So. I woke up this morning and it is Sleeting. In Southeast Texas. Brrrrrr. The pups are in the feed shed, attempting to beat an open bale of hay into submission. All you can see are little bits of hay flying and the occasional nose peeking through their homemade burrow. I'm not, however, venturing out in my shorts and tank top to take pictures of them. I'm staying right here where it's warm.
And I know I owe a picture and a recipe of my delightfully warm and cozy Sausage & Butterbean soup... but it's not going to happen today. My beautiful flat-screen monitor up and quit yesterday morning. It has nifty USB slots right on the side of it. The alternative is to dig around in the CPU cabinet to find one on the back. I'm not so much into digging just now. A new monitor is on its way to sleet-land though so when I get it -- pictures! recipe! Truly!
Until then, I will tell you about Cousin Bubbles' visit and the resulting groan of my bank account -- because I have Shopping Issues and also? Shoppers Guilt Issues.
First, when BabySis heard CB was coming into town for a visit, she also took the day off and showed up at my house Tuesday night. Thankfully, I have oversized, overstuffed couches of splendor in my living room because one thing I do not have? A guest bedroom. Trust me, those couches make up for it. They were bought strictly with the intention of sleeping rather than sitting. So.
We ate ourselves sick on soup and then made a glorious brownie attempt. Mehhh... they tasted like deep, dark, chocolate heaven on your tongue with the occasional burst of almondy goodness but not really what I had aimed for in the end product. I will not be posting pictures but I'll tell you what we did: Two boxes of Ghirardelli double chocolate brownie mix; 1 tube of almond paste; 1 bag of Heath toffee bits; and 1/3 cup of Kaluha. Made the brownies to the box, except I replaced 1/3 cup of water with the 1/3 cup of alcohol. Then, we added ALL of the toffee bits and 3/4 of the almond paste (pinched off into chocolate chip sized bits). Baked. Baked a little more (because my oven is a testy bugger sometimes). Let cool. Ate. Died of chocolate yummy goodness overload. Still? The toffee was too small to really get a good bite so not a complete success in my book.
Wednesday, we ventured forth to get pedicures. But wait... BabySis mentions: "I have Victoria's Secret gift cards so I must go shopping, too." That meant a mall trip. Changed directions to go get pedicures at the place on the way to the mall. A block before that place, we found a NEW Grand Opening place that looked better. Angels sang when we walked through the doors. Wine was flowing. New shop smell permeated the air with hefty notes of nail polish remover. They had 8 brand new massage-spa chairs, which beckoned my tired body. My toes look extra perty now and I got $5 off. Can't beat that.
Of course after all the massaging and scrubbing and hiney-clenching (to keep from leaping up out of the chair as my toes/feet are Ticklish!)... my stomach was Growling. Originally we'd thought to eat at a place where BabySis could get half off due to her job. But then! I decided that no trip to Texas, to visit Chez Dragonfly, would be complete without an afternoon spent with Orgasmic Chicken. It did not disappoint. We spent an extra half-hour at the restaurant so we could digest enough to haul ourselves up from the chairs.
Here's where things got hairy. Cousin Bubbles asked if there was a DSW nearby and there was. Just down the road a bit. So we went, because she needed shoes for work. An hour later, I walked out with a pair of flip-flops. BabySis and Cousin Bubbles bought? Nothing. A small twinge of shopper's guilt crept up my spine but I shook it off and called it a pee shiver. See? I'd told Mr. Clean -- assured him, even -- I would not buy anything more than One. Book.
We popped across to the mall itself. Now, CB and I have breasteseses gifted by the goddess of Abundance. And we do not like Victoria's Secret. Victoria's Secret also does not like us. It's all good - I think they're overpriced nitwits to begin with and we both have a secret store of bra-goodness we love better. At this point, the unthinkable happened. BabySis went to VS to use her gift cards. CB took off to New York & Company for clothes. I was left standing before a building of such nirvana, it glowed and sang a siren song of sweet come-hither.
They left me ALONE at the bookstore. Obviously, I did not buy Just. One. Book.
Oooh, the guilt of having spent more money than I should have. It pulled at the short little hairs beneath my pony-tail and nipped at my hind parts until I fairly danced. Of course, the dancing felt good in my New! Flip-flops! But still... I'm not normally that girl who spends untold amounts of money at the mall when I've said I'd only buy One. Book. Of course, then I had to drown my guilt with coffee nirvana. I must have looked truly pitiful because CB footed the bill for that one. Thanks Bubbles... you staved off a meltdown for sure.
But? The ONE thing I'd meant to buy at the mall in addition to the book - hair serum to keep the Spring-humidity-French-poodle look under wraps? I totally forgot! And the ONE BOOK I was going to buy? None of the ones I walked out with. See... when that building glowed and sang and I realized I was ALONE to enjoy it fully? My brain flew the coop. It happens.
