Good morning, Thunderstorm!
I'm sure I looked like an idiot, but I donned my rainboots (from about 2-3 years ago) this morning for my walk from the parking lot to the office building. I tucked my black suit trousers into the black-and-white houndsooth Merona rainboots, and away I went. I had the last laugh because the bottom of my pants were dry!
As I'm sipping my green tea and writing my weekly 'To Do' list, I'm thinking about how very much I love making lists. And even further, crossing things off that list. I even list that in my small biography section of this blog. It's that serious. With that being said, I think I need to make a list of goals for April.
1. Blog More (At least 6 times before the month is through.)
2. Call my Sister & Mom (I need to check up on them more often.)
3. Go to the gym or spin class every week. (Both.)
4. Return Andrea's message on Facebook.
5. Utilize my pantry for this month's dinners. (So many rices, quinoas and lentils!)
I think I'll stop there. Considering I have a huge list here at work, I need to get started! More posts to come.
P.S. - I believe the new cat food is a go!
4.04.2011
4.02.2011
Cat Food!
Quick update -
We haven't had any yarking (yet)! I'd say this is a triumph, considering all that's happened this past week. Go Blue!
We haven't had any yarking (yet)! I'd say this is a triumph, considering all that's happened this past week. Go Blue!
First Quarter...Done!
A quarter of 2011 is already over! It's amazing how time passes so quickly.
I'm still looking/saving for a bike, and I'll probably be making a purchase next month. I've been looking at hybrid and road bikes, but mostly at brands and features. I'll have something to report soon, I hope.
On the agenda today was finding a suitable replacement food for my cats. We've been going through a change with their digestion, and it seems that every food we choose for them either won't stay down, or isn't appetizing to them. PetSmart has a great return policy on pet food, thankfully; you can return the opened, half-eaten food if your pet doesn't agree with it. So, after trying 4 types of food, we're on try number 5: Blue Buffalo. (http://bluebuffalo.com/healthy-cat-food) It was a bit pricey, so we're hoping it lasts for a bit. For some reason the 'Life Source Bits' grabbed me. The actual food has a different, more compact shape. It just looks better. What food do you feed your cats? (Sorry, dog owners!)
The rest of the day will be devoted to grocery shopping, working out and a smidge of spring cleaning. Happy April!
I'm still looking/saving for a bike, and I'll probably be making a purchase next month. I've been looking at hybrid and road bikes, but mostly at brands and features. I'll have something to report soon, I hope.
On the agenda today was finding a suitable replacement food for my cats. We've been going through a change with their digestion, and it seems that every food we choose for them either won't stay down, or isn't appetizing to them. PetSmart has a great return policy on pet food, thankfully; you can return the opened, half-eaten food if your pet doesn't agree with it. So, after trying 4 types of food, we're on try number 5: Blue Buffalo. (http://bluebuffalo.com/healthy-cat-food) It was a bit pricey, so we're hoping it lasts for a bit. For some reason the 'Life Source Bits' grabbed me. The actual food has a different, more compact shape. It just looks better. What food do you feed your cats? (Sorry, dog owners!)
The rest of the day will be devoted to grocery shopping, working out and a smidge of spring cleaning. Happy April!
3.21.2011
Owl Art
I wanted to share this quickly with you guys - It's an owl, drawn by a middle school student in Greenville, Texas. Great job!
2.21.2011
Bicycles
I'm looking into buying a bike. And I need advice.
It's use will be purely laid-back and recreational - peddling around a park or if I'm being more strenuous, biking up a few trails around the area. Which means no gradation at all. Because we're in Dallas.
So, any and all advice on the following would be helpful:
-bike brands or models suited for the aforementioned activities
-purchasing locations and general pricing
-car-toting equipment suggestions
-future biking locations! Parks! State forests!
Oh, and to get in shape for all of this biking, I'm thinking of taking a spin class at 24 Hour Fitness this spring. Any takers?
It's use will be purely laid-back and recreational - peddling around a park or if I'm being more strenuous, biking up a few trails around the area. Which means no gradation at all. Because we're in Dallas.
