Freaky

I'm guessing that I am not supposed to get ideas from the Discovery Channel's Freaky Eaters show. Yet here we are.

All liquids except for dinner! Do you have any idea how many yummy liquid things there are to eat? I do.

I do this to myself whenever I feel like things might be a wee little bit out of control. For example, like right now when I have to do a 50 state legal survey by yesterday and we are opening a freakin' franchise in our spare time.

You don't have to worry about me being anorexic or anything. For example, Godiva makes a fine milkshake. Totally on the liquids only plan. And every morning I make this spinach smoothie with blueberries and fish oil. YUM. I just pick something to control about my food. I don't otherwise restrict my food. I thereby create a sense of tranquility and all is right with the world.

Also, I may have single-handedly put my therapist's daughter through university.

Approved

We have franchise space. Approved. It's been such a long, random road that maybe it hasn't even sunken in yet. Oh wait. It just did. HOLY MOLEY WE HAVE A SPACE FOR OUR FRANCHISE.

As you may recall, we spent over a year looking. Then, when we finally located a space we thought was about as good as it could get, the Mother Ship said no. As in, no. Then they said no, unless you can get the landlord to part the sea and and do this and do that and then you jump through this moving hooping of fire and fix a cavity in a tiger. Well. Here we are.

Also, I was about to throw in the towel on White Trash Cooking. I did the Duchess's Baked Beans, and they were just odd. They were baked beans with cinnamon and bacon laid on top. Bacon doesn't bake. And with that much cinnamon, it had a dessert like aftertaste. They were icky.

The next recipe was Red Beans and Rice. I was very, very sceptical and thought this was going to be the last recipe of this project. All I did was soak and boil red beans with onions, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper. Please. Where's the spice? White Trash Cooking is not long on the spice. But do you know what? This recipe was fantastic. The beans had so much flavor, and even made their own gravy. What? I don't even get how it was possible but this was fantastic - exactly the type of thing I was hoping to find when I started all of this.

Monday

No posty. Migraine.

Patting My Own Back

Last night I was at a lawyer function.

Lawyers do good things. Lawyers make things happen.

Sometimes, when I am in a gaggle of them, I am sort of in awe. Then I realize HEY I am one of them. You know how last week I made that stupid mistake? Well, yesterday, I found that elusive little piece of information that saved the day.

Busy Friday today, but I like what I do.

Come Spend The Evening

My son got an invitation to "spend the evening" with a friend. Do you suppose that means he is staying through dinner, or the night?

Thank you, everybody, for all your thoughts and kind words about him and the break-in. We've slept with all the lights on, but he otherwise seems okay. It might help that when he is with me it's a different house.

In other follow ups, the Mother Ship has given us some conditions on the space - that is, hoops that we have to jump through and conditions that the landlord has to agree too. We're almost there. Anyway, this is good news because it was looking like it was an unconditional no. We are mentally so ready to go. Since we first signed the agreement, there has been competition popping up everywhere. I have to say though, our product is the best by far.

More on Beds and Rest

There have been a few times in my life where I have just been wiped out for no good reason. I've been to doctors for full work ups and nobody has found anything. One's advice was simply, "If you're tired, then rest."

I'm not pregnant. I may be stressed about the franchise space (and frustrated and angry), but I'm not depressed. I'm not sick. I'm just so very tired.

Yesterday, the longest day of the year, I put up the white flag. I felt slightly guilty about not playing outside, but the "just rest" comment kept playing in my mind. Despite feeling bad about not running, cooking, or even pulling out the frisbee, I was where I was. My son and I watched Cupcake Wars then Wipeout then 101 Ways to Leave a Game Show (never again) then 24 Hour Restaurant Battle. We watched 4 friggin' hours of tv. Then we slept for 8 hours. I woke up fairly rested, then made coffee, then promptly felt like I could spend the day back in bed.

So here we are. I'm not complaining. I'm not looking for sympathy. I'm just stating.

We are going to Steamboat Springs for the 4th. Mmmmm vacation rest.

Mmmm Bed.

Growing up I lived in beautiful homes with lovely furniture and art. However. My parent's bedroom consisted of a boxspring and a mattress on a frame. No headboard. No bedroom suite. And that's where all the junk and unopened moving boxes gathered - right in their bedroom.

As an adult, my house has turned out much the same way. I've never owned a headboard. I once had a long talk with a friend who is also headboardless. We pondered why it is that it has never crossed our adult minds to want or need a headboard. And my therapist is all , "You are a grown up. The bedroom should be your sanctuary. You must purchase bedroom furniture." And I was all, "whatever."

But now these are 30% off at Horchow.com. A or B. A or B. M can pay for his own damn university.

Holding On Tight

My ex's house was robbed while they were all there, including my son. My son was in the basement and my understanding is that he wasn't even aware of it while it was happening.

