A Thickfreakness Time

A little old, and a little new for ya.........I also mentioned another one of my favorite songs they sing a while back.

A continuum from last weekend..........

I was so worried about packing everything I needed to survive an entire day outside, away from home, inside the tiniest over the shoulder purse ever invented, that I forgot a vitally important fun ingredient: OUR TICKETS TO THE CONCERT. 

Imagine that. 

So we had to turn around and go back home before getting to sink our teeth into some delicious Gorgonzola fries at Burger Girl. A must eat. Try them!

Since we were running late, my mouth was watering by the time our patty melt arrived, a completely natural reaction, considering the place has walls and walls of pictures featuring every famous person you could imagine eating a hamburger. In all my hastiness, I performed my second stupid act of the day.

I put horseradish sauce on my half of the patty melt, thinking it was mayo sauce. 

Wow, that was double gross. 

Jessica looks at me like this all the time. I know what she's thinking, "Bless her little heart. She's retarded, but I still love her."

At least Patrick knows how to do something right. He refused to wear pants because it was warm outside. But he did wear shorts, and he invented a genius way of sneaking my bottle of vodka into the venue. I'm not going into detail, but I'll give you a hint.

  Picture this: Crotch Rocket. 

This is my Edge Fest excited face!!!

Chris roamed around, but came to visit us every now and then to make sure we were partying hard enough!

Does anyone see anything funny about this picture? Look closely..............

I loved how this guy, in the band I've never heard of, picked up his keyboard and started playing it like a stand-up bass. He would get all excited and spin it around in circles while making hard-core faces. I have one of those piano keyboards, and let me tell you, they only weigh about 10,001 pounds, so I just drag mine. I give him super props, and his head banging buddies duper props for being able to shake their brains so hard and still remember the words to the songs.

Our seats were perfectly strategically nestled between both Stage 1 and Stage 2, so we danced in our seats for a while and saved feet. 

It looks like Jessica loves Bobby a lot, but really she's just getting close to him to steal his body heat. She's a weenie in the shade. 

They only thing I let her outdo me in is running (she's as bad-ass runner that I'll never catch up to), so I sent Pat some love. I think he liked it. 

I don't know what is is about rock concerts, funny costumes, and crazy hair colors, but I love the creativity.  Jessie said she ate too many eggs on Easter (so she turned into a bunny). 

One word: Cake. Good word all around. Good eats, and good listens. 

We stayed out of the mosh pit's way for a while, but eventually wondered into the arena. We had to stay in a gated off area, since we bought cheaper tickets, but Patrick wasn't going to let a little ol' thing like a 6 foot tall tarp get in his way!!! 

A few things that make my husband happy: Live Music, check. Beer, check. A Handful, check. 

We love Tim and Lara, and they love us....even though I got too crazy at a Blue October concert once, and kept shaking my fist in Tim's face by accident. He forgives me. 

Just after Garbage went off stage, a girl came up to us and asked us how many people were in our group. It just so happened her group was leaving, and they offered us their wrist bands to get into the gated area!! 

My faith in human kindness is once again restored. 

We graciously took them, ghetto tied them on with no regards to which wrist they should go on, and sneaked our happy butts through the guards hoping no one would notice our rough bands.

It worked!!!

This was a phenomenal accomplishment, after seeing several people get caught in the act of trying to sneak in, and others getting literally thrown back over the gate by guards. 

 Let these faces be known as our ecstatically happy faces!!!

The set was so pretty. I loved this disco ball that appeared from no where and made the stage light up like a starry night. 

And a dramatic ending, lights in perfect synchrony with the beat of the music. 

If you don't know who The Black Keys are, you should think about broadening your musical horizons. It's just 2 very talented dudes, making music babies, in an appropriate, completely non-sexual way, I think, dishing out the hippest beat in blues since sliced bread.........if sliced bread liked to play/sing blues music. They've been around for years, but seem to be making their first big dent into the radio and commercial world with their last album.

 Check them out, old and new. 

Who's your favorite band out of this list: Blue October, Cake, Cage the Elephant, Evanescence, Garbage, Neon Trees, The Arctic Monkeys', Switchfoot, The Black Keys, The Ting Tings?

The Flea that Bit My Ass

Disclaimer:

I'm usually very right about most things, but on this day, I couldn't have been more wrong. It's a good thing I have a tolerable, loving family. 

You might not be able to tell by the looks on our faces, but I screwed up big time on Saturday.

 Two months ago, my mother and I planned a day for her to come visit so we could haggle together at Third Monday McKinney Trade Days. It only takes place the weekend before the 3rd monday of every month. That should be easy to figure out, right? 

She almost didn't come, and I gave her such a hard time about flaking-out on me, she not only came, but she brought a chunk of my favorite family members with her! They drove 2 hours to pick me up, and then 30 more minutes to get to our destination, for the love of flea markets!

***Tiffini was driving, while both our mothers' and Memma were in their own world cackling in the back seats, and I was in the front giving directions***

Me: Go this way, go that way, make a right here, and we should see it on.....our.......................

Tiff: ...........

Me: Uh oh.

Tiff: What?

Me: *Started smiling uncomfortably in disbelief and mortification*  That's where it's suppose to be, but..............it's empty.

Tiff: Are you serious? *Laughing at me in disbelief*

Me: OH. EM. GEE. How could this have happened? *Immediately started Google searching for the schedule on my phone*

Tiff: We can't tell them.

Me: We have to tell them. There's no way around it. They wont believe we're lost forever!

Tiff: Well lets just drive a little way before we say anything.

*****A few moments pass with the two of us giggling at the utter irony of it all*******

Tiff (known for being the one to change her mind): *Looks up into the rearview mirror and nonchalantly directs her voice at everyone.*  Hey, do ya'll want to just go to the mall instead?

Everyone else in the car: NOOOOOO!!!! Why in the world would we do that?

Me: Becuase..........we may have come here on the wrong weekend.........and the flea market may be.........*gulp*....empty........*wince*....

Patrick always says that I'm a peer-pressure-er, and I guess this time the trip that almost never happened, turned around to bite me in the ass.........but I got some amazing home-made chocolate covered coconut macaroons out of the deal (thanks Memma), a new pair of earrings, a new plant's life dwindling at the palms of my hands (thanks Mom), and can now rest easy knowing my family loves me enough to drive 5 hours round trip just to go to the mall!!! But only at the expense of my humility: Aunt Susie was on her phone immediately, calling to tell everyone she knows what happened.

At least I took them to their very first Cheesecake Factory taste-bud explosion adventure!!! They all drooled over the deliciousness, which made me very happy to take part in such a memorable moment in one's life. 

And my mom got to see her grand-dogs for a little while, so it wasn't such a complete loss!

Later that night, we had dinner at Cyclone Anaya's Mexican Kitchen in the fruity part of town, and then headed over to Katy Trail Ice House. Another first. It's set up as an Austin style beer garden in Uptown. 

*Sigh* Austin, how I love thee.....

We were forced to park valet, which Patrick and I both hate. We are faithful "park and walk" people, each eager to enjoy the weather, sustain independence, and burn a few calories.....oh yeah, and save the extra money. But to our surprise the cost was "tip only". Talking about pressure. I had no idea how much to leave. I was only going to give the guy $3, but Patrick made me fork over $5. Does that make me cheap, or practical? (We're talking about the same girl that sneaks in her own liquor at every place I go to avoid paying the up-price for an adult beverage.)

The celebration was for Ale's birthday. In her honor, I stayed seated at my picnic table all night so she could stand next to me and feel a little taller for once. That was the best present I had to offer (because I'm cheap). 

And then we had to hit the fast track to bed, for our big Sunday plans.


Have you ever made big plans for something, to find out AFTER getting there, you made a mistake on the date????

Eye of the Tiger

Music and history; two things forever linked together. 

It was our first time to experience the Granada Theater in Dallas. It doesn't just look old, it is old; over 60 years old to be less than exact, and still has almost all of it's original coolness......so what better person to go see there than the vintage loving Ben Kweller??

(Sorry for looking possessed; I promise it's only the good kind, with love for my Hunny.)

We like to stand above the crowd.....actually, unless he is surrounded by NBA players, Patrick is always standing above the crowd with all his tallness......but he sacrifices closeness to the stage so I can have room to dance and see over other people's heads. We found a cozy spot with a clear view on the balcony. The entire venue was standing room only, but tickets were only $19, and I hear you get what you pay for. Actually, at first we were pretty annoyed we could only get our tickets at Will-call, but had a change of heart when we discovered Granada keeps it old-school so scalpers can't buy up the tickets and sell them at a higher price. Now I'm thinking all venues should take lessons from them.

We listened to a couple of groovy warm-up bands while waiting for Ben's debut, and between set up's they had a twitter board scrolling updated tweets from people at the theater, speaking @ the event. I couldn't resist getting involved in the action, so I got to tweeting (We admired it up on the screen for a whole 5 minutes before it was pushed off by everyone else's senseless tweets.): 

"Kayla ‏ @kpLOVINGit

@granadatheater I have the sexiest husband in this joint. You can drool but you can't touch."

Speaking of vintage, I wore my mom's tiger dress that she loved when she was in her early 20's!!! Not to crush any numbers, but that puts it at around 30 years old. I even got a compliment on my tiger that night. It's very neat how fashion does loops. 

B.K. came out rocking it in his jean jacket and white washed nut huggers just as we'd anticipated.  He jammed a little electric guitar, a little acoustic, a little piano, and fancied us with a little solo action. The line up was a great mix of old and new, and I was impressed by the packed crowd. No one I talk to ever seems to know who he is, but now I see we aren't the only kooks in the city that know every word to his songs.
 He'll always hold a special place in my heart, reminding me of the day Patrick first sang to me. Oh the sweet times of newness.

If you like what you've heard so far, check out "Wasted and Ready", "Sha Sha", or his Ice Ice Baby cover "BK Baby". I'm telling you, it's good stuff. 

Do you have any vintage clothing that has special meaning to you?

Run to Happiness

     I completely slacked on everything but fun this weekend. And when I say everything, I mean yesterday I only got out of bed to get food or pee. Patrick and I watched 4 movies: Rango, The Rebound, Precious, and Conan O'Brien Can't Stop. Quite a variety! 

     Besides needing a ton of sleep to catch up from our jam packed schedule of live music and congregating with some of our favorite people, one of the reasons I was bed bound may have been determined by the fact I could barely walk without limping on both sides and making "ouch" noises every time I took a step! It all started a few of months ago when a few different people tired to convince me to steer from my normal style of reads and invest my time into

 a novel named: Born to Run. 

     I resisted for a while, but eventually gave in to curiosity. Let me just say, it was nothing like I had prematurely judged it to be, and I'd recommend the book to anyone, especially if they've ever tinkered with the idea of learning to love running. It's an inspirational string of true stories, creatively tied into one, told by a man who was on a personal mission to find the answers to a similar question we all ask ourselves in one way or another. Along the way, he ended up discovering a whole different culture of people with a enlightened attitude towards life, and learning what these people never forgot: the deeper meaning tied between happiness and running.

     I finished the book last week, and contained myself as long as I could before going out to buy a pair of minimalist shoes, which was roughly 2 days. I have such good self-control!

It was an extremely difficult choice to make. I've already been making small changes during my training, and have noticed a huge positive difference in the way my body feels after a run, but now that I don't have any of kind race in the near future, I can focus on making some

 big changes for the better. 

So, do I wean myself to a barefoot shoe by picking a transition version like the Brooks Pure Cadence? Or do I just go all the way, cutting out the middle man, and choose the Merrell Vibram? If money wasn't an issue, I'd bought both. Using the Books' for my long distance, and the Merrell's for short distance, until I had a better feel of the whole technique........but since I just bought new running shoes a little over a month ago, I figure I better use them for a while. 

    I chose the Vibram's that look more like a normal shoe, so I don't have to worry about the toe separation thing being a bother, and people won't stare at me like I'm a crazed lunatic. Win. Win. 

Needless to say, by comparison you can see the extreme difference between my Axis Gel Duomax and the newbies. 

I was so excited I woke up early Saturday morning, only squeezing in a mere 4 hours of sleep, so I could run in my new kicks! I kept it short, limiting myself to 1 mile, adhering to all the forewarnings I  received from those who pushed too far in the beginning......and felt great until Monday morning. The insides of my lower legs are so sore I feel like crawling instead of walking!!! It's weird because I thought my calves would be more sore; they don't seem to be affected at all. 

It will be an interesting journey, that's for sure, but life's all about the ride. 

Have any personal thought's or experiences with barefoot running?

Bok Choy and Curry Shrimp: Wal-lah

A few months ago I'd never heard of Bok Choy, and now I crave it. I've had a few people ask me, "What IS  it?" To that, I'd have to describe IT  as a green leafy Asian veggie with a mild flavor, served best stir fried with garlic and topped with a protein, otherwise known as pure awesomeness.......But that is just my opinion.

I enjoy experimenting with flavors, so I made this Bok Choy with fresh ground ginger and minced garlic, topped with curry seasoned shrimp, feta cheese and sunflower seeds. It was so delicious, I ate it for 4 meals in a row, and then licked the empty left-over bowl clean.......just kidding......or am I? 

Ingredients:

Greens:

Bok Choy (I used baby Bok Choy this time, but like the "adult" kind also)

Minced Ginger root ("Peel" it using a potato peeler, then "mince" it by sliding it on a cheese grader)

Minced Garlic (I cheat and buy the Costco size bottle of minced garlic)

Olive oil

Protien:

Shrimp, devained

Curry Powder

Lemon Pepper

Olive oil

Garnish:

Feta Cheese

Sunflower seeds


Drizzle skillet with olive oil. Clean and chop Bok Choy, then throw in skillet with ginger and garlic. Cook on medium/high until tender/wilted.
Drizzle skillet with olive oil, add shrimp and season to taste with Lemon Pepper and Curry Powder. Cook on medium/high until done/white.

Put layer of cooked Bok Choy in bowl, top with shrimp, then garnish with Feta Cheese and Sunflower Seeds to taste.

Now you're a regular ol' Asian. 

Wal-Lah!!! 

Beautiful Work for a Lazy Sunday

(Here's one of the songs we sang together this weekend. The White Stripes are super cool, and I found this absurdly cute illustrated video of the song on you tube. It's a must see.)

Weekends like this make the differential pay at work completely not worth it. I came home to hang with my Hunny, who sang sweet songs to me on the couch after we ate dinner together.....on the couch. 

He got poison ivy on his arm while taking the dogs to the park earlier that morning, so I played nurse and bandaged him up.......aren't we sweet?

Sunday, we slept in, listening to the sound of thunder outside, and then I made a trip to Home Depot to liven up our porch. My Mom and Nana had already sent me home with a car full of plants, so I got a few more things to tie it all together. 

{When I was a little girl, my mother used to spend time out in her garden. I remember it to be a very large square garden at the base of the hill in our back yard. She'd be out there tending to the asparagus and pulling weeds, and I'd stand there at the edge of where the grass and dirt collide, tears rolling down my cheeks, face flushed pink with distress and anger. 

I don't remember crying when I got in a physical fight with the boys next door, or gashing my shin open while sprinting through the yard and crashing into a horseshoe post.........nope. I remember crying for my mother on the outer boundaries of her hobby. Why? I have no clue. I loved the dirt.....maybe she told me I wasn't allowed in there? Maybe she remembers..........

I wish I had paid more attention all those times she was in her garden, though. Because I don't know Jack from Jill about growing a  damn plant.}

I learned a lot while I was there. Who knew you shouldn't just use "potting mix", alone, to pot your plants with???? Not me!!! I thought the word "mix" meant everything was already mixed together for me. I also didn't know I could save a crap-load of money by actually buying a bag of crap (manure) and a bag of moisture smart soil, instead of buying it already mixed together as potting soil. I feel so smart now......and so stupid for killing countless plants in the past by planting them only in potting mix. 

I always wondered why water would run out the pot as fast as I poured it.

We laid down lava rocks, so Sumo couldn't dig in the mud by the the fence anymore, and threw out lots of grass seed, in hopes that it will grow!

 How do you like my "Wall Flowers"? I relocated these from the front porch to the back yard, to help give our brick wall of a fence a more cozy feel. There are perennials, with a durability of -20F, require minimal to no water, and enjoy anything from full shade to full sun exposure.  I'm so iron flower savvy.

 I planted three different kinds of mint by the back door for a little aroma therapy....and to use in my drinks at home. Chocolate mint, orange mint, and apple mint! Ooooo la la. 

 I've had our wind chimes here since we moved in, and love listening to them sing, but I added this shelf by the door so we could have a place to put our shoes without Sumo being able to reach them and wrestle them across the yard! 

 I love my new Jack Daniels barrel; it has such a vintage feel. I love that it has a history, and can now retire in it's old age to sunbathing in my back yard. 

 It's not the New Orleans style sanctuary of my dreams, but it only took me one afternoon to complete and it's all the money I'm willing to invest into a rent home. I'm actually typing this, while chilling in that green rocking chair, at this very moment.......and I must say, it's quite nice out here. 

Patrick made fried chicken AND blackened chicken with sweet seasoned french fries while I was finishing up the yard work, and we wrapped up the evening watching home videos on the T.V. 

It was really starting to freak me out how exactly the same I am from years past. Every time something happened on video, or a conversation was transpiring, I would say something to Patrick about it, and a few seconds later we would hear me say the exact same thing on video. Weird.

Before we knew it, 4 hours had flown by and it was time for bed.

Sumo had already beat us to the punchline. He worked hard out in the yard too, sticking his nose in everything we were doing, eating the grass seed as fast we we could throw it out, and biting at the water from the hose. 

Another weekend gone.

Have you done your planting/yard work this spring? Do you ever just sit for hours watching old home videos?

Braved the Pain

Who says Friday the 13th has to be unlucky? 

While other people in the world dealt with their irrational fear of the superstitious date, I decided to make it transformation day.

 I've had mixed feelings about getting my second sock done. Not because I didn't know what I wanted, or didn't look forward to it's beauty. My fear was aggravating the nerve pain that I've battled since I broke one of my metatarsals almost 2 years ago. It randomly radiates down my foot and through my toes, less now than before, but often still makes a nasty appearance after I've worked a few nights in a row. 

I decided to suck it up and go for it. That's what I did when I registered that for the half marathon while knowing it would be a battle with my knee pain and everything worked out in the end, right? Sometimes you just have to brave the pain to earn a gain. 

I've known exactly what I wanted for some time now, I just needed Germ to help me fit it all together in a fluid design. I think he was probably wishing he had someone to help him put it together in a design, because I literally laid on that table sweating bullets, with my foot as a canvas for 4 hours before the drawing and erasing came to a halt. After all, I can't do anything simply, and I presented him with a highly difficult project, knowing he is a talented enough artist to pull it off. Every artist needs a solid challenge every now and then, right?

1. Waves as the main focus. No one ever does that, I was informed; water is usually used as a fill in. Instead of trying to convince me to do something else, he kept at the drawing board until he was happy with the design.

2. Incorporating a snow flake into the scheme. So many snow flakes come out flat, or dull.....but we found a way to give it interest. Creating it using negative space (like with my starry night on my right foot, so the two feet will have a common artistic style).

3. To cover up my Caduceus. Not that I don't like it anymore. I do, it has special meaning to me, but it is in an extremely odd position, and more often than not, people just recognize it as a Doctor's symbol instead of representing the medical profession in itself. 

4. I wanted all of this on my foot. I guess it's a tad obvious that the foot is not the most flat or symmetrical of extremities. If that one factor isn't enough to deal with, certain parts of the foot don't hold ink well due to the nature of the skin, so the art has to flow around that.

Meaning:

For as long as I can remember, water has been a huge part of my life. I grew up on the river, never went a summer without spending hours at the lake, spent my honeymoon, and the year after, listening to the waves of the ocean, and couldn't live through a Texas summer if I didn't constantly stay submerged in agua. It is one of my lifelines.

There are many meanings to a Lotus Flower/Water Lily, all of which are positive beliefs, surrounding purity and beauty. It remains clean and vibrant, even in dirty ponds. And I take it as a duty to myself to always stay positive and smiling, vibrant as the lotus, no mater how murky the waters in life may get. Eventually a new tide will come. Oh, and did I mention I would die without the water, just as the water lily?

My snowflake has so many memories behind it. Not only is snow beautiful, every flake special and unique, it falls abundantly in the mountains.....where I was engaged.....where I spent so many family vacations......where I long to live. It's made of water, and it's tied to my happiness. 

Germ was, gingerly put, pressed for time......considering how many hours he spent just perfecting the design of my foot sleeve, AKA "sock", so he could only complete the outline work. (I guess it was an "unlucky day" for all his clients that got their appointment times pushed back a few hours at the last minute, on a friday night!) It's very abstract as of now, and I'm dying to see the finished result, but patience is a virtue..........so I hear.
I get a great deal of compliments from random strangers on my owl; I know my waves are going to be just as beautiful.
The good news is the 1 hour of needle-work didn't feel half as painful as I feared it would, and I only have a little swelling/bruising to deal with, as opposed to the post result of toughing out 3.5 hours of needle-work in my very first session on my right foot!

Do you have a tattoo? Would you ever consider getting one? Why or why not? If yes.....what would you get?

Are We Human, Are We Dancer, or Was it Just the Beerita?

(This is the song that was playing for end of my story.)

There's a single person in our family that takes as many pictures as me. I've mention her before; my grandmother, Nana. She calls me her "first born".......or also "Kale-ya". And sometimes she calls me "Ally".....but then again, she calls cousin Allison, "Kayla" a lot. We laugh about this. 

You probably can't tell we are family by looking at this picture....but we are. Totally........and sometimes I get in trouble for being too much of a smart ass, but it makes me happy.

I believe in doing what makes you happy, as long as it isn't harmful to others.

Nana believes in displaying perverted frogs on her front porch for the world's amusement. That also makes me happy. Look how pleased that little fellow is with himself. He's almost as charming as those characters I enjoy viewing during my drive down south.

I went for a record quick trip to have lunch with my mom, Starbucks with Nana, and have Allison accompany me while I got my new tattoo started. 

My mom pretended like she was going to buy me lunch, but in the end I end, she conned me into covering the tab. I'm pretty sure it was all part of her grand scheme. 

After my tattooing session was finished, we followed tradition by hitting up Little Mexico for some quality cheap food and tasty margaritas. While we were in the "powder room", we were devastatingly disgusted to find there wasn't any soap in the dispenser. But then Allison decided to put her fingers in the dixie cup, containing what I thought was some drunkard's mixed drink they left in the bathroom. Luckily,  as it turns out, the blue substance wasn't a Curacao Liquor infused beverage, but a ghetto supply of liquid soap! Alas!! 

It was our first night hanging out since she became a real adult and turned 21, so it caused for celebration. 

I tried my first ever Beerita. It was amazing. Seriously, the best of both worlds........and I only needed one to feel transformed into a gringo karaoke music dancing machine.

We were the only white girls in the restaurant by day, turned latino karaoke club by night, and when it was time to go home, I was just getting started. I danced my little heart out as Allison lead me out the door, but I couldn't help but notice how excited the people seemed as we made our way through front.

A light bulb went off inside me, and half way through the parking lot I stopped. 

"What are you doing?" Allison asked.

"I have to go back in there." I said.

"Why?"

"Because I want to dance!! I know that song! I want to dance so bad!" I yelled back, as I ran towards the door of Little Mexico. How could I not be fired up with a song like that playing?

She didn't follow me. 

I swung open the door, waltzing in while displaying my best moves, and everyone in the room started to clap in synchrony with the beat of the song, cheering me on and making those awesomely joyous yelling noises that Mexican's make when they are excited.

I took it all in for about 45 seconds, then turned back around and exited the building. 

"You need to go back in there and dance, girl!" Some lady said to me that was standing outside in a little group, watching the whole thing.

"Nah, I've got to hit the road before my cousin leaves me in the dust."

And then we went home, laughing so hard.

And then we laughed some more with Nana.

And then we went to bed, exhausted. 

That was fun.

What did you do on Friday the Thirteenth?