Better Late Than Never

Money is tight this year. So, my husband and I talked and decided that we just weren't going to put up a tree. We don't have an artificial one, and we just couldn't justify the expense of buying a tree. Well, last night I was talking to my mom and she was horrified that we didn't have a tree. I was shopping at Target at the time, so she told me to go to the seasonal section and pick one. Well, the selection was pretty limited. All of the trees were either in pots to be used outside or had pine cones in them. Not my style. Then, at the bottom of the pile, I saw one box that was different. The label read 7.5 ft champagne pine. OMG. It was a tinsel tree! I knew DH would not be thrilled with an artificial tree, but I thought that if it didn't look like it was TRYING to be real, he might like it. So my mom told me to get it and she would pay for it because it was not ok for me to be having such a hard year and not have some Christmas cheer.

The hubs was a little less than excited about putting up a tree for just a couple of days, but I figure as long as he doesn't have to do anything, he'll end up happy. Also, this tree is old fashioned enough that it will go well in our very retro basement when we start getting real trees again for the living room. So, without further ado, pictures of my tinsel tree! Not fancy or sophisticated, but it is fun!




We need a new topper, but we've been looking for two years and haven't found anything we both like yet. I'll ask hubby if he knows where the old one is to at least give the tree a finished look for now.

My Guilty Pleasure Grows

So I admit it. I liked Harry Potter, and now I like Twilight too. Are the books deep and valuable literature? Of course not. Are they a fun read? Oh yeah! Anyway, I liked the books, and the movie was pretty enjoyable.

One of the best things about the movie was the music though. Therefore I have used my $25 gift card to iTunes to purchase the soundtrack. I would have bought the actual CD, but the iTunes version comes with 3 bonus tracks only available with the album purchase from iTunes. Admittedly, I only care about one of those tracks, but I want it, so there you go. It is actually $1 cheaper on iTunes too.

Here is a site that details what song is played when in the movie. I hope the CD player in my car behaves tomorrow so I can listen to my burned copy while I drive.

I'm "Special"

Below is a picture of the snow as I cleared my car. As I went around the front, I looked down and saw this. I wondered, who in the neighborhood has a pony?! What is going on?



Oh wait, that's what the heels of my sneakers look like in the snow. I'm a dork.

Free Drugs!

For the past year or so, Schnuck's has been advertising free generic antibiotics. I was sure it required signing up, income requirements, etc. I decided to get my doctor to call in my prescription for sulfa to them anyway just to see what happened. Well, guess what? It really was free! Woohoo! I was also able to get my doctor to call it in without an appointment, so this stupid infection is going to be fixed completely for free. That makes me feel better about treating my illnesses.

Note to Self

Don't serve several meals in one week that use bowls and large pots. For instance, if you are going to serve soup on Sunday, don't serve pasta to go in bowls on Monday and cook food in the Crock Pot on Wednesday and Thursday. See, on Sunday you weren't able to get everything in the dishwasher because the stockpot and Cuisinart took up lots of room. Then Monday you needed the stockpot again to cook the noodles AND the large skillet for the sauce, so again, there were a few leftover cereal bowls, etc. Wedneday came the crockpot. Again, it takes up lots of room in the washer dear! Now it is Thursday night, there are still leftover dishes (not the same ones from Monday,) and it is annoying. Luckily tomorrow is leftover/cocktail party night. I WILL be dish-free by Saturday.

Plates. Plates are good. You can fit a whole bunch of them in the washer all at once.

I Will Scream If...

I hear one more person say "sun-duh" in reference to an ice cream treat OR if I hear someone ask where highway "farty" is. WTF people?!?!?!

Sundae="sun-day" Look in a freaking dictionary.

40="for-tee" It has nothing to do with gassy emissions.

Bad Blogger

I have been chastised for not posting the recipes for my dinner last night. In an effort to appease Jamie and any others, I hereby give you the keys to my delightful dinner.

