Foodie Survey

1. How do you like your eggs?
Depends on how I'm feeling... sometimes scrambled (esp. covered AND smothered @ Dennys!) and sometimes over-easy, but not runny. Runny eggs make me gag.

2. How do you take your coffee/tea?
MMMM coffee!!! 2 tsp of sugar and 2 or 3 tablespoons of heavy cream (or half & half if there is no cream)

3. Favorite breakfast food:
Homemade sausage McMuffin! Egg whites (scrambled), Morningstar Farms maple sausage, one slice American cheese, Thomas' light English muffin... divine.

4. Peanut butter: Smooth or crunchy?
SMOOOOOTH...

5. What kind of dressing on your salad?
Blue Cheese Vinaigrette or French

6. Coke or Pepsi?
neither... Diet Cherry Dr. Pepper!

7. You’re feeling lazy, what do you make?
Quick burrito; tortilla, refried beans, cheese, sour cream, salsa

8. You’re feeling really lazy. What kind of pizza do you order?
Domino's Memphis BBQ Chicken! Never thought I'd love a Domino's pizza, but this one ROCKS! Chicken, BBQ sauce, onions, provolone, mozzarella, cheddar... divine!

9. You feel like cooking. What do you make?
I normally throw together whatever I've got laying around. Last night I made a Mexican casserole; ground beef, kidney beans, black beans, diced tomatoes w/jalapenos, corn w/peppers, cumin, chili powder... topped with cornbread... divine :o)

10. Do any foods bring back good memories?
Mac n cheese w/corn... not foodie, but yummy!

11. Do any foods bring back bad memories?
Oatmeal w/blueberries... I HATED blueberries AND oatmeal when I was kid.

12. Do any foods remind you of someone?
Mac n cheese w/corn: my mom (except when I was a kid she added tuna)
Lemon Pepper chicken: Rick... first thing he ever made for me!

13. Is there a food you refuse to eat?
Fish, unless its fish STICKS :o)

14. What was your favorite food as a child?
Mac n Cheese w/tuna & corn (now... tuna, EWWW!)

15. Is there a food that you hated as a child but now like?
not that I can think of... I pretty much ate everything (well, except the chocolate/peanut butter chicken my stepdad made once!)

16. Is there a food that you liked as a child but now hate?
Liver and onions... seriously, LOVED it as a kid!

17. Favorite fruit and vegetable:
strawberries and asperagus

18. Favorite junk food:
Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

19. Favorite between meal snack:
whatever is handy, usually a slice of bread or some cheese

20. Do you have any weird food habits?
Well... I can be eating something and loving it, but in a split second I can decide I don't want it anymore... like I got a weird taste or something. Drives Rick NUTS! LOL

21. You’re on a diet. What food(s) do you fill up on?
Don't know if diet is a good word for what we do... but when we are watching what we eat, I LOVE Weight Watchers Zero-point soup... the ORIGINAL version!

22. You’re off your diet. Now what would you like?
Cheesecake, but then I can eat that when I'm watching what I eat, too.

23. How spicy do you order Indian/Thai?
I don't eat Indian or Thai very often... and I don't do hot very often either.

24. Can I get you a drink?
already told you... Diet Cherry Dr. Pepper :o)

25. Red or White Wine?
White, though I don't drink wine often

26. Favorite dessert?
Tiramisu

27. The perfect nightcap?
Kaluah & cream...

VOTA... oh, and the newsboys...

Yesterday Rick and I got to go to Highlands Ranch, specifically Cherry Hills Community Church, to see the newsboys in concert.  

Now I was REALLY excited to be seeing the newsboys... I've been wanting to see them for years!  BUT a couple weeks before the concert, newsboys announced that Peter Furler would be stepping down as lead singer of the band.  HE is the biggest reason I love newsboys!  And he was being replaced by Michael Tait (of dcTalk fame).  So, needless to say, I was a bit disappointed going into the concert.

First I'll start off with Cherry Hills Community Church... its HUGE! :o)  Our tickets were balcony (best seating, I swear!  No one blocking me... I'm short!); Section R, Row H.  To get to Section R, you go up a flight of stairs, 180 degree turn, up TWO flights of stairs, turn and one more short flight of stairs! LOL  But truthfully, the flights were only like 20 steps each :o)

There were THREE opening bands... and I loved them all!  I'd never even HEARD of the first two, but I'm now a HUGE fan! :o)

First was Bread of Stone, and they were great!  I think they did 4 songs... bought their CD after the concert, had them all sign it.  LOVE them!  I wish I could remember the name of this song, but I DO know that the whole CD was wonderful!

Then we were treated to VOTA, who I found out (after some internet searching) were once known as Casting Pearls and they have this awesome song called Alright...

And after playing THAT song, they played a song that I am now SO in love with, called Hard to Believe...

