Marital Compromise

This is how good of a wife I am:

Saturday morning I got up at 5:30 AM and drove to the American Airlines Center to stand in a ridiculous line that was 2 hours long for a number. A number for the lottery that would hopefully result in Mavs Finals tickets. It did not. Then, I went to Lewisville with Bo to watch the Brock boys summer league basketball game. Finally, I stood in another line, luckily much shorter, for an In -N-Out Burger. Fortunately, at the end of that line, we did indeed get a burger.

This is how good of a husband Bo is:

This morning, he scooped and bagged all the rubber mulch out of our backyard flower bed so I didn't have to.

I think we're even. :)

The Qualities You Don't Realize You Marry Until They Matter

The stereotypical "hands-off dad" is so unfortunate. I would put my dad in this category. Not because he didn't love us, but because he kept a frequent travel schedule that left little time for dress up and tea parties. He wasn't sure what to do with me and Nick, besides take care of the "wait until your father gets home" discipline my mother stigmatized him with.

I was flying from Tallahassee, FL to Charlotte, NC Tuesday evening. This was my 8th of 10 flights in 9 days. I had lost all my pleasantness - and patience. But leave it to a five year old boy sitting behind me to cause a pause.

The five year old boy was traveling with his dad and 14-month old brother. (I know the ages because someone asked, in case you were wondering, ok?) The fact that the little boy was the smartest, most humorous five year old I have ever listened to goes without saying. But the dialog he had with his dad was what got me.

It was obvious the 14-month old wasn't accustom to flying. He was a little squirmy and had a good set of lungs on him. The dad was incredibly patient. Answering every question the five year old had - about the ground below us, why we could drive our own car to the gate because it was taking so long, what all the noises were, why he couldn't hold onto the boarding passes for the next flight...

The dad was kind. And praised his son. Just as I was thinking I would have been the mom about to pull out her hair, telling the older boy to be quiet, shoving a passie in the younger one's mouth and heavily sighing, I realized Bo would be that dad behind me, in this moment, patiently and calmly attending to both children. I married someone who will be the perfect dad.

De-lish-ish-ness!!

Long day? Tired from work? Forgot to marinate chicken? Don't want to spend an hour and a half cooking on a Tuesday? May I recommend....

White Pizza with Tomato and Basil



I'll have to give the credit to Cooking Light. I didn't come up with this one on my own. But I did try it and it was super easy and yummy.

And yes, I am that good of a cook that I made the pizza look scrumptious and very camera ready. Kidding. I forgot to take a picture and honestly didn't know if it would be any good or blog worthy. So, that's the picture of the picture from the magazine. Mine did look similar to that though since I used a pre-made pizza crust.

So, here we go.

1 (10-ounce) Italian cheese-flavored thin pizza crust (such as Boboli) *Note: My Walmart is very selective with variety so they don't carry Italian flavored. I used the regular one and it was just fine.
1 Teaspoon cornmeal *Note: I eliminated this because I felt it was an unnecessary expense for 1 teaspoon, but feel free if you have some. I used a pizza stone and it did not stick.
Cooking Spray
3 Tablespoons refrigerated pesto with basil *Note: See photo below. I am pretty sure this is what made my pizza so good.
1/2 Cup (2 ounces) shredded fresh mozzarella cheese *Note: I used packaged pre-shredded
1/2 Cup Part-skim ricotta cheese
1/2 Cup sliced small tomatoes *Note: I used Roma tomatoes.
1/2 Teaspoon black pepper
1/2 Cup small basil leaves *Note: I eliminated this because my basil plant is at work and have you seen the prices for fresh basil at the store?!
Crushed red pepper (Optional)

1. Preheat broiler to high.
2. Place a baking sheet in oven; heat for 10 minutes.
3. While baking sheet heats, place crust on another baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal. Lightly coat crust with cooking spray. Spread pesto evenly over crust, leaving a 1-inch border; sprinkle mozzarella evenly over the pesto. Dollop ricotta, by teaspoonfuls, evenly over mozzarella. Slide crust onto preheated baking sheet, using a spatula as as guide. Broil 5 inches from heat for 5 minutes or until cheese begins to melt. Remove from oven; top evenly with tomatoes, black pepper, and basil. Sprinkle with red pepper, if desired. Cut into 8 slices. Yields: 4 Servings (serving size: 2 slices)

And the best part, only 352 calories for two slices! Not bad, huh?

