Charlie Brown Tree

Update: I am no longer referring to my "Hanukah Bush" as a "Hanukah Bush" because I feel that it brings up an image of something that shouldn't be imagined when thinking of the Festival of Lights. So I am now calling the faux tree my "Hanukah Shrub"- better, right? I know. Anyhoo I didn't take pictures last night because it was cold and I am lazy. I did however put all of my slip-covered sofa's slipcovers in my new front loaders. That's right folks, I said FRONT LOADERS. These bad boys are bad ass. Well only for their fabulous ability to get things unbeliavably clean with not a lot of water. The only negative I have to say about them is that the time given is always wrong. It always has time left posted yet that changes constantly b/c the washer tests the water constantly to see how clean it is. If its not clean it will put a little more water in. Last night at 9:30 I checked the time left and it said 26 minutes. At 9:45 I checked the time and it said 24 minutes. WTF!!!!! Oh well at least I know that my couch will be clean enough to eat off of and that is good enough for me. Oh I should probably mention that I have not had a washing machine/dryer in the house with me in about 2 1/2 years. That is a long time having to use the laundromat and friends/fam for all your washing needs ( thanks friends and fam!). Let's just say that a lot of shit got thrown out when it took awhile for me to take it in and wash it. Okay so if you want to own my badass washers you need to go pickup an Amana front loader washer and dryer from Home Depot. Don't forget the stacking kit bitches.

For Tres

This post is for my friend Tres- who today asked my why I haven't updated this bad boy. Honestly, I haven't been updating it due to the lack of news in my life and the fact that I didn't think anyone actually followed it:( Oh well- I do have big news- a brand new house in the Big C. Just moved to a cute 2 bed/1 bath 1920's bungalow behind a huge mill-turned-loft in downtownish Atlanta. I finally have a kitchen that more than 1 person can stand in together and a backyard. I will post pictures some time soon. The house needs a bit of finesse but other than that it's pretty damn cute. Oh and yesterday I put up a Hanukkah bush ( formerly known as a pitiful Christmas tree). The "Bush" is very Charlie Brown Christmas in appearance but is not quite so scraggly. I will try and take some pics for you tonight. I will try and keep more up-to-date on things, if only for Tres checking in on my random mumblings. Anyways- have a fabulous day y'all. Oh and let me put the recipe to this delicious Kale, Mushroom, White Bean, Potato Soup. Made it last night and it was the bees knees- this coming from a woman who HATES cooked greens. Anyways I will try and talk to you peeps soon as well as post some newer and better pics.

Kale, Mushroom, White Bean, Potato Soup ( just call it KMWBP)

1 lb kale chopped (or if you hate kale, another leafy green)

3 onions chopped

about 2 lbs mushrooms sliced

6 cloves garlic minced

8 cups bouillon of your choice (or canned/boxed broth)

1 - 2 tsp red pepper flakes

1 can white beans, other beans also work

2 potatoes grated

freshly ground black pepper

2 Tbsp fresh thyme - lemon thyme is great in this

Put the kale in the bouillon and simmer about 20 minutes. Add the onions, garlic and red pepper flakes and simmer until the kale tender. Add thyme, beans and potatoes and simmer another 15 minutes. Add mushrooms and serve.

Congrats Matt and Tracey Leff!!!

Happy Birthday to me

I am going to go ahead and wish Happy Birthday to myself. Why? Because I can, gosh darn it. Today is my 28th birthday and I am not going out like I did last year. Last year I got as annihilated or more so than I did when I was 21 and that, my friends, was a pretty hard birthday to take down. I decided that this year I would try and be a bit more mature so I am going out to dinner with a lot of my friends to Woodfire Grill. I don't know if you have heard about it, but the food is supposed to be amazing. Oh and the chef is on Top Chef at the moment or at least he was but the show is premiering now. The chefs name is Kevin Gillespie and I love the creativity he has come up with on Top Chef so I can't wait to see what is going to be on my plate tonight. Did I tell y'all that I have just started up a 1400 cal a day diet? Well I did. Good Measure Meals is delivering food to my gym 2x weekly so that I can willingly starve myself. The best part about it is that I am going to gorge myself tonight and then go back to eating like a bird for the next month to 2 months. I can't wait.