Maple Cream Sweet Potato Soup

Ingredients
1/2 cup dark maple syrup
1 cup heavy cream
1 cinnamon stick
3 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
2 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
1 medium onion, halved
4 ribs celery, halved
1 bay leaf
Salt
3 to 4 cups chicken stock, divided (use vegetable stock to make this vegetarian)
1 cup apple cider
A few grates fresh nutmeg
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, removed from stems
A few pinches cayenne pepper
Ground black pepper

Preparation
Place a small pot over medium heat with the syrup, heavy cream and cinnamon stick. Bring the liquid up to a bubble then reduce the heat to low and simmer until thickened and reduced, about 15 minutes.


Place the sweet potatoes, carrots, onion, celery and bay leaf into a medium-size stockpot and cover them with cold water. Season with salt and place over medium-high heat, bringing the liquid to a bubble. Reduce the heat to medium and cook the potatoes until tender, 15-18 minutes.


Drain the cooked potatoes and discard the onion, celery and bay leaf. Transfer the potatoes and carrots to a food processor, add a splash of chicken stock and puree until smooth, adding more stock as needed to keep things moving.


Return the pureed veggies to the pot they were cooked in and add the cider, remaining stock (add as little or as much as you like to get the consistency you want), nutmeg, thyme, cayenne and some more salt and pepper. Simmer the soup until heated through and thickened slightly, 3-4 minutes. Stir the reduced maple cream into the soup and serve.

From RR.

Griddled Cheddar-Apple Dippers

Ingredients
4 tablespoons butter
8 slices whole wheat sandwich bread
8 to 12 slices cheddar cheese, white or yellow
2 firm apples, such as Gala, Golden Delicious or Honeycrisp, cored and thinly sliced

Preparation
Place a large skillet over medium-high heat with 2 tablespoons of butter. Spread remaining butter on 4 slices of bread.


Lay the remaining slices of unbuttered bread down into the skillet and pile them up with 2 or 3 slices of cheese and a handful of sliced apples each.


Cap off each sandwich with a slice of buttered bread, butter side up. Cook the sammies until golden brown on the bottom, then flip and continue cooking until both sides are golden brown and the cheese has melted, 3-4 minutes per side.

Cut the finished sammies into sticks.

Also from RR.

Man that was a good meal. It far surpassed my Red Robin burger tonight, and I didn't feel overfull and almost ill after eating it. ;)

Dinner!!!!

I found the time to cook a real dinner tonight. I admit to the recipes being from Rachel Ray. She isn't my favorite, but this turned out great. Sweet Potato soup with maple cream and grilled cheese and apple sandwich dippers on the side. It was great, if I do say so myself. Homemade soup on a cold winter day is just so amazing.

Start to Finish

Well, my store is up and running! About time. Phew.

A few before pictures. Be sure to note the oh so stylish blue paint with fluffy white clouds. Also, the excellent front window coverings. Classy.










First things first, the random walls had to go.

















Painting and inventory.



















The finished product complete with holiday decorations and refreshments for the Grand Opening!

Tomorrow!!!!

I get to go visit my parents tomorrow! I love my family so much and miss them when we go a long time between visits. Plus, my cousin will be there with his wife and two kids. That will be fun. I'll miss my hubby, but the trip is short.

On a related note, I got in the A boarding group too!

Support Systems

Do you ever feel like you really can ONLY count on yourself? Today is one of those days where it feels like I am all alone in this world. I know I'm lucky because I do have people who love me, but there are times where it just feels like they couldn't care less about me. And of course, those are the days I most need support and love. Grand Opening is scheduled for next week, and I'm quite nervous about it. I got stuck with one piece of bad news today that puts me behind schedule by a day. Obviously that stresses me out since I only have like three more work days before said Grand Opening.

But before that, I got what I thought was a ray of hope. A local business person was in Chicago on a business trip and happened to talk to another business owner who is in my field. That person gave her my contact information, and the local person contacted me to offer help and advice about getting started. I was psyched. Hubbie's first reaction was to say that the local person almost certainly had ulterior motives. Why would he say that? Can't you be cautious without being totally distrusting of everyone you encounter? Then my mom was less than excited for me even though she had been pushing me to utilize my limited connections more.

I get that you have to be a little cautious in the business world. Totally! But can't people be even a little positive that something might be going my way? Sometimes, I just want to cry.

