A Day In the Life....

I saw Kate at Elephantitas Alegres do this a few months back and I thought it was such a great post idea, so I totally stole it.  Hope you enjoy mine as much as I enjoyed reading hers!  This is my life on Thursday....

My terrier alarm goes off at 5:30 AM.  Petey hops off the bed and starts running around the room like a madman, hoping the jingling of his collar is enough to wake Ginger who sleeps in the other room and has a talent for barking us out of bed.  We've gotten wise to their conspiracy and Ginger now sleeps on the opposite side of the house and has a white noise machine, so Petey's antics are useless.  I walk across the bedroom, pick him up, and put him back in bed with us for another 30 minutes.

At 6 AM my real alarm goes off, I hit the snooze button and then I get up, take the dogs out, feed them, and then hop back into bed and hit the snooze button continuously until 7 AM.  At 7:10 I hop into the shower.  At 7:20 I host a conference call in my kitchen.  I should have gotten up earlier, so I lead the conference call sans pants.  ::sigh:: 

While I'm on the call I pop in a pod to my Keurig and fill up my pink sparkle travel mug I got in Vegas.  By 8 AM my call is over, I put on pants and makeup and am out the door by 8:15.

I don't have a long commute, in fact I only have to drive 3 miles and I don't have to get on any major highway.  My.  Commute.  RULES!  The whole way I rock out to Ke$ha.

I roll into my cube around 8:30 AM.  Here is where the magic happens.  In case you are new to the blog, I'm a geologist/environmental consultant.  Note that the magic is very messy and full of post-it notes.  I scarf down a half a cup of low fat cottage cheese and a banana for breakfast while I work.

This owl lives in my cube over my computer monitor next to my very professionally framed PG certificate.  You'd think a document I worked so hard to get would warrant a proper frame, but no, it's in a pocket protector.  The owl used to hang out in a tree in front of my office to scare off birds so they wouldn't poop on our cars (by the number of car washes I had to get, I'd say that was a fail).  They cut the tree down and this guy ended up in my cube.  He wears a bow because he's fancy.  I am currently scheming all sorts of holiday appropriate attire for it.  Anyone know how to fashion a pilgrim hat for a fake owl?  

I spend the day fielding one million phone calls and doing all sorts of tasks.  My desk is covered in papers and folders.  I don't like to get too specific in what I do, but just know I was super duper busy.  At lunch a coworker and I go to Maria's for lunch.  We go to Maria's at least once a week, usually on Mondays, but we haven't gone out to lunch all week and our day is pretty crazy, so this is a welcome break.

I come back to a million messages.  I accidentally left my cell phone at my desk when I went to lunch, but am kind of glad to have had an hour of peace and quiet.

Three PM rolls around and it's time for some Chai tea in my Longhorn Tervis tumbler and an apple cinnamon rice cake.  I continue on like this until 6 PM, by which point they've already shut the overhead lights off on me and I am the last person to leave the office. 

I get home around 6:15 and am greeted by the terriers, here's Ginger, a blurry, squirmy ball of fur who is wiggling and wagging all over the foot of the bed until I pet her hello.  I kiss the hubs hello, I change clothes, I freshen up and Christine  picks me up to go to see a movie at the Alamo.

Here's my movie outfit.  Gap curvy jeans, sweater by Old Navy, ring by the Limited, not pictured, red patent flats by Steve Madden.

On the way to the movie, I field a couple work calls (never a dull moment with my job) and fire off a couple work related text messages.  Finally we get to the Alamo and enjoy a lovely dinner, Malbec, and see Morning Glory, which is a totally cute chick flick. 

After the movie Christine drives me home, I have some quality time with Darryl, he has gone to dinner with Christine's husband while we were out, and by 11 PM I am passed out with Petey's body pressed up against my legs, I don't even hear Darryl come to bed....

Bachelorette Party Recap

A couple weekends ago we celebrated the bachelorette party of a certain Ex-Yankee and as documented by the lovely Mrs. Collins.  Janet and I planned the brunt of the affair, but Christine's other bridesmaids, who live far far away and were not able to attend contributed generously in both finances and spirit.  We started out the morning with all sorts of yummy breakfast treats and a Bellini bar inspired by the shower I attended thrown by the Waspy Redhead (fyi, if you don't have a blog I can link to, our friendship does not exist, kidding). 

We visited 3 wineries, Becker, Grape Creek, and Torre di Pietra.  These photos are from our last stop, because I was very busy with the important business of pounding as many glasses of wine as possible and couldn't be bothered to take photos.  Classy, I know.




Amelia's torso...seriously, I can't be friends with anyone without their own blog...





I made Janet hide behind the arbor and make tiger noises.  We.  were.  drunk.





