I need a filter...

Today, this afternoon, I'm embarking on an adventure; an adventure unlike any other that I've embarked on before. Today....I'm going to see to a lady that I think is pretty darn neat, a lady that I admire (not in a creepy way of course), yet a lady whom I've never met. Today I'm going to meet Pioneer Woman!!

Yay!!! Yippee!!!! I've been looking forward to this day ever since she released her book tour dates. My excitement has been hard to contain. But lately, especially within the last few days, my excitement has been replaced with nervousness.
I've never been to an event like this, what should I expect?! Even more important, what should I say to her?! The more I think about it, the more nervous I become. I'd imagine that I'll only have a few moments to visit with her; just as long as it takes her to sign my book. Should I tell her exactly how I feel???

Hi Ree! Is it OK if I call you Ree? I mean, I feel like we are already friends!!

Maybe not.

Hi there! Nice to meet you...did I mention that I want to BE you?!

Scratch that....waay too creepy.

Hi Ree, we have so much in common! You married a cowboy and I married a farmer, and we both knew nothing about ranchlife/farmlife before we got married!! I too had never been around cattle in my life...and when I'm at his farm, I'm surrounded by all these people who know EVERYTHING about cows....you should come to McMinnville with me!!.....we could hang around all the cow people and talk about nail polish and cooking and Anthropologie. You could give me lessons on how to get manure stains out of clothes, I'm sure I'll need that knowledge someday soon.

That might be too much information too.

Hi Ree! Guess what?! You have four kids and I want four kids. We are truly meant to be friends!
And when you talk about your ovaries aching because you want more children...I'm right there with ya girl!!

OK that is definitely too much.

I'm so nervous. What if I suddenly lose my filter and blurt out all those embarrassing conversation topics? What if I'm trying so hard to not creep her out that I just stand there, silent and awkward. What if I get so worried about what I should say or might say, that my brain gives up and I pass out, fall over, hit my head on her table, and get a concussion.

I'm thinking that last option might be the best.
Then maybe she will ride with me in the ambulance to the hospital.
And we can talk the whole time about when and where to get our friendship bracelets.

I think I'm losing it.

image from here

I AM pretty super

My niece Sadie is a continual source of entertainment, and occasionally, a source of confidence too. My sister told me of a conversation she and Sadie has this morning, and I couldn't help but feel pretty special...

Sadie: Hey Mom, will you play Super Girl with me?
Laura: Sure Sadie
Sadie: OK Mom, I will be Super Girl and you can be Aunt Meme, and we will save people!!!

I've always known she thought I was a pretty cool aunt...but this has reached a new level.
And I like it!

Image from google images.

Adventures in cooking

I thought it was time to do an update on some of my recent adventures in cooking. I'm considering making this a reoccurring topic series, as I've previously blogged about some of my endeavors into the fun world of culinary arts (well...let's not get crazy, I really don't have anything down to an art yet).
So far I've chronicled the making of pancakes, pasta, soup, pie, and stuffed shells. All of which turned out tasty, for the most part.
About a month ago, I foamed at the mouth while reading Pioneer Woman's recipe for dilly bread, I'd never had anything like it, but couldn't wait to give it a try. I gathered all the needed ingredients, and devoted an entire evening to preparing it. Unfortunately, no one warned me about the pungent smell of warm yeast...yuck!! As I was mixing the yeast with luke-warm water, (actually luke-warm anything grosses me out) I began to feel nauseous. Then I added the dill and other ingredients and was completely turned off even before I baked the bread. (When recounting these events to my mother her first comment was "ARE YOU PREGNANT?!?!?", no Mom, NO I assured her....just grossed out).
I stuck the bread in the oven the required amount of time, and was even more grossed out by the strong smell of the baking bread that quickly filled my house. I tried one tiny bite and felt my gag reflexes start to quiver.
No more for me.
Jameson tried it and he like it, even went back for a second piece.
But it wasn't for me.  

So I divided and packaged up the bread and shared it with the neighbors and my lovely sister, who both thoroughly enjoyed it. I was quite bothered that I didn't like the bread; I love dill and I LOVE bread...why didn't I like them together?? I suppose I was unable to move past the yucky yeast smell; I couldn't get it out of my head, and out of my nose. I won't be making this again for a while.

