The One With the Rain

Laying down in bed last night:

H.I.T.: Hey hun, can you turn on the rain?

Husby: Oh yeah, I can make it rain all night long...

H.I.T.: Oh goodness. Just turn on the nature sounds please?

Husby: Ok fine. Good night?

H.I.T.: Good night.

Last Time

Things didn’t go according to plan on Friday night. Slight oversight. We don’t own an electric screwdriver and without it, I needed Husby’s help to finish the desk.

Let’s just say he was less than ecstatic to manually drill 14 screws into our desk after working 12 hours.

Opps.

I have to say, after a boatload of words that would be deemed “adult content” from Blogspot Husby took it in stride considering it was Friday night. Once finished, we moved the desk and watched Fireproof. It was the perfect end to what could have been another stressful night.

And now that I’ve set this desk up on a pedestal, here goes.

This is what I wish the desk looked like:


This is what the desk looks like in my head:


This is what the desk really looks like:


I know. I’m a drama queen.

We did a pretty good job matching it to the table and chair set already in the kitchen, but it’s just not “me.” After all the work, sweat and disagreements that went into this stupid thing, we’ve decided to keep it when we move.

Even if it ends up in the attic.


Photo credits:
First photo: Pottery Barn
Second photo: 2006 Winner of Bash.org’s Messy Desk Contest.

Friday Night Guilt Trips

After staring at that blue background since August, I decided it was time to mix things up. I spoke with Krystyn over at Krizzy Designs and she pulled together the perfect template. I’m thrilled with the new look and hope you all like it too! And this, Krystyn, is just for you:


Quick Plug Alert. If anyone is looking for a new design, I would highly recommend Krizzy Designs. Not only is Krystyn professional, quick, and somehow knows exactly what you want, but she is also extremely reasonably priced. If that’s not enough of a reason, check out her rocking blog. ‘Nuff said.

So, the hardware for our new desk arrived yesterday evening (still no sign of our wireless USB card). Husby had the balls nerve to ask me if I planned on putting it together today while he was at work.

I laughed in his face I calmly told him I thought it would be best if we worked on it together.

I’ll post photos of the infamous desk as soon as we are done with it. I pinky swear. Before you get all hyped up on how awesome this desk better be after all the stress it’s put me through, let me tell you, it’s not the teeniest bit awesome. It’s actually a bit…

Ugly.

There, I said it. Husby and I spent a little over a hundred bucks on an ugly desk. We wanted something that would somewhat fit with the current décor, but most importantly, it needed to be guilt free. That’s right. We plan on curbing it when we move later this year. Or maybe it’ll end up in the laundry room if I can stand having something so fugly near my clothes.

Also, I’ve decided that I don’t give a rats ass if Sookie Stackhouse knows more words than me to end Words of the Week. I don’t know about you, but the only two words I remember are Pooh-bah and Blarney. Besides, if reading those words were half as fun as writing them, then I figure you guys aren’t missing out on much.

I digress. After thinking about my laughing our conversation about the desk, I thought it would be nice if I unleashed a guilt trip surprised Husby by putting it together this afternoon.

That'll sure show him whose boss.

Cookie Monster

My father is a dentist. Cotton Candy is the only sweet I was ever denied. Pure sugar, my dad would say.

Despite popular belief, we enjoyed lots of sweets as the children of a dentist. We even had a dedicated candy drawer. My mouth waters just thinking about the delicacies found within that special place in our kitchen.

Now you already know how much I like Godiva truffles, and Joe’s Stone Crab Key Lime Pie, but I am also a cookie monster when those little rounds of doughy goodness come out of the oven.

Five in one sitting? Easy.

My favorite cookie is Oatmeal Raisin. It feels healthy but tastes like heaven in my mouth. For a while, Husby pretended he hated all the cookies I was baking. Then it happened.

See he used to get home about an hour earlier than I did at night. On those nights, he would normally pull out some cheese and crackers to satisfy his hunger until I came home and began dinner.

Or so he said.

I came home early one night. He had just gotten home himself and was still in the kitchen when I saw it.

He was bent over my cookies stuffing two of them in his face.

Caught blue-handed. Looks like I married my monster match.

H.I.T. Arsenal Recipe #6: Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
This recipe is from the Better Homes & Gardens 75th Anniversary Edition Cookbook ©2005.

¾ cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar (I use ½ cup Splenda brown sugar blend)
½ cup granulated sugar
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground cloves
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 ¾ cups flour
2 cups rolled oats
1 cup raisins

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375˚F. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add brown sugar, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and cloves. Beat until combined.
2. Beat in eggs and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour. Stir in the rolled oats and raisins.
3. Drop dough by rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet (I used parchment paper to line). Bake at 375˚F for 8-10 minutes or until edges are golden. Cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute. Transfer to wire rack to finish cooling. Enjoy!

