Close, but no cigar

Dear Wal-mart,

Despite some less than stellar past experiences, I am a faithful Wal-mart shopper. There is just something so convenient about being able to complete your grocery shopping while getting your oil changed and then picking up a few plants for the garden on your way out the door.

However, the new thinner plastic bags you are using to bag groceries have got to go. While I appreciate your company's commitment to sustainability, I think you've made a mistake on this one. In theory using less plastic is a good idea. Unfortunately, the bags are so thin, everything has to be double-bagged, which kind of defeats the purpose, don't you think?

Nice try, Wally World. Better luck next time. Bring back the good bags, please.

Sincerely,
Sara

Melt(ing) my Heart

Guess whose fabulous husband just called to surprise her with dinner reservations at The Melting Pot tonight?


Good thing all I've eaten so far today is a cup of coffee and some Pop-tart crumbs.

That just happened

So I'm in the kitchen, tearing open the last pack of Strawberry Pop-tarts when in my haste to get to that frosted goodness suddenly the foil packet tears completely in two and the pop-tarts go sailing through the air....

And I proceed to catch them between my knees. I know, you're totally jealous of my cat-like reflexes.

Sadly for me, my knees are faster than my brain. Catching pop-tarts with ones bare knees is a messy and highly sticky endeavor. The pop-tarts promptly exploded on impact, showering myself, the kitchen floor and one (formerly) white Pomeranian with strawberry jelly and tiny frosted crumbs.

Stupid cat-like reflexes.

Are you afraid of the dark?

Lately I have been staying up later and later at night, reading or watching trash TV movies, often not going to be until midnight or later. Of course this will have to stop when I start my part time gig next Wednesday because this gal likes her beauty sleep. It took me five weeks to work up to my night owlish ways and now I only have 5 days to get myself out of it.

Unfortunately for me, Night #1 didn't go so well. As I laid in bed, wishing desperately for sleep, I started thinking about all the weird rules I had for sleeping when I was a kid:

1. When getting into bed, you must turn off the overhead light, then take a running leap onto the bed. You must not get any closer than three feet before making said leap, lest someone grab your ankles from underneath the bed.

2. The bedside lamp must be kept on at all times. (This was the rule until I was 9 and the lamp fell onto a pillow and burned a hole through it. After that, I was only allowed to have a plug-in night light.)

3. The bed must be pushed against a wall and you must sleep facing out toward the side that is not against the wall. This way no one can sneak up on you in your sleep.

4. Any stuffed animals or dolls sleeping in bed with you must have their head on a pillow and be tucked under the covers. Dolls get cold, too.

5. Under no circumstances do you ever sleep on your back. This leaves your stomach vulnerable to random attacks of malicious jumping. (Can you tell I had younger siblings?)

6. All body parts (except your head) must be covered by the blanket or, at the very least, the sheet. Any body part not covered by the blanket or sheet is subject to dismemberment should someone manage to sneak up on you (see rule #3).

Yeah, I know. I was a sad, strange little kid.

Sadly, as I thought about all my childhood sleeping rules, I realized that I have almost as many as an adult. They're aren't quite as strange, but they're rules none the less.

1. I must have a fan or white noise machine going to block out noise.

2. I must have a pillow between my knees, one in my arms, one under my head and a fourth to put over my head in case the fan is not doing a good enough job. Nate thinks sleeping with a pillow over my head is the weirdest thing he's ever seen. My mom does it too and I've done it for as long as I can remember.

3. I must put chap stick on my lips before I go to sleep, otherwise I'll lie there thinking about how badly I need chap stick. It should be noted that I don't wear chap stick at any other time during the day. Weird, I know.

4. I wear a sleep mask to block out light. Don't knock it 'til you've tried it. Seriously, it really does help you sleep better.

5. I no longer have to keep every body part covered but I still never, ever sleep on my back. Old fears die hard, I suppose.

Did you have weird bedtime rules when you were a kid? Are there things you absolutely must do to get a good night's sleep?

They've flown the coop

My birdie babies are gone. For some reason, seeing that empty nest makes me want to cry. Pathetic much?

