Yeah! It's time for Strawberries at Farmers Market

I got an email this week from the Farmers Market (across the street from Rice Stadium). One of their vendors has strawberries early this year. Yeah! I am so addicted to the FM. I was thinking about it this week. I love knowing my food is fresh and organic. I enjoy the variety of foods and products. Everything I have bought there has been so tasty! The vendors are so nice as well as the shoppers. I often talk to shoppers in line about recipes and what they are going to do or cook. Every trip is different and you never know what they'll be have new. Take strawberries for instance, you can buy them year around at the grocery store but the ones from the FM are picked ripe and fresh. Sometimes they are so ripe they are red from the outside to the inner core and juicy, oh so juicy!! I think in life you have to find joy in the mundane and day to day stuff. I love going to the FM it's like a game. They are only open a couple of hours Saturday morning and you want to get their early to ensure you get what you are looking for. First I walk around to see what everyone has and taste test. Then I go for the must haves and if I have any money left I buy the wonder what this is and how do I cook it. Last summer I waited in a long line for peaches (the line moved really quick). It was so fun and funny. Everyone in line had a basket of peaches which were so juicy the skins split when I put a bag of tomatoes on top of one of the peaches. By the time I got to the register there were no more peaches available from this vendor. It's like finding that hard to find Christmas toy, Score!!

These are the three Farmers Markets I have been to ...

http://farmersmarket.rice.edu/

http://www.urbanharvest.org/programs/market/meetvendors.html

http://www.discoverygreen.com/en/cev/eb/10580757/

Here's a good site with all the FMs in the Houston area

http://www.bayoucityoutdoors.com/clubportal/ClubStatic.cfm?clubID=3&pubmenuoptID=11318

Movie: Sherlock Holmes (2009)

Robert Downey Jr Jude Law Rachel McAdams


Directed by Guy Ritchie


Screenplay by Michael Robert Johnson, Anthony Peckham, Simon Kinberg,



Synopsis:
In a dynamic new portrayal of Arthur Conan Doyle's most famous characters, "SHERLOCK HOLMES" sends Holmes and his stalwart partner Watson on their latest challenge. Revealing fighting skills as lethal as his legendary intellect, Holmes will battle as never before to bring down a nemesis and unravel a deadly plot that could destroy the country.
The action-adventure mystery "SHERLOCK HOLMES" is helmed by acclaimed filmmaker Guy Ritchie, for Warner Bros. Pictures and Village Roadshow Pictures. Robert Downey Jr. Brings the legendary detective to life, and Jude Law stars as Holmes. Rachel McAdams stars as Irene Adler, the only woman ever to have bested Holmes and who has maintained a tempestuous relationship with the detective. Mark Strong stars as their mysterious new adversary, Blackwood. Kelly Reilly plays Watson’s love interest, Mary.


Hmmm. I looked for a review I agreed with and after reading almost a dozen I gave up. I really like Guy Ritchie's two other films-- Snatch (2000) and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998). Snatch is hard to get into bc of the accents. Not only are the accents "foreign" but they are "ghetto/slang". So you really have to tune in your ear to dissect the dialogue but once you get the hang of it it's really good. It's kinda like talking to me at times, lol. My accent can be pretty strong. As with other Ritchie films there is a good dose of slapping and fighting. If you liked those movies you'll like Sherlock Holmes. I have never read any of the novels so I don't have any complaints to any differences between the novel and film portrayals. The reviews I read seemed to basically take the movie to seriously. To me it's a good fun action film. The two fight scenes are a little too realistic for me which is par for the course with Ritchie. I just close my eyes during the rough stuff. I thought Downey and Law were a great pair as Holmes and Watkins. It was kinda like the odd couple. I liked all the casting as well as the story line. The issues I had with the movie I think were intentional. The movie lighting is very dark and I first thought the movie wasn't lit properly but then I realized it's bc of the period it is shot in. It's supposed to be dark and grainy and have a "unclean" feel. The other issue I realized about 30 minutes into the movie. I thought why are we sitting so close to the screen? I looked around and we were in our usual row in the middle of the theater in the middle seats. So I realized the movie was filmed very close in which was done to make the watcher have more of a sense of anxiety or uncomfortableness as well as bring the action flying in your face. So my two issues weren't really that big and were related to filming style not plot. I also thought Downey was great. If you like him in Iron Man, which I liked alot, than you'll like him as Holmes. I definitely recommend this movie and give it 4 out of 5 stars. If you go in expecting an intricate quiet mystery you'll be bummed so instead rent a copy of the classic Murder on the Orient Express. But if you go and see it with the mind set that you're seeing a good action film you'll enjoy it!


Also, two of the writers for this film previously wrote action/crime/thriller films: Invictus (2009), The Assassin (1990), Jumper, XMen: The Last Stand, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, XXX: State of the Union. It's not wonder that this film is full of action.

More on Sherlock Holmes from Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherlock_Holmes


Trailer for Sherlock Holmes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4K3aM5H5KM

Some other movies you'd like if you like Sherlock Holmes (2009)
Snatch
Fight Club
Pulp Fiction
The Usual Suspects
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
Sin City
Memento
Trainspotting: Collector's Edition

Strawberry Shortcake a la Crochet

As a child of the 80s I grew up with Strawberry Shortcake and love strawberries and things strawberry themed. So in my quest for a strawberry charm for my lovely new Pandora charm bracelet my father in law, Jim, gave me for Christmas last week I came across these fabulous crochet patterns with strawberry themes on Etsy. Take a look ...

http://www.etsy.com/search_results.php?search_type=handmade&search_query=crochet+strawberry

New to Pandora bracelets? Check 'em out, they are like the new version of the charm bracelet. http://www3.pandora-jewelry.com/us/Jewelry/Charms And on their home page you can click to build a wish list and a bracelet. So you pick your charms and then you can see what they would look like together. My dh gave me a cute pig to add to the charms his Dad gave me with the bracelet.

