Wednesday, August 31, 2011

A New Found Love

After reading a half a dozen food blogs I decided that I was going to go out and see what all the fuss was about.  I attended my first local Farmer's Market.  I guess in my head I had thought that the prices where too high.  All those economics classes teach you that the higher the turn around the cheaper the price, so wouldn't the grocery store have better prices?  They see more customers in an hour than people see at the Farmer's Market all day.  Here is where I admit that my loosely based theory was wrong.

We hit a couple of tables where they had $1 per pound specials.  So I bought a bag here and a bag there.  I bought some cherry tomatoes because my daughter thought she should try some.  We hit the strawberry table and Clover went nuts.  Thankfully I had a friend with me who didn't mind keeping an eye on her while I eyed produce.  Clover really thought it was an all you can snack buffet.  She was so happy when she got to pick her own grapes.  I don't remember the name of them but they really do look like little blueberries.  They are delicious!  The early Thompsons I picked up where also yummy.  They were sweet but a little tart at the end.  Just the way I like them.

I consider myself a Foodie.  I love to try new things and have been known to browse Whole Foods and Trader Joe's just for fun.  I am totally kicking myself for not taking full advantage of my local farmers sooner.  The quality of what we got is phenomenal!

I had a moment where I wondered if there was a difference in taste.  This was before I got home and tried all of my goodies.  We bought two large tomatoes and a bunch of cilantro for salsa.  I made fresh salsa this afternoon.  Without even thinking, I grabbed a handful of my local farm cilantro and threw it in with my fix ins like I always do with my grocery store stuff.  Within minutes it was evident that I used way too much.  This stuff was potent.  It had tons of flavor.  Of course I ate it all anyways because I love cilantro.  I just want prepared for kick.  It was totally like "IN CASE YOU DIDN'T KNOW, HEY I'M CILANTRO".

I'm having a "Where has this been all my life?" moment.  Oh yeah, it's been there and I have been at home twiddling my thumbs missing all this deliciousness!  Without a doubt I can tell you I will be back next week to see what goodies they have out.

Thursday, August 25, 2011

A Quick Thought

To put the world in order, we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must put the family in order; to put the family in order, we must cultivate our personal life; and to cultivate our personal life, we must first set our hearts right.
--Confucius


Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Blogger Fodder

Anyone who has been in Rojo Grande knows that I feel the most comfortable parking my big red truck aways from the entrance and walking in.  I look for a big wide spot with no one next to me on either side.  It never fails that when I come out no matter how far away from the store I am there is always someone parked next to me.

So this morning I head to the craft store in hopes of finding 101 tees, by Cathie Fillian.  I had hoped to find it in the store so I wouldn't have to wait for shipping.  I am more of an instant gratification gal.  I didn't find it however :(  So anywhoo, The front half of the store was empty so I thought "why not' and parked up front.  No one one either side of me and to the right the entire row was empty.

So that I didn't leave empty handed I picked up some supplies.  I secured Clover in her car seat and jumped up in the driver seat.  My mom pointed out something on my windshield.

A lovely hand scrawled passive aggressive note on pretty blue paper was left for me.

"Sorry, learn how to park dumb a**"  on the other side "Sincerely, another dumb a**"

I probably would have been upset or mad.  But I find the whole thing funny since I was actually in-between both lines.  I should have taken a picture of my parking job as proof.

I couldn't help but think that this is why I park and walk.

If nothing else it made for some good blogger fodder.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

McAwesome

Today is a day for the history books folks!  Today was the day that I introduced my darling Clover to the super delicious awesomeness that is Mcdee's chicken nuggets dipped in honey!

"What is this mom!?!"  bewildered and amazed.

"It's chicken nuggets and honey baby"

"HONEY?!?"

"honey."

"This is awesome!"

I know right?  For some reason the whole chicken nuggets and honey thing doesn't translate well with other fast food places.  I tried once with some other nuggets and was disappointed.  It just wasn't the same. It has to be Mcdonalds.