1. Boston terriers are terrible guard dogs.
2. I can't protect my son from scary things.

Whole Foods Parking Lot - Music Video [HD]

Friday Round Up

Last week at this time I was there. This week at this time I am here:

1. The Mother Ship did not approve our space. We are frustrated. Very frustrated.

2. I lost half of my readers when I began White Trash Cooking. Nevertheless, as I have now put off going to the grocery store long enough (two weeks), I think the hog laden festivities are about to resume.

3. My work mistake . . . largely forgotten. This just proves what a difference a boss can make. When I worked for that partner at big law, the same occurrence would have gone much, much differently. I feel so very, very blessed to be where I am now.

4. Tonight I get to see my best girlfriend. She has been in Texas while her mom goes through chemo. Now she is back and there is nothing quite like sharing a glass of wine with your best girlfriend.

The Kid Rocked Aspen

Is that a Journey t-shirt that your son is wearing? Yes. I'm so proud. And could he and his cousin be any cuter? No. No they could not.

More So

Typically at concerts I am somewhat in awe of the cross section of humanity that is there as well. These people, these concert goers, are not like any group of people you find at your office, or the grocery store, or even the Walmart. You can't imagine where they come from or where they go after the show, but places like under a rock or in a cave come to mind.

But not at the Peter Gabriel concert. That looked like a law firm staff meeting.

And get this . . . he started EARLY. I love that. I hate being late. I am never late. I have once or twice even tried to be late but I just end up being on time. Peter Gabriel and I - peas in a pod.

Then it rained. At the outdoor concert. There was a fantastic lightening show beyond the stage for the entire evening.

He didn't do much of his pop stuff. In fact, he started off with a song about torture and ended with Don't Give Up which, for those of you who may not know, is one super emotional song about nobody wanting you when you lose.

So . . . this concert was right up my alley. I like my music mellow and emotional and often sad. I have wondered why this is so, as has my husband, as that would be about the opposite of my personality, which is NOT mellow and very rarely sad. In fact, I'm fairly high-strung and happy.

He did do Solsbury Hill which contains one of my favorite musical lines of all time:
"You can keep my things they've come to take me home."

Also he did do In Your Eyes. And I cried. Because that is what we high-strung, happy people who like emotional music do. We stand in the middle of a concert at Red Rocks in the pouring rain and cry.

So

I went to the Peter Gabriel concert last night.

I have much more to say about that. However, I have some damage control to do at work. I screwed up. I made a stupid mistake. A big stupid mistake. I didn't catch something I should have caught, and that's really my job - to catch things that should get caught, you know.

Back From Aspen.

Back To Aspen is a better title for a blog entry than Back From Aspen. Yet here we are. However, I have this universal truth to share with you - real, serious advice for you to understand and practice . . .

Do not head to paradise with your extended family as you will be packed and sitting on your suitcase at 6:30 a.m. ready to leave and realizing something is wrong when you cannot wait to leave one of the most lovely towns on the planet.

Back to Aspen

I am a lucky girl. Tomorrow after finishing the day at a job that I love I will drive off into the sunset to meet up with my family waiting for me in Aspen.

There it will be perfect. Not too warm. Not too cool. The aspen tree leaves will flutter like little silver green fans and create a pleasant murmur throughout the land.

AND I AM ALSO AWARE OF A PLACE THERE THAT MAKES A REALLY GOOD FROZEN MARGARITA.

God bless Aspen.

Drive

Aspen from the gondola. I had to leave the family vacation to come back to work for a few days. As much as I hated to crawl out of bed at 5a.m. this morning and leave everyone, the quiet drive through the mountains with the sun coming up was, well, the drive of a lifetime.

Sunday in Aspen

70 degree skiing.

Busy Weekend Good Weekend

Today the Mother Ship is in town to approve our franchise space. Tomorrow, off to Aspen. Mmmmm Aspen.

Time Time Time

1. I got the second of two tickets in two weeks for not having a current sticker on my license plate. It always falls off within days in the car wash. I'm current! I'm current!

2. The theme song to The Deer Hunter wrecks me. Also, one of the more disturbing movies ever. It happened to be on right before Less Than Zero. Super sad in a whole different way. Come to think of it, the theme song to that wrecks me too - not Hazy Shade of Winter but the actual Less Than Zero song. (This is what happens on Wednesdays when it is Top Chef rather than Real Housewives. I end up on the retro movie channel.) Anyway, didn't Brent Easton Ellis just recently write the follow up to Less Than Zero? I remember thinking that was a really important book when it came out, but I have no desire to read the follow up.

3. Sweet potatoes. Wash 'em. Grease 'em. 350 degrees for 45 minutes. We are skipping Boiled Peanuts, as my husband is allergic to peanuts. Soon it's fried veggies - now we're talking!