Team Sea Lion May 29, 2008

I am headed to San Diego today for the marathon this Sunday! Boom and Kandy A will be running. Cubby, myself and Gretty will be spectating (well, Gretty may run the last few miles with Boom). Kandy A will likely be running a 3:15 - 3:20. Boom, who really stopped training a while ago, says the writing is on the wall and that there is nothing else that he can do… so he’s shooting for a 4:00 time. Will just be great to take a little trip and see some of gals and hang out.

I had grand plans of making a sign and t-shirts for all of us, but being in flux has been much harder than I thought it would be. So none of that stuff this time (unlike Austin) - perhaps next time. I think Boom is going to sign up for Houston (which I did back in 2006) - it is a good one, and since we live here, it will be easy, in terms of logistics. I hope some of Team Sea Lion decide to sign up for it as well!

I haven’t been to SD since I was in lower school - going to Sea World and that sort of thing. With all the stuff that has been going on with the move, I really haven’t had time to do any research or plan anything out. Luckily, Cubby has been on the ball about that stuff. And Gretty has a friend who lives there that may be taking us around to the local spots.

Likely I won’t be able to post until I get back home on Sunday night, so wish Boom luck (Kandy A doesn’t need it) and ciao for now!

Indy May 28, 2008

On Memorial Day, Yarbs and I did a little shop shop.  I didn’t end up purchasing anything, but she did get a really cute shirt.  We picked Boom up for lunch, then we went to the cinema to be one of the many viewers of the latest Indiana Jones movie on its opening weekend.

Like most everyone else I have talked to, I was a little disappointed with the movie.  The cartoonitron gopher in the first 5 mins of the movie was super cheezy, as was the ending.  But I am not sure if it is b/c I am older now than I was when I saw the other Indiana Jones’.  I think I need to re-watch some of the older ones, to see if I like them as much I think I remember I do.  I did love Short-Round in the 2nd one (and that is also one of the many nicknames I call Ruby).

You can definitely tell that Harrison Ford is older, less agile and slower than he once was.  But this is the role that I have liked him the best in - who doesn’t love Indiana?!

Anyway, looks like Shia LeBoeuf (sp?) is being positioned to take over the I.J. series.  Not sure how I feel about that. I think Tad Hamilton (Josh Dumell, my one major star crush) would have been a good one to take over as I.J., but I guess no one asked me

This is How Funny Boom is… May 28, 2008

A comment from my last post from Boom, but I thought it hilarious enough to bring in as a guest blog:

It is time to “Pull the Plug” on the myth that Peanut Butter and Cheese are not natural snacking compatriots. Recent archealogical findings support the combination of cheese and peanut butter all the way back to the stone age. Rudimentary cave drawings and handtools indicate the wooly mammoth milk was churned into cheese and combined with a milled peanut based past to create a tasty snack used to help the neanderthal man survive the long cold winter seasons. It is believed that this snack was also used by the Norse warriors and trappers to help survive the long treks across Iceland and Greenland on big game hunts.

It was not until the late 1800s early 1900s that the two staples took inexplicably different paths when peanut butter was combined with jam/jelly/bananas and other sweet fruit flavored products while cheese was combined with salty meats.
Theorists believe that it was the invention of the ice-box that was the driving force in the separation of these products.

The cheese and peanut-butter sandwich made a strong come-back in the late 1960s when NASA combined this tasty snack with a sweet orange drink TANG as the primary food source for astronauts training for the “moon misssion.” if you watch closely you can actually see that Neal Armstrong has a cheese and peanut-butter sandwich in his hand just prior to emerging from the space capsule to set foot on the moon.

The snack has ebbed and flowed since with the tide of numerous faddish American diets that have swept the nation.
A few noble individuals, such as Boom Boom, have made efforts to make sure that this treasure is not lost and will be enjoyed for generations to come.

We should all take a minute to show our appreciation for these individuals (cowboys/pilgrims/enablers/patriots/barrons/financiers) whatever you might call them!

A Meal that will Plug You Up May 27, 2008

Unfortunately, we didn’t eat before our cultural excursion on Saturday night, so by the end of the Pink Martini set, I was starving. And really, I couldn’t enjoy them as much as I wanted to since I was so hungry, and I feel bad, since I am sure they are great on a full stomach. We tried to go to a local quick serve place (Taco Milagro) that was supposed to be open until midnight, but by 1030pm when we got there, there was no more food being served and it was just a scene (live music, all the hoochies out in full force, the usual).

So we came on home, assuming at most places are 1) closed or 2) mainly bars by 11pm. I toasted up some very hearty 12-grain bread that we had to make some PBJs for us. Boom told me he just wanted PB, no J. Then he proceeded to make his signature PB and cheese sandy.

I had totally forgotten about that fav of his. I’ve never tasted a PBC, despite Boom’s repeated badgering of me to do so. He’s all like, You like peanut butter and you love cheese. The combo of them together is delish - how could it NOT be?!

Storming the Kremlin of Your Heart May 27, 2008

As part of our “getting to know H-town” plan, Boom and I plan to do at least 1 cultural thing a month.  Houston has a great Theater District with an opera, ballet, symphony and, of course, a theater.  Which is one of the benefits of living in a big city, one that we fully intend to take advantage of!