My Wife’s Damn Sexy Awards

Since Wifey (that’s what I call your H.I.T.) was given two awards, she asked me to write this post. I have to tell you why she is damn sexy and as well as a few things about her. So here goes:

My Wife’s Damn Sexy

Her smile lights up a room
And laugh sends me over the moon
An adorable brow furrow lets me know when she’s angry
But even then, she’s still always thinking of me
But what makes Wifey so damn sexy all the time
Is that this sexy cooking machine is all mine.

Ok. After reading that cheesey cute attempt to blog by Husby, I’ve decided to take over the reigns, or at least edit a bit.

No more blarney from Husby, I promise. Although, it is kind of sweet that he came up with that limerick by himself. Aww…I think I just puked in my mouth Husby deserves a hug and kiss for that one.

And thank you, my fellow sexy blogger Miss Polka Dotted Owl. Her blog is seriously addicting. It’s better than daytime TV. True story.

The five sexy bloggers I’m passing this onto:


Ashley
Pink Bliss
Simply Me
Jade
Legallyblondemel

Many thanks to two lovely ladies – Shalay and Dollface – for passing on the Kreativ Blogger award. Those are two witty ladies, let me tell you. Or don't, and just check them out for yourselves...


I’ve shared 7 things about me once before, but here are 7 more (totally didn’t mean to rhyme. Damn Husby).

I love…

1. Reading, especially signed first editions. My mom works in a book store and has been collecting them for me for 5 years now.
2. Cooking. Surprise, surprise.
3. Traveling, but more importantly, eating local foods. Husby and I always become friends with the concierge to learn about the deliciously secret places they don’t normally share with guests.
4. Structure as well as spontaneity.
5. Getting the 10 minute back massage after a manicure. For ten bucks, it makes me feel like a million.
6. Finding the one item I’ve been pining over on sale.
7. Spending time with family and friends. Anywhere, anytime.

And since I really do read all the blogs I follow on a daily basis, I’m passing this on to all of you. You all are just so creative! Each day, I look forward to seeing what everyone has going on in their life, through the good and the bad. So here’s to bloggers everywhere.

*Edited to include a big thank you to Simply Me for sharing the Sexy Blogger award with me before realizing I gave it to her also :).

The One in Barcelona

The credits to Vicky Cristina Barcelona had just begun:

H.I.T.: I love the music in this movie.

[Husby singing]

Husby: Wait, I know this song!

H.I.T.: No you don’t...

Husby: Hello, I know the words, “Barcelonaaaa….”

H.I.T.: That’s because they played this song at the beginning of the movie.

Husby: Oh. Why don’t you buy the soundtrack?

H.I.T.: Good idea.

Operation Weekend

This weekend, Husby and I had a lot of fun. Our new computer arrived on Friday (woohoo), so it was finally time to buy our new computer desk. We headed over to Ikea.

Husby doesn’t mind if I shop at places like Target, Walmart, or Ikea, but he absolutely hates if he has to go with me (something about not being able to tolerate the massive amounts of grown adults who wear t-shirts printed with cartoons) (something about the crowds). He was thrilled to accompany me.

We decided to head over first thing in the morning, before the crowds arrived. Good plan. We made it in, around and around and around and around, and out of there in 30 minutes. Phase 1 of operation computer set-up complete.

On our way home, we realized we didn’t have a surge protector, so I decided to walk over to Staples to pick one up while Husby brought the new Ikea desk upstairs. On my way home, I began daydreaming thinking about how nice it will be to walk-in and have the desk finished.

Daydreaming = big mistake.

When I got home, Husby was sitting on the phone talking to his dad. The boxes were sitting on the floor untouched. I was fuming. I began unpacking the desk and reading the instruction manual when I noticed we were missing a key piece of the desk.

All the hardware.

I phoned Ikea and our options were 1) head back over to Ikea (no way) or 2) wait 7-10 business days to receive the parts (no way). I decided to liebeg. I told the operator that Husby and I drove an extremely long distance to Ikea, and we were extremely disappointed that the hardware wasn’t there after our 3 hour drive. Isn’t there anyway we could have the hardware FedEx’ed? We will pay additional fees…

Dial tone.

Apparently fibbing while you are calling the Brooklyn Ikea store from a Manhattan number isn’t wise. I called again and managed to get our arrival date downsized to 3-5 business days. Phase 1 of operation computer set-up truly complete.

Thoroughly exhausted at this point, I plopped myself down on our couch to watch TV when Husby decides we should still put our computer together. Back to work.

And work. And work.

Five million cords, two monitors, one computer base and two hours later, our computer still isn’t working. Husby calls company IT guy. Finally, a smart move. Phase 2 of operation computer set-up complete.

We turn on our brand new computer. We are so damn excited to see that this piece of crap our new computer working. I begin attempting to connect our computer to our wireless network. No dice. I try again. Still no dice. Husby calls IT guy, who kindly informs us that our new computer doesn’t have a wireless card and that us two fools were crazy to think a desktop computer would come with one…it’s not a laptop, duh.