And I know she is three and almost a half...why hasn't she tried this awesomeness before?  Because she is very loyal to her cheeseburgers.  I asked her what she wanted while we navigated through Target.  Cheeseburger vs Chicken nuggets is always a serious decision.  I asked her three times total and got the nuggets answer.  So, we loaded up Rojo Grande and she fell asleep in the back seat before we hit the drive through.  I ordered nuggets to share and she still asked where her cheeseburger was when we got home and she looked in the bag.  Once the nugget hit the honey however, all questions about the cheeseburger ceased.

It's not just awesome, it's McAwesome (sorry I just couldn't resist).  What do you like on your nuggets?

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Juju's Whirlwind Tour

When Hubs asked us if we wanted to go I thought it would be a good idea.  Hubs had two days of meetings and I figured Clover and I could have a mini vacation.

And then I remembered that big cities are on the short list of things Juju Doesn't Do.  You see, I grew up in a farm town and surrounding small cities.  You can go ahead and insert jokes about me being a hick here.  You wouldn't be the first clever person to come up with those all on your own.  We moved to the "big city" when I was in the 6th grade.  Then I got older and realized that my big city is small compared to the rest of the world.

I am always in awe when I travel because I can't wrap my head around big city living.  There are plenty of things for us to do as a tourist but I can't wrap my head around how they do normal things like grocery shopping.  I didn't spot one single grocery store while we were there and to go to the office depot you had to park in a four story parking garage.  Navigating through San Francisco traffic left me on the verge of tears.  I can see why everyone walks everywhere.  We parked the car at the hotel and left it there for two and half days.  On the first day Clover and I borrowed a stroller from the hotel.  Which I didn't know they had until I read the hotel guide.  We walked around the neighborhood and checked out the sights.  We found a park and a free concert.

Waiting for Yerba Buena Concert Series

I wish I had taken a camera.  After packing for three people including work clothes for the hubby I forgot the touristy stuff like a camera.  All the pictures I took were on my cell phone.  All that walking and dancing left us starving.  So we walked around to find something suitable for lunch and found Mo's Grill.  My hamburger was awesome!    

Plain Cheeseburger with literally a mountain of garlic fries.

Clover demolished hers and started to attack her plain fries with a lake full of catsup.

We found a playground and played and explored for a bit.  Then we headed over to Zeum.  A local children's museum.  



Zeum is undergoing some construction and looks as if they are reopening under a different name.  They had some cool stuff for older kids to do and a few things for littler ones but not a whole lot to do for the in-between.  Clover enjoyed herself.  She especially loved the Special Effects slide.  It was a green slide and as they went down it you could choose a digital background and it shows you on a tv screen.  I think Clovers favorite was the fish tank.  She really seemed to like it so I don't want to bash the place but they seem a bit over priced to me for what they offer.  Maybe if Clover was older we could have taken advantage of all of the booths.  We did take full advantage of the music video booth.  

After the Zeum we went back to the room for a brief visit with the hubs before he headed back out.  We ordered dinner and dessert.  After we watched some terrible hotel tv, we crashed.  There was a few meltdowns while watching hotel tv.  My darling daughter is used to netflix.  We can watch whatever we want, whenever we want.  She had a hard time understanding that while traveling I can't control what we watch.  

On Day two we hung out and got breakfast.  We had three hours to kill in-between checking out and Hubby getting out of his meeting.  After browsing some guide books we narrowed it down to catching a movie or catching a bus.  I let Clover pick.  She picked the bus.

We jumped on the double decker downtown loop bus.





A display of vintage sewing machines.  

Union Square
Bay Bridge.

The tour guide was pretty nice.  You pay for the tour but the pass is valid for 48 hours and you can hop on or off at any of their stops.  So you could buy a pass and just take the bus all over San Francisco for two days.  You would never have to drive.  Had I known this I would have taken it the day before.  If we ever go back I will have to keep that in mind.  I'm not in a rush to go back after dealing with all the traffic.  It was gnarly.  

Over all I had a great time with my daughter jaunting all around town.  She tells me all the time now that she LOOOOVES San Francisco.  I'm so glad she is adventurous!  I regret not walking down Market and hitting up some shops.  I will put that on the list for next time.      