I knew the day would come but I was shocked to make my afternoon check in and discover a completely empty nest. It happened so fast! They were there this morning and gone four hours later.

Of course, being the neurotic bird watcher that I am, I immediately ran outside to make sure that none of 'my' babies was lying beneath the window with a broken neck. Surely the birdie mama must have let them go too soon. I mean, what kind of mama pushes her babies off a second story ledge?

As much as I hoped the babies had all safely flown the coop, I was secretly a little bit happy to find a wee one still hanging out in the flower bed below. Isn't it the sweetest thing?


It took all my willpower to resist snatching it up and cuddling it. So instead I hovered nearby like a nervous mother and watched it hop around a bit until I was convinced he was okay. Dear Lord, I hope the neighbors didn't see me squatting in the flower bed and muttering to myself for a good twenty minutes.

My birdie babies may have flown the coop but I've still got these two sweet little faces to cuddle any old time I want.

Tuesdays at the Table

Growing up I was a selective food connoisseur, or what my mother would simply call a 'picky eater'. Among the things I didn't like were most types of meat: steak, pork, ham or chicken on the bone. Fish was also a big no-no. When we were dating, I would always joke to Nate that I was a cheap date - no prime rib dinners for this gal!

And then one day, at the ripe old age of 24, I woke up craving steak. Just woke up dying for the biggest, juiciest steak and potatoes that I could get my hands on. When Nate came home from work, I told him to take me to the best steak place in town. He nearly had a heart attack, thinking surely this was a sign that I was knocked up!

Nowadays I love a good steak, especially grilled steak! I am trying to expand my repertoire of steak marinades and toppings. I found this recipe in the Kraft Food&Family magazine and used it for my first attempt at making steaks at home and it quickly became a favorite for both of us.

_______________________________________________

Smothered Sirloin Steak in Parmesan Peppercorn Sauce

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Kraft Light Done Right Zesty Italian Dressing
1 lb boneless beef sirloin steak
1/3 cup Fat Free Sour Cream
4 1/2 tsp Grated Parmesan
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 onion, thinly sliced

Instructions:
1. Pour 1/4 cup of the dressing over steak in resealable plastic bag. Refrigerate 30 minutes or overnight. (Honestly, I have NEVER actually marinated the steak. I don't plan that far ahead. I just put it in the bag to coat the steak and then cook immediately.)

2. Combine sour cream, 2 Tbsp of the remaining dressing, Parmesan cheese and pepper in a small bowl.

3. Heat remaining 2 Tbsp of dressing in large nonstick skillet on medium heat. Add onions; cook 7 to 8 minutes. (I skip the onions because I don't like them. ) Remove onions and set aside.

4. Drain steak and discard marinade. Cook steak in same skillet on medium heat 4 to 5 minutes or until thoroughly cooked.

5. Serve steak topped with onions and Parmesan peppercorn sauce.

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The whole thing takes about 30 minutes. Last night we opted to grill the steaks instead and I think they were even better!

Warning: Females only beyond this point

Boys, don't say I didn't warn you.

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Still here, men? Well, suit yourself...

One of my favorite Sunday activities is checking out the latest PostSecrets. There's just something about reading other people's secrets that makes me feel not quite so bad about my own.

My favorite PostSecret ever was this one until this one totally cracked me up two weeks ago:


Seriously, this thought has never ever occurred to me. Perhaps because I have been a card carrying member of the Itty Bitty T*tty Committee since age 13, I've never had to worry about such a thing. These 34A's barely stick out enough to get caught in a bra, much less metal pinchers that should be nowhere near chest level anyway.

So I'm curious, you blessedly endowed readers, has this thought ever occurred to you? Or, God forbid, have you actually gotten your lovely lady lumps caught in something? I must admit, I am tres curious how the 'other' half lives.

And, boys (if you are still reading), I bet you'll heed my warning next time, won'tcha?

Dear Mom

Thank you, Mom, for staying with my Dad even when it looked like he was a lost cause. I am blessed to say my parents are still together after 29 years.

Thank you, Mom, for staying at home with us even though the extra money would have been nice.

Thank you, Mom, for taking me to Busch Gardens despite the fact that I broke out in chicken pox the same morning.