Crochet Away: Sew Crafty Houston

This is my crochet room. Hahahaha, just kidding!! I can barely finish a row of chain stitching much less finish a project. I found this pic in an article, Crochet: It’s Not Just Kitsch Anymore.

My Christmas present to myself ... I signed up for a crochet class for this Sunday at Sew Crafty Houston. I am so excited. I did some crochet as a youngin' with my Great Grandmother, Grandmother Keeland. I forgot most of it so I was trying to teach myself with a book as well as through a crochet group I found on yahoo meetups. It was going well but I was having trouble getting past the chain stitch (which isn't very far, lol). So I decided to sign up for a class in January and here we are. Also besides being a generally crafty person I decided to take up crochet bc to keep my hands and mind occupied during those times I want to randomly eat.





Yahoo Houston Crochet Meetup-- Meets at The Black Walnut Cafe (near university shops) on Saturday mornings. It's a lovely group of ladies of all ages. It's very casual and people of all skill levels. You can also get a bite to eat before, after or during. http://www.meetup.com/houstoncrochet/





Sew Crafty Houston-- Is a fairly new craft class store. It's in the Heights and they have sewing, crochet and other crafty classes available. You can sign up online or visit the store. I'll be there Sunday for Crochet I class. http://sewcraftyhouston.com/





Crochet book I am using-- Stitch 'N Bitch Crochet: The Happy Hooker. One of the girls at the meetup told me she used it to teach herself so I picked up a copy. It's got pretty much everything you need to know. I think I am just a bit more visual and need someone to show me the next step but it is a great reference item and has patterns from easy to hard. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0761139850/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0761128182&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=13MRBZDXEH7FAXRJPMJ2

Feeling Lucky? Texas Lottery Scratch Offs

I don't live to scratch but I thought the shirt was cute. (And the arms sadly resemble my now stretched out deflated arms, lol.)I generally like to buy scratchoffs to put in a birthday card and every now and then I like to press my luck. So I got to looking up at the available Texas Scratch offs and came up with this list.

Scratch offs to buy… All of these scratch offs have at least half of the grand prizes left (as of yesterday). Be sure to check the game number on the back of the scratch off before you buy. Sometimes they run several batches of a game with the same name so you want so get the right game number. Some of them are going to be hard to find (the lower the game number the older the game).

Game# Cost Name Odds
1101 $50 Extreme payout 1 to 2.6
1212 $5 $50,000 cash 1 to 3.9 *starts 1/11
1184 $5 $50,000 cash windfall 1 to 4.8
1114 $20 $500,000,000 Blockbuster 1 to 2.8
1069 $5 Big money bingo 1 to 3.8
1196 $5 Bonus Break the bank 1 to 3.8
1263 $3 Bonus Word Crossword 1 to 3.4
1047 $2 Break the Bank 1 to 5.0
1168 $5 Casino Royale 1 to 3.9
1206 $1 Find the 9’s 1 to 4.4
1182 $5 Five star cash 1 to 4.0
1211 $10 Gold Bar Bonanza 1 to 4.2 *starts 1/4
1192 $10 Jingle jumbo bucks 1 to 3.3
1259 $3 Lotteria TX 1 to 3.9
1185 $5 Lucky Rider 1 to 3.7
1210 $1 Lucky Slots 1 to 4.9 *starts 1/4
1207 $1 Spicy 7’s 1 to 4.5
1188 $3 Stocking Stuffer 1 to 3.8
1209 $2 Super Deuces 1 to 4.8
1159 $2 Treasure 1 to 4.8
1208 $3 Tripler 1 to 4.9
1218 $2 Weekly grand 1 to 3.9

(I rounded the odds up to the nearest tenth on the odds.)

For more info on Texas scratch offs go to http://www.txlottery.org/export/sites/default/Games/Scratch_Offs/

If you need help with a gambling problem go to

http://www.gamblersanonymous.org/qna.html

Movie: Julie and Julia (2009)

I finally got to see this movie. I loved it. I thought it was done very well especially since it's a based on two books. One of the things I have learned since my RNY gastric bypass that food and I have a "romantic" relationship or so says my preop therapist. I love food in all forms- eating, cooking, shopping, reading. She said after the surgery in order to be succesful with my weight loss I would have to suffer a "break-up" with food and re-establish that relationship. It's very true! Food for me is all things. It is a comfort through the good and the bad but also entertainment and a hobby. I always joke with my girlfriends that cookbooks are my "food porn", lol. I thought I was alone in that thought but apparently not. When I surf through blogs on healthy eating or RNY and healthy eating I have actually come across that phrase fairly often. A trip to Sur La Table is heaven. I love the merchandise and the prospect of buying something and what I will make with it. I love going to the farmers market and Whole Foods and Central Market. I am so happy and fulfilled in those visits. So with that said I really enjoyed this movie bc it's two main characters are cooks who enjoy the art of cooking. Meryl Streep as Julia was great. She made me want to go back and watch segments of Julia's cooking show. I also enjoyed the romance in this movie. Both of the female leads are married and display very loving affections toward their spouses. Me being a person deeply in love with their spouse, I thoroughly enjoyed seeing healthy married romantic advances. I also connected with Julia in her pain of being unable to have children (since due to a hysterectomy I can not have children). I definitely recommend this movie. It is a good food cooking chick flick!