Friday, August 19, 2011

Face + Pillow Are Reunited

The last couple of days have been nuts.  I have pics to post of my quick jaunt through San Francisco to post and lots of things to write about.  Thanks to the craptastic hotel internet I wasn't able to post very much the last two days.  After sitting in what had to be the worst traffic I have ever been in the bay, I'm a little on the grumpy side.  It's taking all of my will power not to let my ten fingers spew out negativity.  Especially since I have just been in the car for more hours than I was allowed to sleep last night.  I have never been so happy to be home.  I missed my pillow.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Beyond the Whine

The last week or so has been very interesting around these parts.  I keep telling myself it's a phase but with each passing day it just seems to get worse.  We are half a year into the threes.  I thought I was good surviving the so called terrible twos.  But let me tell you...the twos ain't got nothing on the threes.

Whining has taken over the house along with the classic "But I Waaaaaaant it" wail.  She stops just short of throwing herself on the ground and kicking her feet.  I however after dealing with all of this want to throw myself down and start kicking my feet.  I restrain myself because I don't want to set a bad example.  The thought has occurred to me...

That I am much too lenient with her.

I realized this today and it has put me in a foul mood of sorts.  It's just one more of those parent things that we have to learn along the way.  I know that correcting the problems at this point are going to be twice as hard.  Letting things slide every now and then has slowly added up.

I know that I am not only her first role model but also one of her first teachers.  Some rules need to be laid out and enforced.  This has been the hard part for me.  I somewhere thought there was a balance between coddling and discipline.  If there is, I sure as heck haven't found it yet.  It's hard.  I get it.  Especially when your little red headed cutie apologizes and looks at you with those beautiful eyes while telling you it won't happen again, then kisses you.  My heart melts.

My job as her Mommy includes guiding her.  Part of that also includes helping her figure out acceptable and appropriate behaviors.  This is the part I need to work on and I acknowledge that.  I see that as the first step forward.

Time for Mommy to start making baby steps.

Monday, August 15, 2011

Mental Notes

After minutes of frantic searching I was realizing that what I was looking for wasn't there.  Stress starts to build.  I scold myself for not double checking.  Frustration sets in, while I continue searching the same spot.    Tears start to form...wait that was the onions.

Finally fifteen minutes...in the back of the cabinet laid the bag I was looking for.

Ah HA!  Paprika.

I was making one of my favorites.  Basically I followed this recipe at Kalyn's Kitchen.  Except I used chicken.  I know it as Chicken Paprikash.  I may have used more paprika than the recipe called for.  It was delish.  

Mental Note:  Check the pantry for supplies.  It would probably be one less thing to stress out about.



Saturday, August 13, 2011

A Moment of Girlyness.

So we were surfing the internet looking for tutorials.  One link led to another and we ended up on Cutepolish's Youtube channel.  Her tutorials are rockin.  They are easy to follow.  The music doesn't detract from the video.  Trust me, last night we also watched a lot of other horrible youtube tutorials.  Cutepolish is my new favorite.  I was left in awe.  This one caught my attention.


Mine came out looking like this.  I love em.  They were so easy to do.  It took me a little bit since I don't have very much experience doing my own nails.  

Sorry for the horrible picture.  I took it on my cell.  

I was super lazy and didn't want to get my camera and download the picture and upload it.  Plus my nails were still tacky and I was afraid to mess them up.

I thought this was a huge accomplisment for me!  I will be the first to tell you I am not the most girliest girl.  Most polish lasts about a day.  I even tried Shellac (the nail product not the wood product) in hopes of keeping color on my nails a little longer but I never got longer than four days.  

I am however an avid do-it-yourselfer so I wanted to give it a try.  Since it went so great last time I am trying to figure out which tutorial I want to do next!  I am torn between the Super Mario brothers and the Hello Kitty or maybe Minnie Mouse.  What do you think?      

Friday, August 12, 2011

Reverbin It Up

Describe an unexpected moment, activity, sighting or conversation that touched you during July.


Hubby had unexpectedly wanted to go out that weekend.  We were up and dressed and ready to head out on an adventure.  I had already prepared myself for a quiet morning at home.  Coffee in one hand, laptop open and on my lap.  My plans were squished my the Hubby's desire to go out in the world.  Since this was at a point in time where that rarely happened, we got up and got dressed.  Before we headed out, we needed to refuel ourselves so we stopped off for an early lunch.  Hubby picked.  


