The Universe

Do you ever just feel like the universe is crapping all over your day?  Well I feel like its pretty much dumped on my year. 

Yesterday Matt and I started discussing the possiblity of not going to Mexico in August.  A sorority sister of mine is getting married there and we were both really, really, really excited to go.  We made sure Matt had his passport, I've been checking on flights, and I've even started thinking about outfits for the beach.  I'm just not sure if we'll have the money to go anymore.  It is very unfortunate that she is getting married eight weeks before my own wedding, but up until recently we still thought we could afford both.

We don't think so anymore.  Actually, we're pretty darn sure.  We realized that while our wedding is still six months away, we have quite a few things left to pay for.  Everyone kept telling me it's your day, you only do this once, so I picked out what I wanted for everything with very little regard to my budget.  I've now gone outside of my budget.  A lot outside.  I know we'll be fine to get everything paid for, but if we want to go on a honeymoon (to anywhere other than Kansas, or maybe Iowa) Mexico is just not in the cards for us.

And then yesterday put an exclamation point on that one.  Matt's car was leaking something Sunday night so he knew we needed to take it in.  We dropped it off last night, and two days of me getting up even earlier than usual to take him to work first later, the car place called back.  Its going to cost probably more than the car is worth to fix it.  Awesome.

We knew he was going to need a new car at some point, we were just praying that it would hold out until next year.  That didn't happen.  So now instead of going to Mexico and relaxing on a beach, we will be here with Matt's new car and a whole bunch of new debt.  Again, awesome.  My dad said that cars never break down when you have the time/money to get a new one.  That's just the way the universe works.  I decided today that I hate the universe.

Adrenaline Rush

What a game last night!  I literally spent both overtimes with the blanket half over my face it was so intense!  I am very excited for Saturday, I hope they can keep this up!  I'm proud to be a wildcat every day, but today just feels a little more special.

I Finally Got Lost....

So apparently I'm about six years behind everyone else, but I have finally gotten into Lost.  I always thought it would be the kind of show I would like, but I missed the beginning of it and it seemed like the kind of show you must watch all of to truly understand it. 

About two months ago I found season one on Overstock for like twelve dollars.  I thought twelve dollars was a small price to pay to find out if this really was the show I thought it could be.  I waited with great anticipation until the day it finally arrived at my door, and then it sat on my counter for a month.  There was already so much to watch I barely had time to keep up with my regularly scheduled programming.

And then the Olympics rolled around and all of my regular shows were re-runs.  I like the Olympics as much as the next guy, but winter sports in general aren't necessarily my cup of tea.  So I chose to take advantage of the opportunity and start Lost. 

Honestly, I wasn't sure how much I dug it at first.  It was interesting but I think I had enormous expectations after everything that I had heard about it.  I also figured out that the beginning of any new show tends to be boring because it is all exposition, so it takes the first half of the first season of any show to get really, really good.  And Lost did not disappoint.

We're almost to the end of season one, and can't wait to get into season two.  There was the first major death and I totally didn't see it coming.  That is the other bonus of watching shows on dvd.  You don't have to wait until next week to see what happens, you just pop in the next disc.  I hope this show continues to entertain me this much....

Bedazzlin

Last weekend Kristen came home with that magic fun known only as the Bedazzler.  Apparently it just came to her in a brilliant vision at work, and she decided to stop at Wally World on the way home.  It seemed like a good idea at the time, and then we started using it.  Turns out the commercials make it look a lot more fun that it actually is.

 Don't get me wrong, the first half an hour was kind of funny.  We had to read the directions (sad), and then had fun looking through all of the ridiculous patterns that came with it.  Gammy bought a sweet visor that I chose to bedazzle, while she went for her Snuggie.  I chose to put a pimp cup on my visor, while Gammy decided to freestyle it. 

Loading those stupid little beads in that stupid little machine took forever, and half of the time they didn't fit!  Although it was a different way to waste a Friday night, I'm not sure if we'll be doing it again anytime soon.  If we do, there might have to be a lot more alcohol involved...

Cooking With Jasper

I don't think I'm a very good cook.  I can follow recipes as well as the next guy, but I'm not a cook.  Matt can look in the pantry and fridge and just come up with something for dinner.  And most of the time it turns out excellent.  I can't do this.  

So keeping with one of my many resolutions for the year to learn new things (especially how to become a better cook), Melissa and I took a cooking class last week at the Kansas City Culinary Center.  We bumped into it a couple of months ago after lunch at Taste, and thought the idea sounded interesting.  So we spent a few weeks checking out their calendar and narrowing down possibilities for our first foray into learning to cook.

We settled on The Jewels of Parma with Jasper from Jasper's restaurant.  It seemed perfect.  We both love Italian, cheese and prosciutto which was pretty much what this class was based around.  The night of the class I actually found myself a little nervous.  It was a strange feeling to associate with going to a beginner's cooking class, but I just kept thinking about all of the things I could do wrong. 

I really don't like not being good at things.  I think of it as being quirky, others might call it a character flaw.  The excitement of trying something new was quickly replaced with anxiety over looking stupid if I burned something, or under-cooked something, or screwed up in some other way even I couldn't think of.  I didn't have much time to contemplate because before I knew it, we were there.

The evening started out pleasant enough.  We sat down at our assigned table and were quickly introduced to the couple sitting across from us.  It was their first time too, and Mrs. was very excited.  She even diligently took notes throughout the entire class.  Her consistent note taking made me laugh and the anxiety was gone before I even realized it.

Jasper started out by showing everyone a quick, easy pasta dish and passing it out for everyone to try.  He then showed us how to make an asparagus, prosciutto, parmesan tart.  I almost forgot we were there to cook too because I was enjoying watch him so much. 