Haha!

This was a funny way to start my day. I love it when he stands up.

More Giveaways

I just found more giveaways on a blog! Thanks to Wearing Mascara for pointing me in the right direction.

I love all things monogrammed, so of course I entered. This blog thing is getting addictive. Anyway, click on her link below and get yourself entered!



Then Lipstick Diaries is giving away lip gloss and a Sephora GC! Woohoo! Let's hope I get lucky.

Pretty

I just redid my blog, and I like it. I may still change the stripes if I decide they are too busy, but for now, I'm digging it. I like the fall colors and that it just looks a little more polished. If you hate it, let me know though.

Oh What a Wonderful Sunday

Today was a great day! I originally was going to start by going shopping with a friend, but I realized I had put the start of brunch with my imaginary internet friends at the wrong time in my calendar. So, I called my shopping friend and bailed on her the got ready for brunch. I don't know how long it has been since I have had a chance to go out with a bunch of girls. I had never met any of them before, so I was a little nervous. The day was great though! Brunch itself was short and delicious. Huevos Rancheros... Yummy!

A bunch of the girls were ready to leave after about an hour and a half. Four of us moved to the bar though and talked for FOUR MORE HOURS! What a blast. Jenn, Megan, and Maria. Thanks for an awesome Sunday. All you other girls, I look forward to getting to know you more in the future. Thanks Kristal for organizing the whole thing.

What can I say?

I love makeup! I read this on another blog I follow, I here I go with my link to Miss Mascara's 100th post! Here's to hoping I win.

