Dog Bingo.

 AKA:  And now for something else completely un-food related.

I created this lil’ number the other day after having “one of those days” where my furry four-legged child was REALLY trying my patience. 

See that focused intensity?  Dad’s posing for a pic, while the Pugster is thinking “must. eat. game. dice.”

(And for those who are thinking “WTF game is that?”  Click here.)

 

I found myself wondering, “does he just have an AGENDA or something?  Like—’these are the things I have to accomplish today for my life to be complete’.  Like…DOG BINGO!”

So, now you too know your dog’s ultimate purpose in life: to get ‘Bingo’ every day.

You can’t fool us, canines.  We’re on to your wily ways.

Feaux’s Kitchen Christmas Wish List.

Not that I really NEEEEEEED any more stuff in my kitchen.  It’s a small kitchen, with a lotta stuff.  We spent some time a couple weekends ago organizing and sorting and paring down to make space and help the whole area just make more sense.  And we acheived that.  So why do I want more stuff?

Umm…because?  Am I allowed to use that as a reason?  Probably not.  As a kid, I grew up pretty po’.  Like, so po’ we couldn’t afford the ‘or’ at the end of the word.  So, any time I started squealing in Wal-Mart about how I “NEEDED” something, my mom would ask me to tell her THREE REASONS I actually “needed” it.  Otherwise it was just a “want”, and I couldn’t have it.  That little trick has helped me many times since then.

So…we’ll attempt to find the “needs” in all these things.

1. A Pressure Cooker:

a. My coworker Suzan tells me they’re just the greatest kitchen tool ever, and that no kitchen should be without one.

b. They’re essentially the opposite of a Crockpot.  Instead of making a stew in eight hours, I could make it in 45 minutes.  And for the gal who works 45 hours a week & doesn’t get home until 6-6:30pm, that’s pretty appealing.

c. No combination of any of the items I already own could replicate the cooking time that this item would be capable of.

 

2.  A Petit Four/Square Brownie Pan:

a. Removable bottom!  You can place the bottom in the squares if you’re using a batter, or, if you’re using a crust, leave it out and then just press from the bottom to pop each item out.  SUPER CLEVER!

b. Easy way to make pre-portioned cake/brownie/etc. whatever and have each piece be consistently the same size, which is better for calorie control.

c. I could finally make those cookie dough-Reese’s-brownies from Pinterest. :)

 

3. A Kitchen Torch.

Actually, this isn’t really a “wish list” item, so much as a “I will be buying within the next few weeks” item.  I decided to ix-nay the “professional style kitchen torch” since I saw these butane “pencil torches” at Harbor Freight for three bucks.  $27 vs. $3?  Uh, yeah.  Buying the pencil torch.  Blackberry creme brulee, here we come!!!

4. A nice Glass Pitcher.

a. It’s a beautiful pattern, and the center ice “sleeve” would prevent watering down of beverages.

b. Beautiful photo op for making beverages on my blog!  I can’t showcase a pitcher of anything right now, unless readers are impressed by things like “wow, your Rubbermaid pitcher is SO huge!  What is that, 4 quarts???”  Can’t you just see this, with some lovely refreshing lemon slices floating in it, or a gorgeous sangria?

c. It has a lid.  SO many glass pitchers out there do NOT have lids, for some reason.

 

5. This tea kettle.

Okay, this could be tough.  Because I already own a tea kettle…and it doesn’t get used.  It’s in our camping gear for when we need to heat water.  But…I mean…just LOOK AT IT!!!!  So…I’ll try.

a.  It’s blue.  A beautiful, gorgeous, “Caribbean” blue that just SCREAMS “Cozy Cajun Kitchen”.

b. Ummm…it’s still blue?   Sorry.  I guess this is a “want”.  But can you blame me?

 

6. An 8-12 Quart Stock Pot.

a. Crawfish.

b. Shrimp.

c. Massive quantities of gumbo.  (Seriously.  This is a Cajun Kitchen with no gi-normous stock pot for boiling stuff?  Or brining a turkey?  I think this should be remedied.)

 

7. A Sushi Knife.

a. We have everything to make sushi now, but none of my knives are good at slicing it into pieces.  And I don’t want to eat my sushi like a burrito.

b. Reviewers say it “cuts through everything!”  So it’s multi-purpose.  Not just for sushi.

c. It comes with a free peeler.  Not sure that’s necessary, but hey:  Free is Free.