Lucky for me... it's sleeting outside and my hair is loving it.
And I know I owe a picture and a recipe of my delightfully warm and cozy Sausage & Butterbean soup... but it's not going to happen today. My beautiful flat-screen monitor up and quit yesterday morning. It has nifty USB slots right on the side of it. The alternative is to dig around in the CPU cabinet to find one on the back. I'm not so much into digging just now. A new monitor is on its way to sleet-land though so when I get it -- pictures! recipe! Truly!
Until then, I will tell you about Cousin Bubbles' visit and the resulting groan of my bank account -- because I have Shopping Issues and also? Shoppers Guilt Issues.
First, when BabySis heard CB was coming into town for a visit, she also took the day off and showed up at my house Tuesday night. Thankfully, I have oversized, overstuffed couches of splendor in my living room because one thing I do not have? A guest bedroom. Trust me, those couches make up for it. They were bought strictly with the intention of sleeping rather than sitting. So.
We ate ourselves sick on soup and then made a glorious brownie attempt. Mehhh... they tasted like deep, dark, chocolate heaven on your tongue with the occasional burst of almondy goodness but not really what I had aimed for in the end product. I will not be posting pictures but I'll tell you what we did: Two boxes of Ghirardelli double chocolate brownie mix; 1 tube of almond paste; 1 bag of Heath toffee bits; and 1/3 cup of Kaluha. Made the brownies to the box, except I replaced 1/3 cup of water with the 1/3 cup of alcohol. Then, we added ALL of the toffee bits and 3/4 of the almond paste (pinched off into chocolate chip sized bits). Baked. Baked a little more (because my oven is a testy bugger sometimes). Let cool. Ate. Died of chocolate yummy goodness overload. Still? The toffee was too small to really get a good bite so not a complete success in my book.
Wednesday, we ventured forth to get pedicures. But wait... BabySis mentions: "I have Victoria's Secret gift cards so I must go shopping, too." That meant a mall trip. Changed directions to go get pedicures at the place on the way to the mall. A block before that place, we found a NEW Grand Opening place that looked better. Angels sang when we walked through the doors. Wine was flowing. New shop smell permeated the air with hefty notes of nail polish remover. They had 8 brand new massage-spa chairs, which beckoned my tired body. My toes look extra perty now and I got $5 off. Can't beat that.
Of course after all the massaging and scrubbing and hiney-clenching (to keep from leaping up out of the chair as my toes/feet are Ticklish!)... my stomach was Growling. Originally we'd thought to eat at a place where BabySis could get half off due to her job. But then! I decided that no trip to Texas, to visit Chez Dragonfly, would be complete without an afternoon spent with Orgasmic Chicken. It did not disappoint. We spent an extra half-hour at the restaurant so we could digest enough to haul ourselves up from the chairs.
Here's where things got hairy. Cousin Bubbles asked if there was a DSW nearby and there was. Just down the road a bit. So we went, because she needed shoes for work. An hour later, I walked out with a pair of flip-flops. BabySis and Cousin Bubbles bought? Nothing. A small twinge of shopper's guilt crept up my spine but I shook it off and called it a pee shiver. See? I'd told Mr. Clean -- assured him, even -- I would not buy anything more than One. Book.
We popped across to the mall itself. Now, CB and I have breasteseses gifted by the goddess of Abundance. And we do not like Victoria's Secret. Victoria's Secret also does not like us. It's all good - I think they're overpriced nitwits to begin with and we both have a secret store of bra-goodness we love better. At this point, the unthinkable happened. BabySis went to VS to use her gift cards. CB took off to New York & Company for clothes. I was left standing before a building of such nirvana, it glowed and sang a siren song of sweet come-hither.
They left me ALONE at the bookstore. Obviously, I did not buy Just. One. Book.
Oooh, the guilt of having spent more money than I should have. It pulled at the short little hairs beneath my pony-tail and nipped at my hind parts until I fairly danced. Of course, the dancing felt good in my New! Flip-flops! But still... I'm not normally that girl who spends untold amounts of money at the mall when I've said I'd only buy One. Book. Of course, then I had to drown my guilt with coffee nirvana. I must have looked truly pitiful because CB footed the bill for that one. Thanks Bubbles... you staved off a meltdown for sure.
But? The ONE thing I'd meant to buy at the mall in addition to the book - hair serum to keep the Spring-humidity-French-poodle look under wraps? I totally forgot! And the ONE BOOK I was going to buy? None of the ones I walked out with. See... when that building glowed and sang and I realized I was ALONE to enjoy it fully? My brain flew the coop. It happens.
Lucky for me... it's sleeting outside and my hair is loving it.
Oh My Gosh!! Pedicures! Coffee! Shopping! And Books! Books! Books! Sounds like a day made in heaven. And homemade soup too? Oh.....envy consumes me....