Beauty Blog

My 101 Things

1. I was born in NC

2. I haven't been there since I was 1

3. My brother is 8 years older than me

4. He arrived early

5. So the doctors expected me early

6. Mom took maternity leave and went back to work still PG with me

7. I finally arrived mid-October

8. After NC, we moved to IN

9. That is where we got our dog Shadow

10. We found him in the park

11. And took him down the slide with us

12. Dad put up signs, but no one else ever claimed him

13. We took him with us when we moved to TX

14. I was 6

15. I loved TX

16. In 2nd grade, I got hit by a car

17. I broke my leg

18. I dreamt that it happened the night before.

19. My grandmother died around this time

20. My parents say I used to talk to her after she died using my ladybug AM radio

21. My favorite babysitter ever was in TX

22. Her name was Carol

23. She is a nanny in Washinton DC now

24. She still keeps in touch.

25. I became theater geek

26. I won many awards for my acting.

27. When I was 12, we moved to MO

28. Jefferson City was the worst place ever

29. We lived close to the highway

30. I used to sleep in a ball under the covers

31. I thought that would save me if a psychokiller tried to come get me

32. I didn't sleep much in those years.

33. 6th grade was the first time I had a black kid in my class

34. Public schools in Jeff City suck big time

35. I went away to boarding school in 7th grade.

36. I had picked schools on the east coast

37. My parents said no

38. They sent me to boarding school in St. Louis

39. It was still a great experience

40. After 8th grade, they moved to NM

41. I went to school there for a year

42. The private school I attended was not as good as my boarding school

43. I was bored and did stupid stuff

44. I skipped 10th grade

45. I returned to my boarding school as a junior

46. I graduated with honors

47. In 12th grade, I got a perfect score on an English quiz

48. The teacher only gave two of those in his 30 year career

49. I had an eating disorder that year

50. I wish I could have the willpower to do that again.

51. I went to Smith College

52. It was cold as all hell.

53. It snowed on Halloween

54. I cried that morning

55. It kept snowing through April.

56. I cried then too

57. I gained all the weight back

58. I've never felt thin enough since then.

59. I rode competitively in college

60. I got a C- in college

61. I never had a C before that

62. I graduated a semester early.

63. My junior year, a girl in my dorm committed suicide

64. After college, I went to University of Texas for graduate school

65. I dropped out after two years

66. My advisor was mentally abusive to me

67. I almost died when I took too many pain killers.

68. I waited tables for a year so I could get my mind back together

69. I came to StL to teach after that

70. I taught at my old boarding school

71. Kids work way less hard now than they did then

72. There were parts of teaching that I loved

73. There were parts of teaching that I hated

74. I also coached vball

75. I always wished I could teach chemistry

76. I went back to grad school

77. I completed my masters

78. SLU was a huge step down

79. I don't think my degree from there is worth what I paid for it

80. I have no respect for it as a school

81. I considered going to law school

82. I hate being poor

83. I decided to open my own business instead

84. The economy terrifies me

85. I constantly question my intelligence

86. I have a genius IQ

87. My grad school adviser is still in my head

88. I met my husband in StL

89. I love him totally

90. I kind of resent that we will probably always live in StL

91. I hate living in StL

92. It gets way too cold

93. I think people here are pretty backwards

94. I want to have a baby

95. I can't imagine having a kid until I make quite a bit more money

96. I am terrified how much fatter I will get after having a kid

97. I have a cat

98. I lease an amazing horse

99. My husband has a dog

100. I fell off my horse today

101. I suspect that anyone who reads this will think I'm a depressed/crazy freak

TMI- Health Insurance

So with starting the new business, I left my old job through which we had our health insurance. About four months before it was scheduled to expire, I began asking for prices. Please can you tell me what our monthly costs will be? Please, please can you tell me? Can I please have the paperwork? Etc, etc. Well, do you know when I got the information? Two weeks before it expired. Yeah. And then it turned out that it would cost like $900 a month for the two of us!!!!!!! Wow. That was so not going to happen.

So we scrambled and found health insurance that would cost less than $300 a month. Phew. The problem was that it wouldn't start until October 1. Damn. So we had a decision to make. The think was, we could pay our COBRA any time until October 15 and be covered retroactively back to September 1 if we had an emergency. So we decided not to pay that first month and wait until our new plan kicked in 10/01. Nothing happened, thank goodness, and that was all fine. But without health insurance, I didn't fill my BCP. Now I'm starting my monthly visit, and the cramps are soooo bad. I can't sleep, I can't get comfortable, it basically just sucks. I can't wait to get back on track next week, but for now, I'm miserable.

My Foot

So I'm pretty sure I have a broken foot. My left foot is swolen and has been hurting for a week now. I sucked it up and went to the doctor today. They took x-rays, but those came back negative. I don't really understand why they did the x-rays though because the doctor thought is was a stress fracture since I hadn't had any trauma, and from my reading , everything indicated that x-rays won't show those, only an MRI would.

Now I'm under the exciting orders to let them know if it still hurts next week so they can do an MRI. I don't know that they can really do anything to fix it, but it seemed stupid to do the x-ray if they were already thinking it was a small fracture that wouldn't show up. Of course my foot is still hurting so that's making me a little more cranky too. They should have at least given me some better pain killers than my Advil. I'm taking that stuff like candy right now.

Progress progress!

Retail space lease- check!

First big vendor meeting- check!

I am feeling better about things now. Phew.

In other news, the election is cruising along. There probably won't be a debate tonight which is a real bummer. I really don't know how this is going to end. What I DO know is that partisan politics aren't going to help. Considering how close every recent election has been, there is no reason for politicians, of both parties, to continue to work for the fringes of their party. Most people are in the middle, so why can't they work for them? At some point, this HAS to change. However, I think things are going to get worse before they get better.

Drill, Baby, Drill

What more do I need to say? The most accurate description of the GOP I have heard lately was in reference to the fact that everyone at the convention is white. "America is changing, and the GOP isn't changing with it." The refusal to acknowledge that alternative fuel sources MUST be our first priority is just another example of the party's unwillingness to accept change.

Hurry Up ALREADY!!!!

Sheesh! This whole new business thing just takes FOR FREAKING EVER. At least I'm getting more startup money every day, and there is SOME progress being made. That being said, I'm still excited about this new thing. Right now though all I feel is frustrated. This week I should be getting a lease on a space signed, so that will be progress.

On another note, I seriously suspect the Republicans are shooting themselves in the foot with the McCain-Palin ticket. The next 10 weeks will be interesting though.

I'm Back!