We were sitting and waiting for our order at a fast food chain that only serves hot dogs.  I was staring out of the window and something caught attention.  At first it caught my attention because they were attempting to back up an older truck into the parking spot right next to our newly leased car.  My anxiety instantly built up as I watched.  I had nothing to worry about.  The driver maneuvered his truck with precision and with very little effort.  It was an older truck.  I would say 50's.  One like the project truck my father tried to fix up when we were young.  


The driver hopped out of the his side and went inside, leaving a passenger in the seat.  He came in and stood in line.  He purchased a single ice cream cone.  He walked outside, licking it as it dripped.  Opened the passenger side door and lovingly handed the ice cream to his wife.  Before he shut the door, he kissed her.  He started up his truck and the were off.  As they drove by I noticed that they were holding hands.  


Okay so I may have made up that last part about holding hands but it seemed to fit.  I can only imagine that they were holding hands.  


Just like us they were off on their weekend adventure.  They had the whole weekend in front of them and the most important part was that they were spending time together.  As I let that thought sink into my thick noggin, I realized that the same was also true for us.  It didn't matter what we were doing as long as we were doing it together.           


Thursday, August 11, 2011

Fuzzy Early Morning, Mid Cup of Coffee Thinking

What do you do when you realize that the man you married has more than a few similarities to your first television crush?  Of course that would force me to remember my first television crush.  So maybe not THE first but one of the first few that I remember having.

So what sparked all of this fuzzy early morning, mid cup of coffee thinking?

Hubby stayed up last night sending packets to space on his radio.  To tell you the truth I only understand a fraction of it all but it's so cute when he gets excited and passionate about his hobbies.  Lately, he has been on another space kick and I have been falling asleep to space documentaries while hubby watches them on Netflix.  

So maybe I didn't grow up to join Star Fleet and marry Wesley Crusher, but the more I think about it the more it seems like I got pretty close.

I guess I should have seen the early signs that I like em smart and nerdy.

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Words That Are Not My Own

Sometimes it is easier to use someone else's words when it's hard to form your own.  Situations present themselves.  Situations which are not easy to deal with.  I am once again a benchwarmer for these situations are not my own.  But my heart goes out, I want to do something.  I want to help but there isn't anything I can do at the present moment in time.  So I am here, to listen or to read.  Like I have said before I am a good listener.  I also like to think of myself as comedic relief.  


So today's words that are not my own...


Develop an attitude of gratitude, and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something bigger and better than your current situation. - Brian Tracy


and on Humor


Through humor,  you can soften some of the worst blows that life delivers.  And once you find laughter, no matter how painful your situation might be, you can survive it. - Bill Cosby 

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Internet Memes

First and foremost I blame the Bloggess.  I read her post about picking your battles and laughed so hard I nearly shot diet Dr. Pepper out of my nose.  It may have been coffee now that I think about it, but that is besides the point.  The point is that I laughed so hard that my daughter was looking at me strange and I nearly shot a dark colored beverage out of my nose.  Then for some reason I can not somehow explain...I have become obsessed with metal chickens!  

Darn Internet Memes!


     "An internet phenomenon or a meme is an image, video, phrase or simply an idea that spreads from one person to another seemingly for no logical reason at all. When people see a meme, no matter how silly it usually is, they find it amusing for one reason or other and forward it to their friends; soon millions of people know about it thanks to how fast the information can spread online and the viral effect." - Via Squidoo

So without further interruption I give you Destiny (keeping with the Beyonce theme).  I thought about naming him Kelly or Solange but that just seemed mean.  And keeping with the spirit that he is Rooster I thought Dezi (for short) sounded more masculine.  

Knock Knock Mofo!

Dezi is obviously Beyonce's littler distant relative.  

He is also subject to kidnapping.  Not to be confused with kid napping because mine doesn't nap.  She does however steal chickens.  

I may have to chain him down.  He does look a little menacing in this picture.  Maybe he will scare off solicitors.  Or at least that is what I will be telling the Hubs after he asks me what possessed me to buy a metal chicken.  