Weene and Choochoo want H1N1 masks

Haha, too cute. My DH sent me this pic this morning with the comment that our two Dachshunds would like a set of these masks. Good use of the ears, lol ...

Nifty Thrifty: Got umbrella?

So it's that time of year when you need to keep an umbrella handy. For me particularly because it can be quite a walk from my car to school in the rain. So I just wanted to pass on a Nifty Thrifty find ... I was at Family Dollar and picked up a large golf size umbrella for $6.50. They had compact, regular and large sizes.

I was looking for an umbrella image and came across this blog. It's some Japanese people covering Rhianna's Umbrella. I thought it was kinda funny but was impressed at the same time. Take a look if you like. http://goodvibe.wordpress.com/2009/06/22/who-rocks-the-umbrella-cover-better/

Then I came across this blog with strange shaped umbrellas. Too funny! Umbrellas to inspire ...
http://brellas.wordpress.com/tag/daft/

Retro christmas ornaments: Crackerbox

Growing up my Great Grandmother, Grandmother Keeland, decorated her skinny artificial tree with beaded ornaments. They weren't as grand as the ones in this picture but too me they were equally beautiful. It wasn't until I got older and started decorating my own tree that I found out this style of beaded satin ball was made from kits from the Crackerbox Company. The company has been around for 35 years. Each ornament kit has a name and they regularly retire the kits making them highly collectible. You can look on Ebay to find retired kits and completed ornaments. The ornaments on my tree are from random boxed ornaments I bought on Ebay. Most were missing beads so I took the best ones and "repaired" them with the beads of the more broken ones. I joined the Crackerbox mailing list and was amazed at the catalog I received in the mail. There are so many different styles and colors. I love the names they are so serious and comical at the same time. For me the ornaments bring back fond childhood memories and are often an interesting topic of conversation when people first see my Christmas tree.

So if you are looking for a new hobby, a retro Christmas look or just interested in something new check out http://www.crackerbox.com/ and get on the mailing list. You might become a fan or pass on the company information to someone else who might enjoy them. Check it out!!

Been a while

I haven't posted in a while but I am gonna get on that .... tomorrow ... hahahaha

Music: Esperanza Spalding at Miller Outdoor Theater

"Charismatic and Soulful, a Maturing Star of Jazz" says the New York Times.

Look it's me and Xander jazzin' out at Miller Outdoor Theater courtesy of the great stylings of Esperanza Spalding!

Read the whole review here http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/30/arts/music/30summer.html

We, being me, my bestest friend Yvonne and my Godson Xander, had the pleasure of seeing Esperanza Spalding at Miller Outdoor Theater in May. The performance was put on by The Society for the Performing Arts.

*RITMO LATINOMay 29, 8:00 pm Widely held as a child prodigy on the double bass within months of first cradling the imposing instrument a a 15-year old, Esperanza Spalding has hardly stopped to catch her breath in the years since. Blessed with uncanny instrumental chops, a multi-lingual voice that is part angel and part siren, and a natural beauty that borers on hypnotic, the 23-year old prodigy-turned pro might well be the hope for the future of jazz and instrumental music.

Esperanza's website http://esperanzaspalding.com/site.html?lang=en

You tube videos http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8gynGy8pSg I know you know

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDxVz476VxQ Precious

Yvonne Taylor's website (my oldest and best friend) http://www.yvonnewrites.com/

It was amazing. Below is a snippet of the concert. She was fun, intense, energetic, personable and very cool. She is categorized as alternative jazz but if you like jazz or neuvo soul or samba try her out and she may be your new fav!

Theater: 42nd Street performed at Miller Outdoor Theater

"Come and meet those dancing feet,On the avenue I'm taking you to,Forty-Second Street.Hear the beat of dancing feet,It's the song I love the melody of,Forty-Second Street."

Tonight begins Miller Outdoor Theater's 3 day run of 42nd Street. I am so excited. If you live in the Houston area or are visiting be sure to check out their website to and maybe you can catch one of their free live performances. http://www.milleroutdoortheatre.com/schedule/calendarfull.asp?monthview=3 Next Friday is a BeeGee's musical which I am unfortunately going to miss. Then starts the Shakespeare festival. This year is Twelfth night and Pericles. August looks like fun too- The Wiz, Mozart and some sing along musicals! One of the best parts of Miller is the people. The people watching is primo, lol. You see all kinds of people and if you are lucky get to meet a few of them. Hope to see you there and if you live in Houston and never been take a chance and go you might enjoy it!!

Tip: Parking is kinda a drag so I always get there early. One hour early actually. So drive past the Houston Museum of Natural Science and the next lot is for the Rose Garden. Park at the Rose Garden. It's free and literally across the street from Miller.

Seating you have 3 options: Free tickets can be had for the seats under the cover at the box office. See Miller's link for details to get them. Then there is the hill and it is divided into two halves. One half is for those portable chairs and the other is for the blanket crowd. So you will have a good view either way. So get a ticket, bring a chair or bring a blanket.

Food: Bring what you like. I see alot of people with the wine and cheese combo from Whole Foods or Central Market. Make it an event and pack up your favs or frufru stuff you always wanted to try. They also have a concession that has ballpark foods.

Other: I usually bring my camera, deck of cards or dominoes, wipes, bug off and a book.

