for all of you single men. . .

i'm going to be honest, i don't know a lot of single guys who read my blog.  but, because one lucky man might stumble across it one day, looking for a piece of relationship advice, i will write this post.

the way to a woman's heart (at least this woman) is through the kitchen. cooking? no. baking? no. washing the dishes. i used to always say that i dreamed of a man who would stand at the sink and wash dishes when i was done cooking. i totally thought it was a fantasy - right up there with someone who was devestatingly handsome and remarkably humble - but its not. i found him and i married him. and tonight, he and two of his friends cleaned up the destruction i left in my wake. 

thank you boys. thank you. i do not take this for granted. 

also:

today we went on a search for a missing kid, and my office chair broke. now what will i sit in?

how about cookin' somethin up with meeeeeee

my recent culinary mistakes:

1. apparently, if you put some chili powder and salt in a dry skillet and if the burner beneath that skillet is on medium high, the chili powder will become a silent stalker that fills the air and makes your throat feel like fire.  it was awful because you couldn't even see or smell the chili powder. we just all started coughing. then i looked down and saw the chili powder turning black in the pan. don't ever do that. 

2. i've been wanting to make red velvet cupcakes since before valentines day. i finally got around to it.  who knew that one container of red food coloring would one be half as much as i needed? i know present to you: magenta velvet cupcakes. i also had over half the recipe of icing left over. i don't understand.

 

that's all i've got for today.

i heart the slow cooker

why is that my blog post title? because right now my house smells like asian short ribs and i didn't have to do a thing except dump some stuff in a crock pot. and i know that tonight when i return home from running a concession stand at the South Central Classic Show choir Competition, dinner will be ready. yummmm.

 i hope i don't fill up on popcorn. 

sleepy morning post

once again, i didn't post yesterday and so now i feel the need to do this first thing in the morning. i have not had coffee (but i'm in the process) and i have not yet gotten all the sleep junk out of my eyes (thought you might need to know that).  and, i've already forgotten what i was going to talk about. oh yeah. yesterday. and my apparent new gym routine.

yesterday was also a busy day. non stop from 9 am til 7 pm. that's not really that bad AND all of the things i was doing were really enjoyable. i just didn't have any time to get to a computer.  then when i got home justin and i had hot dog night, which we had been planning for a while. just so you know, hot dog night involves high quality been hot dogs, publix deli buns, and loads of chili and cheddar cheese. soooo good. but back to what i was going to say. . . 

the past few times i've been to the gym i always end up there at the same time, between 5 and 6. and here is what i think is the weird part. Rachel Ray is always on, its always the only tv with the volume on, and i always try to get the eliptical right in front of it. and, here's the really weird part: i love it. for some reason, at the end of the day, there is nothing quite as relaxing to me right now as burning calories and watching Rachel make food.  i wonder how long i'll keep this up.

super samwiches

i don't know how many of you know this, but i really really like hot dogs. it took me a long time to admit it, but i'm there.  i know it's not a very lady like food, nor are they super nutritious but i love them.  one time kelley and i thought it was a great idea to stop at a gas station for a corn dog (which is in the same catagory as hot dog) at 10 am.  it was a great idea. neither of us regretted it.  

any time i move to a new city i make it my own personal business to find out where has the "best" of certain foods.  i know that a lot of cities have magazines that do that, but i don't trust the media. plus, the testing phase of research is really fun.  it only took me two months to find the best burger and hot dog in birmingham (i reallly like cheeseburgers too). they're both at a

 place called Sam's Super Samwiches in the middle of downtown homewood, alabama.  from the outside all you can see is this little red awning with the name of the establishment.  inside its about the size of an ally and the grill takes up 3/4 of the space.  i don't know what they do to make their burgers and hot dogs so good, but they're incredible. my usual order is a slaw dog (chili, onions, slaw, mustard) and a cheeseburger with lettuce, tomato, pickles and special sauce. the sauce makes it. or maybe the grease makes it.  either way. soo good. 

the other thing that makes sam's super samwiches is sam himself. Here he is 

he's so nice. and so good at making burgers. oh, and the breakfast sandwiches?! incredible. sometimes i crave them for days. bacon, egg and cheese on a buttered, toasted bun. and not just bacon, loads of thick sliced cooked on a grill bacon. it is like heaven in your mouth. if you ever come visit me, i will probably take you there.  if we ever leave the magic city, i will miss sam's the most. 

oh, and the eye catching photos at the top of the post are sara and i enjoying our lunch from sams.

February 17th

To all of my faithful readers, i would like to ask you to give this poor, tired blogger some mercy.  i did not post yesterday, so i'm writing yesterday's post today and i will write today's post tonight. yesterday was just so busy. i was going going going from 7 am til 11 pm and there was simply no time.  that's not a complaint on the business of life, because it was in fact a wonderful day.  just an explanation, which i feel like i owe you. 