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Soda Is One Spoiled Pup

This dog leads a very active life, especially for an imaginary dog.  Let me tell you.  I am starting to think that he needs a bell or possibly a shock collar to help keep him in the house.  I am not sure if Clover is letting him out or if he is getting out on his own.  From what I have been told he is an indoor dog so I don't need to worry about a fence.  I hate the idea that he is wondering around out there in the real world all by himself.  Who knows what kind of mischief he is getting himself into.

Apparently yesterday we added to the family with the addition of a girl cat named "Coffee".

Me:  How is Soda doing?

Clover:  Good.  He has a new friend.

Me:  ?

Clover:  He has a friend that is a cat.  Her name is Coffee.  She is a girl cat.  Soda is a boy.  She is brown with white.  Not like Gray Kitty (gray kitty is the neighborhood cat that likes to hang out in the back yard).

Me:  Is she a nice kitty?

Clover:  Yeah.  But they don't share their toys.  They don't share their cat and dog toys.

She then went on to tell me that Soda went over to her Aunt and Uncle's place to help watch over them.  This is the same Aunt and Uncle that she is convinced are the ones leaving milk out for the kitten in "Kitten's First Full Moon".  So she knew they would take very good care of her dog.  She even went as far as to ask them over the phone last night if they were taking care of Soda.  Her Aunt lovingly reassured her that they were indeed taking very good care of her dog.  He was relaxing and eating snacks while at their house.  Spoiled dog.

I again feel bad that I didn't notice that he was missing.  He came back today.  Do they make a bell for an imaginary dog?  Now I got to get one for the cat too.      

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

I See Disney People

People watching at the Big D is just another added perk to admission to the park.  There are so many people in one place that you are bound to find some jewels.  Both positively and OMG.

Positively:  In the morning when you first get to the park there is a sense of community almost.  You are all there for the same reason...to have a blast.  Everyone has had breakfast and is ready to go.  Kids are awake and excited.  Adults are awake for the most part and happy that their kids are excited.  They can't wait to show their kids all of their favorites in hope that they will love them too.

Everyone is cute and styled.  Some of us more cute than others.  Yeah I'm looking at you totally cute mother of two who wore a dress and naturally looked fabulous.  I don't hate you...I'm just jealous.  

OMG:  Towards dinner time you get to experience another group.  The slightly-crashing-blood-sugar-cranky-should-have-taken-a-nap crowd.  These people are easy to deal with when you recognize that they have pushed themselves to far and they are not just being mean for the sake of being mean.  Their kids are whiney and crashing too.  Excitement has got a hold on them, leading them to the point of exhaustion, to the meltdown point.  There are quite a few that reach this point around dinner time.  That's when you hear a lot of the cranky parents with the "If you don't stop crying...we're going back to the hotel!" threat.  I get that Disneyland is expensive and you want to get every last penny out of your trip (it takes a lot of funds to keep the park so clean).  But for the sake of your sanity and your kids mood take a break.  Even if they are older it's good to take a meal break, and take lots of snacks.  You burn a lot of energy doing all that walking.

Then there are the people that figure that since they paid so much for admission that they can now do whatever they want.  These are my least favorite people.  Do they not realize that you also paid the exact same amount to get into the park as well?  These are the rude-obnoxious-litter-bugs-line-cutters.

Oh and some of the fashion choices.  It's almost like a game.  Yes, there are the cuties in the park who always look amazing.  There are the ones with all their D-gear on and they look cute too.  Then there is the group that for some reason or another has chosen some very questionable clothing.  If you can call some of it clothing.  For the record, a white button up shirt with the sides and back cut out so basically you are just sporting the sleeves with a black bra doesn't really qualify as "clothing".  I get that you want to show off what your momma gave you but my kid is asking what happened to your shirt.  What do I tell her?  Maybe that you got stuck on pirates and are going for the shipwrecked look?

There was an entire paragraph here on the importance of "support".  That sentence pretty much stands on it's own, no need for extra verbage.

The cast members are always great, so they are "positive" category.   Sometimes if you get there before your morning cup of coffee they seem a little too positive.  Starbucks employees got nothin on a Morning Shift Disneyland Cast Member.  

I don't want the OMG section to be bigger than the Positively category.  Or for anyone to think that one category is better than the other.  Disneyland is awesome, the people just enhance or put a damper on the experience.  Overall we always have a great time.  It's always fun to compare stories when we get home.