Thursday, March 26, 2009

I Can't Stand It

There are some things that gross me out/make my skin crawl/fill me with a sense of dread when I face them. Among them are:

1) Sea Life. More specifically very large sea mammals. I'm dreading the day when our kids want to make the trek to Sea World San Antonio. I don't feel predisposed to take kindly to Shamu.

2) Opening a can of refrigerated crescents or biscuits. Seeing that label "press back of spoon here" causes me to feel quite panicky.

3) A plastic spoon scraping a styrofoam bowl. The one draw back to ice cream in a cup.

4) The stalactites of cheese left on aluminum foil after you bake a covered lasagna. So hideous looking.

5) Eating reheated meat. I will eat leftovers cold rather than have to taste pre-cooked meat that has been warmed over. Not tasty.

6) On the subject of food-warmth: cooked fruit. The only exception to this is apple pie, but even then I much prefer it the next day, cold, rather than warm out of the oven. Same with banana bread, blueberry muffins, and other baked goods with fruit - I enjoy them more cold than warm. Don't get me started on fruit in savory dishes,which is almost always an abomination, and yes, that includes pineapple on pizza.

7) Going to sleep in a bed that hasn't been made. I don't sleep well if the bed hasn't been made that day. I always make the bed. If something strange happens and I have to rush out of the house without making my bed and don't get home til night and face an unmade bed I will make the bed then, just to turn it down and get right in.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Georgia on My Mind

I feel the need to update my blog because I am always disappointed when other people don't have anything new for me to read on their blogs.

What's new here? you ask. Well, not much. Tyler and I did go on a trip last weekend for our anniversary. It was a week and a half early, but it's when my parents could come to stay with the kids, so we were flexible. We went to Savannah, Georgia. A location I picked. Which many people seem to view as a strange choice. I have just read many books with references to Savannah and it's beauty and charm. I've wanted to see it for myself for several years. That being said, I have not read THE BOOK that you must read (apparently)if you visit this city. It is one of the things that marred the visit. There were two main things that marred the visit:
1) Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. This is the NY Times bestseller based on a true Savannah murder. I haven't read it, but I have seen the cemetery where the characters drink champagne at midnight, the statue that was photographed for the book's cover, the home where the shooting took place, and enough souvenirs concerning The Book to take away any spark of interest I may have ever had about reading it for myself.
2) Paula Deen. I hadn't thought of Savannah as having anything to do with Paula Deen before we went - but I sure know now. What this woman has done to her image in Savannah is close to indecent. Her products are everywhere. Paula Deen Hoecake Mix, Paula Deen Peach Preserves, Paula's Deen Spiced Peanuts, and the list goes on...and on. Not only that but there is "Paula Deen Approved Captain Michael's Coffee" (Captain Michael is her husband). Not only is she selling herself at every possible turn, but she is selling other people with herself as well. I can sometimes be prone to exaggeration, but this time I am telling you straight that her face is on every single cookbook for sale in the city, no matter who wrote it - but chances are it is one of her's or her sons'. The restaurant that started it all and made her famous in the first place is in Savannah, but to eat there you have to line up at 7:30 in the morning, wait until 9:30 for someone to come take your name, and then come line up again at 11 to be seated at 12. Ridiculous. All the locals we asked about it said that the food isn't even very good anymore. She hasn't done the cooking for years, naturally. We didn't even bother trying to eat there. We left that experience for all the people who paid hundreds of dollars to go on the "Paula Deen Tour" of Savannah where you ride around in a trolley and see all the places she ever shopped or ate. I used to enjoy watching Paula Deen's cooking show every once in a while, but her commercial overtaking of Savannah has left me immune to her charms.

On the flip side, Savannah was beautiful, just like all the books said. We had the most perfect weather you are ever likely to have in Georgia. The best thing about Savannah is walking around the historic district looking at the amazing restored homes and the Live Oaks dripping with Spanish Moss. We could have taken a picture on every corner, but since we did that on our Honeymoon when we waked around the historic neighborhood of New Orleans, we restrained ourselves. We figured we didn't need dozens of pictures of one or the other of us standing in front of random beautiful homes. Although i guess it could have been a good source of comparitive materials, same pictures, five years apart.

So there you have it - something new to read!

Sunday, March 1, 2009

The Result

I don't have time to write much, but here are some pictures at least of The New Haircut. C.T. took these. Not bad for a four year old, eh?