Birthday Celbrations: Happy Hour Girls

I have this wonderful bunch of girl friends who try to get together for dinner and drinks once a month. This month is my birthday, woohooo!! I will be the big 36 on Monday. I just got an email that we, the girls and I, are getting together on the last Saturday of this Month for game night at J and B or L's house. I am so excited!!

On a funny note, I was looking for a Dachshund Birthday pic and came across the Dachshund Birthday cake. Umm, I don't think the schnout is quite long enough. It looks more like like an aardvark, LOL. And who wants to eat a DOXIE!!

Food Addiction: Cravings and moodiness

I have been trying out a Clean Eating diet plan. It's been going pretty well considering I am taking two college summer school classes and working full time. On Mondays I feel pretty tired and grumpy. I have been blaming my attitude and lack of energy on school but I know it's lack of exercise and occasional bad food choice (McDonald's). So, today I was googling food addiction in general and came across one the best explanations of food addiction. I think my problem is during the week I eat super healthy. On the weekends I eat ok to bad. I allow myself wonderful things like Mexican food and chips n salsa. I also squeeze in a coke and maybe some sort of desert/treat. I think what is happening is I am screwing up my craving balance. I think it takes me all week to get my body nutritionally happy and then on the weekend's I give in to cravings. The cravings stir up my emotional food addiction as well as my love of salty fried foods. This part of the article really spoke to me ...

"The body’s homeostatic balance is affected by diet. Consumption of massive amounts of sugar, salt, caffeine or fried foods drastically affects homeostatic balance. Natural hunger becomes distorted as the body craves for the substances necessary for balance. The body reacts as it would to any addiction. Powerful cravings override the body’s natural needs. Food allergies can also cause an addiction-like dependence due to homeostatic disturbance. Your favorite foods are usually the ones to which you are addicted. You usually feel better immediately after eating the food that you are addicted to, but shortly afterward the allergic reaction produces a feeling of irritability. It causes flatulence, nausea, depression or headaches."

So, I think I need to better plan. My DH and I eat out all weekend and that's not going to change. It's part of our entertainment. So, I will have to stick to making food choices that are closer to clean eating. For me a biggie is no processed carbs ie bread, pasta, rice. I automatically feel sleepy or jittery or down right crappie when I eat these things even though I felt like I was in Heaven when I put them in my mouth. God I love processed carbs!! I think having gastric by-pass (RNY) was the best choice for me to finally get a hold of my carb consumption. Yes, I can still eat them but now it's not fun bc I can only eat a couple of bites and then I feel like crap. Before surgery I would eat bowls of carbs til I could eat no more which would cause sleepiness so I would follow that up with a DingDong sugar boost. I thought that was Heaven! Now, though, having dropped 80 pounds in 9 months I realize I was trading carb loading for life living.

"Your food addiction is great for Business"
http://www.healthrecipes.com/eat5.htm

Things to do in Houston: March

http://www.bayoucityartfestival.com/
Looking for something to do ... the Bayou City Art Festival in Memorial Park is always fun. It's one booth after another of all forms of art. There is also some food and music. The weather should be sunny and mid to high seventies. $10 for adults and children under 12 are free. I highly recommend parking at Northwest Mall and taking the shuttle bus. Northwest Mall is right where the 610 loop and 290 meet. You park in the parking lot of the mall and grab a free bus. It's pretty obvious when you pull in where to park and catch the buses. The bus drops you off at the entrance to the park. You see the festival which is one big loop so you end up back at the entrance. Get back on the bus and then back to your car, nice! Here is a link to our local ABC affiliate with a very simplified page to click for tickets and parking http://a.abclocal.go.com/ktrk/feature?section=resources/lifestyle_community&id=5981183. See you there!!

*If you are looking for a volunteer opportunity. SNAP needs volunteers to work their drink stand. SNAP is Spay-Neuter Assistance Program. http://www.snapus.org/site/PageServer

*If you are looking for another volunteer opportunity. Houston Arts Alliance also needs volunteers http://www.cachh.org/get-involved/volunteer/volunteering-with-houston-arts-alliance-at-the-bayou-city-art-festival/

Food: Black Bean Salsa and Black Bean Soup

Last month I went to a sweet wedding of two great friends in Vegas. So last night I stopped off at my brother's house to pass out shirts and such that picked up in Vegas. They proceeded to eat cinnamon rolls and so I made my hasty exit, lol. I love cinnamon rolls- hot, gooey, buttery, YUM- but since my RNY gastric bypass I absolutely can not eat brown sugar or molasses. I mean I get completely sick. We are talking a full dumping episode!! I can eat regular sugar in small doses but brown sugar is a no. So as much as I love cinnamon rolls the thought of a dumping episode made them very unappealing. I didn't have a plan for supper last night which is never good but on the flip side I have really been good keeping my fridge and pantry stocked so it is easy to put something together. Last night's concoction was Black Bean Salsa. You could use it as a salsa but for me I just eat it as a meal.

Black Bean Salsa

1 can (15 oz) drained black beans
1/2 green bell pepper , cut up chunky or diced
1/2 red or yellow bell pepper, cut up chunky or diced
1/2 (10 oz) can of drained Rotel tomatoes or 1 tomato, cut up chunky or diced
1/2 avocado, cut up chunky
1/2 cucumber, peeled and cut up chunky
1/3 (or less) purple onion, diced
Dash or so of Garlic Salt
Optional: top with sour cream, corn, cheese, salsa, lime, mango

Mix all ingredients in bowl and serve.

