-Home for the Holidays

i would love more recommendations.  i've got some movie watching to do in the next few months.

things you may or may not be interested in

I wanted to do some non-paid advertisements for a few of my favorite things.  I am like oprah, except not at all.  no one gets any money and no one gets anything for free. 

1.  Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day All Pupose Cleaner in Lavender.  I've talked about it before, but i love this big 32 oz. bottle so much, i think it deserves more praise.  i use it to clean my floors, and i make my counter top cleaner out of it.  It only takes 2 Tb. mixed with water in a spray bottle and you have enough cleaner for months.  Saves money, smells good, plus no chemical-induced headaches. 

 

2.  This is the second terrific cupcake that i have made this week.  It is from the pioneer woman.  It is really stinkin' good.  the picture doesn't do it justice, which is why i don't usually take pictures of my food.  i made it for a most special friend and i can only recommend that you save it for your most special, chocolate loving friends, too.  and i will eat one if you have extras. 

 

3.  Maybelline Colossal Volume Express.  

I think this stuff is amazing.  I have sucky eyelashes.  I need mascara.  the lastest mascara i tried smells just like the bat guano that it is very likely made from.  (of i course i still use it in a pinch.)  but - if i can help it, i will buy this stuff because it gives me eyelashes.  i really do think that it is magical.  Here is proof of how it works:

though, now that i see these pictures, i am not sure that i should post them.  can you believe those wrinkles on my forehead between my eyes?  good heavens i must stop frowning. 

4.  The Contigo Auto Seal stainless travel mug.  

 

For all of you who are coffee drinkers/coffee spillers, this mug has revolutionized my life.  it cannot leak or spill.  i can put it in my purse.  i can wash the whole thing in the dishwasher.  it is amazing.  my carpets and my husband are very grateful for this mug.  did i mention it keeps your coffee hot for 4 hours and it doesn't spill?!  i got a two pack at Costco.  Perhaps i should move into a Costco.  

well.  that's all there is time for.  this has proven to take much longer than i envisioned in my mind. 

did you see that?

5 comments on the blog!
I think it is a record.  nothing stirs emotions like a conversation about Texas.  love it.  hate it.  it gets something started.

i love the Lyle Lovett song that Leigh (in the comments) refers to.  you can hear it here.

I would go so far as to say, "that's right you're not from Texas, but Texas wants you anyway...and once it gets a hold of you, it will absolutely not let go, so really think about moving here if you were thinking about it, because it is possible that you might not ever leave."

maybe mr. lovett should have put that in the song.
Oh but the Lone Star state has been good to us, and I cannot complain.  Not one bit.

...except about the weather in the summer.  and hurricanes.  and mosquitoes.  and cockroaches.  and traffic.  and what humidity does to your hair.  i can complain about that.  but nothing else.

I am still a Kansan, but...

If you live in Texas long enough, eventually you will have such thoughts as:

"Should i have my own gun?"

"Why don't more people say y'all?" 

"When does the rodeo start?"

"Salsa should always be served warm."

"I wish i could remember the lyrics to 'Deep in the Heart of Texas.'  It sure is catchy."

"Big cars and trucks do come in handy."

"No state income tax...beautiful."

"Shiner is good."

"Humidity feels good on your skin."

Texas friends: did i miss any?

breaking in the new computer...finally

 

  

is there a better way to break in a new computer?

a history of grace

Sarah waited for at least 70 years to have a baby of her own.
jacob waited and worked for Laban for over 14 years so he could marry rachel.
the Israelites waited for 40 years to enter into the promised land.
Jesus waited 30 years before he began his ministry.
Paul waited for 3 years to begin his ministry after his conversion.

Throughout time and eternity, God has always worked in the times of waiting.  He has used these periods of waiting to better his people.  He waits until they are ready for the challenges ahead of them.

