I came across this site again today after many months of neglecting it.  Here are a few of the ones that made me laugh out loud.  Can anyone explain to me why exactly I find these so humorous?  I don’t think I would find it as funny if the cats were replaced with dogs.  I am a bit embarrassed that I am so amused by them…but alas, I cannot deny that I am easily entertained.  Give me a silly animal picture and slap a few words on it and you’ve got me hooked.

more cat pictures

more cat pictures

more cat pictures

more cat pictures

I attended a cooking class last night at Central Market in Austin.  Rebecca Rather, who I have blogged about before, taught the class.  On the menu: cold cucumber soup, bread salad with summer vegetables, frosted sugar cookies, molten chocolate cakes, and ginger peach upside down cake.  I’m not going to go into detail about the class.  The food was tasty, especially the bread salad and peach cake.  My reason for writing is to address an issue I started contemplating on my drive back to Waco last night.  Cooks, chefs, cooking teachers and cooking entertainers…who is more worthy?  More important?  More talented?  During the class last night, someone mentionned a show on the Food Network and referred to the host as a chef, to which Chef Rather replied, “Well, those people aren’t really chefs.” as she stirred another unknown and unexplained ingredient into the recipe I was suppossed to be “learning” to make.  I have been to other classes at Central Market where the chef teaching the class really explained what she was doing, why it was important to cream butter and sugar thoroughly, how to tell how well meat was cooked just by poking it, and how to avoid common cooking problems.  The class was entertaining and I ate great food.  None of those teachers, however, owned 5 star restaurants, had their own cooking show, and had also written numerous award winning cookbooks.  Can anyone be an incredible chef, teacher, entertainer, and business owner all at the same time?  Emeril Lagasse entertains and has a celebrity personality.  I wonder about his cooking abilities at times.  Rebecca Rather has two successful businesses and has written great cookbooks…but she was not the best teacher.  Christopher Kimball can explain in great detail how to make the perfect poundcake, but I would not want to watch him on tv.  Anthony Bordain wrote an entertaining article about the Food Network.  I agree with some of the ranting, but also think that not all people in the business of food can or should be judged on the same criteria.  Ok, so Rachel Ray is annoying and none of her recipes seem too amazing or inventive to me…but she’s incredibly popular, she’s easy to relate to and she’s doing quite well for herself I imagine.  Part of me says “What a shame it is that people like that are making tons of money making mediocre food while well trained chefs at small, increbibly delicious and wonderfully innovative restaurants go unnoticed by the majority of the population.”  Maybe that’s how it SHOULD be.  Maybe fame would ruin those chefs and their restaurants.  If those chefs decided to write a cook book and create a line of their food to sell at HEB maybe they would be spreading themselves too thin and the restaurant would no longer be a success.  Do I think that the Food Network people are the best chefs out there?  No.  Do I think they should be burned at the stake for making recipes using store bought foods?  No.  This brings me to the battle between Top Chef and The Next Food Network Star.  These shows are completely different.  You can’t even really compare them.  Top Chef looks for a true CHEF who can really cook.  They don’t have to be funny, witty, clever or good looking.  Food Network Star is all about personality and presentation…and their food must be edible.  In conclusion, people are different, people have different talents and that’s just how it is.  Is it fair for people with less cooking talent to make more money than those CIA trained chefs?  As I tell my fifth graders…life is not fair.  That is my two cents.

I have recently begun spending most of my tv watching hours on HGTV.  House Hunters,  Open House and Hidden Potential are my favorites.  Anyway, this new interest resulted in a google search to find some design website and I came across Architect Studio 3D.  Its from the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust.  You get to choose a client, a location, floorplan, building materials and everything else to make your very own home!  Wall coverings, flooring and furniture are limited.  I also have had some trouble getting things to hang on the walls and making the wall color look right.  Despite my troubles, I had a great time designing my own little home on this site.  Another cool thing is that I can share it with you!  Go to http://architectstudio3d.org/ then go to Design Studio, Enter Design Studio and then enter my code: VYYUCNUR  After you check it out you can rate my place…keep in mind that I am not an architect!