 Then came time for us to head to the cooking stations and make our main dish, chicken with prosciutto, cheese and basil.  (There were a few more ingredients and steps, but I won't bore you with those.)  Then, I got nervous again.  We were sharing our cooking station with a few other strangers, and I really didn't want to look stupid in front of them so I made Melissa do most of the work, helping out with small things.

After we finished our chicken, we sat down to enjoy the tart that Jasper had made, our chicken, and a side salad.  It was delicious!

When we were almost done, Jasper made the dessert for the evening: white chocolate gelato with strawberries and a balsamic reduction.

 I must admit, the strawberries with the balsamic glaze frightened me.  I love balsamic vinegar immensely, but the thought of a glaze over strawberries and gelato made me scared.  Really scared.  I proceeded with caution but decided I must try it.  It was actually good.  Apparently it is very popular in his restaurant.  It was a very different taste but one that I would definitely reccomend.  I'm not sure if everyone would like it, but you only live once!

All in all an excellent experience.  We're already discussing which class we're going to take next and I think we might be recruiting more people for the next round, so let me know if anyone is interested!

Today

Today would have been my mom's 56th birthday.  Happy Birthday Mom, I miss you.

The Buried Life

The Buried Life is a show on MTV.  Although I'm not really sure what the title means, its about a group of guys who after college decided they didn't want to just jump headfirst in the rat race.  They wanted their lives to mean more so they decided to do more. 

Somehow they ended up with this giant purple bus, not sure on the details of this show, traveling the country doing things on a list that they made up of everything they wanted to do before they die.  Some of them are very big things, including playing basketball with the president.  And while they're doing these things that they've always wanted to do, they do something for a stranger that the stranger has always wanted to do.

I always thought this concept sounded pretty cool.  I'd rather be riding around on a purple bus trying to figure out ways to do cool things than going to an office and sitting behind a computer all day too.  Although I thought the show sounded cool, I've never actually watched it.  MTV shows are hard to get into because they're on at weird times and they replay them 685 times apiece (I've counted).

Anyway, I'm coming to my point and I swear I have one, I watched this show for the first time this morning and was shocked by the episode that I saw.  Their "mission" on this particular day was to tell a joke on a late night talk show.  When they said it it almost sounded way too easy.  I thought for sure as soon as a producer heard about these guys and their mission they would immediately want them on the show.  Wrong.

They first started with Letterman.  They got to speak with a couple of producers, who the next day sent them an e-mail wishing them all the best but letting them know that they wouldn't be on Late Night.  So they drove all the way to California to try the others.  Kimmel kicked them out, as did Leno.  (At some point in there, one of them even got arrested.)  Finally, they tried several different ways to get ahold of Conan and he even eventually shot them down.  Even Coco!!

What kind of world are we living in when a few kids with a dream can't even make it on a late night talk show for thirty seconds to tell a joke?  I thought their fate was sealed, but they eventually accomplished their mission: on a spanish speaking talk show.  The guy who told the joke did it in spanish and it was still funny.  It involved a naked man and an elephant, a classic setup.

I'm sorry if I've ruined this particular episode's suspense for you, but from the lack of discussion with everyone I know I'm pretty sure not very many people watch this show including up until today me.  I think I'll start watching it from now on, at least when I can catch it (which shouldn't be too hard with 685 reruns floating around). 

I almost forgot, they helped a blind man ride a horse again which he hadn't done in 20 years since he lost his sight.  The guy cried when he got on the horse.  How can you not love that?

Honey Do

I love my future husband every day.  I might not like him every second of every day, but I always love him.  And then there are those days that I am reminded just how much I love him. 

He had the day off today, after working until three last night and getting up at seven today.  I figured he would sleep most of the afternoon, possibly play a few video games.  While many days off this is exactly what he does, today was different.  Today he called me at work and said what would you like me to do today dear while I'm off?  How refreshing!  Most days I feel like I nag him to death with things to do, so it was a very nice change to have him ask what needed to be done.  Plus, it means much less work for me on Sunday to get ready for our party!!

Sick Again

While at work today I got the most wonderful phone call a mom can get: your child's sick (in my case my fur child.)  Gammy said that she had thrown up twice in the last two hours, including once all over the couch.  And down the crack in between the cushions, so all in the couch too.  Great. 

So I call the vet, and they close at six.  I don't get done with work until six.  I went to my boss and asked very politely if I could leave at five because my little black beauty is sick and I need to take her to the vet.  She wasn't exactly "excited" and/or "nice" about it, but I didn't have time to feel guilty, I had to get Scout to the doctor! 

I drove like a mad woman, got home in enough time to throw her in the car and go.  I knew as soon as I walked into the house that something was wrong, deadly wrong.  Mostly because it smelled like death, or at least what I would classify as death.  I went to go get her out of her kennel and there was a large amount of vomit everywhere.  Thankfully she had somehow managed to throw up in a little ring around herself and kept herself clean, which was good news for me because I definitely didn't have time to clean her up.

So we get to the vet, and a few questions, an exam, and a very uncomfortable temperature taking later (for Scout, not me) she came to the consensus that my little girl had most likely eaten something that upset her stomach and was puking constantly to get it out of her system.  After a few more questions, we figured out it was most likely dirt she had been eating.  Great.  My dog, whom I thought was a genius, is sitting outside and eating dirt.

$79 later, I feel better knowing that there is nothing seriously wrong with her.  I also used our little vet visit to ask a few other questions/concerns I have had in the last couple of weeks.  I just need some good thoughts and prayers sent our way that she stays healthy.  I can't afford any more un-scheduled vet visits.