I Hate Snakes

True Story - I just single-handedly, with my bare hands (holding  a heavy shovel) killed this snake:

I know, you're probably thinking I'm one pretty brave woman.  Yes, yes I am... Here's how it all went down: Enda and I had gone for a quick walk during lunch, since it's finally pretty outside and somewhat warm.  When we got back, I noticed that the bark mulch in our front flower bed was moving ever so slightly.  Weird?  Enda noticed it too, and immediately went over to investigate.  That's when I saw it.  A little head.  Peering up through little nuggets of wood. And a little tongue, going in and out.

AAAAAAAUGH.  I don't like snakes.  I mean, I'm not one to panic and run away screaming - I was raised as a country girl in Central Texas, for crying out loud.  I have come up on more rattlesnakes* in my day then one might see in a Rattlesnake Roundup - sure doesn't mean I like the creatures.  They totally give me the heeby jeebies.  After I see one, I feel like they are EVERYWHERE, just waiting to crawl out from under something to bite me.  I have nightmares about them being in my bed.  I think back on scary stories from the Rescue 911 show in the 80s, about snakes getting in to campers' sleeping bags (which is the #1 reason I will never sleep out under the stars, EVER.)   My active imagination goes into OVERDRIVE when I see a snake...

So, obviously this one had to die.  Plus, I was pretty much convinced it was a baby Cottonmouth who had just hatched and was ready to bring wrath upon Peachtree Hills.  (This is not a totally unfounded fear - we have a creek in our neighborhood and there is the occasional spotting of a Cottonmouth/Water Moccasin.)

I called James, who seemed to support my murder plans.  I put Enda in the house, because she was getting a little too close to the snake.  I went out to the shed and grabbed the shovel, of course imagining that I would open the shed door to find millions of snakes jumping out at me.  Then, I proceeded to poke the hell out of the mulch until I could clearly see two parts of the snake.

Did that little sucker stop moving?  Of course not.  Because they take forever to die.  It's part of their torture technique.

James asked me to send him a picture, but that took a while because every time the body moved I had to run back to my safe spot on the porch.  After carefully examining the picture, he concluded that it was a "good snake".  Um, correction buddy, there is no such thing as a "good snake"**.  A "good" snake might kill bugs, but so will dangerous chemicals.  And we don't allow dangerous chemicals in our yard, so why should we make an exception for this ugly creature?

The End.

(Until later this afternoon when I resume my snake hunt and take the shovel to all the remaining flower beds.  Or find an exterminator who will actually be helpful without saying something like "ma'am, you can't really get rid of snakes in your yard".  Oh really, sir?  Well, you better believe I'm going to try....)

* Post-Posting Update #1 - Mother has pointed out to me that I have "not really encountered that many rattlesnakes in (my) short life".  She then proceeded to remind me of when I have come up on them, including the time one was laying in front of our door, and the time one was curled up under my swing set, and that other time when... Can we agree - even more than one encounter is "too many" encounters.  And that I can exaggerate if I want to on my blog; it's part of my creative license.  :)

** Post-Posting Update #2 - I have now confirmed that the snake is, in fact, a Storeria Dekayi.  Otherwise known as "a brown snake".  It's non-venemous.  Oh well, I'm not going to lose any sleep over it...

Enda's One Year Anniversary!

I cannot believe it, but it's been a FULL YEAR since we brought home our little vizsla baby, Enda.  I did a terrible job of celebrating her "real" birthday on January 24th, minus this quick shot (which only took about a half a pint of blueberries to get...)

But, I figured I certainly needed to document the first year anniversary of Enda being a Sasser.

Oh, where to even begin about this first year.  Honestly, there were several times when I had a good mind to return this little gal to her breeder in Oklahoma!  (Obviously kidding folks...)  She was (still is?) SO MUCH WORK.  And, I know dogs are work. But Enda goes above and beyond what are "normal" needs for a dog.  People say she is good practice for a child, but I honestly think a child will be easier than Enda.

So, what makes her so crazy:  well, Enda has a "go big or go home" mentality that makes her a force to be reckoned with.  Why go for a 1 mile walk when you can go jogging for 5 miles twice a day?  Why lay around on the couch when you could jump on, jump off, jump on, jump off 50 times in a minute?  Why walk up and down the stairs when you can race your mama and try to knock her down them? Why run up and sniff another dog at the park when you can run full speed and body slam them to the ground?

