Let's go see the stars! (Did anyone else think of Daddy Warbucks and Annie all dressed up and tap dancing???) Love THAT movie, by the way.
But let's move on to my summer vacation. Which has included seeing two movies in the theater in 4 days. I usually see, oh, I'd say about two movies a year in theaters normally.
If you want to laugh, out loud, straight, for a good hour and half, then this is my recommendation:
Never before have I laughed so much at a movie. "Here's your car, officers."
On the other hand, if you are in a more sentimental mood, not wearing any eye makeup, want to cry for an hour and half straight, and also maintain a huge lump in throat afterwards, then this is my recommendation:
Of course, I recommend reading the book first. The ending wascompletely changed. And although it didn't really follow the book too much, it was still muy bueno. You will, however, get to watch one good looking dad for an hour and a half. Bring a box of Kleenex; a few stuck in your purse will just not do.
...or not really. For a couple of reasons: 1. I do not usually bake, nor do I really like to. 2. I only have two items for you, not 13.
However, summertime has left me with quite a bit of time on my hands. One can only watch so many Golden Girls episodes (but not really; I can never get enough of those ladies!!)..or at least until one feels really lazy. I baked for two specific reasons. One being a get-together with some grad school friends and the other being that I had a significant amount of pesto sauce left after I made it last week. Therefore, I baked. I made cookies for the friends and pizza dough for a pesto pizza (complete with lots of cheese, bell peppers, shrimp, and tomato slices-yum!). Here you go:
Chocolate-mint wafers (makes 44ish)
1 c all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled) 1/2 c unsweetened cocoa powder 1/4 t baking powder 1/4 t plus 1/8 t salt 6 tb unsalted butter, room temp. 1/2 c sugar 1 large egg 1/2 t pure vanilla extract 12 oz. semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate 1/4 t pure peppermint extract sprinkles (optional, but SO yummy and fun!)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder, and 1/4 t salt. Set aside. Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. With mixer on low, gradually add flour mixture just until combined. Form balls of dough (equal to about 1 t) and place on two baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Dip the bottom of a glass in water and flatten balls into 1 1/2-inch rounds (about 1/4 inch thick). Bake until slightly firm to the touch, 8-10 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Transfer to wire rack to cool. Make chocolate coating: place chocolate, peppermint extract, and remaining 1/8 t salt in double boiler. Heat, stirring occasionally until smooth, 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat. Line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper. Set each cookie across the tines of a fork,dip fork in chocolate, then tap underside of fork on side of boiler bowl to allow excess chocolate to drip off. Place cookies on prepared baking sheet, and decorate with sprinkles, if desired. Refrigerate until chocolate has hardened, about 30 minutes. Keep chilled until ready to serve.
Whole-wheat pizza dough (makes 2 one-pound balls)
1 1/2 cups warm (115 degrees) water 2 packets ( ounce each) active dry yeast 1/4 cup olive oil, plus more for bowl 2 tablespoons sugar 2 teaspoons coarse salt 2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for kneading 2 cups whole-wheat flour (spooned and leveled)
Place water in a large bowl; sprinkle with yeast. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Brush another large bowl with oil. In bowl with yeast, whisk sugar, oil, and salt. Stir in flours with a wooden spoon until a sticky dough forms. Transfer to oiled bowl; brush top of dough with oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap; let stand in a warm spot until dough has doubled in size, about 1 hour. Turn dough out onto a well-floured surface. With floured hands, knead until smooth, about 15 seconds; divide into two balls. Set balls on a plate (they should not touch); freeze until firm, about 1 hour.
You can do what you want for the next part: -Then freeze in a freezer bag up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in refrigerator. -Divide each ball of dough into 4 pieces. Using your hands, stretch each piece into a 5-inch disk (if dough becomes too elastic to work with, let it rest a few minutes). Freeze shells on two parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake from frozen.
Dallas is quickly making its way to my heart. I trekked over there last night to attend an Elvis tribute band concert at the Arboretum with Emily and Suzanna. I got to tour a new part of Dallas as I made my way to Emily's new apt...I got an even longer tour (in the dark) of the ghetto when her directions did NOT get me to I30 to go home.