 

8. Fleur de Lis dish set:

Again…this is tough, because we HAVE dishes.  In fact, for a while right after we got married, we had TWO sets of dishes.  I gave my set up for a garage sale.  Our dishes are functional, but they’re pretty plain. Some of them are also getting a bit rough around the edges since my Hubs has had them for a while.  You’ve seen them in many a photo here:

(White middle, green border.)

So again…let’s try to justify this “want”.

a. They’re gorgeous, and classic.  Won’t go out of fashion.  Louis XIV could have eaten of dishes just like these.

b. What if the senator…nay…governor…nay…PRESIDENT comes over for dinner sometime??? i.e. We need some fancy China.  You know…just in case.

c.  They fit with the “Cajun Kitchen” theme so well, without getting hokey.

 

9. This 3 Quart Lodge Cast Iron Pot.

a. I don’t own a cast iron dish.

b. It could double as a cookie jar.

c. Seriously… LOOK AT IT!!!  HOW FLIPPIN’ KEWT IS THAT?????

 

10. A new kitchen remodel, to hold all my new stuff. :D

Pot rack!  Backsplash! Cherry wood!  Island!  StorageStorageSTORAGE!!!  TWO FAUCETS!!! GAS Range!!!

(The photo is clickable & you can see the rest of the kitchen.  The builder described it as a “New Orleans Style Kitchen”.  I’m a little iffy about the exact brick that was used for the bar area, but I love the overall layout.)

 

Tell me—what’s on your kitchen wish list?  Or what’s the one kitchen item you can’t live without???

Happy Birthday to ME!!!

 

3. 2.  Thirty-two. THIRTY-TWO!  Is that possible?  It must be, because here I am. Another day older, but NOT deeper in debt, thank you Mr. Cash.  Slightly blinder though—I went to the eye doc last week for fancy new spectacles, since I now apparently have 20/100 vision.  Le poop.  And I managed to knot up my lower back playing flag football with my nephews.  Yeah, you read that right. I hurt myself playing FLAG football, a no-contact sport, with an 8 year old and a 5 year old. Oi. (In my defense, youngun’s don’t always fully grasp the concept of “no contact sport”.)

But not to despair! I also have all the wisdom and life experience that comes with being 32.  Things like, not wearing 4 inch heels if you’re going out on the town, bringing a cardigan to places you KNOW it’s going to be cold (read: restaurants & movie theaters), serving white wine with chicken, and that offering to read to a kid will typically make them your BFF fo’ LIFE.  When my two year old niece sees me, I get a big hug, and then she’s off to find a book…or twelve.

Anyway. How does a 32 year old celebrate her birthday?

Step One: She sacrifices a few gingerbread marshmallow men to the god of gastronomy, in the name of S’Mores.

Nuke for 20 seconds & watch them expand, then smother and devour.  It’s a little evil, but totally delicious.  One of these days I’ll have to actually impale one & put him to death over flame…purely for the photo op.

“Heellllp meeee…..heeelllp meeeeeeee…..” MUAHAHAHAHA….

Step Two: She goes to a charity fundraiser on Saturday night for the C.A.R.E. animal rescue group.  Cuz we loves puppies!

“Phone, TV, internet…PUPPY!”  My absolute favorite commercial right now.

Step Three: She goes to a Springfield Cardinals game with her hubby & friends, with tickets for the Redbird Roost, which comes with unlimited concessions!

 

Who’s chips is those?  NA-CHOS!!!

Step Four: She goes to work.  Because she’s not 21, she’s 32, and has to, because it’s Monday, yo.

But AFTER work…

Step Five: She gets to have dinner with her Hubs at the new French Mediterranean Café! Super excited!  Chef Al Roubaie is well known in the Kansas City area as a four star chef, so it’s pretty cool that this place is just down the road from us.  I can’t wait to try as much as possible! :)

Procrastination: AKA, things I do instead of blogging.

Occasionally I dream about being discovered as the next “Pioneer Woman” or “Smitten Kitchen”…but alas, my inability to blog daily (and the infinite number of OTHER food bloggers out there) will probably result in it never being a reality.  I don’t worry about it much.  This blog is for me, and for fun.  It keeps me sane after long science-laden professional work days that I can come home and be creative and a little silly.  And if some other people read it & enjoy it, then that’s just a super-awesome bonus.

So here’s a list of a few things that I do, for “fun”, when I’m not blogging.

What do you like to do when you’re not blogging?

 

Option A: Sabotage Coworker’s Cubicles.

 

(Confession: these pics are a little old, as said coworker no longer works with us.  …Um, I like to think that there’s no correlation between these events & her leaving.)