A few nights ago, I attempted my first batch of homemade macaroni and cheese- Yum! I love, love, love macaroni and cheese, but have never made any from scratch. I used a recipe from Pioneer Woman's cookbook. (shocker right??).
Making the cheese sauce was actually much easier than I'd expected, it still took me a bit, but that's baseline for me. However, I was quite dissapointed in the final result's ''cheesiness". The dish had great flavor, but really wasn't very creamy and cheesy. I know that recipes using Velveeta tend to be cheesier, but I was determined to find and learn a fresh, from-scratch recipe that I can use for years. I will attempt it again, and do some tweeking, but if I can't acheive that irresistible creamy texture, I may be in the market for a new recipe.
It did look really pretty on the plate though!!

Our salad, however, was fabulous!!!

Here's to more satisfying new ventures this week!!!

my valentine

my valentine is pretty neat.
he has a strong, rough exterior with a tender and sweet inside; a gushy center. opposite of his favorite treat...peanut M&Ms.
he loves routine...chocolate milk, sundrop, sundrop, tea, then water...repeat, repeat, repeat.
he gets excited about washing our cars and doing yard work.
laundry tickles his fancy too.
two showers a day. everyday.

i love observing his quirkiness; his odd habits that make him unique.
i love learning everything about him, what makes him tick and what makes him mine.
i love my valentine.

Inside joke...

"Don't you leave him Samwise Gamgee. And I don't mean to!"

To most, that's a great line from an emotional part in a great movie...but to me and my close group of girlfriends it's an inside joke that has surfaced countless times throughout the years. The origin of this saying has left my memory, I have no clue where or when it started....or even really why it was funny....but it always has been.
Jameson and I watched Lord of the Rings last night, and having not seen it in ages, I found myself completely engrossed in every minute. Near the end of the movie when that quirky little line was quoted it struck a cord within me, and before I knew it I was laughing, and the laughing turned to big, fat, crocodile tears rolling down my cheeks. The undying friendship and devotion between little Samwise and Frodo paralleled on so many levels the friendships amongst my friends. The funny inside joke now represented so much more than something we used say to each other that was usually followed by reminiscent giggles. 
I love my friends, and miss them tremendously.
Life changes, as it should; normal transitions to different and exciting new life stages are essential. I've welcomed these changes, and have engulfed myself willingly in each of them, but I can't help but feel a little twinge of sadness every now and then for the ways things used to be. Having your best friends only a room away, sharing bathrooms and secrets, hours of Sex and the City marathons, late night Taco Bell indulgences, and embarking on crazy adventures.
By now the tears were pretty much unstoppable, and poor Jameson was totally bewildered, "WHAT'S wrong?!?", he exclaimed.
But I realized they weren't all sad tears, some were tears of happy reflection; a sense of contentment with the present and fond recollection of the past. Everything is as it should be.

 Girls, let's get together soon.

National Get my Husband Back Day

Hooray! It has finally arrived... National Get my Husband Back Day!!!
Confused??
Translation: it's National Signing Day; the first day that high school students aspiring to play football at the collegiate level can sign a letter of intent to a university.
Thank heavens. Praise goodness. Yippee. Hallelujah.
Jameson has been a tunnel-vision wreck for at least a week. Last night his entire evening was consumed with text messages, phone calls, and plenty of Volquest browsing. I'm not sure that my presence was even on his radar....except of course when I brought him his dinner, and when he bounced into the living room to perform a celebratory dance. (The dance was for football news, not the dinner).
I try very hard to not give him grief about this obsession because UT football is his hobby and his passion. I have hobbies that I know are of no interest to him, but he always supports me and shows interest in things I'm interested in. So I feel it necessary for me to likewise support him in his love of college football recruiting. I do my best to keep up the players names, positions, and try to talk intelligently with him on the subject as much as I can.
And honestly I do care about today's outcome. I too hope that UT has a promising signing class so as to help ensure the prospect of a winning future. BUT...I don't feel as though my fervent dedication to reading and researching about each player is going to in any way affect which kids choose to go to UT. So I leave that obsession to him....a pastime at which he is very skilled, let me ensure you.
I am looking forward to our upcoming quiet evenings when his phone is not buzzing every 3 minutes, and he is not bouncing around the house like a nervous, anxious child awaiting Santa Claus.
I will be happy to have my jovial, even keel husband back.

I wonder how many other women will be celebrating today as well?!
Thank goodness this day has arrived!!