Wordless Wednesdays

Wordless Wednesdays (because I've been too lazy/tired/sick for a real post)

Some pics from my new toy

Here are some photos that I took with my new toy... none of them have been edited.

I have a lot of learning to do, but they're not bad for my first batch of photos.

Wordless Wednesday - Holiday Edition

25 Things

Since I sometimes have trouble coming up with things to blog about, I decided that making lists would be a good thing to do. Instead of writing about my entire Florida trip, I condensed it to 25 things I learned (or confirmed) on the trip. 

1. Business class makes flying much more enjoyable. The upgrade fee is definitely worth it.
2. The state of Florida has the worst drivers in the entire country.
3. Miami is not my kind of city. Too many designer labels, stilettos, overpriced drinks, and fake people. Give me a dive bar full of friendly locals wearing jeans and offering PBR specials any day.
4. Art Basel is an experience best enjoyed for a limited amount of time, wearing comfortable shoes, and having the freedom to roam many galleries. Hanging around the same place for hours on end is crazy boring.
5. You can throw globs of paint on a canvas and sell it for $50,000.
6. Chewing gum has a magnetic attraction to new flip flops.
7. Never walk long distances in aforementioned new flip flops.
8. I should sometimes consider my husband’s crazy ideas that involve putting on his socks and cutting out the toes to prevent additional blisters from new flops.
9. Always carry band-aids.
10. I'm getting too old to sleep on cheap air mattresses that are deflated by morning.
11. Coconut water and artisanal rum drinks are disgusting, but those who produce crappy $50,000 art love them.
12. Sometimes free drinks aren’t worth it.
13. Tu Tu Tango still has some of my favorite tapas dishes, although their sangria isn't as good as it was a few years ago.
14. Miami food trucks are awesome - try the chocolate-covered bacon at the Porkalicious food truck.
15. Bubble tea is weird, but I think I want to try it again.
16. Having a rental car and no set plans is a fun way to travel.
17. Jazzy’s Mainely Lobster in Cocoa Beach has some of the tastiest seafood that I’ve ever consumed.
18. Captain J’s in Cocoa Beach is dead in the off season or when there’s no cruise ship in port. There were two people in the entire restaurant (that holds 300+ people) at 8:30 on a Friday night.
19. Investigate all potential watering holes before deciding on one place to hang out. There could be something more fun with cheap drinks just a few blocks away.
20. According to the interwebs, the best way to cure brain freeze is by warming the palate of your mouth with your tongue.
21. Sometimes you have to make your own fun – all it takes is a 6 pack of beer and Yahtzee!
22. Don’t forget to take probiotics and use sunblock while taking antibiotics.
23. One piece bathing suits make going to the bathroom terribly challenging.
24. Having my own chickens has made me an egg snob. I don’t plan on ordering eggs over easy at a restaurant ever again.
25. While on a short vacation, make sure that you have some time to relax and don’t spend hours each day driving around.

Last two weeks in photos

Piper aka Kitty Whore hard at work

Wine club. Er, I mean book club.

I hosted book club this month and made my Aunt Mary's French Meat Pies. They were a hit! Photos and my recipe to come soon. This photo I took for my sister-in-law Colleen to say that we missed her. She definitely should have come to partake in the festivities. Apparently we were extra loud and giggly past midnight. Sorry for keeping you up, Jay!

JT's kahlua cake was a hit. Sue couldn't resist grabbing a spoon and digging in. 

Kneading dough is great therapy

For the second year, we attended the Pealiquor Road crew's Thanksgiving Feast. I baked 2 loaves of french bread and an Italian whole wheat peasant bread to share with our friends. I used a new recipe for the french bread that called for only bread flour instead of the combination of all-purpose and bread flour. It was wonderfully crusty with a moist and chewy interior. I'm going to bake some more this weekend to go with the farm fresh butter that I just picked up from Nice Farms Creamery. 

Go ahead and put all of your eggs in one basket. The chickens will make more.

We brought eggs to our gracious hosts. 

Basket full of persimmon joy.

After dinner everyone goes for a walk (okay, we waddle) out to the golf course and collect persimmons from two trees. This year was the biggest haul of persimmons ever... there were 15 "grown-ups", 6 kids (all boys) and 5 dogs. It was utter mayhem and such a great time. Surprisingly, no one was injured! The persimmons are baked into bread for friends and family at Christmas. 

... and the persimmons jumped right out of the basket! Did you see that??

I'm blowing this up so you can see Angela's crazy eyes. Thanks, Instagram!

We needed painting supplies to get our last bedroom finished. 

We didn't crack open anything until the painting was finished, which was probably a good idea. The primer that Jay bought did a terrible job covering the drywall. We had to go over the ceiling three times until it was covered. We weren't as worried about the walls, because Lowes gave me the paint + primer product that I didn't ask for. So instead of paying about $75 for paint, we ended up spending $120. Oh well. Yesterday Jay picked up the laminate flooring for the room and ordered a ceiling fan that was on sale. The last bedroom will likely be done this weekend. We're planning to move the futon from downstairs up to that room... just in time too, because my in-laws may be coming to stay with us for a little while. Long and sad story there, and that's about all I can say about it. My mother left our house yesterday morning after a two week on and off stint at a temp job in Denton. So we are basically running a flop house these days. It will be nice when we get some time to ourselves!

Winter is coming, just like the Starks said it would

It's getting colder around here... these weird little balls of snow/sleet appeared on Jay's truck earlier this week. It's been below freezing the last two nights... 27 degrees this morning. BRRRR! I'm getting over a cold that I came down with last weekend. Still feeling a little tired and stuffed up, but I'm hoping to be over it by next week. We're taking a little 4 day trip down to Florida for our anniversary. I was really hoping to get to Key West, but we're visiting Jay's grandma while we're down there and she is in the opposite direction (we're flying in to Fort Lauderdale and she lives in Winter Park, near Orlando). The last thing I want to do on a long weekend is drive 14 hours. As it stands now, we'll be driving for about 8 hours. Oh well, at least we will be able to drive with the windows DOWN! :)

Sure we cut our own tree

With all of the insanity in our lives this week, we thought that we could use a little Christmas cheer, so we picked up our Christmas Tree on Wednesday afternoon. It's a Fraser Fir... I hate those other trees with the pointy needles. I don't like to be stabbed while I'm decorating the tree.

Our tree is crazy full and barely cleared the ceiling, despite Mr. Webby's assertion that it was only 7' tall. It's pretty close to 8.5'... you can't tell so much in the photo, but it is out of control. I will post some photos after we decorate it this weekend. Dr. Tasty, Esq. aka Dr. Tasty, aka Mr. Tasty, aka Mr. Draco is thrilled to have his tree back. He will be spending the next month lounging on the tree skirt and snacking on ribbons. I expect to find lots of bedazzled poop in the litter box.

Kitty Whore is unimpressed.

Hope you all have a great weekend!