I'm just goign to stroll through this vinyard with my glass of Dirty Girl.  Note that Janet and I felt the need to break into the "Dirty Girl" song a la Rob & Big.  Who else knows that song?  Favorite thing about that show and also favorite thing about Janet.





Frolicking in sundresses in a vineyard. We should be some sort of ad campaign for sundresses.  Or wine.  Or something completely not related to either.




The other Kelly and the bride to be deep in conversation, taking in a rockabilly/country band.





We played a naughty scratch off game on the car ride home.




And here were the favors I made with the hub's graphic design help.  Took a bottle of Becker Chardonnay and made custom wine labels.  Note that this was all the hubs.  I ride the short bus on all things computer graphic-ey.

The Week Ahead of Me

Today I picked up Gingy from the groomer after work, she won't come out of her crate, so I'm guessing she doesn't like her haircut, but I think she looks adorable. I weighed in at WW, only 3 more weeks of showing I can keep my weight stable until I become a lifetime member!

I think this week is going to blow by fast. Here's what I have on tap:

Wednesday-Ginger to the vet, workout with the Traininator, date night with the hubs or some variation thereof with what is left with our evening

Thursday-Patio wine time with the gals

Friday-head up to glamorous Waco, TX for work related meetings/training, etc, through Saturday

WW Wednesday, Skinny Bitch Edition

I am proud to announce that I hit my goal weight this week. With extra to spare! I'm done, in your face fat! I did a happy dance and drank champagne and bout a pair of victory black stilettos. I'm going to knock Darryl's socks off at the wedding we're going to this weekend. AND he gets back from China tomorrow night, his plane is already in the air! Here's to being unfat!

Wine Find and Rant

D and I have discovered our new favorite wine as of late is none other than Menage a Trois, which I believe I paid $8.99 for at World Market. What a steal! I'm relaxing post workout with a glass of it now, trying to resist my delicious leftover tres leches in the fridge. Why people don't make tres leches more often is beyond me, if you can pour milk on a cake, you can make a tres leches, easiest dessert ever.

And now I go into my rant, I saw an interview with the author of Busted on either Today or GMA (I get them confused). He was a New York Times economics reporter and managed to become a victim of predatory loans. I was infuriated as he told how he fell "victim" to these unscrupulous loan people. Seriously dude? I am pretty sure I was the biggest ditz to ever buy real estate (during the peak of these sorts of practices) and yet I didn't fall victim to that crap. I bought what I could afford. Yes it's not a McMansion, it's a small 3 bedroom in a modest 'hood. I don't live in a super trendy area or on a golf course because I couldn't afford it. Why is it so hard for people to admit to themselves that they can't afford things? What is up with America's sense of entitlement and excess. A) I didn't need a bigger house, even if I could afford one, I'm one person! B) I had a good income, but I also recognized more living expenses would mean beefing up my emergency savings fund and saving up for stuff like appliances and furniture so I didn't have to eat on the floor of my new house. Yes it was hard financially, I don't think I bought any new clothes for myself for an entire year, all my stuff was hand me downs from friends. I had to make sacrifices, but I didn't get in over my head. And now I'm supposed to bail these irresponsible people out? Granted I will because foreclosures in my area devalue my home price, but it's total crap.

Beef, It's What's For Dinner

Here's a couple little tips ladies, first, if you live near a Central Market, get signed up for their coupon mailings. I FINALLY got my first round of coupons this week and got 1 lb of chicken breast and a tortilla soup kit for FREE. Next week I get like $10 in free produce, another week I get $10 in flowers, etc. It's a little slice of heaven I plan on using all the time. I know about this largely because of Kristen at Life in the Mozart State and her hubby.

Secondly, let's talk beef. While I've rarely met a steak I didn't like, I have a real fondness for the petite fillet. According to the butcher folk at CM, the fillet mignon is essentially a slice of the beef tenderloin. Either way, those babies sell for like $35 a pound. My little trick is buying a piece of the tenderloin tip, which usually gets me a very satisfying cut for around $10. It's a bit tricky to cook since the thickness is a little uneven, but it can be done.

Today I picked up 3 tip pieces, one for me, 2 for Darryl and came home, seasoned each side with fresh ground pepper and sea salt. Then I placed them in a very hot pan with a bit of olive oil and seared each side for about 2 minutes. Then I moved the pan into a 350 degree oven for about 7 minutes, this amount of time can be adjusted according to how done you like your meat, but 130 degrees = medium rare. Just accept the fact that your steak will be cooked a bit unevenly, due to the shape of the tenderloin tip. We had a fillet mignon dinner at home for under $18 bucks. Just deal with the skinny end being a bit more done and focus on the thicker end.

To go with this, I made mashed sweet potatoes, salads, and a Gorgonzola, shallot, mushroom sauce. Not super diety, but if used sparingly as a condiment to the steak, not too damaging to the diet either. I served my fillets with my new favorite red, Estancia's Pinot Noir.