Servings: 4 four oz. I eat this at two meals, dinner and then lunch the next day. Then I take whats left and make black bean soup.

Also a way to change up the flavor is to stir in a teaspon of your favorite low fat salad dressing. Like Ken's lite Cesar or lite Raspberry Vinagrette. Check out this link for Ken's lite dressing options http://shopping.kensfoods.com/lidr8oz.html . I go for light or lowfat options bc generally when the fat is removed the maker puts in sugar to replace the fat for flavor. So even though fat free is less fat and calories it will often have more sugar and your body will take extra sugar and make it into fat. Plus us bariatric sugery patients need to watch sugar to prevent dumping! I try to follow the 4 ingredient rule- if sugar is listed in the first four ingredients than I usually pass on that product and look for another product.

Black bean soup
Two ways

Version 1
Take all the ingredients from the Black Bean Salsa recipe and blend them in a blender for a smooth black bean soup. Done and serve. (This also makes a good dip)

Version 2
All the ingredients from the Black Bean Salsa plus
2 cups of water and a chicken bouillon cube or 1 can of chicken broth
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1/2 cup carrots, chopped
1/2 cup onions, chopped
1/4 c cooking sherry

Put the liquid (either water and chicken bouillon or can of chicken broth) in a pot and bring to a boil. Add celery, carrots and onions to boiling water. Cook until tender, 15 min maybe.
Add cooking sherry and all the ingredients from the black bean salsa. Let it simmer for 5 minutes and serve.

Optional: add taco seasoning for more flavor, add more liquid if to much evaporates during cooking.

Food: Faux Rice Pudding

Prior to RNY gastric bypass I loved to eat rice pudding. Now that I don't eat rice anymore I have really had a craving for rice pudding so I searched the web and came across this recipe on http://mommywhatsfordinner.blogspot.com/2007/09/cottage-cheese-faux-rice-pudding.html
for faux rice pudding made with cottage cheese. Purrrfect, it's low in sugar and high in protein woohoo. It also tastes pretty darn good.

Faux Rice Pudding

1c low fat cottage cheese
1tsp instant sugar free vanilla pudding mix
3 tbs 2 % milk
pinch of cinnamon
Optional: sprinkling of raisins, nuts or fruit, dash of Splenda for extra sweetness


In a bowl combine cottage cheese, pudding mix, milk and cinnamon.
Stir until all ingredients until combined.
Cover and refrigerate for 15 min.
Before serving sprinkle on top any of the optional ingredients.
Dig in!!

Serving: I eat 4oz at a time. So instead of measuring 1 cup of cottage cheese I weighed 8oz of cottage cheese then added the rest of the ingredients. Then I split the recipe in half for two servings.

The boys: at Monster Jam 1/17/09

I took my godson Xander (3), my nephew Shaun (9) and my nephew Brandon (6) to the Monster Jam truck show at Reliant Stadium Saturday 1/17/09. As always Aunt Jamie had a good time and I think they did too!!

Ultimate Monster Jam Freestyle and Thrill show offers something unique for fans in Houston. With three shows at Reliant Stadium in the month of January, delivering non-stop action with no limits, and no restraint. In this Thrill show, there would be no limit on the number of Wheelies or Cyclone Donuts, and no clock to limit the drivers in Freestyle. To make it even more exciting, they brought in twice as many crush cars to build more obstacles than ever. They even brought in an extra 100 dump truck loads of dirt to build a massive “Step Up” ramp for the drivers to devour.

Pastrana 199 and Safe Auto Minimizer were our favorites. With more obstacles and crush cars to demolish, Paul Cohen kept cross-threading the track back and forth in every direction until he finally flipped Pastrana 199 end over end, leaving it on it’s side. The crew was able to turn him over, and Paul just took off again, and continued to tear it up. Marc knew that he would need something special to take the win after seeing how much the fans loved Pastrana. And sure enough, Safe Auto delivered. Marc flipped the truck over, and landed it back on all four tires. A short time later, he blew out his right front tire, but even that couldn’t stop him. Only after the tire fell completely off the truck was Marc forced to stop with his truck wedged deep into one of the obstacles.

In the video I am on the end with the camera then Xander, Shaun, Brandon, Seth (my brother) and Elisha (his fiance). We were watching the Robosaurus. He was pretty cool. I thought his part went on a little long and the music was very heavy. The kids loved when they uncovered the dino and he came to life. There was a scare with the Mutt truck. On one of his runs it caught on fire and flames blew out the top and side windows. I was really scared but the driver jumped out and seemed to be fine. I was amazed ... I mean the flames blew out his driver side window but he came out OK! Whew! And to think I almost forgot the motorcycle stunts. They were awesome!! There were 4 cyclists doing flips and wheelies off the tall ramps and some of the stunts were synchronized.

If you've never taken your kids to a monster truck show you are missing out. See their link for show near you http://www.monsterjamonline.com/home. Bring earplugs for the little ones. My guys didn't need them bc they're bad to the bone, lol! Oh and caution-It's really loud in there so you may want to gauge whether or not your kids can hang.

I included a slide show of a few pics I took as well to your right.

*If you are ever traveling to Houston we have 3 events at Reliant Stadium in January-March. The moster truck show(s), then The Supercross http://www.supercross.com/, and the Rodeo http://www.hlsr.com/. Also during this time is usually the Harlem Globetrotters at Toyota Center http://www.harlemglobetrotters.com/ and some sort of Disney on Ice http://disney.go.com/disneyonice/ or Sesame Street live. This year is Sesame Street http://www.sesamestreetlive.com/ . Be sure to visit each of these sites and join their email list so you don't miss out!