I'm not kidding, Enda gets 2-3 long walks a day (and these are power walks/jogs, not a stroll up the street); 1 - 2 park visits a day; and at least an hour outside stalking squirrels and encouraging you to chase her around the yard.  (She will not stay in the backyard by herself unless she has a human playmate.)   If she doesn't get all that exercise, then you can expect to see her crazy come out around 7PM.  She'll run figure eights around the house, chase the kitties, roll around on the ground like she's possessed by a demon, etc.  It's a fun time...

(Full disclosure: we knew this breed needed a lot of exercise. We did not go into this blindly. Most books we read - prior to getting her - said 2 hours FULL running, exercising, etc a day is required for a happy vizsla.  Part of me thinks we just didn't believe it.  Now we do...)

All this aside, what makes her craziness worth it: Honest to goodness, she is one of the most loving, affectionate, sweetest dogs I have ever seen.  If one of us takes her for a walk, she comes back and runs through the house until she can find the other and give them a kiss.  (If no one else is home, she will actually run up and down the stairs for about 10 minutes until she's convinced the other isn't there.  Then, she sulks.)  She loves to give hugs (she'll actually wrap her arms around you!) and kisses.  She will manage to maneuver herself into your lap until you're holding her like a (50 lb) baby.  When you come home from a long trip, she refuses to leave your side (or again, your lap) for a good few hours.  When take her in the car, she sits in the back but sticks her head through so she can rest it on your shoulder (sometimes kissing your ear as if to say "thanks for letting me go for a ride!")

I could go on and on...but it's clear that this little gal is completely enamored with her people (and whoever comes over to see her people, as many of our friends and family can attest to.)  As an affectionate, lovey-dovey person myself, this completely warms my heart and makes me forget that she is a royal pain in the bum 90% of the day.  And, just maybe - MAYBE - she takes a bit after her mama.  "Low Maintenance" has never been used to describe me, and I've been called "crazy" myself a time or two... :)

We love you little Enda.  Thanks for a year of keeping us on our toes, making our lives lively, and all your sloppy kisses.

(Last) Weekend Update

I promise, we haven't disappeared!  We are still here!  Well, we're in different "heres" right now: James is holding down the fort in Atlanta while I'm living the "life" up in New York City.  And by "life" I mean "real life", as in, LONG meetings and LOTS of working. 

Because I am sure no one wants to hear about my meetings, I'll spend some time recounting all the fun we did this past weekend.  Let's look back at my iPhone library to see what kind of crazy shenanigans the Sassers got in to...

First, it started with a FABULOUS birthday on Friday.  Yes, I was born on the Ides of March, which is, like, the second most exciting famous day in March (after St. Patty's day, of course).  I received so many warm wishes on Facebook and texts that it made my day.  And, my parents remembered my brithday and called me!  (This is sort of a joke: they have never forgotten my birthday and always call me.  However, every year I have this very real fear that they will forget and I will be heartbroken.  I think James actually breathes a sigh of relief when he hears them calling - it means I will stop worrying about my parents 'potentially' forgetting my birthday.  If this is not a weird thing to bring up with my therapist, well, I really don't know what else is.) 

I spent the better part of my birthday afternoon sitting in the salon chair, trying to make my hair look less disastrous than it's been looking lately. After that, I joined James in Piedmont Park where he was getting some professional photos done for business.  I got in on the action with a couple of photos for myself - I mean, I had to take advantage of the fresh hair! 

The photo shoot took longer than expected, so we missed our reservation at our original restaurant choice.  (Plus, we brought Enda to the photo shoot for a "family shot".  Please don't judge...)  This worked out fine in the end, because it meant we hit up the local little Italian place next to our house.  DELICIOUS. 

On Saturday, a colleague of mine came in to town to run her 19th marathon and mark off Georgia from her list of states.  We had a fun Saturday of eating, catching up, and enjoying the be-a-utiful Spring-like weather.  James was very busy planting and getting the beds ready for even more planting.  Oh, and trying to assess the damage I did to his truck last week when I didn't quite make it into our driveway....

Sunday we were up bright and early to drop Elaine off at the marathon start, so we took advantage of both of us being awake (I'm a late riser on the weekends) and went to breakfast. We decided to try this little place close to us called R. Thomas Deluxe Grill.  From the outside, it looks like a flea market:  yard art, bright paint, birds in cages...crazy stuff.  Inside wasn't much calmer, with disco balls, bright colored lights, laser lights on the ceiling.  Again, pretty crazy.  It's open 24 hours a day, and since we were there at 6AM it meant we were eating with all the club crowd who was just about to go the bed.  Despite all the craziness, the food was fantastic!  And despite being a mainly vegan restaurant, they did serve bacon and eggs (thank goodness, or James would have starved!) 