We headed to Whole Foods where we made salads, sampled and got some delicious, refreshing wine, and I got us some "wholesome junkfood" brownie bite things. Suz said that wholesome junkfood doesn't exist. They were interesting...sort of like chocolate fig newtons. Not bad, but not what you want if you are seriously craving something chocolate. Suz, being a good little mama, packed a picnic basket and blanket, along with waters, napkins, and forks for everyone. Emily, being Emily, got a bag of ice at Whole Foods. And when I say bag, I mean that she filled up a produce section bag (like you would put apples into) with "Sonic ice." "That's how I get ice, I don't have an ice maker at home." Oh, Emily. She's pretty.
I digress. Elvis was the reason for the gathering. He put on a good show and wore both a Hawaiian shirt for the first half and then a white, fringed, leather...or pleather... jumpsuit for the second half once the sun went down. The little girl in the picture below was deemed "little Emily." With the exception of wearing pink AND flowers, we decided had Emily attended this concert as a 5 year old, this is who she would have been. She was jammin'! Emily says in line (to me, the instigator), "Dare me to get him to sign my arm?" Dare.
Oh my goodness, I think the man left a good 1/2 inch of sweat on my shoulder/arm. SICK.
And she wanted Elvis's signature....too bad she had to settle for Kraig. With a K.
After being asked that question for the better part of my 27 years, I finally have an answer! Like this: Ok, so it's not exactly a garden, but my herbs are growing like crazy (which means I haven't killed them!). I've got oregano, thyme, and basil growing...I made my own pesto using some of my basil and it was tasty!
And because she's so cute and squishy, I took a picture of the Maze, too. She talks to birds and squirrels, chases wasps (s-m-a-r-t), and tries to run downstairs to eat grass while I water my plants and flowers everyday. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my patio and am out there some mornings and most evenings catching up on my stack of magazines. I feel like I live in a treehouse; the shade and sunlight are so pretty through the trees. Summer=goodness. Squared.
I am, oh-so-surprisingly, sharing yet another delicious Asian recipe I just recently tried. It literally takes about 10 minutes and is made with 4 ingredients...score! I have started watching a show on Discovery Health called "Just Cook This." The "cooking guy," Sam, is highly ADHD, but he makes thing that look really yummy. Here's his recipe I tried:
Beef Chow Mein with Black Bean Sauce (serves 4ish)
1 pound steak (I used flank) 1 tablespoon peanut oil, plus 1 teaspoon 4 ripe medium sized ripe tomatoes, cut into 8 wedges each One 7-ounce package Asian stir fry noodles (from the refrigerator section at the market), but don't use the sauce mix 2 tablespoons black bean sauce (also found in the Asian aisle of most supermarkets)
Trim excess fat from the steak and slice into very thin slices. Preheat a pan or wok on stove top and heat really well over high heat, then add oil. When the oil is smoking, and not until, add beef and stir fry for a couple minutes until beef changes color and is cooked through. Remove and set aside. With the pan back on the heat and smoking again, add a teaspoon of oil and the tomatoes. Stir-fry about a minute. Add the beef, noodles and black bean sauce to the tomatoes. Stir the whole business until the flavor is through everything and all is heated.
That's it! It's really that easy and it's really, really good. I think I'll try it with chicken next time.
Piece of advice: make sure your vent works (mine apparently is sick)...this is super smoky (be sure you use the peanut oil or another oil that can handle high heat)...and while I miraculously did not set off the fire alarm, I did have to open windows and turn the fan on to try and rid my place of smoke.
I know I'm only about a week into summer, but it's been great so far. I haven't had much "free time" yet, which is nice because I haven't been bored, but I know that will be coming soon...I have been recording movies on my DVR to keep occupied in the coming weeks.