Food: Hungry Girl - Don't "treat" yourself badly

www.hungrygirl.com is a great website for creative lower calorie cooking. You want a chocolate mint shake? Well go to her website and there is a recipe with half the calories without losing the flavor! You can join to get her free emails. I have eaten the last item, parmesean sole, and it was ok but damn it wasn't worth 2,190 calories!! To me it tasted like glorified fish sticks and the sundried tomatoes were hard to chew. Here's what she sent me via email today:

We ALL like to treat ourselves now and then. However, there's a big difference between treating yourself and treating yourself BADLY. Here are a handful of entrées that are WAAAY heavier than you (or any of us) ever suspected. Are you SITTING DOWN?!?

Olive Garden, Spaghetti & MeatballsPER SERVING (dinner portion): 1,110 calories, 50g fat, 2,180mg sodium, 103g carbs -- POINTS® value 26*For anyone who missed the big news, Olive Garden now posts its nutritional info online. We flipped when we heard and were brave enough to scour the site in search of shocking new info. Some of the meals are what we like to call "DUH!" items (a dinner portion of Chicken Alfredo over fettuccine has 1,430 calories and 82g fat... DUH!), but others surprised and horrified us. Specifically, the most basic of all Italian food -- Spaghetti & Meatballs. Over 1,000 calories for spaghetti in a tomato-based sauce and a few balls of meat? COME ON!Better Choice: If you want that classic tomato goodness, o pt for the

Linguini alla Marinara, with 430 calories and 6g fat for a dinner portion (POINTS® value 8 - 9*). And if you really need a ground beef fix, start with a serving of Pasta e Fagioli for just 130 calories, 2.5g fat, and a POINTS® value of 2 - 3*. (With two types of fiber-rich beans, it's most likely a POINTS® value of 2*.) Those meatballs are SO not worth it.

Red Lobster, Parrot Bay Jumbo Coconut Shrimp with Creamy Langostino Lobster Baked Potato and a Caesar SaladPER SERVING (1 dinner portion with accompaniments): 1,620 calories, 69g fat, 2,708mg sodium, 111g carbs -- POINTS® value 37 - 38*One of the things we LOVE about Red Lobster is that you can customize your meal by picking your sides. However if you're in one of those "throw caution (and diet) to the wind" moments, you can get in SERIOUS trouble. Say you decide to be a little adventurous and get those coconut shrimp (they sound so special). The dish comes with a salad. You ask for Caesar (it's still a salad, right?). For your side, why not get the baked potato (smart!) topped with lobster? WHY NOT?!? Because the combo meal you just ordered has now tipped the scales at over 1,60 0 calories... AHHHHHHH!Better Choice: If it's shrimp you crave, go for the dinner portion of Wood-Fire Garlic-Grilled Jumbo Shrimp -- only 365 calories and 6g fat (POINTS® value 7 - 8*). It comes over wild rice pilaf, and if you go with the garden salad and fat-free ranch, you'll clock in with a total of 495 calories and 9g fat (POINTS® value 10 - 11*). WAY better!

T.G.I. Friday's, Sizzling Fajita ComboPER SERVING (1 order): 1,590 calories -- POINTS® value of at least 31*Of course the Jack Daniel's Ribs & Shrimp is gonna be a calorie-fest (1,910 calories, to be exact), but fajitas seem so simple and grilled and guiltless. How bad could they be? Ummm, BAD. For a meal that consists mostly of grilled meats and roasted veggies, that sky-high calorie count probably means that a) the tortillas are plentiful and a little high in calories, b) it's served with the heaviest possible toppings, and c) this is an OILFEST!!! One of these days, we'll get that fat content from you, T.G.I. Friday's...Better Choice: You've got the right idea going with a grilled entrée, but instead go for the Dragonfire Chicken. It's glazed with spicy Kung Pao sauce and it comes with stir-fried brown rice, broccoli, M andarin oranges, and pineapple pico de gallo. All that for 510 calories. Not bad.

Outback Steakhouse, Alice Springs ChickenPER SERVING (1 order): 2,000 calories -- POINTS® value of at least 39*Alright, we recognize that nobody really walks into an Outback Steakhouse and expects to leave feeling like they ate healthy food, but COME ON! If you think you're dodging a big fatty bullet by getting this not-beefy, not-deep-fried dish, you are just plain WRONG. It's a grilled chicken breast, sure, but it's buried under bacon, sautéed mushrooms, honey mustard sauce, and two kinds of cheese, and it's served with "Aussie Chips." Wow. It takes a lot of work to get a grilled chicken dish up to 2,000 calories. And Outback, you are putting in OVERTIME!Better Choice: If you're determined to eat well at Outback, go for the Ahi Tuna Chopped Salad. You'll get seared tuna on a big pile of greens with wasabi vinaigrette and crispy wontons for 590 c alories. Save some calories and fat by ditching the wontons. Save more by ordering that dressing on the side -- even better, get the fat-free Tangy Tomato Dressing -- then dip, don't pour! Click here for more suggestions on how to cut calories and fat from Outback's menu -- pretty impressive. Guess you can eat smart at Outback... it just takes a little effort!