I am really liking my job! It has been fun working in an environment that is so much different than the classroom. I do feel a little out of place with all the young kids…but the boyfriend and girlfriend gossip is entertaining at least. I’ve earned quite a bit in tips, but every shift is unpredictable. Some days lunches are really busy and I’ll get $40 in tips. The same night will be completely dead and I’ll end up with 3 tables the entire evening and $16 in tips. I worked in the bar the last two nights, so my clothes and hair smell like smoke and beer when I get home. I’m meeting the “regulars” in the bar which is fun. It’s more laid back and there aren’t as many kiddos. The downside is that people tend to stay in the bar past close, so the bartender and I are the last people to leave in the evening. I also encounter more interesting people in the bar. Last night for example 3 women came in about 10 minutes before we close. They looked like they’d spent the day at the lake, and I’m pretty sure that they’d been drinking all day already. So I was not thrilled when she ordered a margarita and complained that I was new. She voiced her opinion that I wouldn’t be nice like her regular waiter and get her free liquor. Sorry, lady! So they order their nachos, I get them some water and bus some of the other tables in the bar. Suddenly she comes up behind me and drops the chip bowl on a table next to where I’m cleaning, “We need more chips, hon.” and then goes back to her seat. I know chips are important and I also hate staring into a empty bowl of chips, but her bowl was not empty. In fact, the impact of the chip bowl on the table caused whole chips, not just crumbs, to fly into the air and then onto the floor. So, I just smile and get more chips for the sweet, sweet woman. I bring their nachos upstairs and fill up waters, chips (again) and salsa. They ask for a to-go box and some salsa to go. Here’s the problem, we close at 9:30…it’s 9:55. They’ve already put all the salsa in the walk in except for a few little plastic containers they put in to-go orders. So I get her the two I had left and explain why I couldn’t get her anymore. She rolls her eyes and mumbles something, so I apologize again and go print the check. The ticket came to $17.01. She gives me a $20, so I get her $3 in change. They get up to leave and the sweet woman goes to the restroom. I start to clean up the table and see that they’ve left me the $3 as a tip, which is not bad. I bring the cups back behind the bar and as I stand up I see her walking back by the table where she picks up the tip, looks at me, says “Sorry!” and goes downstairs. It was great! I was really more entertained than irritated with the whole thing. Check back soon for more “Adventured in Waitressing”!

My dad will turn 60 this month and the daughters are throwing him a birthday bash! We’ve had to plan mostly via email since we’re scattered around the nation. We divied out jobs between us; Lisa does the invites, Linds and Sarah get the food ordered, Mom does the guest list, and Sarah and I are in charge of the cake. I am a fan of Ace of Cakes, so I start to consider getting a really cool sculpted cake for the party. It just HAD to be a motorcycle! My dad has really gotten in to riding over the last 6 years or so, so it seemed like the perfect thing for him. Sarah and I have been searching bakeries in Austin and getting price quotes. Looks like its going to be about $200 to serve 30 people. Yowza! But its going to be great. I’ll update y’all on the cake once we get it ordered and have the party. For now, check out this video. No wonder it costs so much…4 days to make this thing.

Don’t worry, I haven’t quit my old job. I am still teaching in China Spring. But what’s a teacher to do in June, July and 2 weeks of August? I’ve heard a lot of people say that teaching is so great because you get summers off. Not so if your husband spends 14 hours a day working on Law School stuff and you don’t have a cat to keep you company! So, the job search began. Rejected…rejected…rejected…you get the picture. Monday, my first official day of summer vacation, I decide that I’m going to call every business in the phone book and take whatever I could get. Well, that’s not entirely true. I did promise myself that I would not apply to Taco Bell despite the huge “Now Hiring!” sign in front of the shop. I will not do fast food. Ever. There’s a mexican restaurant, La Fiesta, about 5 miles down the street from our apartment. They have 3 locations in Waco. Ben and I have been to the one in town a few times, but always thought the one close to our place looked too creepy, so we never wanted to chance it. I took a chance on Monday and walked in, asked if they were hiring and if I could get an application. The manager asked if I’d waited tables before…nope! She asked when I could start…ASAP! Can you come in tonight…sure! I was hired on the spot and was to return for training a few hours later. I was pretty excited. I’ve always wanted to see if I could wait tables. I’m a fairly competent person and lets just get it out there…not all waiters are competent people. So, I should be able to do this. If I can teach 5th grade…I can wait tables. Right? 5pm. I will be trained by Josh who graduated high school the same year I graduated college…and he’s one of the oldest wait staff there. I feel a bit out of place. He assures me “It’s a Monday. We’ll be pretty slow.” He was right about one thing…it was Monday. It was not slow. It was fun…even invigorating. I like being busy, but I hated not knowing what to do to help. He tried to fill me in as much as possible in the first hour when things really were slow. This is where dishes go, silverware, cups, chips are here, salsa is there, sweet tea on the left, unsweet on the right, don’t touch plates under the warmer with bare hands (no joke!) learn the menu, 3 tortillas for fajita fundito, 6 tortillas for fajitas for 2, and get your own charro beans and rice. I also learned the computer system which is how the kitchen gets your orders. Nice system, but you better be on top of things or the system and the kitchen cannnot save you. I have to learn what every item on the menu looks like, how to fix orders when they’re wrong, what orders get sour cream, cheese, when to ask for fajita meat, etc. I’ve worked two shifts so far in training. Tomorrow will be my first REAL day. Which also means my first day to get tips! Woohoo! I am a waitress…at least for now.

