Curiosity Might Maim the Cat

I was sitting a couple nights ago here watching Henry play with a toy I bought that day. It's a little ball that lights up on one side every time you tap it. He is intrigued and can't figure it out. He alternates between attacking it head on and then sitting on it and acting surprised by his light-up behind.

I want to have the same curiosity that Henry has. He is amazed by every toy and item that we give him. He loves drinking straws, milk caps and milk tabs, his crinkle tube, the toy mice and most weirdly the plastic screws from the entertainment center. He'll play with a stinkin' screw for an hour until he loses or hides it. Henry doesn't have a huge sense of fear. Curiosity just may maim this cat before it's all said and done. He's almost been stuck head first in the kitchen chairs, he's attempted to climb the walls and last week he seriously contemplated scaling the kitchen chandelier to attack a spider on the ceiling. Lately he's been more afraid or wary than he used to be. He's a mere 4 months old and his fight or flight instinct has kicked in. He used to be all fight. Now I see glimpses of a grown Henry who will judge a situation and choose to fight or flee. A Henry more like myself, only with more hair and a penchant for cat treats.

I think we all had that same sense of curiosity and adventure when we were little. But I want to keep that. I see that hunger in DH's eyes still and I want to match him in that. I want to be intrigued by the little things, to pursue the unknown, to ask continual questions.

I want to risk being scratched, singed and maimed in order to keep my curiosity.


Thanks Shell for allowing me to admit that I want my primordial sense of curiosity to re-emerge.

Liebster! Liebster! Liebster!

The fantastic Heather at Cookies for Breakfast has gifted me with the Liebster Award! Per Heather (and she knows everything, fo' realz) "The Liebster award is given to upcoming bloggers who have fewer than 200 followers. The meaning: Liebster is German and means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing and welcome."- Adrian (Adrian Loves Owls)" So maybe Adrian is the know it all? Hmmm...anyway, I'm so freaking honored to be given this award. I'd like to thank the Academy...oh, wait, er.

So the way it works is I nominate 11 blogs and ask 11 questions.






 I also have to answer the 11 questions that Heather came up with. Oh, and I pulled the Liebster graphic from google images and it linked me back to http://bettesmovieblog.blogspot.com/2012/08/liebster-blog-award-that-is-how-you.html.

Heather's Questions....I feel like I'm on Inside The Actor's Studio!!!

1. If you could hang out with one reality TV star, who would it be?

Ooooh. This is a hard one. I want to say Snooki because she needs some edumacation about things. Like peeing inside. But then I’d feel like I had to “mother” her. Or Khloe Kardashian? Except Kris really gets under my skin. It’d have to be just Khloe and I.

2. What is your current goal as a blogger?

To be who I am in real life in my blog. It’s easy to cultivate this uber cool girl who has it all together, but that’s the biggest load of hogwash ever. See, I just proved it. Who says “hogwash” that’s cool?

3. McDonald’s or Wendy’s?

Wendy’s for sure! I ate a lot of McDonald’s in undergrad. It was the hangover food of choice. I think my roommates and I kept their stock pretty high, especially Junior year. It wasn’t my finest year, but it was full of greasy goodness. Now though, I can’t eat it much or it makes me a little sick. Psychosomatic maybe? I ate it when hungover therefore my body thinks it’s hungover whenever I eat it?

Plus Wendy’s makes great chili.

4. What’s the craziest thing you’ve done on a night out (alcohol-induced or otherwise)?

My college years are restricted since my fam reads this here blog. Probably the last tattoo I got. I went with the BFF and picked out what I thought was a small tattoo of a Celtic sun with a star between the points. The thing ended up being much bigger and I’m pretty sure I swore like a sailor while he was inking over my overies. If my future Wee Ones come out all tatted up, you’ll know why. And then last year I was informed that it’s the Pakistani flag symbol if you take the celtic knots out of the sun design! So now I’m inadvertently supporting specific Middle Eastern countries???

5. If you could pick a new name for yourself, what would it be?

Arabella. I don’t know why. She sounds like a woman with long legs and impeccable style?

6. Favorite Saturday Night Live skit/character? 

There is an old skit called The Leatherman with Jimmy Fallon and Brit Brit – that’s Britney Spears for those of you not in the know. I don’t know why I loved that skit but I think I may have sprayed something out of my nose when I saw it. Nothing has lived up to it since. In complete honesty though I don’t watch SNL very often. I feel like growing up in the 80s I got gypped. All the great comedians were before I was old enough to understand, or at least my being allowed to stay up late enough to watch. Then when I was old enough SNL kinda sucked. C’mon, y’all were thinking the same thing!