So I send Husby on a mission to Best Buy to bring home the one thing I want most right now, a pomegranate yogurt and pom shot from pinkberry a wireless card. I book it to the nearest nail salon for a manicure to relax.

Husby + Electronic Store = big mistake.

When I get home, clothes are sprawled all over the apartment. I look around and Husby isn’t in sight…oh great. He’s left me over this damn computer and he didn’t even pick up with wireless card.

I hop on our old laptop and call Dell. Finally, a smart move. Dell informs me that we need a special wireless USB card and points me in the right direction. It’ll arrive in 3-5 business days, right on time with our new hardware. Perfect. Phase 2 of operation computer set-up really complete.

Phase 3 will have to wait 3-5 business days.

And it turns out, Husby didn’t leave me over our constant arguing about the computer and shopping at Ikea this computer nonsense. He went down to the gym to work out some aggression. Phew. Operation save weekend complete.

March Madness

Who would have guessed that on the first day of Spring, I would wake up to this:


So much for changing out my wardrobe. You know who else has bad timing? Husby. Without fail, he will always call me at the worst possible time during the day.

1. If the plot is finally revealed in a movie, the phone rings.
2. If I’m up to my elbows in dish water, the phone rings.
3. If I'm about to head to the gym, the phone rings.

He’s worse than a telemarketer. As much as it bothers me though, I can’t lie. It’s nice hearing from Hubsy throughout the day, except where there is no rhyme or reason to his call. Take this morning’s call, for example. I had just started going to the bathroom when the phone rings. Just as I run to pick it up, he’s gone. I call him back.

H.I.T.: Hello?

Husby: Hey.

[silence]

H.I.T.: So you got my e-mail that the computer came…

Husby: Yep.

H.I.T.: And I got your e-mail about gathering that information for you…

Husby: Great.

H.I.T.: Ok.

Husby: Listen, I gotta hop. I love you.

H.I.T.: Love you too.

And that’s what was so important that I had to hustle out of our bathroom, pants halfway down my legs, waddling to our phone only to miss him and have to call him back.

Finally, our Words of the Week:

Saturday: Feckless \FECK-lus\ adjective 1. weak, ineffective 2. Worthless, irresponsible

California gave a feckless attempt to beat Maryland.

Sunday: Wherefore \WAIR-for\ adverb 1. for what reason or purpose : why 2. therefore

Oh CBS, wherefore, did you show all college games on the same channel?

Monday: Tremulous \TREM-yuh-luss\ adjective 1. marked by trembling or tremors : quivering 2. timorous, timid.

Villanova’s tremulous fans were finally vindicated in the second quarter.

Tuesday: Blarney \BLAR-nee\ noun 1. skillful flattery : blandishment 2. nonsense, humbug

The game between Chattanooga and UCONN was pure blarney.

Wednesday: Eyas \EYE-us\ noun 1. an unfledged bird; specifically : a nestling hawk

Duke is but an eyas when compared to the mighty Terps.

Thursday: Enclave \EN-klave\ noun 1. a distinct territorial, cultural, or social unit enclosed within or as if within foreign territory

There is an enclave of those who celebrate March Madness.

Friday: Vatic \VAT-ik\ adjective 1. prophetic, oracular

You heard my vatic call here first – Villanova will finally take another NCAA Championship this year.

Boy Food

I’ve always loved vegetables and fruits. When I was little, I would go so far as to eat the sprig of parsley decorating our plates. I was just that crazy about them.

I never showed love for the fungus though. Mushrooms just grossed me out. They were a boy food, not a girl food.

That is until I met Husby.

It was the first time we were eating dinner with the parents. Of course, I was helping in the kitchen and doing everything I could to hide the raging lunatic inside me fit in.

MIL: One more thing and we are done. FIL is taking the meat off the grill and bringing it in. While I’m working on the meat, add this butter to the pan on the stove and cook.

H.I.T.: Yes sir, sergeant Sure thing!!!!

I brought the butter over, looked down and was staring at the largest pile of mushrooms I’ve seen in my life.

H.I.T.: Oh yum, I LOVE mushrooms!!!! I love all vegetables. Are we going to have any others with dinner, please, please, please?

MIL: Just a baked potato…

H.I.T.: Sounds delicious!!!! I can’t wait for dinner!!!

At this point, I was getting the stink eye from all directions (the men joined us). When we sat down for dinner, I ate everything on my plate, mama didn’t raise no fool, and complimented dinner multiple times, like a person with OCD.

Once I stopped to breatheating, I realized the food was delicious. Even. The. Mushrooms. I must have looked a little shocked full, because MIL looked right at me.

MIL: Yeah, they aren’t too bad when you drench them in butter.

And she was right. They weren’t so bad. Better make sure she isn’t right about anything else.