So, any and all advice on the following would be helpful:
-bike brands or models suited for the aforementioned activities
-purchasing locations and general pricing
-car-toting equipment suggestions
-future biking locations! Parks! State forests!
Oh, and to get in shape for all of this biking, I'm thinking of taking a spin class at 24 Hour Fitness this spring. Any takers?
January Post-Dated Post
Ignore the saccrine post title.
Since I don't want to travel that far back in time, I'm going to choose my favorite photos from the Santa Fe trip and my birthday.
Santa Fe National Forest
Also, I just realized my photos from when Michael took me to St. Martin's for my birthday are all super dark. So, rather than making them look like a cartoon with lightening them up, I'll show you a professional photo from Google Images. Ahh, compromise.
Lovely times. I love snow, and I love St. Martin's duck.
Since I don't want to travel that far back in time, I'm going to choose my favorite photos from the Santa Fe trip and my birthday.
Santa Fe National Forest
Also, I just realized my photos from when Michael took me to St. Martin's for my birthday are all super dark. So, rather than making them look like a cartoon with lightening them up, I'll show you a professional photo from Google Images. Ahh, compromise.
Lovely times. I love snow, and I love St. Martin's duck.
1.20.2011
1.15.2011
Weekend Report
This past week is over, and I'm enjoying my weekend.
Last night Michelle and I went to Tillman's Roadhouse in the Bishop Arts District in Oak Cliff. We made the trip out there, which was full of traffic, but made it to the cute, newly up-and-coming area. The Arts District has a ton of swanky restaurants and bars to puruse, with art galleries scattered throughout. Tillman's was 'cowboy chic' for sure, and the food matched. We ordered the lavender honey salmon with asparagus rice, and the seaweed grower with plantain-sweet potato puree. Yum! For dessert, we got the table side s'mores. It had a small flame coming from a cast iron jar, and was served with three flavors of marshmallows, chocolate bars and cinnamon graham crackers. The marshmallow flavors were maple, coffee and orange. What a fun dessert!
Then we went down 7th to Hattie's, and had a few fancy drinks. As I looked the menu over (for funsies), I noticed that their famous chicken and waffles dish wasn't listed. Shock! No late night munchie for me. Maybe they are taking a break from their classic? Either way, we were too full to eat anything!
Today is stay at home day, so we're doing very little. I love Saturdays like this. I'm thinking about dinner, too. Maybe spaghetti and three-meat meatballs? Or homemade chili with cheddar-dill cornbread? The goal is to use the Le Creuset. Some way.
Now, enough talk about food. It's time for a workout!
Last night Michelle and I went to Tillman's Roadhouse in the Bishop Arts District in Oak Cliff. We made the trip out there, which was full of traffic, but made it to the cute, newly up-and-coming area. The Arts District has a ton of swanky restaurants and bars to puruse, with art galleries scattered throughout. Tillman's was 'cowboy chic' for sure, and the food matched. We ordered the lavender honey salmon with asparagus rice, and the seaweed grower with plantain-sweet potato puree. Yum! For dessert, we got the table side s'mores. It had a small flame coming from a cast iron jar, and was served with three flavors of marshmallows, chocolate bars and cinnamon graham crackers. The marshmallow flavors were maple, coffee and orange. What a fun dessert!
Then we went down 7th to Hattie's, and had a few fancy drinks. As I looked the menu over (for funsies), I noticed that their famous chicken and waffles dish wasn't listed. Shock! No late night munchie for me. Maybe they are taking a break from their classic? Either way, we were too full to eat anything!
Today is stay at home day, so we're doing very little. I love Saturdays like this. I'm thinking about dinner, too. Maybe spaghetti and three-meat meatballs? Or homemade chili with cheddar-dill cornbread? The goal is to use the Le Creuset. Some way.
Now, enough talk about food. It's time for a workout!
1.11.2011
Unrealistic?
So, I just did the math (amazing, no?), and if I want to attain my goal of 100 blog posts this year I need to post at least 8 or 9 times a month. Wow! Can I do it?