Bought THEIR CD after the concert, had them sign it, too :o)  Love the lead singer, he wore a pink/black striped tie :o)  Gotta love it!  Put the CD in the car for the 40 minute drive home, then listened to it 5 or 6 times today.  I just can't get enough.  Check them out... I think you will LOVE them!

After VOTA came DecembeRadio.  I've heard OF them, but I'm not sure that I'd actually HEARD them... but I really liked them.  I was getting into them, and then they played a quick cover of Kansas' "Carry On Wayward Son" and I was hooked! :o)

And then.  And THEN... newsboys came on!  And they informed us that this concert was going to be Michael Tait's first night as lead singer for the WHOLE concert.  That's right, Peter wasn't even going to make an appearance.  :o(  That did not make me happy... BUT I decided to enjoy myself.  And I did.  But I still missed Peter.

Michael Tait did... okay.  He did what he could with what he has... but honestly, he isn't Australian so the voice is just off.  But it wasn't torture :o)  I will say, sadly, that he KILLED (and I do NOT mean this in a good sense) Hands of God!  I won't post the video, because its just plain mean if I do, but he crouched down and read the words off a piece of paper on the stage through the whole song! :o(  The rest of the band was AWESOME!  In the end, they all rocked, and they did well as a band together.  Michael Tait will get better.  Of that I am sure, he is an amazing artist!  (I would really like to see him stop with the 'poor brown boy' stuff though... he made SO many references to his color, it drove me nuts!  What he should have been joking about was how he was one of the only NON-Australians on the stage as opposed to the only brown person on the stage!) :o)

Some pictures...

Singing 'He Reigns'...

I love seeing all the people... it was awesome!

Okay... take a look at this picture... do you see that?!  That is Duncan on his rotating drum set.  I heard this and thought, "Oh, its going to revolve..."  Well, it revolves alright... but only after it raises up and then tilts completely forward!  It spins FAST, too!  It was like watching a ferris wheel! LOL  So incredibly awesome!  I wish I had gotten video, but I was still holding out that Peter would show up!! LOL

Hope you enjoyed the videos/pictures... I also hope you check out the band sites... they really are awesome!

I'm off to finish American Idol... Danny Gokey is AWESOME!!

Wild Olive Tees... I think I'm in love...

Since I am a big fan of Pioneer Woman (oh how I would have loved to been a winner to her 'come to the lodge' contest!!!), and because of that contest, I am a big fan of Bakerella.

While perusing both PW's and Bakerella's sites, they both mentioned that one of the winners (and her guest) own a business called Wild Olive Tees. You may not know this, but I am a link clicker LOL If I see a link, especially an interesting SOUNDING link, I click. This can lead to trouble, but in this case, it lead to a really cool website and business! :o)

These ladies have a wonderful business going of making women's T-shirts with scripture on them. And not just ANY scripture, but very PROFOUND scripture :o) The ones that you read and you immediately say "Thank you, Lord!!!" :o) At least, I did :o)

My favorite one they make has to be their No. Thing. shirt. You see the front and think, "No. Thing. What the heck does that mean??" So then you read the back...

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8: 38-39

Thank you, Lord! :o)

But the sad thing? I could never fit in these shirts! :o( I am not a S, or a M, I'm not even an XL :o( (oh how I wish I WAS an XL again! LOL) I am more of a XXL... :o)

But the happy thing? I KNOW people who CAN fit in these shirts... so I think I know what I'll be getting them for their birthdays and/or Christmas! :o)

Love these shirts, had to share!!!

I've been PICKED...

And while it isn't the biggest accomplishment, one of the pictures I've taken has been chosen for this years version of Schmap, downtown L.A. edition. There is a 'widget' to the right that should take you to Schmap... its actually quite neat, an online map with pictures!
The email:

Hi Deirdre,

I am delighted to let you know that your submitted photo
has been selected for inclusion in the newly released sixth
edition of our Schmap Los Angeles Guide:

Downtown
http://www.schmap.com/losangeles/introduction_history/p=2004D06/i=2004D06_18.jpg

If you like the guide and have a website, blog or personal
page, then please also check out the customizable
widgetized versions of our Schmap Los Angeles Guide,
complete with your published photo:

http://www.schmap.com/guidewidgets/p=29916298N06/c=SJ20041699

Thanks so much for letting us include your photo - please
enjoy the guide!

Best regards,

Emma Williams,
Managing Editor, Schmap Guides
www.schmap.me/emma.williams

I'm very excited because it has to be one of my most favorite pictures, and I've always wanted to share it with the world :o) Maybe now the world will actually see it?! :o)

I love to take pictures, and I'm always excited when they come out the way I want them to. That is the blessing of a digital camera, I can take a thousand pictures and if one of them comes out, I'm over the moon.