 

Option B: Play Final Fantasy XIII w/my husband.

Because it’s SOOOOOOOOOOO pretty…

 

Option C: Eat AmyCakes.

These weren’t actually neon—the neon signs at Finn’s just cast that glow & I thought it looked pretty cool.  And they were delicious as always.

 

Option D: Look at cute pug pics on the InterWebz.

“I’m super cute…but really…don’t you have a recipe or something you should be talking about?”

 

Option E: Chase my own cute pug around the house as he attempts to destroy everything that falls into his menacing little paws:

 (This lil’ monster is the reason I periodically have to scream, “NO!  We do NOT eat batteries in this house!!!”)

 

Option F: Work Out.  (hahahahahhahahaha….just kidding.)

I include this only for sheer irony, since my typical excuse for not going to the gym involves thinking, “yeah, but I should REALLY go home & finish that blog post.”  It’s a vicious cycle, yo.

 

Option G: Laugh at my husband’s mastery of “Silly Faces”.

(Sometimes I cannot wait to see what he’ll be able to come up with when he’s old & can remove his teeth.)

Foto Friday: Summer Fun Recap!

As I prepare for my return to Academia this coming semester (new parking pass, textbook reservations, getting my pic snapped for my all-new-student ID, because apparently my original one from 1998 is a little out of date, paying tuition--$224 a credit hour now!!!!), it occurs to me that “summer” is coming to an end.  Not the blinding summer heat, or this ridiculous drought, but the “summer” as defined by “school” is definitely ticking away.

Therefore, I’d like to take this post & dedicate it to reminiscing over the fun things we’ve done this summer!  That way, when I’m sitting in class next month sweating over the chemical components of fibrous clays, I have something to reflect back on with a smile.  So here’s just a few fun pics from the Summer of 2012.

May: Annual Memorial Weekend Trip to Gulf Shores, Alabama!

Sometimes, low lighting blur makes for an awesome photo op.

That would be my husband getting pummeled by his best friend while we wait for dinner.

Also—dolphins can surf:

June-July: Float trips!

I should clarify something here, in case there’s any confusion.  In Missouri, “floating” involves a canoe and occasionally paddling.  Whereas in Louisiana, “floating” involves an inner tube and a prayer that no trees get in your way.  Either way, you’re not moving very fast & can easily kill most of a day with your friends.  We got in about three float trips so far this year, which is a pretty nice way to spend a Sunday.

This is my floating hat.  I bought it for $2 at WallyWorld in December.  It pays to shop off-season.

The Pugster also loves to float and swim, although he spends much of the day trying to get into someone’s lap, or into someone else’s boat.

He is less than fond of his life jacket though.  However, when you have a small dog who frequently likes to go AWOL, a life jacket is essential.

Mainly because it has a handle.

Rocky sez: Algae iz tastee.

 

June: Somewhere during the summer, I got addicted to Bubble Safari on Facebook…and apparently, it got addicted to me, too…

Geez, Monkey, co-dependent much?

 

June: We took my folks up to Kansas City to watch the St. Louis Cardinals slaughter the Royals.  My dad is a die-hard Cards fan, so I like to take them to one of the “I-70 Games” each year as a Father’s Day gift.  This year, we teamed up with my cousins and aunt to make it a family outing!

 

Yay tailgating with the fam!

Yay beating the Royals! Go Cards!

 

July: We took a jaunt about 4 hours north to Columbia, MO for an Independence Weekend camp out. Rocky made friends with some alpacas:

 

And then he made friends with a gi-normous Great Dane:

…who later decided he didn’t want to be friends with Rocky anymore, and attempted to literally bite his head off.

Yup.  That be’s pug-blood.

Alas, Rocky’s still young & ornery…whereas Diesel (the Dane) is older and gets crotchety after midnight.  We’d like to think Rocky learned some sort of life lesson from all of this…but no, after he was patched up & calmed down, he was right back to his antagonistic lil’ self.  *sigh*

July: The Hubs & I celebrated our one-year anniversary!  We made a week-long celebration out of it, starting off with a quick work trip down to Louisiana, then a fancy dinner at Fire & Ice here in Springfield:

 

Left: Flavored butter for our rolls—raspberry and orange.  SO good. Right: Some of the best creme brulee I’ve had in YEARS.

And we finally ate the top tier of our wedding cake, which was still moist & delicious, thanks to AmyCakes:

 

Then & Now: Vanilla Buttermilk w/Triple Berry Compote.