For this month, on Saturday we went to Jones Hall to hear the Houston Symphony play along with Pink Martini.  I had heard of Pink Martini from a friend in Richmond.  She had never actually seen them live, but had a friend who saw them in London and said it was a great show.  So we got tickets, not really knowing what to expect…

The first half of the night was the Houston Symphony - which was great.  It reminded me of my old orchestra days - kinda made me wish I had kept playing the violin.  The conductor was not the usual conductor, but rather a young guy.  He talked in between arrangements and really made the symphony seem accessible and intimate.  Not something I was used to, but I liked it.  The last 2 arrangements they did (they did a sort of world tour of music) were Santana and Gloria Estefan - a little odd, but definite crowd pleasers.  It does make me wonder, however, if these classically trained musicians mind playing popular music.

The second half was Pink Martini.  I had never heard them before (knowingly), and I really enjoyed them!  A lot of their music sounded very familiar, maybe because a lot was from the 40’s and 50’s.  They did have a very global feel to their music. I want to download both their albums (and will do so once the main home computer is down here)!  And they were funny - not taking themselves too seriously.  Their lyrics were fun and I really had a good time listening to them.

The founder and lead singer went to Harvard (that is where they met) and studied things in the field of performing arts.  That also made me think - my parents would have flipped out (with happiness) if I had gone to Harvard, but then also flipped out (been very upset) if I had studied drama or anything really too art-related.  I guess it just goes to show, if you are following your heart, success will follow.  And that going to Harvard is never a bad choice

Food these days May 23, 2008

Although we moved down to H-town will just the bare necessities, we are  getting by.  I am cooking a little, mainly when Boom is around, but also just to eat healthy.

Yum!  A poor man’s succotash over spinach and French lentils… used organic frozen corn and edaname, and just tore up some spinach (the heat from the lentils and succotash wilts the spinach), and put it all over French lentils.  Has been my lunch for the past 2 days!

A day or so before we left Richmond, we went to the local healthy grocery store, Ellwood Thompsons, and grabbed dinner.  I had quinoa topped with their fancier succotash.  Since then, I have been a little bit obsessed with making it - I have already made it once with quinoa for Boom.  I think he liked it, but that it didn’t fill him up all the way.

That is the problem these days - since I am not cooking meat, Boom is growing thinner and thinner.  I feel kinda bad, but I do think he eats meat at lunch and when we go out to eat, which is fairly often.

I wish I would grow thinner and thinner - but my crazy cheese tooth isn’t helping that any…

Today I finished all but a little nub of the cheese.  Figured I could save that for Boom tonight - likely should have saved him a little more - opps!

Why I am not Vegan May 23, 2008

I like to cut (and eat) the cheese too much!

Wednesday:

Yesterday:

Lovely hunk of cheddar with stripes of blue cheese. Now whoever came up with the idea of putting cheese inside of cheese was a genius!!

Veggie Dog May 22, 2008

I got Ruby some veggie dog food yesterday:

One of the benefits that is actually written on the back of the food bag is “Lover Lower Stool Volume” - too funny!

Last night I thought Ruby liked it - I am mixing it in with her meat based food (no byproducts, though) until the meat based food runs out. She ate her bowl of mixed kibble lickety-split. But this morning, I can actually hear her stomach growling, and she refuses to eat her mixed kibble.

She was begging me to get her veggie dog food - not wanting to contribute to the suffering of her fellow animals and to do her part to help save the environment - and now she pulls this?! I am not going to worry, once she is hungry enough, she will bust into the mixed kibble. She is so moody…

Red Sisters May 22, 2008

For an additional $200 and no added features except making me smile every time I see them, we got a fire engine RED! washer and dryer set.

When we were at Best Buy purchasing them, I was really fine with white. It was the cheapest and who really cares about the color of your washer and dryer, right? But Boom convinced me to go with RED! since those were the ones I was initially drawn to… and I am glad that we did! (I think and add’l $200 didn’t seem so bad to Boom ’cause the really pretty stainless steel ones were an add’l $2000!)

I love looking at them and seeing them in my lovely mud room makes me smile. Yarbs came over today and saw them and she was all, they are so cute! and I was all, I KNOW! Her theory is that Boom is hoping the RED! will entice me to do laundry more often. We’ll see about that…

I did do my first load this morning (sheet) and used the steam setting (on both washer and dryer) - and the sheets do seem to be cleaner than they ever were in the Ric. That is probably all in my mind.

But the steam dryer setting did really cut down on static electricity, like it said it would. I have stopped using dryer sheets (ran out of the in the Ric and didn’t want to get a new pack since we were moving) and sometimes static cling can be an issue. I went to Whole Foods to see about getting some enviro-friendly dryer sheets, but they all had major essential oil smells, so I couldn’t do it. With this steam dryer setting, it seems that I won’t need dryer sheets ever again (which is the most enviro-friendly, to not use dryer sheets at all)!

Wow, I can’t believe I just typed that. Seems that my life is pretty boring these days, when I am getting excited about not using dryer sheets. Sorry, will try to find more exciting fodder for this blog!

Official May 21, 2008

So we are Texans now / again, as evidenced by our State of the Arts personalized plate:

It’s cool, right, to have personalized plates?  and to live out in The Woodlands (hours away from the city proper of Houston)?

Ha - just kidding, we definitely do not have personalized plates (the above picture was doctored in Photoshop) and we are residing well inside the loop!

We just need to get our driver’s licenses and then it will really be quite official.  Also, in approx. 8 days, I’ll be changing my cell phone number to a (713) number - and after that it will definitely be official!  No turning back…

And once the USPS offical recognizes our home address, we’ll be all set.  Evidently it is a new address (tho I  think there was once a house here that got razed so our house could get built) and has been put in the USPS system, but it just takes a while for the system to fully recognize it.

I even have a yard guy (and his uncle).  Now we’re really putting down roots!