H.I.T. Arsenal Recipe #5: Veal Marsala
This recipe is from The Gourmet Cookbook edited by Ruth Reichl ©2004. It can also be found online here.

3 TBS unsalted butter
1 lbs mushrooms, trimmed and quartered
1 large garlic clove, minced
2 TBS chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 ½ lbs veal cutlets (also called scaloppini; ¼ inch thick)
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp fresh ground black pepper
¼ tsp dried thyme, crumbled
¼ tsp dried oregano, crumbled
1 ½ TBS olive oil
½ cup flour
2/3 cup sweet Marsala wine (I use plain Marsala wine)
1 cup veal demi-glace (if you can’t find, I’ve used beef consume as a substitute. Campbell’s makes it.)

Directions:

1. Heat 2 TBS butter in a 12-inch heavy skillet over high heat until foam subsides. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring frequently, until liquid mushrooms give off has evaporated and mushrooms begin to brown, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and parsley to cook, stirring 1 minute. Transfer to a bowl and wipe skillet clean.
2. Pat veal dry and sprinkle both sides with salt, pepper, thyme and oregano.
3. Heat 1 ½ tsp oil with 1 tsp butter in same skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Meanwhile, quickly dredge 2 or 3 pieces of veal in flour, shaking off excess. Add veal to skillet, without crowding, and cook, turning once, until just cooked through, about 2 to 3 minutes total (meat will be slightly pink inside). Transfer to a plate to keep warm, loosely covered with foil. Cook remaining veal in 2 more batches, using remaining 1 TBS oil and 2 tsp butter.
4. Add Marsala to same skillet and deglaze by boiling, stirring and scraping up brown bits, for 1 minute. Continue to boil until reduced by half. Stir in demi-glaze (or consume) and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes. Stir in mushroom mixture and any veal juices accumulating on platter and season with salt and pepper, if necessary. Simmer 2 more minutes and spoon over veal. Serve with noodles (or mashed potatoes). Enjoy!

Errands, Envirosax and Earrings

If you really want to annoy me…

walk through the door that I’m holding and don’t say thank you, you horribly ugly woman.

Even a smile would be nice. And people wonder why chivalry is dead. I’m always so shocked thankful that someone is being polite that I give a huge smile and overly expressive thank you. Apparently there is something wrong with me.

I just finished running errands all around NYC’s Upper East Side and boy are my arms tired. No, really. My bags were stuffed to the brim. Luckily, I use these amazing reusable shopping bags called Envirosax.


Not only do they hold a ton of weight (all my grocery heavies or 44 lbs), but they also fold up to the perfect size for stowing in your purse. I’m currently loving the Candy graphics collection. They match my spring coat perfectly (because doesn’t everybody like to match their grocery bags to their spring coats?).

Finally, my earrings from Eclectic Orchid arrived today!

Marie Loves Blue


Snowed In Bohemian

My friend Jade told me about this fabulous jewelry maker on Etsy, the place to buy and sell all things handmade. I’m in love with her earrings. I highly recommend checking both out.

Now all I have to do is unload everything I bought and hide it before Husby comes home. After all, we are in a recession.


*Note: I write about products I like, not because someone asked me to endorse them.

The One With the Bladder

As Husby’s about to jump in the shower:

Husby: Guess how many times I went to the bathroom today?

H.I.T.: Why do I want to know how many times you went to the bathroom today?

Husby: Just guess!

H.I.T.: I don’t know. I really don’t care.

Husby: Just guess!

H.I.T.: Five times?

Husby: No. Three.

H.I.T.: Wow. You have a really large bladder.

Husby: I’m like a human camel.

H.I.T.: If you’re a camel, then I’m a race horse.

Hunny, I'm Home

Husby came home from his trip late last night. We like to quickly re-establish ourselves when we get home, so we always immediately unpack.

Normally, I unpack for the both of us and Husby puts away our toiletries. I like it that way. You always have to refold unworn clothes before putting them away and Husby just folds all wrong. Sometimes I think he’s doing it on purpose. That’s because I used to fold the way he does, but he taught me to fold the way I do. Quite a trickster.

Since it was late and I was in bed already, Husby began unpacking. He proceeded to open his bag and begin throwing everything into the laundry.

H.I.T., eyeing Husby curiously: What are you doing?

Husby, nonchalantly: Unpacking.

H.I.T., nonplussed: No, I mean, what are you doing? There is no way you wore that yellow polo. It doesn’t belong in the dirty laundry. Neither do those sweaters or those jeans…unless they smell or you got them dirty. Do they smell? Did you get them dirty?

Husby, sheepishly: No…

H.I.T., determined: Then pick them up, refold them and put them away.

Husby, defeated: Fine. Man, I was hoping you were too tired to notice.

And that my ladies, was my welcome home. So much for warm baths and cake.

Pictures, Politics and Pooh-bahs

Remember how fun picture books were? Well, here's a picture post.