1.09.2011
First of 2011 Update
It's been a while, but I'll do my best to make a update that is both detailed but not exhaustive. First, Happy New Year! I am excited to see what 2011 holds for the Oates'.
Let's take a journey back to October of last year. Michael and I went to San
Francisco for his birthday and to visit Jamie and Qas. I talked about the first part of the trip, but didn't ever update on the second half. On Sunday, Michael rented a SUV and we all went to the Napa and Sonoma area to view the lovely countryside and do some wine tasting. It was rainy while we were there, which was a treat for me since I'd never seen the area like that. We ended the afternoon with going to the Patz & Hall Tasting Room, which has our favorite wines.
That night we stayed in Yountville, and ate at one of Thomas Keller's restaurants, Ad Hoc. You can take a look at the Web site . It was amazing! The menu that night had one choice (as many do these days), and it was veal. If you know me, you know I don't eat veal, so the chef made me a filet with sides that had no veal stock or fat in them. Delicious! And concerned! After dinner we walked through the town and look at the other famous Thomas Keller restaurants and saw Michael Chiarello's restaurant, Napa Style. Lovely town, and I'd like to visit there again to go to French Laundry.
The next morning (early!) Qas took the ferry back to San Francisco, and Jamie, Michael and I took the SUV back to the city by way of Highway 1. Lovely as always. We stopped off at Muir Woods so Michael could see the redwoods before we went back and had a dinner of pho at Jamie and Qas' favorite pho place. I have to say, it was some of the best I've had.
On our last day there, we woke up and went with Jamie to work to drop our luggage off. We shopped around the Ferry Building and the Financial District, deciding on a few last items before getting on the BART to SFO. It was a fabulous trip, and I hope we get to go sometime in 2011 or 2012.
The holidays were fabulously relaxed this past year. Jamie came in for both Thanksgiving and Christmas, so it was nice to spend time with her for a while. The rest of the family are all doing well, and it's nice to see that another 2009 and 2010 aren't happening again. Those were tough years for us all.
Stay Tuned for the New Year's Eve and Birthday post!
Let's take a journey back to October of last year. Michael and I went to San
Francisco for his birthday and to visit Jamie and Qas. I talked about the first part of the trip, but didn't ever update on the second half. On Sunday, Michael rented a SUV and we all went to the Napa and Sonoma area to view the lovely countryside and do some wine tasting. It was rainy while we were there, which was a treat for me since I'd never seen the area like that. We ended the afternoon with going to the Patz & Hall Tasting Room, which has our favorite wines.
That night we stayed in Yountville, and ate at one of Thomas Keller's restaurants, Ad Hoc. You can take a look at the Web site . It was amazing! The menu that night had one choice (as many do these days), and it was veal. If you know me, you know I don't eat veal, so the chef made me a filet with sides that had no veal stock or fat in them. Delicious! And concerned! After dinner we walked through the town and look at the other famous Thomas Keller restaurants and saw Michael Chiarello's restaurant, Napa Style. Lovely town, and I'd like to visit there again to go to French Laundry.
The next morning (early!) Qas took the ferry back to San Francisco, and Jamie, Michael and I took the SUV back to the city by way of Highway 1. Lovely as always. We stopped off at Muir Woods so Michael could see the redwoods before we went back and had a dinner of pho at Jamie and Qas' favorite pho place. I have to say, it was some of the best I've had.
On our last day there, we woke up and went with Jamie to work to drop our luggage off. We shopped around the Ferry Building and the Financial District, deciding on a few last items before getting on the BART to SFO. It was a fabulous trip, and I hope we get to go sometime in 2011 or 2012.
The holidays were fabulously relaxed this past year. Jamie came in for both Thanksgiving and Christmas, so it was nice to spend time with her for a while. The rest of the family are all doing well, and it's nice to see that another 2009 and 2010 aren't happening again. Those were tough years for us all.
Stay Tuned for the New Year's Eve and Birthday post!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)