Thank you, Mom, for shuttling me to a million dance classes, recitals and performances even though you knew I wouldn't use a lick of it as an adult.

Thank you, Mom, for letting me quit piano to take more dance lessons, even though you knew I would regret it later in life.

Thank you, Mom, for holding down the fort while Dad served our country overseas. You are every bit the hero that he is, too.

Thank you, Mom, for teaching me that coffee is best drunk black and by the pot.

Thank you, Mom, for letting me run away to college even though it hurt your heart to see me go. It was the best four years of my life.

Thank you, Mom, for not protesting when I said I was getting married at the tender age of 22. It was the best thing I ever did.

Thank you, Mom, for always sending birthday cards late; it makes me feel not so bad about having your birthday card from February in a drawer in my kitchen.

Thank you, Mom, for always picking up the phone to listen, whether I am laughing, crying, celebrating or whining.

Thank you, Mom, for being not only my mother, but for becoming my friend.

We have babies!

We have birdie babies! They were actually born (hatched?) on Monday but it's taken me a couple of days to get decent pictures of them. It's hard to get the mama bird off the nest long enough to open the window and take a shot. She had no problem with me when they were just eggs but now that they are babies, she gets all puffy and starts squawking at me while dive bombing the window screen.

Here's mama smothering sitting on her babies.


And here are the babies. There are four of them but it's really hard to distinguish them, even in person. They are hideously ugly and basically just one big lumpy mass in the nest. I can't wait until they actually start getting cute and moving around a bit!


Lola has also discovered the nest now. Any time we let her upstairs, she immediately runs to the that window and jumps up on the sill to bark at the babies. It's too funny!

Flashback

I was tagged with the Prom Queen tag by Andrea of My Chihuahua Bites. Here are the rules:

1. Upload your prom picture. If you don't have one, email your mom and have her send it to you.
   
2. Don’t forget to include the year it was taken. Again, don't be shy. The older the better.
3. Grab the "Prom Queen" button and add to your post. Isn't the button adorable? Thank you Danielle, The Design Girl. You must check out her fabulous sale!
4. Copy and paste the rules to your blog.
5. Tag 5 others!

It should be noted that I was hardly the prom queen back in the day. In fact, I didn't even take a date to the senior prom. Just went with a bunch of my girlfriends. Which explains why there are zero pictures of me from my prom. I dug and dug and dug but couldn't come up with a single one.

So, you'll get my choir ball picture instead. This was the same year and same month as prom, so it's close enough.


That's me, circa 1999. Pretty much identical to me today. Apparently, I'm not much of a risk-taker. Anyway, I loved that dress. The roses are all embroidered and the leaves are this shiny green/gold thread. I wish I had a picture of the gathers on the back because that was totally the best part of the dress.

It's hard to believe that was 10 years ago!

Now it's these lovely ladies' turn to share the embarrassment prom love:

The ladies at Cute on the Cheap - were you both cute and cheap back in the day?
Kimberly at Fab Finds Under $50 - were you a bargain hunter in your high school days?
Cole at All the Small Stuff - a faithful commenter who shares my love for cookie dough and hibachi.
Sass at Are You Sassified - one of my favorite new funny bloggers. I'm sure she could tear this post up!
Leah at Make It Fabulous - Leah and I were friends when we were just budding fashionistas. We lost touch during the high school years, but I'm sure she made her prom-look fabulous.

I'm (not) lovin' it....or why Starbucks has nothing to worry about

My love for the Green Goddess is well documented here on this blog. But another thing I just can't resist is a freebie. So when I saw a coupon for a free drink from McDonald's new McCafe, I just had to check out the hype for myself.

Much has been made about McDonald's attempts to steal a corner of the coffee market from Starbucks. The same has been said for Dunkin' Donuts. Honestly, I just don't see that happening. If you are a true lover of the 'Bucks, then you know there is just nothing else like it.

But I took myself to Mickey D's with coupon in hand, determined to give the McCafe a fighting chance to change my opinion. It was about three in the afternoon and there were only two cars ahead of me in the drive thru. My Starbucks order normally includes extra hot, non-fat milk but I decided to take it easy on Mickey D's and just ordered a small caramel latte.