This weekend, Husby is out west


so tonight I've decided to


while starting


After my bath, I plan to
and

while


Sounds like the perfect way to relax after a week of cougar tales, waffles and sleep talking.

I also had some fun words this week. My favorite is pooh-bah. I used it last night and my girlfriend thought it so clever, she began using it too. I think we're onto something here...

Saturday: Equanimity \ee-kwuh-NIM-uh-tee\ noun 1. Evenness of mind especially under stress. 2. Right disposition : balance.

The auto industry needs to show a little more equanimity.

Sunday: Univocal \yoo-NIV-uh-kul\ adjective 1. Having one meaning only. 2. Unambiguous.

Our stimulus is not univocal.

Monday: Pooh-bah \POO-bah\ noun 1. A person holding many public or private offices. 2. A person in high position or of great influence.

Our President, the pooh-bah.

Tuesday: Crepuscular \krih-PUHSS-kyuh-ler\ adjective 1. Of, relating to, or resembling twilight : dim. 2. Active in the twilight.

The many facets of our stimulus package are best compared to my novel love, Eric, who is as colorful as a crepuscular horizon.

Wednesday: Proliferate \pruh-LIF-uh-rayt\ verb 1. To grow or increase in number rapidly.

The number of organizations benefiting from our tax payer dollars proliferates daily.

Thursday: Acedia \uh-SEE-dee-uh\ noun 1. Apathy, boredom

Stimulus talk equals acedia or death by conversation.

Friday: Flibbertigibbet \flib-er-tee-JIB-ut\ noun 1. A silly flighty person

Some would call our last President a flibbertigibbet. What do you think?

Sleep Talker Awards

Last night I was a sleep talking fiend.

I’ve been holding sleepy conversations with people since I was in high school. Possibly earlier, but that’s the first time a girlfriend had told me about it. Luckily, I’m not the type of person who
lies
has anything to hide., otherwise I would definitely get caught.

We had a twofer. The first episode went something like this:

H.I.T., passed out cold: It’s prettier in pink.

Husby, now awake: Hunny, you’re talking in your sleep.

If you’ve ever experienced something similar, then when you hear those words your automatic reaction is to make sense of the conversation.

H.I.T., fumbling for a reason: No, I’m not. I’m blogging about it.

Husby, stifling laughs: Blogging about what, hun?

H.I.T., caught: The pretty pink cones. Fine. Good night.

The second episode wasn’t nearly as pretty or pink.

H.I.T., evilly yelling: GET OUT!

Husby, jolted awake: What’s wrong?

H.I.T., cynically asking: Like you didn’t know it wasn’t recording…

Husby, curious where this is going: What wasn’t recording?

H.I.T., throwing my hands in the air into a dramatic swoop: My musical debut!

Husby begins laughing his ass off. Apparently that wakes me up.

H.I.T., trying to salvage the conversation: I mean, Desperate Housewives. I don’t know. Go back to sleep.

Husby, still laughing: Do I still have to get out?

H.I.T., tired of talking: No. Good night.

This morning, Husby was still laughing about the incident. Har-de-har-har. And the Bloscar for funniest sleeper goes to moi.

As for real awards, many thanks to the lovely lady over at Pink Bliss for passing on the:

7 Things I love

1. Husby
2. My followers and their witty comments
3. LeBron James
4. Drinking rose champagne for the hell of it
5. Netflix
6. Being a wino
7. Surprising people

7 Bloggers I love

1. My life, My world, My words
2. Unspoken Words from that One Curly Fry…
3. My Cup Overflows
4. Little Woman, Little Home
5. Swooning in the City
6. Really, Are You Serious?
7. Suburban Euphoria

Here are the award rules:
List 7 things that you love, and then pass the award on to 7 bloggers that you love! Be sure to tag them and let them know that they have won. You can copy the picture of the award and paste it on your sideboard letting the whole world know...you are Kreativ!

Real Simple Goodness

Being the Type A person that I am, I love Real Simple magazine. All those organizing solutions are right up my alley.

Despite my affinity for the publication, I’ve always ignored their recipe section. Once, I made beef stroganoff that was so bland Husby and I doused lightly sprinkled it with pepper to add spice. After that, Real Simple was only used for organization tips and I left the recipes to the gourmands, where they belonged.

Then, Real Simple pulled a Type B on me. In the pages of their February issue was a recipe for Pulled-Pork Tacos that looked to-die-for. I decided to give them one more shot.

Good thing too, because this recipe was to-die-for.

H.I.T. Arsenal Recipe #5: Pulled-Pork Tacos
This recipe slightly varies from the one shown in Real Simple. Use this link for the recipe published in the magazine. Also, I made delicious pulled-pork sandwiches using leftovers. Simply stir store-bought BBQ sauce into pulled-pork and serve on hamburger buns.