7. Share a link to your favorite recipe of all time!

I don’t have a link to my mom’s brain or that’s what I would do! Some of the things she made that I love are chicken braid, ham and potato rosti (she uses cubed potatoes and farmers cheese with the ham), her homemade mac and cheese, potato soup, salmon patties, dilled cucumbers and her biscuits.

8. What’s one thing you are dying to add to your wardrobe right now?

A pair of gorgeous Frye knee high leather boots. Oh, can I also have the legs to go with them? Arabella does.

9. What is your best quality (personality/physical/whatever)?

My eyes are my best physical feature. I’ve always loved my eyes, which cannot be said for my other features. I didn’t really feel comfortable with who I was until I was in my mid-20s. But my eyes were always something that I thought was pretty darn good about me.

10. What is your guiltiest TV pleasure?

Keeping Up With The Kardashians. I know. I’m hanging my head in shame over here. If it makes any of you feel better, I consider them the shining example of how not to have a life, except for Khloe and Lamar. I really do love her!

11. What is your guiltiest food pleasure?

Snowballs. The Hostess kind that are full of sugar and chemicals. I heart them. DH surprises me with them when I’m having a really really bad day week.

OK, so now I need to nominate 11 fabulous bloggers!
1. OliePants
http://oliepants.wordpress.com/
2. Shades of Grey with a Pinch of Pink  - Erin has more than 200 followers but I absolutely love her blog!
http://shadesofgrayandapinchofpink.blogspot.com/
3. Blog by Bre
http://blogbybre.blogspot.com/
4. The Baby Is Fine - Mo makes me crack up and wish I were wittier with my words.
http://thebabyisfine.com/
5. A Day in the Life
http://cgcavallaro.blogspot.com/
6. Because My Life Is Fascinating
http://hilljean.blogspot.com/
7. Life According to Amanda
http://lifeaccordingtoamanda.com/
8. A Little Something For Me - I know that Kristen has way more than 200 but since it's not actually listed on her site, I can pretend that she's just this hidden awesome jewel that you should know about!
http://www.alittlesomethingforme.com/
9. We're Living a Full Life
http://werelivingafulllife.blogspot.com/
10. MaMe Musings
http://mamemusings.blogspot.com/
11. My Life as a Chic Country Cowgirl Bride
http://www.chiccountrycowgirl.com/

Sorry about all the links! Blogger is trying to sabotage me and it keeps linking my websites to the graphic at the top. Sigh. And right after I was given an award. Go ahead, Heather, take it back.

Ok, so now my questions...duhn duhn duhn.
1. What's your favorite cereal to eat either as an adult or when you were a kid?
2. What was your undergrad degree in or what did you want to get a degree in?
3. Which season is your favorite?
4. What sound do you hate (I had to sneak some James Lipton in here!)
5. What is your least favorite thing about an election year?
6. What is one item of clothing that you love that you own?
7. If you were stranded on an island what are the three things you would want to have with you?
8. What is your favorite part of the day?
9. Did you have a security item as a little kid? 
10. If you could only read one book ever again, what would it be?
11. If you've ever lived with a roommate, what is/was the best thing about it?

Alright you spunky showkids, go knock 'em dead!

New Legs!

I'm sorry but I can't stop laughing at this....


Courtesy of http://9gag.com/gag/4806865 via Pinterest

A Weekend Update

DH and I attempted our first Mod Podge centerpiece. It turned out good, as far as the Mod Podge goes. The rest of it wasn't as good as we had hoped. But have no fear, there are ideas a-brewing in my and Momma A's minds.

We watched The Godfather this weekend. DH had never seen it. I had the pleasure of introducing Don Corleone and family, going to the mattresses, leave the gun and take the cannoli, and Maunday, Tuesday, Thursday, Wednesday to DH. 

We went to the gym, as usual. I finally gave in and weighed and measured myself after 6 weeks of Advocare. I've lost 5 pounds and a half inch everywhere! I was a little terrified to look at the numbers since I'm so influenced by what I see and not how I feel. 

I was on my way home tonight, talking to my momma and noticed some fierce lightening in the distance. I had an aha moment a couple years ago when I was standing on my balcony watching a storm roll through. It reminded me, at the time, that God is always around me always. The storm those years ago underscored in a physical way how He surrounds me. He was everywhere tonight then!