My biggest news is that I'm not teaching any more. I'm opening my own tack store! Super exciting, but scary at the same time. It seems like, no matter what my plan is, I keep running into more obstacles.

The horse stuff though is awesome! I had a great clinic, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE my horse. Here's a cool pic from a recent show.

How can something so good go so bad?

1. My Friday started out so nice. I only had to work the afternoon, then DH and I went to a party together and had a delightful time. He went on to another get together, and I stayed at the first party for a bit longer.

2. My brother booked his visit for this summer. He's only ever been to StL once before, so it is exciting that he is coming for a short time.

3. I stopped procrastinating and finished a tedious project at work.

Where is the bad? On my way home from the party, I was talking to my brother and I heard a funny noise. I put on my flashers and saw lights flashing ahead of me. I pulled up behind the flares the police had set out and did the walk around my car. Did I mention I was on 44 which has almost no shoulder?

Anyway, my right rear tire was toast. Well, the cops were helping another person change a flat tire. They supposed that there was something in the road since both of us got flats at the same spot. Anyway, they changed my tire in like five minutes! How cool is that?

I mean, I guess it is Kirkwood and not a lot of craziness usually happens there, but still. I never would have guessed that the police would have changed my tire for me. They were two older guys who were really sweet. So, if you know a police officer, tell them that they have a big fan in me.

Prom!

We chaperoned the prom this year.  God I feel old.  It was fun though, and the kids were really good.  I enjoy getting a chance to dress  up every once in a while too. 

I can't believe how many people wore blue!

60 years?! You must be joking!

I saw a commercial by the Oil and Gas Industry this morning. It was so warm and fuzzy telling people not to worry about energy in the future because we have enough petroleum energy to last us 60 years!

The website

Come on! 60 years? That is no kind of foresight! We've known that our fossil fuels are running out for over 100 years, and no one has done anything to reduce our dependence on them. How are 60 more years going to help anyone? Of course, they are pushing to drill off-shore and in Alaska. If they put as much money into researching new energy options as they did buying ad time, we wouldn't be panicking the way we are now.

Oh yeah, and no one who lives in a city needs a huge Denali/Escalade/Suburban to haul around their children. Most people aren't exactly hauling horses or doing heavy farm work that requires that kind of truck.

Stupid Rain

If I don't get sunshine soon, I am going to go nuts.

That is all.

A New Leaf

I called in sick to work today.  One thing though, I'm not sick.  Hee!  If they would just give us personal days, then I would have been happy to be honest about the fact that I was taking the opportunity to ride with a great trainer who was only in town for a day and a half.  But no.  If I were to even ask for a personal day, I would get a 10 minute lecture about how we don't do those.  I'm sorry, but everyone needs personal days once in a while.  We don't even have official sick days.  This was only like my third one in six years though, so I'm not even too worried about it.  However, I do feel a little guilty about the lying thing.

As far as the clinic goes though, it was awesome!  I rode well, Jeff Cook was a great teacher, and Luke was so much fun.  Thank goodness spring may finally be here to stay.

Horse Vent

So in competitive English riding, there are three main disciplines: Hunter/Jumper, Dressage, and Eventing. I do h/j specifically hunters. This was originally intended to simulate field hunting, so the jumps are made of natural materials, and the horses are supposed to flow around and not spook at stuff. Jumpers jump bright colored stuff and go fast. It is easy for lay people to understand because they are trying to beat the clock.

Dressage is the pretty dancing that you see with the riders wearing top hats.

Eventing has a dressage component, a jumper component, and a cross country component that take place over three days. Here is where my vent lies. The eventers are nuts! They have changed their scoring criteria and they have changed the cross country courses to be much more technical and difficult but have also lowered the required times to complete these courses. This means that they gallop, hell bent, for all these really tricky fences.

How is this different than jumpers you ask? Jumper jumps fall down! Cross country folks go galloping across natural terrain and jump solid fences that don't move when you hit them. That means that if a horse catches his front end on one, then he has a VERY real shot at flipping over and breaking his or his rider's neck. There was a front page article about this in the NYTimes a couple weeks ago. Then this weekend TWO MORE horses has to be put down because of falls on the cross country course, and a rider is in critical condition with a broken jaw, ribs, collar bone, etc. These are top level people, so you can't even say that novice riders are causing the accidents.