2-1/2 cups salsa (I used half mild, half medium)
2-1/2 TBS chili powder
2 TBS dried oregano
2 TBS unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp salt
1 2-1/2 lbs boneless pork butt or shoulder, trimmed of excess fat
Corn tortillas
Fresh cilantro sprigs
Sour Cream
1 tomato, diced
½ cup cheese, finely shredded
½ cup lettuce, finely shredded
1 lime, cut into wedges


Directions:

1. In a slow cooker, combine the salsa, chili powder, oregano, cocoa powder and salt. Add the pork and turn to coat.
2. Cook, covered, on high for 4-5 hours or on low for 7-8 hours. The meat should pull apart easily when finished.
3. Twenty minutes before serving, heat oven to 350˚F. Stack the tortillas, wrap them in foil, and bake until warm, about 15 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, using 2 forks, shred the pork and stir it into the cooking liquid. Serve with tortillas, cilantro, sour cream, tomato, cheese, lettuce and squeezed lime. Enjoy!

*Photo Credit: Kan Kanbayashi

Rainy Day Blues

I woke up sick this morning. I’m not over-the-top sick, just a stuffy nose, dizzy head, out-of-it type sick. Of course, it’s raining which only makes me feel worse.

What is it about rain that makes you sick? Why is it so damn depressing? Husby and I love hearing the sound of rain – that is relaxing – but if I wake up on a dreary day I’m about ready to kill myself crawl back under the covers.

Today, I’m staying in pajamas and nursing my rainy day cold with a days worth of Netflix DVDs.

Real post with recipe later. Sorry ladies.

The One With the Waffles

Husby and I are watching TV when the new Dunkin’ Donuts waffle breakfast sandwich commercial comes on.

Husby: Doesn’t look bad…

H.I.T.: Ew.

Husby: What? It looks like it would taste OK…

H.I.T.: Ew.

[pause]

H.I.T.: Wait a minute. Is that why you’ve been craving waffles?!?!

[Husby gives menacing smile]

H.I.T.: Ewwww. I’m never buying a waffle maker.

Welcome to the Jungle

My dad and Husby have the same birthday. A little incestuous strange, I know, but it’s purely coincidental (Husby and I were dating a full year before this odd fact emerged).

To celebrate, we went out to dinner at Mario Batali’s Tarry Lodge. While waiting for a table, my father, Husby and I went to the bar to grab a drink. This place was “hopping” as my Dad would say. We decided it best to stay where we were – right in front of the bar and directly behind Daddy Warbucks seated at the bar – for easy imbibing.

Soon, two cougars waltz in and begin squeezing pushing my dad (no excuse me, nothing). We ignore them and press our bodies together to let them pass. If only it were that easy.

Cougar #1, squealing: Hi, Daddy Warbucks! [Extends arms for greeting hug, almost smacking Husby in the face. Husby and I are clearly blocking her prey.]

H.I.T., making direct eye contact with Cougar #1, sweetly and loudly: Oh! Why don’t we just switch places? [Huge smile]

Cougar #1, ignoring my polite play, pounces past Husby and barrels through me to get to Daddy Warbucks. I sidestep to avoid a quick heel to my foot, Cougar #2 in fast pursuit.

Now, I’ve had it. Husby looks at me, pleading with his eyes for me to drop it. In all my passive aggressive glory, I proceed.

H.I.T., after being bar assaulted, now standing to the left of Cougar #1, loudly says to Husby: I can’t believe how R-U-D-E that woman was. I mean really, that was just plain old R-U-D-E. [I might or might not have said something about that maneuver being straight out of high school].

Husby stared into outer space silently nodded in agreement and we moved. You never know what else Cougar #1 or #2 might do (like passive aggressively spill a drink on me for calling them out).

According to Emily Post, I should have politely tapped them on the shoulder and in a cool, calm voice said, “Excuse me, but I believe you just pushed my father and husband.”

If my polite, direct eye contact, smiling offer to "switch places" couldn't tame the Cougars, how do you think they would have responded to Emily Post?

Drum and Bass

Edward Cullen The Twilight saga captivated me. When HBO’s Trueblood aired, Husby and I figured, why not? We needed a new Sunday night show. We were hooked.

Imagine my sheer excitement surprise when I came across the book series Trueblood was based on – Charlaine Harris’s Stookie Stackhouse novels. I devoured them in a week.

If reading Edward was like watching Gilmore Girls, then reading Sookie is like watching Gossip Girl. It’s outrageous, sexy and addicting.

By Book 3 or so, Sookie receives a Word of the Day calendar from Arlene (no spoilers, I promise) and incorporates the word into a sentence each day. Words like:

Farrago
Exsanguinate

I don’t know about you, but I had no idea what those words meant until little Miss. Stookie Stackhouse, barmaid from Louisiana, told me (exsanguinate means to drain of blood and farrago means an assortment or medley). I was slightly embarrassed. So, I signed up for WotD e-mails through the Oxford English Dictionary. Problem solved.

Or so I thought.