First the rain came, then the power flickered again and again and again. Then the wind hit. Puppy was whining and Henry was acting weird. The wind was so strong that the house was shaking. It wasn't the train's a coming tornado sound, but it was awful. Literal shaking of the walls. At that point I grabbed the cell phone, the quilt, pillow and animals. We all spent the next 20 minutes in the bathroom, Puppy and I in the tub shaking. Me trying to stay calm, she trying to not pee on me. Henry ran around like an orange loon and attacked the toilet, leaped into the sink and then bit Puppy on the nose. Right about then the lights went out and stayed out. I called DH in a panic and prayed that we didn't have a freak tornado or a cat-dog fight.

All in all, after the rain passed and the sun came out, I was once again reminded that God is all around me. In the rain, the wind and the sun. I can only pray that I listen more closely in the future and He doesn't need to remind me quite so loudly.

After the fact, I found the wine in the fridge. Why didn't I think to grab it along with everything else? If it wasn't so wet it would have been a nice night to sit outside. I guess the 25 degree drop to 72 degrees was the silver lining of the storm.

I hope y'alls day was less eventful than mine was!

Sunday Social: Food Glorious Food

I am so sad, y'all, that I missed last week's social. I heart fall. I adore fall. I would run away and elope with fall (Sorry DH!). Fall is by far my favoritist season. But last weekend we were in San Antonio with DH's family, so I was MIA for all the great fall posts. 

Have no fear, though...I'm back! And the topic this week is also near and dear to my heart. Food.

If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Oh I love and hate this question! My first thought is mashed potatoes, homemade of course. But then I think what about bread? And cheese? And beer? It's a food, right? Can I pick a category of food? Thank you, I'll just have carbs. Any and all carbs. In this hypothetical world, though, I'm guessing that since we can only eat one thing that the one thing will not ever cause us to gain weight, right? Cause friends, I'll be as big as a HOUSE if all I eat are carbs!

What's your guilty pleasure/comfort food?
Doughnuts. I can eat a dozen glazed doughnuts easy. Nope, you didn't read that wrong. Cake doughnuts are my favorite but I can only eat four or five at a time since they're heavier. Just because I CAN doesn't mean that I DO. Um, so all the girls from work are not allowed to comment here. Let's pretend that never happens.

The Canadian Healthcare from Hypnotic donuts. It's amazing. Courtesy of:
http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/pSZz8-G7xIUPbcGx4osgew?select=e2LKSN4Bj4oTb784U9XiGA#e2LKSN4Bj4oTb784U9XiGA

What's the weirdest/craziest thing you've ever eaten?
I think I may have tried pickled pigs feet as a kid. Not sure though. My grandmother was Czechoslovakian and made a variety of pickled foods to eat. My uncles would eat pickled pigs feet and pigs knuckles on New Year's Day every year when we grew up. I'm sure I tried them at some point. DH has eaten fried crickets. Since I'm engaged to him, can I claim that? 

What foods do you avoid at all costs?
Beets. People, listen up. Beets taste purple. Admit it, you all think they do but I'm the only one who will say something. Purple. Liver because my mom tricked us one time and told us it was steak. Yeah, sure. Not unless that steak was bad. Haggis. This hasn't yet been a problem, but DH and I have a trip coming up and something tells me that we'll be offered some haggis along with a wee dram. So I'm just preparing now to avoid it, the haggis that is.  I'm a planner like that.

What meal reminds you of your childhood?
Potato soup and homemade biscuits. My mom was a SAHM for most of the time growing up. My favorite memory is of walking in the door from school, the snowflakes still stinging my cheeks and feeling like I'd entered a giant cloud of bread. She often made bread from scratch and biscuits were always from scratch. Whenever there was soup there was biscuits or bread and cheese. I'd never thought about it until DH and I had beef stew the first time. I cut a bunch of chunks of cheese and ripped into a loaf of fresh Italian to go along with it while he looked perplexed. I assumed everyone ate these things together. 

Anyway, potato soup was a staple growing up. It was a hearty but not rich soup that had parsley and bacon or ham in it, and sometimes cheese melted through. The pot seemed gigantic when I was little but there was never very much left over. In the days that we used food wisely, it was a meal where we could eat until our little kid bellies bulged and we rolled away from the table.

I never learned how to make it. Mom, that can be my wedding present! Teach me how to make your soup.

Share one of your favorite recipes and the story behind it.