It just annoys me so much that so many horses have been lost in recent years due to ridiculous changes in the sport. It also worries me that animal rights folks won't differentiate between the disciplines and will start making trouble for all of us. Sorry for the rant. I'm just upset about the situation on several different levels.

Hunters


Jumpers


Dressage


Cross Country

Scary

So, with all the changes coming my way next year, I decided that I needed to meet with my financial person and see where I stood in terms of retirement, etc.  Anyway, the news is not good.  I guess it isn't terrible, but it certainly isn't fabulous either.  However, we are now going to work towards improving the situation.  I'm opening a Roth IRA and buying cash value life insurance.  That money is certainly going to change some things in terms of my lifestyle now, but in the long run, I know I will be happy I'm looking to my future.

Even at 30, growing up can suck.

Luke Pics!

I finally took pictures of Luke.  There are saddle marks there, but he's still cute.

Uh oh PA

The early reports are coming in, and it looks like Hillary will win PA.  Crap!  I really wanted Barak to win and finally put an end to this thing.  Unfortunately, the longer it lasts, the more likely I think it is that Hillary will get the nomination.  With the real possibility of super-delegates coming into play, the scales seem to be tipping in Hillary's favor.  I just don't find her trustworthy, but aside from that, she is a divisive personality.  After the past eight years, the last thing we need is more division.  Nothing is settled yet though, so I will continue to hope.

I have to comment freely

So, there is trouble in paradise on the StLWed boards.  What do I have to say about it?  I'm shocked that it took so long to happen.  While I post on several boards, there are some basic things that I have always understood about internet chatting.  First, if you don't want the whole world to see or hear what you are saying, then a public chat room is not the place to share.  Does that mean it is RIGHT for people to go out of their way to cause trouble for others?  Of course not!  That is never right.  However, by putting yourself out there for the public to see, you are opening yourself up to that possibility.

Many girls on that site, some who left and some who are staying, never seemed to have a good understanding of that fact.  Posting last names, kids' names, where you live and/or work- all of these are generally considered to be a bad idea in the world of internet chatting.  I'm sad to see some of them get burned,  but at the same time they opened the door for some things to happen.

I also understand the people who are leaving just because so much of this stuff is just childish.  I mean really, we are never supposed to say Melissa's name again?  That seems WAY over the top to me.  Who has the right to say, never speak my name again?  No one!  Admins deleting posts, profiles, etc. is totally appropriate.  Censoring conversations so that certain ex-members are never mentioned again is absurd.

Chatting is way too much fun and a good distraction.  However, you have to take your privacy seriously and relax about most of the other stuff because, really, high school is totally over.

I don't wanna work!

The weather is beautiful outside, and what I really want to do is ride horses and enjoy spring. This combined with the fact that I know I am leaving this job soon makes my productivity very sketchy. This weekend was also way too crazy, so I can't even say that I'm relaxed for Monday.

I think my stress all started last week. Last Sunday, my trainer told me that I should consider changing horses from my baby to the new Eq horse who had just come back to the barn. This returning horse, Luke, had competed on a national level, and really knows his stuff. I've been riding better, and she thinks that a more made horse will make me step up and really push myself to excel. The think is that I LOVE my old boy, Stormy. He has so much personality, and I have done a lot with him in the last two years. He has started getting his lead changes, put on a lot of weight, and is just going well in general. However, I know that my trainer is right in pushing me to step up. It is always hard to say goodbye to such a cool part of your life though. Hopefully we can find a new person to love Stormy ASAP. He deserves someone who will adore him as much as I have.

I don't have any pictures of Luke yet, but I do have ones of Stormy. Here we are over the past two years. He is such a handsome devil.

Our first show.  I only found out I was even going to do it an hour before I rode.

Our first A show.

At the Thanksgiving show when we moved up a division.  Reserve Champion!

Here We Go Again

OK, I decided to start blogging again.  What the heck.