The next day, I checked my inbox and my word of the day had arrived. It was:

Drum and Bass

What the freak?! Did I miss something here? I know what a drum and bass is. Isn’t this supposed to give me super hard words that I would never use in real life but can at least use to taunt play in Scrabble? Words so I can stop saying things like “super”? I figured it must be a fluke, so I waited a week. It got worse:

Spiral
Offspring
Switched
Device
Overlap
Stork

C’mon, really? Oxford English Dictionary needs to lock it up. I had to unsubscribe after that. I signed up for the WotD e-mail from Merriam-Webster Dictionary. They gave me a real beauty this morning. So much so I’ve decided every Friday will now be Words of the Week. Because who doesn’t want to know more words than Sookie Stackhouse?

This week’s words are:

Monday: Switched
Tuesday: Device
Wednesday: Overlap
Thursday: Stork
(Do I really need to define those?)
Friday: Purfle - PUR-ful – verb.: to ornament the border or edges of (most commonly used in reference to a guitar or violin). Ex. The luthier used abalone shell to purfle the instrument.

I'll purfle your drum and bass if you ever send me words like spiral, switched or stork again.

Blue Tape of Death

You know the “Blue Screen of Death” PC users coined? Husby and I have the Blue Tape of Death.

After we got married, our double queen bed began shrinking. Little by little, so you wouldn’t notice, it got smaller. Sneaky little sucker.

At this time, Husby also began shifting. Little by little, so you wouldn’t notice, he began moving closer to the middle of the bed. Bastard.

It wasn’t long before my sleeping space amounted to less than a foot and the Blue Tape of Death came out. We placed it in the middle of the bed to keep both parties aware of their territory and attempted line breaches.

Success! After a week, the line was down and our bed had grown back to size. Problem averted. Until now, that is. Recently, the bed and Husby fell back into bad habits.

H.I.T., oozing sarcasm: Good morning!

Husby, surprised: You certainly are chipper this morning. Sleep well?

H.I.T., launching into attack: No. [fuming pause] I woke up a million times last night because you were sleeping on top of me. You were way beyond the middle.

Hubsy, setting up the offense: I also remember you encroaching my space...

H.I.T., full missile mode: What?! Your head was on my pillow - twice - last night! [loaded pause] That’s it. The Blue Tape of Death is coming out.

Husby, hitting target: Good. I was going to put it up myself when I came home today.

H.I.T., issuing a truce: You’re more than welcome to measure it again – make sure I have the "true" middle.

Husby, accepted: I think I will.

And he did. It was in the middle, of course. That night Husby lied down in bed. I immediately looked up at the Blue Tape of Death and pointed out his overage of 50 percent. He hugged me, kissed me on the lips and said good night. We remained embraced. We slept like angels.

The Blue Tape of Death really is a necessity in our home; even if it just gives us a reason to cuddle.

Another Giveaway?!

There is something about the word “free” that makes me giddy. Clinique Free Bonus Gift? Shivers down my spine. Free 10th bag of coffee? I jump for joy.

Marketers dream of me. I eat up their ploys and enjoy every minute, with the newest one over at Misadventures of a Newlywed being no exception. Mrs. Newlywed is giving away this fabulous Preppy Princess Tote:

I know cute right? And perfect for the summer. Just make sure you forget to hit enter when saving your entry/comment. That way, there’s one less person competing with me.

Weight Watchers

Warning – the following post discusses dieting and weight issues. Please do not read if you wish to refrain from partaking in these types of topics.

I detest the gym. Something about jogging/biking/stepping in place for 45 minutes drives me crazy. I don’t care if there is a television I can watch, because let’s be honest, am I really working out my hardest if I’m watching an episode of The Hills? Probably not.

I love food. There is something inadvertently sensual about the way a spoonful of delectable goodness smoothes its way across your palate. All the flavors light up my taste buds in ways I never dreamed. The only time I give this up is when I have to for health reasons.

So why the talk about these things? Well, I was reading one of my daily blogs and the author was discussing how she works out 2 hours every day and only intakes 1500 calories. I think that is crazy. C-R-A-Z-Y.

Dieting is all about limiting your calorie intake in combination with exercise, but you have to make sure you’re consuming enough calories to cover all your daily activities – walking back and forth to the printer, typing, hell, even breathing. But why do we feel the need to drastically limit our caloric count and eating habits in such devastating ways?

When I was younger, I was blessed with a fast metabolism. As I got older, my body slowed down. To maintain my weight, health and sanity, I follow my own weight watchers-esque system – I stick to portion control (some of the time) and fit in exercise when able. I have no problem enjoying a bowl of pasta in a rich cream sauce. Only, I serve it in a small cereal bowl, and keep my breakfast and lunch light.

Most importantly, I only follow these rules during the week. Weekends are my downtime in every way. A nutritionist, who once worked with me, said it best, “If you’re eating right during the week, two days of increased calories aren’t going to sabotage your diet.”