We also received this GORGEOUS handmade ceramic casserole dish from my friends Kathy & Matt in New Orleans as a belated wedding gift. 

Kathy & I are old friends & fellow cheesemongers from Martin Wine Cellar back in the day, so Kathy’s only request was that the first dish I make in this beautiful piece of artwork be SUPER cheesy.  And I am true to my word!  Stay tuned for seeing this dish featured in a blog post coming SOON!

 

July: My husband MADE FLOUR.  Seriously, this still blows me away.  He is so stinkin’ resourceful!

We also had some very tasty beer.  I love trying new summer seasonals, and this was my fave of Summer 2012:

Grapefruit and GINGER.  It’s a refreshing citrusy ginger beer.  I love it.  So much so that we asked Finn’s to put it on tap.  Thus far, no dice, but it was worth a try.

 

July: We also rented a pontoon for a day and had a lazy day on the water at Lake of the Ozarks with six of our friends.  I brought my camera…but didn’t take a SINGLE PIC.  I just think of it as a sign of having a really great time—I was enjoying myself too much to bother with photos.

 

August: The Hubs & I volunteered with our church for Project Partnership to help paint a local school.  Springfield is a city of about 160,000 people with 55 public schools in the district.  As such, maintenance is just severely underfunded. Without the community’s help, the schools in this area would only get renovations & upgrades (painting, landscaping, minor construction/repair projects) completed every 20 years—but with the assistance of Project Partnership, the schools get these well-needed updates every 8 years.

 

The Hubs & I are in this photo from the local news: He’s the blue shirt up on the ladder, & I’m the blue shirt just below.

There were about 300 volunteers this year and while they had slotted the whole day (8am-5pm) for the work, we finished up all the painting & construction projects by 1pm.  We sometimes catch a lot of flack for attending a megachurch (weekly attendance averages 9,000 between the two campuses), but I’m proud to be a member of a church that provides so many opportunities for community outreach, and sometimes it’s our sheer numbers that makes so many amazing things possible. 

This summer, our church also sponsored a “Bags by the Bumper” campaign: on the first Sunday of each month, patrons could bring a bag of groceries to church & leave it out by the bumper of their car, and the parking lot attendants took care of bringing everything in.  All the groceries go to local families in need through our One Heart community outreach.  We also did a “Stuff the Bus” drive, both at the church & at various drop-off locations around town, where good Samaritans could fill a backpack with one set of school supplies and drop it off for a local kid whose family can’t afford supplies.

Even if only half the people at our church participate, that’s still 4,500+ bags of groceries & sets of school supplies.  Not even counting what non-church members in the community might donate.  It’s totally awesome to be a part of something like that.  My husband & I have been truly blessed in our lives—loving families, good friends, college diplomas, steady jobs with decent paychecks, one devoted but mildly psychotic dog, no debt but our house… we couldn’t ask for more & wouldn’t want to. 

To be able to turn around and bless others is really what life should be all about. :)

Un-Crabby Feaux (aka, Things I Love)

 

Life is about balance.  So I figure, if I’m going to vent about the things I dislike, I should subsequently do a post about things I love, right?  Right.

1. My Hubs.  Of course.

2. Our precious puggers.

3. My gi-gundo family.  My mom is the middle of 15 kids, and I am one of 81 grandkids.  This was just a few of us assembled to together to celebrate Mother’s Day with our grandma last year.  Throw in my in-laws, and I am truly blessed to have so many wonderful kinfolk.

4. Great friends who go on vaycay with us, to make it super-cheap ($115/person for the condo [5 days], + $62/person for gas, then food, etc.)

5. Garlic.  Duh.

6. Dave Ramsey.  Thanks to this man’s radio show & books, I have no debt, aside from our house payment (which I sorta married in to, since the Hubs bought our house 8 years ago).  Great practical money talk, things that seem so common sense, but are harder to put into practice.

7. My new (to me) car. Such a pretty blue, push start/keyless entry, and with the 27 mpg vs. the 17 I was getting with my Sorento, I’ll save about $1000/year in gas.  And it’s the first vehicle I ever paid cash for.  Not having a car payment is AWESOME!

8. Chocolate cake. Yet again—duh.  Like these delicious Oreo beauties from our wedding, made by AmyCakes.

9.  Potatoes.  Any type, cooked any way.  YUM.

10.  My readers!  Without you guys, I wouldn’t be posting all my kitchen adventures.  I appreciate each & every one of you, and your comments!