If you click on the first link in the email above, you get to see the map and my picture, Union Station in Downtown Los Angeles. See my name as the copyright?! Woohoo! LOL If you click on the picture, it will take you to my Flickr stream.

I'm adding the Union Station picture and another picture from Union Station that I love... some old ticket booths that aren't used, but I believe have been in some movies.

Who's the bitch now...

That would be me.

Here I was feeling all smug and satisfied that I'd peed in someone's Cheerios, that someone being Kiera's biological, by sending such a bitchy email to make him feel bad for choosing the Lakers over Kiera.

I am no longer feeling smug and satisfied, more like sorry and scared.  Not scared because he said/did anything bad about it, sorry and scared because the jackass lost his job.  Since he was on pay reduction, he decided to look into the companies finances, and then while he was at it, he took that information to the head people and asked questions.  Seriously, who can be so dumb you ask... come on... if you've read previous posts, you'd know it'd be him! 

A week goes by and now he's fired.  Sweet.  Not.  So now he does NOT make 3 times more than we do, he makes nothing.  And what happens when the person who sends you $400 in child support every month makes nothing?  Anybody?  That's right, I get nothing.  Which didn't USED to suck, until Rick's wages got cut.... that $$ was our mortgage payment.  Crap.

Lets see how good Rick & I are at juggling, shall we? :o)  Thankfully, I know that the Lord is looking out for us and He has a plan.  Now if only we could be privy to that plan so I wouldn't feel quite so panicked right now.  Pray for us, please.  I feel like I'm back to when we moved in here!!!!  (Except that thankfully, Rick is employed now and getting paid!  woohoo!!!  Praise God!!!)

(if you haven't seen The New Guy - which my blog title is from... you must!  Its hilarious!)

Sometimes he just gets my ire up...

he being Kiera's biological.

He left her 2 months ago, and we haven't heard from him since.... so being the nice person that I am, I send an email to make sure he is okay...

---
My email: "just checking in... in her whole 10 years, the only time you've not called regularly was when you were in jail. Not there again are ya? :o) Let us know that you're alive & well and not incarcerated :o) (Please hear that I AM joking... Rick gave me a 'look' like I was being bad!)"
---

Short and sweet, right? :o) And bitchy, but still... I guess I should be nice though, his wages are being garnished like clockwork! :o)

---
His response: "No, not incarcerated, just a bit down. I have been thinking about calling for weeks now, but I don't for some reason. I don't want to sadden her by my bad attitude. Work has us on 20% pay reduction pretty much permanently and my finances are now a mess so I am distracted. (... insert boring crap here...) So, I'll call now that I'm busted, so to speak. Or, if you want to make my year, have her call me. I know hearing her voice will cheer me up, even with the world going somewhere in a handbasket fast."
---

Really, he wrote that. Now maybe I should feel bad, a 20% reduction is pretty big... but he makes $60K (or more!) a year! So they took $1000 a month from him and he is still bringing home $4000 a month (just him and his girlfriend). Rick got a pay cut, too... we bring home $1600... for the 5 of us! (sob sob sob LOL talk about full disclosure!) :o) I'm okay with it honestly, we're doing fine... though sort of regretting our iPhones (which we're now in contract with! Grrr).

So Kiera called tonight, after her telling me that she didn't want to and why should she have to. (I'm such a proud mommy! LOL) No clue what went on in the conversation, but here is what she said when she got off the phone

---
Kiera: "Wow! We were on the phone for 8 minutes and 5 seconds!"
Me: "He didn't want to talk to me?"
Kiera: "No, he said he had to go, the Lakers were on and they might win."
---

Yup, he got off the phone with his daughter (who he says he misses and please have her call me to cheer me up) so he could watch the Lakers game. And before I could stop myself, I shot off a quick email...

---
My email: "Should have seen the eye roll when I suggested she call LOL She's got quite an attitude on her.

I tried to feel sorry for your work issues, but you still make more than we do... nearly 3 times as much since they cut Rick's pay. :o) See I can sob story, too :o)

Hope the Lakers won."
---

Oh yeah, I'm a bitch. Rick said I shouldn't have sent it, but I don't think it will do me much harm. He said in his email he wanted to talk to her, and then he chose not to.

I'm over it... but I totally had to vent. Sometimes he just upsets me so much. And in the end, I don't even know why... Kiera has many times asked why she has to have 2 dads when she is happy with the one she has. Why can't I just let it go....

Pause and rewind live TV...

oh yes, TiVo, I love you. Or I will, once Rick sets you up! :o) Since Direct TV screwed up our order, we've been DVR-less for 9 LONG months! I bit it and bought a TiVo box today... can't wait to get it set up so I no longer have to worry about missing Dancing With the Stars or American Idol... or Castle, which, I have a feeling, will become one of my new favorite shows! :o)

TiVo... you are calling my name from your pretty orange box...