So far, so fun list: ~unpacked my office (which I have a really hard time saying) and am going back next week to start planning for the new school year. :) ~bought a pass for summer exercise classes at TCU...attended Pilates and loved it, am going again tomorrow (and attempting to soak up some sun if it's out). Next week, I'm trying TNT (tone-n-tighten)...hopefully I'll live to be able to blog about it. ~went to a Rangers game last minute. If you know me, you know I am very scheduled and not spontaneous, however, I have been working on it. I got ready in about 45 minutes for the game and had a great time. ~went back to Dr. Boothe and tomorrow is my LAST day of eye drops-WOOHOO!!! (see side note below) ~headed to Dallas for some QT with a BFF. It was a fabulously fun day that included tasting an interesting concoction of watermelon cucumber juice, a sushi lunch, manicures (I'm channeling LC from The Hills with my new red polish), shopping at Anthropologie, a delicious dinner and champagne in cute pink sugar-rimmed glasses for a bday party. Could I get used to Dallas easily? YES. Could my wallet? N-O. ~a patio date today once the torrential downpour was over.
The first week of summer has been so great...here's to hoping it stays that way!
Side note: Originally, I thought I would blog about my lasik surgery. However, there are reasons no one tells you ANYTHING about the process. Before. During. Or after. That being said, I highly recommend it and would do it again without a second thought.
After a VERY, VERY long two weeks, I can now officially announce my new job as a counselor!!!
About two weeks ago the counselor at my school announced that she would be leaving the district. Never in my wildest dreams did I think this would happen. I thought she would retire there...she's BFF with our principal and vice principal. Anywho, she sent an email with her news and some of my lovely coworkers all but held a gun to my head to go "RIGHT NOW" and talk to "them" (principal and VP). I resisted, mainly because I was scared of rejection and it's not my personality to do that sort of thing. Oh, and I can be really stubborn when I want to be. Meredeth and Carrie then began scheduling my day so that I could send my kids to them while I went to the office. No. Carrie then sent down a kid like every 30 minutes to check and see if I was in my room (because I lied and told her I'd go down there so she would leave me alone!). Yes I was. I met them halfway and agreed to email the principal and she wrote me back immediately and said to come down when I had time so we could "chat." Was this a good chat? Or a bad "we're moving people around in the district/one of the Summerhills is getting the job" chat?
It was a great chat that made me cry tears of pure joy! She had been anxious to talk to me about the job but was waiting for the current counselor to make her announcement. My principal said "This is just such a God thing." Hello, yes it is and hello, who doesn't want to work with someone who thinks like that?! I know and love the school and kiddos, they know me, etc... She did, however, say that my first test of confidentiality would be keeping the news quiet until it was approved in the admin. building. Um...she was not aware of the clowns down my hallway who looked like gophers sticking their heads out from behind doors to see if I was coming back yet. I tried.
I needed to get ONE piece of documentation from TCU to take to the admin. building in order to sign my contract. Well, this ONE piece of paper is only available from ONE person who just happened to be on a week long vacation. Enter the 2nd longest week of my life. I finally got the paperwork from her on Wednesday and took it to the admin. building Thursday. I had a little dance/concert party in my car after I finally got to sign my name on that sheet of paper.
I am beyond thrilled and excited to be starting this new job. I am even more excited and thankful to be staying with my Blue Haze family and some of my very best friends. I spent all day Thursday with the counselor "learning the ropes"...and am completely overwhelmed, too. I am heading up there next week to work on my office (score!!) and try to get organized a little bit.
I have had several songs on repeat recently. 1. Mad World (Adam Lambert) 2. Falling Slowly (Kris Allen) 3. One (Adam again) 4. This sweet song by one of my very favorites, Miss Taylor Swift:
Crazier I was trying to fly, but I couldn't find wings Then you came along and you changed everything You lift my feet off the ground, spin me around You make me crazier, crazier Feels like I'm falling and I am lost in your eyes You make me crazier, crazier, crazier
(Obviously, that's not the entire song, but it's my favorite part)
(And yes, maybe this song is from the Hannah Montana movie...maybe...but please remember that I spend my weekdays with 8 year olds...)
I get to see her in concert in about 3 months! SO excited!!!
Never before have I laughed so much at a movie. "Here's your car, officers."
Of course, I recommend reading the book first. The ending was completely changed. And although it didn't really follow the book too much, it was still muy bueno. You will, however, get to watch one good looking dad for an hour and a half. Bring a box of Kleenex; a few stuck in your purse will just not do. 