Any thoughts on this type of dieting or other extreme diets out there?

Let’s See How Cute You Still Find Me…

After a bout of no Internet this morning *boo Time Warner*, I’m back and finally catching up on my daily blog lists instead of doing laundry. I won’t tell Husby I didn’t clean the sheets if you don’t.

Well, what should I stumble upon but a


from My life, My world, My words. I’m beyond ecstatic and not just because of the Oatmeal Raison Cookies I’m eating!

This one comes with a catch though…I have to write ten not so cute things about myself. Let’s see how cute you still find me after reading these:

1. I wash my hair every two days. Any more than that and it’ll dry out.
2. I’m a cover hog. Husby often wakes up cold because I’ve stolen all the sheets.
3. I’m totally Type A.
4. I went through a grunge stage in 8th grade. The hip-hop stage immediately followed in 9th grade.
5. I’m addicted to celebrity gossip.
6. I enjoy plucking stray hairs out of Husby (eyebrows, back)
7. I have a very inappropriate sense of humor. (David at the Dentist)
8. I talk in my sleep. I’ve done it as long as I can remember. Friends from high school probably have the best stories.
9. I sing along to songs on the radio all the time. Sometimes I sing so loud you can’t hear the musician.
10. I’m a coffee snob. Have been since I worked at Starbucks throughout high school. I drink a latte every morning.

And now, to pass along the award:

*Miss Musing*
Little Woman, Little Home
Blue-Eyed Bride
According to Ashley
Love and Marriage
Newlyweds Next Door
A Love Like Johnny and June

If you don’t read these blogs, definitely take the time to check them out. They are part of my daily must reads and should be part of yours too.

Thanks again Simply Me! You made my Tuesday :).

The One With The Crazy Hats

Finishing up The Bachelor:

Husby: So I was thinking.

H.I.T.: Really, I didn't know you did that...

Husby: Ha ha. I was thinking we should have a dinner party where we give everyone a crazy hat to wear - like Molly's parents did in that episode.

H.I.T.: Oh, I like that! We can do it in April and call it a Mad Hatter party.

Husby: Ok. I call dibs on a cowboy hat. And you should wear an astronaut helmet.

H.I.T.: Why?

Husby: Because your such a space cadet. Ha ha ha.

H.I.T.: Ha ha.

Flour and Stovetop and Ziploc, Oh My!

I’m too clean for my own good sometimes. Take this afternoon for example. It’s snowing here, which means soup or in tonight’s case, stew, for dinner.

To keep things clean, I decided to try an old trick – dredging the meat in flour using a Ziploc bag. Worked like a dream. Then, I began popping the meat into the saucepan. After a few pieces, flour was everywhere, so I moved the bag closer to the pan. Still, everywhere, so I moved the plastic bag right next to the pan.

Right. Next. To. The. Pan.

Next thing I know, I have heaping mounds of flour all over the stove top and Ziploc stuck to the side of my pan. An hour of cleaning later, my stew was finally simmering away.

Bravo, H.I.T. Way to keep ‘em clean.


H.I.T. Recession Recipe #6: Snow Day Stew
There is a lot of prep work involved with this recipe, but the end result is delicious!

2 lbs chuck beef stew meat, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 cups flour
1 TBS Old Bay Seasoning (or a season all)
2 tsp salt (plus 1 tsp for later)
2 tsp pepper (plus ½ tsp for later)
4 TBS oil (I use Smart Balance Omega) (plus 1 tsp for later)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
6 medium carrots with greens, sliced into rounds
2 small turnips, chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 celery stalk, diced
1 TBS fresh parsley, coarsely chopped
1 TBS carrot stalk, coarsely chopped
2 Bay leaves
1 fresh rosemary sprig
1 tsp celery salt
1 tsp oregano
1-1 ½ lbs red potatoes, peeled, chopped into bite-sized pieces
2 cups red wine (I used a 2007 Louis Latour Pinot Noir, $14.95 – delicious by the glass too!)
3 cups of beef stock
1 TBS Worcestershire sauce

Directions:

1. Place flour, Old Bay Seasoning, salt and pepper in a large plastic bag. Shake. Add ½ of meat, shaking to coat. In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat. Add meat and brown, about 2-3 minutes. Once brown, remove meat and place in bowl, set aside. Repeat with remaining meat.
2. Drain any fat from pan, keeping any leftover seasoning and flour. Heat remaining oil; add onions and cook, about 5 minutes. Add carrots, turnips and celery; cook for about 5 minutes. Add parsley, carrot stalk, bay leaves, rosemary sprig, celery salt, and oregano; cook for about 2 minutes.
3. Add potatoes and red wine, deglazing bottom of pan and scraping up any brown bits. Add beef stock, Worcestershire, and remaining salt and pepper. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered for 3-5 hours. Discard bay leaves. Serve with warm bread and enjoy!