Strike one: The total before my freebie coupon was $3.04. For a SMALL. I can get a venti at Starbucks for $3.98. Twelve additional ounces of velvety goodness for less than $1.00 more? I'll pay that $1.00 any day.

So I pull up to the second window, expecting my coffee to be ready. Because McDonald's is a fast food place, right? Isn't that part of their argument against Starbucks? That it takes so long (four or five minutes) for your drink? Any addict true coffee connoisseur knows that the good stuff is worth waiting for.

Strike two: My coffee is not ready. I am asked to pull forward and wait for my drink. Um, ok.

Twelve full minutes later, I finally park in a space and march into the store to hunt down my drink, only to discover they haven't even started making it yet. Apparently there is only one person in the entire place who knows how to work the machine. And by 'knows how' I mean, is capable of flipping through the instruction book while pushing random buttons.

Strike three: If you're going to push premium coffee, you need to make sure your employees can actually make said premium coffee.

Needless to say, I was pretty peeved by the time I finally got my drink (twenty minutes after I placed my order). I'd like to say the wait was worth it, but it totally was not. Not even close. It was basically like coffee with milk in it. I am not sure they even use actual espresso. The McCafe coffee has the same problem as every other neighborhood coffee joint - the taste is just too sickly sweet. There is just nothing like a strong, bitter, espresso drink from Starbucks.

Starbucks, you've got nothing to worry about.

There are just no words...

There were many, many questionable ensembles at Monday night's MET Costume Institute Gala, but these two definitely took the cake. I understand the Gala is all about high fashion but I just don't see anything 'fashionable' about either of these. Seriously, they left the house like this?

{Leighton Meester via Fug Girls}

{Madonna via Fug Girls}

Good, Better, Best

Good: Grilled corn on the cob for dinner. Yum.

Better: Scored a third interview (next Tuesday) for the part-time marketing gig.

Best: Just bought our plane tickets to SC for my baby sister's high school graduation.

{My crazy family at Em's high school pageant in January}

Who Me?

Oliver: Lola, look! Mom's actually getting dressed. Must mean she has an interview this morning.

Lola: Uh-oh. Not good. If she gets a job, she won't be able to cuddle us on the couch while she watches soaps job hunts or spoil us rotten with mountains of treats all day long.

Oliver: We've got to stop this. Quick! Let's run around in circles and bark like lunatics. Maybe it will distract her.

Lola: It's not working. She's just ignoring us.

Oliver: She just put on black pants. You go jump up and down and paw at her legs while I go hide all the lint rollers!

Lola: Then when she puts on her make-up we can stage a fight right on top of her feet. That'll get her good and furry! This is totally gonna work.

Oliver: Oh, no! She's heading for the door. She doesn't care that she's got enough fur on her pants to pass as a Pomeranian.

Lola: Drat. She must have a lint roller stashed in the car.

Oliver: Oh well, we gave it the old doggie try....

Lola: Come on, let's go work on our sad puppy faces. We are so going to milk this for treats when she gets home.

I think I'll stick to marathon shopping

It was a big weekend around Wang Manor. We had friends visit for the weekend, Nate ran his first half marathon and I finally found a local dealer Starbucks to supply my crack rock espresso brownie obsession.

This weekend was Indy's big 500 Festival Mini-Marathon. It's the largest half marathon in the US with something like 35,000 runners. Who knew there were that many people that think it's actually fun to get up at the crack of dawn and run 13.1 miles?

Our friends Caleb and Lisa came up to hang out for the weekend and run the Mini. We were up bright and early at 5:00am to make sure we had everyone to their corrals by 7:30. True to form, we seriously over-estimated and were actually there by 6:30.


So what's a girl to do with four long hours on her hands? Fortunately for me, my favorite place is one of the few places open at such an ungodly Saturday morning hour. I kicked back at Starbucks with a caramel machiatto and a new book. The ten-block walk was totally worth it when I discovered espresso brownies in their pastry case! Like any good addict, I bought two.

It was perfect weather for the run (50's and cloudy) and I think all three of them had a good time.


I was very proud of Nate for running his first Mini!