As for the pesto, I used Classico (below). It was $2 at Walmart and delish. Heavy on the garlic flavor more so that the basil. Yum yum yum. And I'm going to stir a few tablespoons of the leftover pesto into pasta for lunch tomorrow.

You Are Now Free To Move About The Country

Aggghhhhh I was doing so good at maintaining the blog. Why the silence? Many reasons actually. However, I'll blame it on travel. I enjoyed some excellent out of state relaxation....

...Vegas.



...New York.



And then I followed it up with business travel. Sacramento, CA, Salt Lake City, UT, Casper, WY in one day then a two hour hello in Denver, CO on my way back to Dallas. Add a trip to Tallahassee, FL and Richmond, VA this week. Apparently, if you wish for travel, you get LOTS of it. Even if it is to Casper, WY on a turboprop buzzer of a plane through a rain storm. :-D (Can emoticons convey sarcasm?)

We do have one more non-business trip on the horizon next month - MEXICO! It's great to have friends that choose to get married in a tropical exotic location!

Bring It On!

I have a serious bone to pick with the Parker County Appraisal District. PCAD, if you are reading this - yes, I mean you! You!

They sent us a little two page letter in a little white envelope that could have inconspicuously been mistaken for a little more junk mail. Sneaky bastards. It's definitely junk mail, just not the kind I can throw away.

It was just a short note informing us our taxes would be increasing. 11%. Luckily, they went ahead and sent me a protest form with the note, just in case.

I simmered over it for a day trying to decide what to do and how I could protest this in my favor. Come to find out, they couldn't have made it easier for me (I hope). I just had to put the pieces together.

I spent the day doing some research on my neighbors and in the online public records. Come to find out, the average was a -3% DECREASE for my neighborhood. Are you FUCKING kidding me? And they're trying to pull over an 11% increase on me. We will see about that.

Apparently, to protest your taxes you have to put together a case and verbally present it in front of the Appraisal Review Board. Awesome. This should be a fun college presentation. I'll be ready for them.

I'm Predicting The Winner

I'm only an expert at knowing what I like. And my friends, Javier Colon, I like. No, I love.

I'm not sure what the premise of this new show The Voice is other than singing, but I was flipping through channels and gave it a few minutes. Holy guacamole, he sang Time After Time so well if anyone ever asked me who sings that song I will say Javier Colon. Cyndi who? My skin crawled a little and I re-wound the show just for a second listen.

And the icing on the cupcake - iTunes put the song up for purchase. Go buy it. Seriously.

I wish I got paid for the free advertising I give on this blog.

One Of Those 'Where were you?' Moments

Less that 24 hours ago, I was standing at Ground Zero. I took a ferry to the Statue of Liberty that was used to transport people away from the World Trade Center when it was attacked. I stood on the Empire State Building overlooking the lower Manhattan skyline where two buildings should have stood. An emptiness in the sky, just as in our hearts. As I was beginning to wonder if the world had become numb to that fateful day 9 years, 7 months and 20 days ago...

About 24 minutes ago, I learned Osama Bin Laden is dead. We've held our breaths for 10 years, waiting. Meanwhile, we have accepted fear as way of life. 9/11 defined our generation and every one after. So, are we any better off? I had to stand in 4 security lines yesterday for screening. We have altered the way our buildings operate. Am I suppose to sleep better with the relief that a high profile terrorist can no longer direct string puppets to inflict harm? The country still has the puppets to fear.