Super Sweet Ride

I hat to blog about this hilarious car really quick though I don't have much time. This bad boy is on Craigslist and man, oh man, I want to buy it. It looks like such a fun car, unless you were driving through the poor area of town and then its a car with a death wish. I could only imagine what you would say if a bum came up to your window begging for some change. "I only have credit cards on me". "But what about the money in the dash, seats, and trunk". "oh, thats just my savings account. Sorry". Wouldn't you feel bad turning some one down when you are riding $300 deep? Anyhoo, If you want a sweet ride that comes with a savings account look no further! Oh I think you need to know what the tag words mean in order to buy this bad boy.
http://atlanta.craigslist.org/cto/1309685521.html

Apricot, Brie, and Basil Sandwich

Apricot, Brie, and Basil Sandwich

Posted using ShareThis

Next Tip Please

Tip #1:

Bring hand sanitizer- its a dirty world out there. Oh and you probably want to drink bottled water. Just in case. No one wants to get the squirts on vacation.

Tip #2:

Hit up El Morro at the northern most end of old San Juan. Its worth the money just for some good photo-ops as well as some great ocean views. Even if you don't want to venture inside the lawn outside is the perfect kite location.

Wikepedia says:"Fort San Felipe del Morro —or El Castillo San Felipe del Morro in Spanish— is a sixteenth-century citadel which lies on the northwestern-most point of the islet of San Juan, Puerto Rico. Named in honor of King Philip II of Spain, the fort, also referred to as "El Morro" or "promontory", was designed to guard the entrance to San Juan bay, and defend the city of San Juan from seaborne enemies.
In 1983, the fort was declared a World Heritage Site by the United Nations and is part of San Juan National Historic Site. Over two million visitors a year explore the windswept ramparts and passageways making the fort one of Puerto Rico's main visitor attractions.

Tip #5:

Look for street signs on the buildings not on poles at the corner of the street. Have a good sense of direction, other wise you are screwed. The lack of any proper road signage in Puerto Rico makes it challenging to get around. Be prepared to make a lot of turn arounds while driving.
Tip #4:
Go eat once at El Jibarito on Calle Sol. It's a bit away from all the other restaurant places but the mofongo is the bomb and there other food is well priced and very tasty.

Tip #5:
Walk around during the time right after sunrise and right before sunset. Your pictures are always warmer. Or just take them when ever for some cool effects, like the sun glare below.

My Pucarico Trip

Apparently my nephew has a hard time saying Puerto Rico. He first called it Pooparico, now he calls it Pucarico. It's cool though. The trip was a blast. Beautiful things to see and a different way of life than what you see in "the States" as the pucaricans like to call the U.S. of A. I will be posting a couple of pictures a day for the next week or so or you could just go to my Flickr stream and check them all out. Either way. I will give you tidbits on the trip per post. First tidbit: Old San Juan is gorgeous and if you ever visit make sure and go to Parque De Las Palomas or Pigeon Park. Very cool. Also check out La Perla from the safety of the city gates. Do not walk in... it is a hot spot for drug activity and is dangerous for tourists.

We disrupt this program..........

because I am headed to Puerto Rico!!!!! Who's jealous, who's jealous? Come on, show of hands!! No time to update the blog because I will soon be wandering the streets of Old San Juan, eating mofongo on the beach, swimming in some delightful waterfalls in the rainforest, and honking the rental cars horn every time I go around a pin-tight curve up in the mountains so no locals will knock me off the mountainside. Have fun friends and stayed tuned for some bad ass pictures of landscapes, food,fun, and a whole lot else. Adiós!

Schmap

Did you see the schmap widget on the sidebar? Basically it's there because they asked me if they could use a photo of mine in their guide. My photo is under the Yellow River Game Ranch link. It's of a little squirrel eating that I took when I went there with Kim, Ben, Shawna, Hayleigh, and Hannah about 1 1/2 years ago. The people with Schmap were nice enough to ask my permission to steal my photo from flickr and I was glad to oblige. It is one of my fave's and I took it with my Nikon N70 film camera. As y'all know I now have a Nikon D80 digital which means instant gratification- I love it- though I miss the days of being suprised by what I took.

The B's knees

As you can see the dogs are done for. Middle of the day and they are pooped. Who knew walking around the block or 15 would wear them out this much. Had I known, I might do this everyday. As it stands now, I still might think we shall hit up the dog park during the week and save the long walks forthe weekend. Speaking of done for, I looked like this Saturday morning. Too much of god's nectar was running through my body for me to feel very good. I think I took about 3 naps Saturday and did little in between. I did have a fantastic meal at M&T's though. That boy can grill like nobodys bidness. The dogs came with and tore it up with Sauly boy. There was some heavy playing going along with heavy breathing and heavy snorting- sounds like a bad porn doesn't it. Nope just dogs being dogs. I'll give y'all more fun, random stuff tomorrow but I am wiped today.