Every morning and afternoon for the last 3 weeks I have checked on my babies…my baby birds. The nest came first, of course, in the top corner of our deck. Then 5 little speckled eggs. Then the eggs hatched and I was the proud mother of 5 precious barn swallows. The real mother isn’t too happy with me spying on her children every day. She rallies her bird friends and they dive bomb me when I try to look in the nest. I have managed to get a few pictures. I had to do a little research to figure out what kind of birds they were…I’m not a Orthinologist afterall, just a teacher! I’m pretty sure that they’re barn swallows based on this info from Bird of Texas website.

Field Marks: This bird is about 6 ¾” in length. Adults of both sexes have dark bluish back, dark wings, long, deeply forked tail. The males have rusty or buff under parts and a chestnut throat and forehead. Females and Immature are similar but paler.

Voice: Song complex combines clear notes, twitters, and gurgles. The call is a soft wit wit or emphatic slip slip.

Where found: Breeds from Alaska across Canada to Newfoundland south through the United States. These birds winter in South America.

Texas: Migrant (Mar. – June, July – Nov) throughout. Winters occasionally along the Texas coast.

Habitat: Open country, farms, fields, marshes, lakes, etc.

Nest: An open mud cup lined with feathers, on ledge, bridge, beam, or building. Eggs (3-5) speckled.

Here are my sweet swallows!

Anyone who knows me knows that I like television.  I don’t really like one show in particular.  I don’t run all wide eyed and crazy to the television at a certain day and time each week to watch MY show.  I just like television, plain and simple.  It doesn’t really even matter what’s on.  I like it all!  Last weekend MTV was running a marathon of So You Think You Can Dance.  I was totally hooked!  Here’s why…1: I cannot dance, so I like to watch people who can.   2: Bryan Gaynor.  This guy has scoliosis and auditioned for the show in season 3.  Here is the youtube video.  The season premiere is on my 32 inch Philips flatscreen while I type this post and I can see Thurdsays @ 7pm being on my weekly calendar until the finale.  Thanks FOX!  You couldn’t trap me with American Idol, but you’ve got me here.

A few years ago I took a cookie decorating class at Central Market with a friend. While my first few attempts at these fancy decorated cookies were not exactly bakery quality I learned some really helpful tips that I’ve practiced since then. I’ve made cookies for my cousins’ and sisters baby showers, a wedding shower and of course for Christmas. Last week was my spring break, so I made some for Easter. It’s a time commitment. About 4 days all said and done. However, definitely worth it in my opinion. I have made the cookies from scratch in the past, but to save time I’ve been using a sugar cookie mix from Betty Crocker which works pretty good. I followed the instructions on the bag for cut-out cookies and then chilled the dough in the fridge for about an hour before I rolled it out. Watch them closely when baking or they’ll burn, and I don’t know anyone who likes burnt cookies.

We used the egg-shaped cookies as place cards for Easter lunch on Sunday. Lunch, by the way, was spectacular. Ham, corn pudding, roasted rosemary potatoes, green beans, rolls and lemon tarts. I stuffed myself silly and had to take a nap when we got home. The sign of a good meal.

I had the opportunity to attend the Texas A&M Men’s Basketball game against Baylor last week. I’m an Aggie living in Waco, so I knew I would be in enemy territory. But I also knew that there would be quite a few Aggies at the game since College Station is so close to Waco. So, I figured it would be safe…I turned out to be very wrong about that. My Dad (a UT alum turned Aggie fan) came up from Round Rock to go to the game. As we walked up to the Ferrell Center I expressed my opinion that the Aggies were going to get killed. My Dad, however, was under the opinion that we were going to pull it out. I won’t go into all the details of the game…I am no sports writer. The Ags ended up winning the game 71-57. It was a tense game and emotions ran high. “Aggies Suck” chants from Baylor echoed in the stands, old bald Baylor fans got into arguments with young Aggie fans, and popcorn and cokes were hurled in anger onto the court with just a few seconds left in the game. It was invigorating! I had never attended such an exciting game, and I imagine I never will again. The Baylor fans had bad manners and so I felt OK about cheering pretty loud, clapping at every little positive thing and punching Baylor fans in the face. Allright, I didn’t punch anyone…but there was this guy a few rows down from me who deserved it! I love college basketball and I love A&M. I think Josh Carter is adorable.