  

are any of you avid weather watchers? i am. i try to watch the news every morning just for the weather updates. now, the news is more of a morning ritual - something that brings comfort to the pain of waking up from peaceful slumber. when paired with hot coffee and staying under the covers for 5 extra minutes with said coffee and news, it's a perfect way to ease into the day.  anyway, i started watching the news in the morning in place of music videos because i realized that i LOVED being prepared for the day - even if only in the way i dressed.  for example - there are few things that will annoy me more than sloshing around all day in the rain with water soaked up my jeans to my calf. it makes everything colder.  well, if i know its going to rain, i can wear a skirt and boots, or skinny jeans that don't drag. it just makes me feel so smart. well yesterday i was reminded of something i've heard a million times: you can't always predict the weather. according to the news, it was going to be 68 degrees and sunny. according to the news, it would be a beautiful day before the storms came. according to the news, it was the perfect day to be outside. false. it was not the perfect day to do anything besides sit inside with the heat on. it was cold to the bone and the sky kept spitting out ice/rain. it was the worst day for planning lunch outside and hiking with a bunch of high school girls. but that's exactly what i did. 

and then we abandoned that plan. because there is nothing fun about walking around in the woods in freezing cold rain. thank goodness for my apartment and baby mama (woo WOO). thank goodness for a fridge full of cookie dough, and thank goodness for our heater that sounds like a constipated wild pig (go on, imagine that sound in your head. that's the sound our heater makes right now). it. was. glorious.

and that is why i don't complain about the business. because even though sometimes my days wear me out, they are fun. and i love what i do, and i feel so privileged to get to do it.  here's to youth ministry . . .

twitter, toast and twilight

 I have officially been "you won't-ed" to post every day for two weeks. i did ask for it, but it turns out that it might be kind of difficult. my life is really not that interesting and you are all about to find out exactly how uninteresting it is. here's what's been going on.

 Late last night i joined twitter. Now, i'm not real sure what to do with it, since i haven't yet figured out how to update it from my phone or why "following" someone does not count as stalking. Amelia convinced me to join and i'm still a little baffled about it - since i don't even do status updates on facebook and that's about all twitter IS. i mean, i would tell you how to check out twitter and look at what i'm doing. but i don't really know where to tell you to go. all i know right now, is that it has to do with the internet and i have not yet found a suitable profile picture. 

  This morning i had the best french toast i've ever had. it was at a barbecue place in homewood called Demetri's.  i walked in to meet two of my girls. they were sitting on the same side of a table, and they happily (yet firmly) informed me that i had two options (despite the menu that said i had many others). my options were the french toast or the hot cakes. i am SO glad that i went with the french toast. it was amazing. i don't know what they did to it, but it was so good. also, they served really good coffee, which is surprising for a barbecue place but important to me.  

  Do you have a dollar movie in your town? Because if you do you should go there all the time. today i saw twilight for the second time for only $1. that means i didn't feel guilty about spending $10 on popcorn and drinks. and i'll say this, its just a good movie. i might have even liked it better the second time. plus, i'm pretty sure the scenery will convince me to move to Washington State and Robert Pattinson will convince me that vampires are awesome.

  That's it. all i've got for today. maybe tomorrow's post will come with pictures . . .

  

remember the "you won't" challenges?

i'm thinking about forcing myself to post every day for two weeks. you know, to get in the habit. probably is someone thought i wouldn't do it, i would do it. . .

valentine tradition

Well, you might notice that the title of this post is "valentine tradition," singular,  not "valentine traditions" plural.  That is because i've never really been huge on this particular holiday.  I've been a little on the fence about it. My biggest dilemma has always been between "this is a useless, commercially created holiday meant to make me spend too much money on cards, and why can't we celebrate love the other 364 days a year? " cynicism and "what a wonderful opportunity to make people feel loved and appreciated?"  The former, if i'm honest, was usually a cover for not wanting to feel like the only person without a bouquet of overpriced flowers, and the latter came from more of a love for baking unnecessarily challenging treats. Oh, and my intentions were always much greater than anything i actually gave to anyone on this hallmark of holidays.  Anyway, back to the tradition. Here it is. . . (pardon the technical difficulties, i couldn't figure out how to take this picture so you could actually read the heart. It says "sweet fart")

 A lot of years ago my brother and i were at a forced family supper in the purnell house and mom had decorated using all these giant sweetheart candies with sweet little messages on them.  To this day i can't remember who started it, but sam and i started turning messages of love, affection and flirtatiousness into messages of pain, disgust and general dislike for the recipient.  Every year i look for these hearts, and 2 out of 5 years i get an envelope of them in the mail.  I accidentally left a few out this year, including this example where i turned "sweet heart" into "sweet fart".  some of my favorites included 

-"marry me" into "you'll never marry"

-"be mine" into "be dead"

-"your face" into "your face looks like vomit"

- "sweetie pie" into "doo doo pie"

  It's my way of letting him know that i love him. Oh, and for those of you not aware, he did marry. December 15th. i'm really behind on my posting.