That evening, Ms. Leron and Aunt Wyllene came over for dinner and to bring me my birthday cake:  RED VELVET, my favorite.  It did not disappoint, was the most moist cake I've ever tasted.  Everyone enjoyed it...

Including Enda, who is learning the art of counter surfing...  :)

Such a fantastic weekend!  And, the good thing about being so behind in the blog, we're close to yet another one!

 

Recipe: "Refried" Beans

I will just come out and admit it: I like Taco Bell.  I realize it's, like, the lowest form of fast food out there on the market, but something about the bean burritos and Gorditas just call my name.  I think it started in college when I lived at the Scottish Rite dorm.  Sunday night was the only meal that we did not have meal service, so I got used to hitting up the Taco Bell down the street for $.79 burritos.  Bad, bad habit (which I hardly ever partake in now, since James would rather starve a slow death than run to the border).

And, I know it's probably bad for me.  Even something as "healthy" as a bean is probably so highly altered that it's doing more harm than good.  However, I still have the bean burrito cravings!!  What to do, what to do...

Enter 100 Days of Real Food, a website that I both love and hate (but still frequently review). I love the recipes, but hate how 50% of the things I eat and enjoy usually wind up on her "Eat This at Your Own Risk" list.  I can't even imagine what she would tell me about Taco Hell.

She had a recipe recently for "refried" beans in the crock pot, and I immediately pinned it. Yum - to use of some bean burritos, perhaps?! I had to try it out.

Such a simple recipe: dried beans (that you don't have to soak, who can remember to do that?!), onion, jalapeños, spices. Cook a long time, then mash up. I must say, the flavor was delicious!

Okay, maybe it doesn't look too good, but I promise - delicious!

My only challenge with the recipe is that it makes a LOT. (The picture was after I had already filled up a few containers!) And since I am the only bean eater in the house, that's a whole bunch of frijoles to consume. Fortunately, they freeze well, too.  :)

So, here you go, a fun little recipe for Friday:

"Refried" Bean Recipe (with my adjustments)

(Adapated from: 100 Days of Real Food)

• 1 onion, roughly chopped
• 2 C dried pinto beans, rinsed
• 1 whole fresh jalepeno, rinse, seeded, and chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 t salt
• 1/2 t black pepper
• Some cumin AND some coriander
• 6 C of water (adding a bit more as needed over time)

Combine everything in a large slow cooker and cook on low for roughly 8 hours.  The original recipe says to remove the large onion chunks, but I like onion and left them in.  Do drain the excess liquid, but save some in case you need to add back in.  Original recipe called for a potato masher, but I used my handy dandy immersion blender to make it smooth (add in a little more of the liquid).  YUM!

That's What I Like About Texas

Two Texas posts in a row?  I know, I know, but I couldn't help myself!  Two weekends ago, we celebrated the great State of Texas. This past weekend, I was ACTUALLY IN the great State of Texas.  How happy did that make me? Very happy, folks.

I had been hemmin' and hawin' about wanting to go home to Waco to see my padres, since I hadn't been home since Christmas and won't get back until Memorial Day.   James had to travel to DC for the week and weekend, so he brilliantly suggested that I find a flight and enjoy some 1:1 with my folks.  This was, like, 2 weeks ago.  Fortunately, we were able to finagle a route that still had seats and didn't require a million Delta miles.

The weekend was just great.  I ended up seeing so many more of my family members than I expected. In fact, I saw all of my immediate family, with the exception of my oldest brother and sister-in-law.  I'll just have to look forward to May when I can hang out with them!

1. Obviously me and my mama (such a small picture!) - we had a LOT of fun this weekend, and even had a chance to go shopping.  And, we tried to clean out her closet(s).  Which was a challenge... :)

2. My sister, Stephanie - a very unexpected surprise since she lives in Denton and I hadn't planned to see her!  But, her kiddos were also staying with my parents this weekend, and she met my Dad and me in Hillsborough to drop them off.

3. My super cute little great niece, Brielle, who had so much fun with her Aunt Jen Jen.  (I didn't snap a picture with her mom and dad, but it was fun to catch up with them, too.)

4. My other super cute niece, Tori, who was sweet enough to decorate this very lovely cake for a little early birthday celebration.

5. The weekend crew - my niece (Tori), Mother, nephew (Tristan), