Cougar

A friend call me the other day to tell me that she heard this "really nice " single guy talk in church and she thought, “I should really line Chris up with this guy.” I giggled politely and said, “Well, that would be nice.” The problem was that she really did not know much about him. She knew the basics like where he grew-up, where he went to law school, that he is a lawyer for a DC law firm, he is divorced and he has a five year old little boy. However, she didn’t even know his name!

Well, the other night, I saw my friend and after looking at her ward directory, we figured out his name. Then I went home and did what any smart single woman does, I goggled him. Through Google I confirmed where he grew up; I even found the name of his high school. I confirmed where he went to law school, where he works and then I found out that he is 7 years younger than me (let’s just call me cougar!). I sent my friend a text and nicely told her that I wasn’t sure that I single guy in his late 20’s was going to be that excited about going out with a woman in her mid-thirties. I do know successful stories of women marrying younger men but still...7 years?! (My old boss did marry a man 10 years younger and they have been happily married for 25 years.) I usually date men older than me (the last two have been 8 years older). However, I am not going to second guess progress so, if he wants to go grab dinner, I am game. Who knows, I might have a little cougar in me after all.

Death of a Subaru

To my dear Subaru,

When you got sick a few weeks ago, I just thought it was something like a cold or a bad flu and as soon as you got new spark plugs and an oil change, you would be good as new. I really hoped that you would make a full recovery.

I remember the first day we met. Since then, you have been a great car and I have loved having you around. We have spent so much time together and I know that sometimes I took you for granted and for that I am sorry. You have put up with bad singing and bad dance moves. You have listened to countless hours of phone conversations, NPR, me-talking to myself including a some laughing and crying spells. You have been loyal and kind and I am going to miss you. Thank you for keeping me safe and transporting me to and fro.

I like to think that there is a place where old Subarus go to roll down their windows, turn up the radio and drive with ease through forests and across sandy beaches and over amazing bridges.

Please stay strong because I need you for a few more weeks and then you will be free.

Thank you for these great years together!

#16

Christmas is coming, put out the welcome mat
Chris is looking for a new cowboy hat
If you haven't got a ten gallon, a pair of boots will do
If you haven't a pair of boots, then Austin I'll come to you!

It is decided! (with some vocal opposition) I am going to Austin, Texas for the Christmas holiday. I am going to spend 5 1/2 days with my cousin Rob, his wife Liz and their 3 darling children. We are going to cook, play games, make crafts, watch movies and hopefully eat some BBQ and some homemade breakfast burritos.

My brother John is driving up from Houston between his shifts for hopefully a day or two. I am excited to go somewhere warmer and to have a relaxing trip. This will be my 16th flight this year and I can't believe this will be my second time to Austin since October. Austin is probably one of the coolest cities I have visited in the U.S. I have a mini-crush on Austin and I am looking forward to a wonderful holiday!

(Texas State Capitol)

(AMAZING BBQ at the Salt Lick outside Austin)

(Lance Armstrong's Bike Shop, Mellow Johnny's)

I will miss all of you who will not be in Austin but seriously don't you want to come?!!

Merry Christmas!

Mac Daddy

I have a terrific boss. No really, I do. He is funny, smart and a great manager. I love how he solves problems and this is important to me because my job is to solve the Human Resource problems. He is a great support and gives great advice.

This summer he asked me to help him coordinate a series of dinners at his home. He wanted to invite every employee over to his house for a cook-out. He said that he would do the cooking and he wanted the evenings to be casual and a way for employees to get to know him and each other in a fun atmosphere. So, I planned, coordinated and even helped cook. The evenings were fun events and because I am in charge of the HR Department, I was lucky enough to attend every single one. We had the same menu every dinner and the food was delicious every time.

So, I thought I would share my boss’ and my boss’ wife’s delicious cook-out recipes. My boss became so “famous” around the office for his Macaroni & Cheese that for a thank you gift we bought him and his wife aprons that said, “Mac Daddy and Mrs. Mac Daddy” and once you have tried the recipe, I think you will agree. It is awesome!

Four-Cheese Macaroni and Cheese

This recipe was first published in Saveur-Issue #129

kosher salt to taste

8 oz. hollow pasta, preferably

elbow macaroni or shells

3 slices crustless white bread

6 tbsp. unsalted butter

1/2 tsp. paprika

3 sprigs fresh thyme

2 shallots, minced

1 bay leaf

1/4 cup flour

1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

3 cups milk

10 oz. grated sharp white cheddar

(about 4 cups)

10 oz. grated Gruyère (about 4 cups)

6 oz. Velveeta, cut into 1/2" cubes

(about 1 1/4 cups)

1 oz. blue cheese, crumbled (about 1/4 cup)

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

*The Boss also adds a can of chopped tomatoes without the juice.

1. Heat oven to 375°. Bring a 4-qt. saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until cooked halfway through, about 3 minutes for elbow macaroni. Drain pasta; set pasta aside. Tear bread into small pieces and transfer to the bowl of a food processor. Process until finely ground; set aside. Return pan to medium heat and melt 3 tbsp. butter. Add bread crumbs and stir to combine. Transfer bread crumb mixture to a plate and set aside.

2. Wipe out pan and set over medium heat. Melt the remaining butter and add the paprika, thyme, shallots, and bay leaf; cook, stirring often, until shallots are soft, about 5 minutes. Add flour and cayenne and stir until mixture thickens, 1 minute. Whisk in milk and cook, continuing to whisk often, until sauce has thickened and coats the back of a spoon, about 10 minutes. Discard thyme and bay leaf and remove pan from heat.

3. Stir in cheddar, half the Gruyère, the Velveeta, and the blue cheese; continue stirring until smooth. Stir in pasta and season sauce with salt and pepper. Transfer mixture to an 8" x 8" baking dish. Sprinkle remaining Gruyère over top of pasta and then top with bread crumbs.

4. Transfer baking dish to an aluminum foil--–lined baking sheet and bake until macaroni and cheese is golden brown and bubbly, 30 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

SERVES 6 – 8

Broccoli Salad Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 head broccoli (cut into small pieces)
  
• 6 to 8 slices cooked bacon, crumbled (Boss' wife uses bacon bits real bacon)
• 1/2 cup chopped red onion
• 1/2 cup raisins, optional
• 8 ounces sharp Cheddar, cut into very small chunks
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• 1/4 cup sugar

Directions

Trim off the large leaves from the broccoli stem. Remove the tough stalk at the end and wash broccoli head thoroughly. Cut the head into flowerets and the stem into bite-size pieces. Place in a large bowl. Add the crumbled bacon, onion, raisins if using, and cheese. In a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients to make the dressing, stirring well. Add dressing to broccoli mixture and toss gently.

Rosa Mexicano Guacamole Recipe

1 tbsp white onion

cilantro

jalapeno

3 hass avocado

3 tbps diced tomato

2 tbs chopped cilantro

Tortilla chips

Directions:

1. Grind 1 tbsp. finely chopped white onion, 1 firmly packed tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro, 2 tsp. finely chopped jalapeño, and 1 tsp. salt together in a molcajete until all the ingredients are well ground. (Alternatively, use a fork to mash the ingredients to a paste in a wide bowl.)

2. Cut 3 medium-ripe hass avocados (about 8 ounces each) in half. Twist the halves to separate them and remove the pit with the tip of the knife. Place an avocado half, cut side up, in your palm and make 3 or 4 evenly spaced lengthwise cuts through its flesh down to the skin, without cutting through the skin. Make 4 crosswise cuts in the same fashion.

3. Scoop the diced avocado flesh into the molcajete. Repeat with remaining avocado halves. Gently fold the avocado into the chile–onion paste, keeping the avocado pieces fairly intact.

4. Add 3 tbsp. diced tomato, 2 firmly packed tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro, and 1 tbsp. finely chopped white onion.

5. Fold together all the ingredients. Taste and add salt, if necessary.

6. Serve immediately, directly from the molcajete (or bowl), with tortilla chips.

Makes 4 servings.

Bon Appetit!

On A Monthly Basis*

*If you are male, this post will not pertain to you. You might just want to skip it.

I could go into a long explanation of why this website works for me but it might be a little too much. Let’s just say that if you have a hard time remembering each month why you suddenly feel like eating everything in sight or you nothing sounds good to eat or you want to take off everyone’s heads or you don’t know why you are crying at the TV commercial or you don’t know why the pants that fit yesterday don’t fit today or you don’t know why you just aren’t feeling yourself or you don’t know why…(you can fill in the blank). Then if after IT occurs, you realize that all those silly things were happening for a reason and they actually happen every month then this website is for you. It is called Monthly Info and it is awesome. My favorite feature of the website is that it will send me email or text reminders that certain monthly events are coming. I set the email duration up and then it automatically reminds me based on the systems predictions of the next monthly event. It has been wonderful. Another feature I like is the fact that it keeps a record so when I go to the doctor and they ask me when the last time I had a monthly event, I can actually pull out a spreadsheet (downloaded from the website) that has information including duration of events, standard deviation between events, etc. In December I will have a year of data. It really has helped me recognize signs earlier and it has also helped me be prepared. I know this sounds a little nerdy (I AM a little nerdy) but it really works.

Oh, did I mention it is FREE! Try it out.

Racing

Eric loves the color red and I actually think you could call it a passion for red. I have to laugh because I am drawn to the color red in almost any form. Last year I bought the books, Hello Cupcake and Hello Again, Cupcake. They are great books full of amazing creations. Most of the materials needed for the creations you can find at the grocery store. My niece and nephews LOVE spending hours looking through the book and picking out creations they would like me to make them.

Eric told me that he wanted the squirrel cupcakes or the race car cupcakes. I felt weird about eating something that looked like a squirrel and was also about the size of a squirrel so I passed on making squirrel cupcakes. I told Eric it was a surprise. Here are the result of my efforts. This creation is one of the easier creations and I am glad I got to practice some of the techniques on his cake so I will be prepared for the other kid’s birthdays which are coming up early next year.

Eric LOVED the cupcakes, the race car driver and he especially loved the fact that it was red.

Happy Birthday Eric!

p.s. Yesterday I came home late from work and Eric was playing at the table when I heard him say to himself, “I love being six! It’s my lucky number.” I told him that six was also my lucky number and explained to him that we are both the sixth child in our families. He thought that was pretty cool.

Matchmaker

In April 2009, I went on two dates with a very nice guy (let’s call him Science Guy). We actually had some things in common like the fact that we grew-up within minutes of each other, we knew many of the same people and we both worked in science labs at Universities at one point in our lives. However after the two dates, I knew that the relationship wasn’t going forward and I sensed he thought the same thing. So, we said our good-byes and we moved on. I would like to say, THE END but it wasn’t the end.

A few months later I was sitting in church and I thought, “You know what?! Science Guy would be a good match for that single girl I met at church (let’s call her Science Girl).” I then proceeded to talk myself out of the match because really what could I do? The next week, the thought kept coming to me in very strange ways and I finally decided to act upon it.

So, I called Science Guy. At first he was defensive about the fact that he hadn’t called and it had been months since our last date. I quickly reassured him that I wasn’t calling him to somehow “reconnect” and he relaxed a bit. I asked him if he knew Science Girl and he said, “No.” so I told him about the thought that kept coming into my mind and I told him that I would love to set-up a meeting/ date between the two of them. I also might have mentioned how much in common I thought they had and how I thought they would be a great match. He was so nice about the whole thing and thanked me for thinking of him. Then he said that now that I explained to him who Science Girl was, he actually did know her and her sister. He had nice things to say about her married sister and Science Girl so I tried to close the deal. I said, “Well, I REALLY think you should ask her out.” He said he would think about it and I told him that I thought he was a really nice guy and that he deserved a really nice girl and that he should ask her out (I probably told him three times, yes we can say overkill). I think I was pretty blunt and forward but by the end of the conversation I had the feeling that he wasn’t going to call her.

Fast forward almost a year and a half later. I was at a basketball game last week (Go Wizards!) with some friends and Science Girl was there. She was sitting on a different row and I was sitting by a friend of mine who just got engaged (We’ll call her Bling). I was telling Bling about my Employee Referral/ Dating idea and then I told her the story about Science Guy and Science Girl (she knows both of them). She thought about the match for a second and then agreed that it could be a great match. Bling asked me to give her Science Guy’s phone number. She said that she was going to call him and let him know that she thinking about him and that she thought that he would make a good match with Science Girl. (She wasn’t going to tell him HOW she thought about the match.) The next morning I received this text from Bling, “I just talked to Science Guy. He was happy to take Science Girl’s info and ask her out. Yahoo! ……..I hope it works!” (Maybe it will just take two different people giving Science Guy the same idea that will get him to ask Science Girl out.)

So, back to my original theory of matchmaking, dating referrals can be successful and we should try and help others find matches. I think we should all keep our fingers crossed that maybe Science Guy and Science Girl might someday become a Science Family with little Science babies. (Too much?) Well, maybe we can just hope that Science Guy and Science Girl can have a nice dating experience and that this nice dating experience can lead to more confidence for both of them, which can lead to more dates for both of them which will eventually result in a marriage for both of them together or to different people. You just never know.