One night DH and I were jonesing for some Mexican, and we started looking through a cookbook that my bible study bought for me before I moved to Texas. Everything in the book sounded amazing but required a lot of forethought and work or special ingredients. We decided that we'd try making the enchiladas. I think the recipe called for roasting the chicken ourselves which led to us thinking "Rotisserie chicken, naturally!" and from there we chucked the book. It was a risk but really the worst that could happen is we ended up going out to eat if it was awful. They turned out to be freaking brilliant. You can jazz these up or down depending on what you like and how much heat you can stand. Substitute jalapenos for the chiles or salsa for the Ro-Tel!

DH and I's Easy Chicken Enchiladas

1 rotisserie chicken

1 regular can each of Ro-Tel, corn, black beans 

1 small can chopped green chiles

1 bag fiesta cheese or mexican cheese mix

1 jar or can of enchilada sauce - whatever flavor floats your boat

1 bag tortillas...flour work best for rolling but corn taste just as good

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Shred your chicken and add the contents of all the cans, drained. We usually leave a little bit of the rotel juice, but not much unless you want really wet enchiladas. Mix in a handful of the cheese to help it all hold together when you bake it.

Lightly oil a 13x9 pan or spread a spoonful of enchilada sauce in the bottom to help the tortillas not stick. 

Take a tortilla, swirl a little enchilada sauce on and fill with as much mixture as needed. We usually use about enough that it's sqooshing out the ends when we roll them. You'll have a LOT of the mix, so feel free to use as much as you want. Roll the filled tortilla and place seam side down in the dish. We jam as many as possible in, even along the sides. 

Cover with enchilada sauce to your liking, cover with as much cheese as you like and cover with foil. Bake for thirty minutes.

We eat the leftover filling by itself while waiting for the enchilada's to bake. it's also great in scrambled eggs in the morning. For those of you watching what you eat, according to Spark recipes they're roughly 130 cals using the corn tortilla - 3g fat, 12g carbs and 15g protein.

Next week's questions:

1. What were you like in Middle School/HS?(pictures)

2.  What were your favorite past times?

3. What songs were you obsessed with?(Backstreet Boys anyone?)

4. What fashion statement do you look back on and cringe?

5. Who was your celeb crush?

6. What were your favorite tv shows/movies?

Come link up with Neely and Ashley's Sunday Social!

Good Morning, Good Morning

If my momma is reading this then she's thinking the same thing I am....


If this is not the first thing you think then I suggest you reorganize your priorities in life.

I've always been a morning person. The downside of being a morning person is that my morning has started earlier and earlier as I've gotten older. So now sleeping in is roughly 7:30. When did that happen? Anyway, a normal morning starts around 5:30. I stumble to the kitchen hoping that Puppy didn't decide the carpet looked an awful lot like grass in the middle of the night. I'm greeted by a muddled yowling from the laundry room as Henry makes his morning presence known. He hates not being in the know, which translates roughly into "HEY! WHO'S OUT THERE? LEMME OUT? PLEASE?" As soon as I open the door he runs out and purrs like a madman while tripping over my feet. All I can think about is coffee and all he can think about is being scratched behind his ears. Self-absorbed cat. Once the illusion of caffeine is in the air I can finish the routine. Shower, where Henry makes himself known and then jumps in and lays in the water that's left once I get out. I swear he's part dog. Working in a clinic has it's advantages....grab some scrub bottoms and a t-shirt and I'm ready to go. Back into the kitchen and throw some soy or almond milk, a banana and some frozen fruit into the Ninja. Warn Henry and the Puppy that it's about to get real in the kitchen. Shake in a Nalgene and coffee in my Starbucks mug and away I go.

Mama Kat's glimpse into real life.

Happy

I'm happy. There, I said it. Happy.

Does anyone else get a little freaked when things are all going well and it looks like smooth sailing ahead? I do. I think we're trained as a society to always be looking forward to what comes next. It's a very rushed feeling. "Well now I'm happy. What don't I know I'm missing? Surely there's SOMETHING BETTER!"

And boom. We're unhappy. Because we don't know how to enjoy what we have. But don't let me presume that y'all are unhappy or unable to enjoy what you have. Maybe it's just me? Just sometimes?

Right now, though, I'm happy.

Because...

....I'm watching the season premiere of Bunheads and I've missed Amy Sherman-Palladino. A lot.
....I managed to fit in a work out even after being stuck in traffic for an hour.
....I have the man God planned for me and he is amazing and terrific and the bees knees.
....I have a fluffy orange cat who is crazy and thinks my feet are toys.
....I have a pastry class coming up in a week. I'm dreaming of butter and rolling pins and waking up with the smell of sweet pastry and cherries in my nose.


I know there's more that I'm happy because of, but I'll leave it at that.

Thanks Shell for letting me pour out my happy full heart.