Romano's Macaroni Grill, Parmesan-Crusted SolePER SERVING (1 dinner portion): 2,190 calories, 141g fat, 2,980mg sodium, 145g carbs, 9g fiber, 82g protein -- POINTS® value 55*Friends, we're scared. This meal, at first glance, seems like a pretty safe option. "Filets lightly hand-breaded with Parmesan cheese and garlic, sautéed and topped with lemon butter sauce and capers." Oh! It's only lightly breaded. And at least it's fish and not beef. "Served with sun-dried tomato and spinach orzo pasta." Well that sounds lovely and not heavy at all. The ugly truth? You could eat an entire Layers of Lasagna dinner AND a Brick Oven Meatball Sandwich and STILL not have consumed as many fat grams and calories as there are in this dangerously deceptive dish. (Don't do that.) Sad times!Better Choice: Go somewhere else. Seriously! But if you're stuck there for dinner, stick with the Pollo Magro "Skinny Chicken" -- 320 calories and 5g fat (POINTS® value 6*). If you swore off that dish after last year's nutritional controversy, your next best bet is actually the Simple Salmon, with 590 calories and 32g fat (POINTS® value 14*) -- and stress the word SIMPLE when you order, because the Grilled Salmon has a LOT more calories. Both the Pollo Magro and the Simple Salmon come with grilled asparagus and broccoli.

Nifty Thrifty: Savitz Field and Focus

Savitz Field and Focus is a company that conducts research through focus groups for other companies. They have 16 offices across the country. If there is one near you sign up to receive their emails and if you are picked to be in a focus group they will pay you. Yeah! They did research on beer recently and I heard it paid $200. Can you imagine, lol?! (I heard that on the elevator in the building where they are located in Houston). In their emails they will tell you what they are looking for to qualify. Good Luck!!
http://www.savitzfieldandfocus.com/

* The email I got today- Looking for males and females ages 25-65 in the Lake Charles, LA area, reference: media

Video and Book: John Lewis

My bestest friend, M. Yvonne Taylor the writer, shared the following video with me today-
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/index.php?cl=11903430. I really connected with the video bc it speaks to the power of spoken words to heal. I believe you should say what needs to be said regardless of how uncomfortable it may make you feel or the length it takes you to say it. In this video one man wronged another man and 28 years later he apologized for his horrible actions. Through two words- I'm sorry- both men were able to put some closure or acceptance to chapters in their lives. So, next time you see someone you value take a minute and say, "Hey, I just wanted to let you know I appreciate you." It may be uncomfortable but words like those really touch the receiver and help to bring purpose and value to their lives.



* For more about John Lewis read his memoir Walking with the Wind. Here's a link
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/index.php?cl=11903430
Other books on freedom riders and the civil rights movement
Parting the Waters by Taylor Branch
http://www.amazon.com/Parting-Waters-America-Years-1954-63/dp/0671687425/ref=pd_sim_b_2
The Children by David Halberstam
http://www.amazon.com/Children-David-Halberstam/dp/0449004392/ref=pd_sim_b_7

**Read more on the issues U.S. Congressman John Lewis supports
http://johnlewis.house.gov/

***Those parts of history that are the ugliest and most disturbing are the most important moments to educate yourselves about because those are the moments in history we don't want to repeat.

****Have you touched base with your Congressperson lately? Click http://www.congress.org/congressorg/home/and find out who represents you and you can even send them a message by clicking their name. (Note: if you live in a metro area you may need the four digits that go after your zip code. You can easily get that by looking up your address on http://www.mapquest.com/ bc when it pulls up the map it will have your complete zip.) Also after you click congress.org and have entered your zip and you see your reps look on the right hand side and you can sign up for Vote Monitor: Get Your Representatives' Votes sent to you by email weekly. How cool is that? If you don't like something you see you can use that same link above click the reps name and fire off a message or you could email the issue to all our your friends and start a riot! See it doesn't take a lot to be involved you can be like me and be an armchair crusader, lol. It's interesting to see what issues your reps are supporting or not supporting for that matter. You might be surprised.

*****Funny for the day: When life kicks me it kicks me so hard I have to laugh ... Tomorrow the appliance repairman is coming to fix my fridge (which isn't cooling bc the freezer is freezing over), the yard man is coming to do my yard (and possibly fix my fence since part of it fell down that is if he does that sort of thing), the phone man is coming to put in a phone jack (my guest room doesn't have a jack, what's up with that?!?) and the cable man is coming to install cable allegedly, lol ( he was a no-show last weekend) ... so see I am lucky to have enough change in my pocket to pay for these things and all of them are not life threatening,lol.

Adopt a Pet days at Petsmart

You know I love to support pet causes so here's something going on at Petsmart.

As always please adopt responsibly. They also have $6 shipping on orders of $60 or more, that's pretty good. Here's a link to their specials http://www.petsmart.com/sale.jsp.

Here's a link to their "Second Chance for Love" http://adoptions.petsmart.com/adoption-events/?&utm_source=Email&utm_medium=020609Perks&utm_campaign=Adopt . Even if you can't adopt a pet you can go by and make a donation to the animal charity that is at your local Petsmart. Skip a fast food meal this week and instead donate $5 to a pet charity. If you are a homebody or too busy to go out to Petsmart you can donate from your computer to SPCA http://www.spca.com/donation/ or google SPCA, your city for your local chapter. Or take it a step further and google your favorite breed, your city and donate online to a rescue group. My personal favorite is Dachshund Rescue of Houston. Their home page is http://www.dachshundrescueofhouston.org/and their donation page is https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_flow&SESSION=iyq0RIXlTafifZKVjvfJenm89WMGFVK6CVlcnSzbBoma1Nw7oisuVPIOua0&dispatch=5885d80a13c0db1f9fecf49521b3f5afc18ba9034b1c79cbd5929eac28412d99 .