I am anxiously awaiting this next season of our lives to be over...and it has not yet even started.  as most of you know, michael will begin some traveling next month.  it is not a little bit of traveling.  it is a test of your spirit sort of traveling.  And though I am sad, I am reminded that I have had to wait through challenging times previously in my life.

i waited to be healed of myasthenia gravis.
i waited to get my braces off.
i waited to get married
i waited to be free from bad habits
i waited to find a job when no one would return a phone call
I waited to find friends in a new city

and the waiting sometimes took time.
7 years, 2 1/2 years, 3 years, 7 years, 3 months, 1 1/2 years.
God's timing is not my timing, but what he has done in the waiting has been nothing short of a miracle.

i was healed of myasthenia gravis - with no medication and no relapse, as if it never happened
i got great teeth
i got to know michael better in the year we spent long distance than i had in the two years we spent dating in person.  
i was set free from years of twisted and confused ways of eating
i got the perfect job with the perfect boss, at the perfect place when i had no license and no experience to qualify me
i found the closest of friends who will be a part of my life now and through eternity.

waiting is not fun.  but it is not fruitless.  there is a sweetness in the pains of waiting that make it all the more amazing when the waiting is through.

when 3 -5 months is over, i will be celebrating what the Lord has taught me about myself and my boys and about his goodness and faithfulness.  This is what my history of waiting has taught me as I look to my future of waiting.

one terrrific cupcake

of course i forgot to take a picture of it.  BUT, if you are in need of 2 dozen good cupcakes.  i can for sure recommend these from the February issue of Southern Living.  even michael, the "why would you make anything other than a  box-cake" man agreed that they were good.

the recipe is a bit confusing looking on the website and there is no photo, but they are easy.

As shown, you can make them bite size and in all kinds of variations of flavors, but the men of my house just like "banilla," and i don't have tons of mini muffin tins, so i haven't tried the variations.  Use the Vanilla Buttercream recipe with it, it is delicious.  Like...lick the icing off of the top of the cupcake and throw the rest away because you have 23 other cupcakes, good.

Erin: 25, Stinkhorns: 9

oh...they are gaining on me.  next step is to remove ALL the mulch from the front bed.  good thing michael got a cool new shovel as a surprise gift last night.  i will break it in today.

this is a dialogue frank gave me the other day:

"mommy, this is my little dog.  he is a dalmation.  his name is blueberry.  he lets me pet him and sit next to him when he is eating and he doesn't growl at me.  he lets me clean his ears and doesn't get upset.  he sleeps in his bed right here (pointing), but at night, he sleeps with ME.  he doesn't bark or get scared of the phone ringing.  he lets me give him bones and doesn't growl when i touch him.  i like my dalmation.  he loves me."

if you have met my dog, angus, this should all make sense to you.

pictures from the holidays...finally

sledding

 

 

 

note this is GiGi pulling Frank up the hill, and that is Hank sprawled out down at the bottom

icing cookies

Booma

Paigey

 

 

isn't there always one of these?

and the ride home













editor's note: frank was merely showing me the icing on his finger in photo above.  i love the innocence in this picture, i am not actually crude.  well, maybe a little. 

on a tastier note...

YES!  i did really, really like that pasta sauce.  I even got the San Marzano tomatoes at Central Market, just to make sure I didn't mess it up.  At amy's recommendation, i even got some good crusty bread to go with it, and all I can say is that it was so easy and good and fed us for two dinners.  We drank it with some good wine that I we got at Costco.  It was really good wine.  I am posting a photo in case you ever see it there.

buying wine at Costco is my favorite.  It is like "wine purchasing for dummies," which of course, i am, when it comes to wine purchasing.  You can find lots of bottles for less than $9.99 and they have little signs on them that say their Wine Enthusiast and Wine Spectator points.  i realize, that if you live in KS, you can't partake at your local Costco, but it can be worth a quick trip to missouri. 

(note, beautiful flowers included in photo so that you don't think that stinkhorns have invaded the inside of my home...they most certainly have not...everything smells of roses and lilacs, there is no clutter, dust or germs, everyone is healthy, strong and perfect in every way...sarcasm intended) 

Erin: 20, Stinkhorns: 3

against the advice of my husband, i will continue to talk about stinkhorns.

and yes, i think that i am finally winning the battle.  yesterday, i removed 3 eggs and 1 stinkhorn.  the day before, i removed 17 eggs and 3 stinkhorns.  it is an obsession.  sort of like a smelly easter egg hunt.  to prove to you why i am consumed with this purpose, here is a photo of the stinkhorn i removed yesterday:

the black spots are tiny bugs that are attracked to the stinky brown goo.  they then carry the goo to other places and more stinkhorns appear.

here is what an egg looks like:

 

 

a lesson: if one day, you see a crab like claw coming out of your flower bed, remove it immediately.  do not take pictures of it and stare at it and talk about it.  take action.  even 3 days of freezing temperatures didn't kill the monsters.  this is war.

 

 

pictures from my phone

ford entertaining himself at his one year doctor's appointment

 

my favorite picture of all time