Rick, get home quick! LOL

A Dave Ramsey moment...

sort of...

Rick and I are on week 7 (or is it week 8?) of Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University, and feeling pretty in charge of our financial future... sorta :o)  Hard to be COMPLETELY in charge when we're still in debt LOL

We got a nice federal return, and instead of paying off bills, we decided it would be better spent updating some of our appliances and buying a shed.  The shed will be a stress reliever (got a cold sore yesterday to prove just how STRESSED I've been! LOL), it will get all the boxes and totes out of our closets and dining room and broken bathroom shower LOL  (yeah, we need to fix that eventually!)  The appliances will hopefully help bring down our electric and water bills.  The park we live in changes the water rates every month... once it was $20, the next month it was almost $80... and we used the SAME EXACT amount of water!  Grrrr....

Rick and I got the girls up nice and early and took them over to Appliance Factory Outlet, and after quite a bit a talking to each other... we purchased a brand new washer and dryer!  We even got it for a little less then it would have been.   Not a whole 'Dave Ramsey' amount less... but maybe about $100 less.  It's a baby step for us :o)  The coolest part though?  The cost for the set, the tax and delivery was less than $1300.  If we had bought them at Lowe's, it would have been that much BEFORE tax and delivery :o)  So THAT felt good :o)

Not sure if we'll ever become pros at haggling, but every little bit will help :o)

Interviewing Kiera...

Kiera's turn... I'm hoping she'll have nicer answers LOL

1. What is something mom always says to you?
"can you please help me"

2. What makes mom happy?
"flowers"

3. What makes mom sad?
"cutting your hand" (I guess, it happened the other night... I didn't really like it)

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
"by doing a silly dance *does goofy 70's dance*"

5. What was your mom like as a child?
"you were happy"

6. How old is your mom?
"30" (to which Emmie says "holy mackerel... that would be an old person!" LOL)

7. How tall is your mom?
"well, you are 6ft because I'm 5ft and I'm almost as tall as you, so 6ft and a half" (holy cow, I'm tall!) :o)

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
"your favorite thing to do... is to... watch the movie Cars"

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
"you read a book" (oh yeah!!!)

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
"for singing" (how sweet!)

11. What is your mom really good at?
"you're very good at cooking" (right on!!! Love it!)

12. What is your mom not very good at?
"uh, you're not very good at doing the splits" LOL (she says shes trying not to hurt me LOL)

13. What does your mom do for a job?
"your job is to home school us, and feed us. and take care of us. those are the best things you are good at." (have I ever mentioned that my oldest is a suck up? LOL)

14.What is your mom's favorite food?
"your favorite food? pork! Do you like pork?" LOL

15. What makes you proud of your mom?
"uh... helping me understand my homework"

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
"you would be.... the magical baby Smurf" (okay.) Now she's saying Smurfette LOL

17. What do you and your mom do together?
"we, uh, we have fun together"

18. How are you and your mom the same?
"uh, well, we both like the Jonas Brothers"

19. How are you and your mom different?
"we're different by you like dancing 'back then' and I like dancing 'right now' Because 'back then' you did old dances and 'right now' we do NEW dances." (okay. I'm only 30... what is she talking about BACK THEN?! LOL)

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
"you get me stuff that you really shouldn't get me?"

21. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
"oh easy peesy lemon squeezy... you like to go to the zoo and see new animals."

Interviewing Emmie....

Was reading another one of these on Facebook and thought it would be interesting to get my girls' answers. Here is Emmaline's... she's only slightly distracted and goofy :o)

1. What is something mom always says to you?
"no"

2. What makes mom happy?
"cleaning"

3. What makes mom sad?
"not doing what you told me to"

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
"when you tickle me"

5. What was your mom like as a child?
"you liked to watch... I don't know"

6. How old is your mom?
"18"

7. How tall is your mom?
"as big as me right now" (I'm sitting in a computer chair!)

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
"type" (how sad that she thinks that!) but then she changed her mind to "watch Cars" :o)

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
"you watch movies"

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
"because you wanted to be rich"

11. What is your mom really good at?
"annoying us" (oh man... she's gonna get it!)

12. What is your mom not very good at?
"playing soccer" (no kidding!)

13. What does your mom do for a job?
"taking care of us"

14.What is your mom's favorite food?
"for Pete's sakes... Chinese food with your family"

15. What makes you proud of your mom?
"that's gonna be hard.... you make me laugh?"

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
"a puppy... named Anna"

17. What do you and your mom do together?
"shop"

18. How are you and your mom the same?
"we both like the same color. we both like animals" (Kiera says we're both confusing! LOL)

19. How are you and your mom different?
"I make jokes, you don't"

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
"because you kiss me every night"

21. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
"somewhere with us. uh, at a restaurant?"