Book: Hard Eight by Janet Evanovich

Title: Hard Eight
Book 8 in the Stephanie Plum Series
Author: Janet Evanovich
Chick Bounty Hunter Mystery/Thriller
As a member of the Plum Series-this book a 5 out of 5

If you don't mind formulaic writing or heck if you are looking for a good formula Evanovich can always deliver. Some readers diss Evanovich bc her novels are very similar but for me that's what makes them good. I don't get to watch much T.V. and I don't have cable (but I might by this weekend if the cable company ever shows up). So for me this kind of series is just like watching a sitcom, the characters are reliable-the funny ones are funny, the sexy ones are sexy and the dumb ones are always good for a laugh. Reading Evanovich is a cross between Magnum P.I., Home Alone and James Patterson. The Stephanie Plum series has comedy (especially slap stick) and adventure/thrill provided mostly by her job as a bounty hunter which she often blunders through. Also, Evanovich writes my kind of sex, lol. I don't need to read about his throbbing member or a play by play that goes on for pages. Now, don't get me wrong I love a good piece of erotic fiction but through the erotic genre you get to read sex and sexuality in way that realeases your imagination. In the romance department Plum has a on again off again boyfriend, Morelli, and her fellow bounty hunter, Ranger. Through these two characters you get lust, sex and even love. As far as the usual story line, this book is a little different in that she is not picking up people who have missed their court dates thus revoking their bonds but is instead investigating a family bond for her parents neighbor. The neighbor's daughter was ordered to put up a bond during her divorce to deter her from fleeing with the child. Her mother, the neighbor, put her house up as collateral for the bond. The daughter and child go missing and Plum is asked by the neighbor to investigate. There's an added bonus to this book and if you read Seven Up (the previous installment) you'll know if deals with Ranger. Yummy!!!

*I read some reviews on this book on the web and a few readers felt this book was lacking in plot and two predictable. I disagree. I thought this book was just as good as her previous books in the series and really funny. Of course, I also like the parts with Ranger ... did I say that already, lol.

** Funny for the day: My boss comes to me with the supplies bill and says, "Do we really need to order small paperclips? We have hundreds in the copy room." I reply, "The reason we have so many is bc I keep filling them up." He replied, "Well I think people are just too damn lazy to look for a paperclip around here and we need to quit ordering paperclips to force them to find some." To myself I thought, You're an idiot we just wasted more of your billable time to disucss paperclips than it cost to buy them. Secondly, where do you just "find" paperclips? Are there paperclip bunnies who magically reproduce paperclips?

Movie: New in Town (2009)

Harry Connick, Jr. and Renee Zellweger

Directed by Jonas Elmer

Screenplay by Ken Rance and C. Jay Cox

Review I agree with http://reelloop.com/reviews/310-new-in-town.html

3 out of 5 stars, DVD worthy

Chick Flick Romantic Comedy

Synopsis: In this romantic comedy, Renée Zellweger stars as Lucy Hill, a powerful businesswoman who feels right at home in glamorous Miami. But soon a business opportunity takes her to small town America,... In this romantic comedy, Renée Zellweger stars as Lucy Hill, a powerful businesswoman who feels right at home in glamorous Miami. But soon a business opportunity takes her to small town America, and she realizes that she may have found more there than just another way to climb the corporate ladder. Harry Connick Jr. costars as the object of Lucy's affection, and JUNO's J.K. Simmons also plays a role. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1196344-new_in_town/

Wow, this movie got a 3.9 out of 10 on Rotten Tomatoes. I didn't think the movie was that bad. I mean I wish I had seen something else since it wasn't "movie theater" worthy but I would have given it a 6 out of 10. The movie just falls short of being a great girl classic like Two Weeks Notice, Maid in Manhattan, The Wedding Planner, Wedding Date, and Sweet Home Alabama. I enjoyed the movie but could have waited too see it on DVD.

Not to be superficial but Renee looked a little strange in the movie (face too shiney, hair too harsh or not smooth). She still looked better than me on a good day, lol, but not her best look so far.

What went wrong with this movie? Since I didn't really see any fault in the acting I decided to check out the Director- Jonas Elmer. This could be part of the problem- with the exception of this film it looks like his past stuff has been German films/TV so maybe there was somthing lost in his translation. This movie didn't leave me with the happy, all is well in the world lovey dovey feeling I had expected. The thing that impressed upon my mind the most was the snow and cold in Minnesota and of course the comedy based on their accents which I appreciated bc people always make fun of my southern accent and you know who ya'll are, lol!

Next, I looked up the screen writers, Ken Rance and C. Jay Cox. First thing I learned about Ken is that he is a native from Minneapolis, Minnesota. So, I will give him props for the funny Minnesota accents and the loveable family focused characters. I really enjoyed the family portrayals in this movie it definitley had a homey feel. Next, I see this is his "first rodeo" as well. His previous experience has been as assistants or with movies I haven't seen or heard of. On to C. Jay Cox who you know as the screenwriter for Sweet Home Alabama (2002) and Kiss the Bride (2008) (with Torri Spelling). So, now with that info I am disappointed. This movie should have been better with Cox as a writer since he wrote the screenplay for Sweet Home Alabama. So I guess I am gonna play the director for this movie missing it's mark. Better luck next time!!

*I put Kiss the Bride on my netflix list so maybe you'll hear about that one soon.

**Funny for the day: My boss walked by me today and said, "Don't you look nice today ... all colorful and shit". LOL, that's the way we roll here in Texas.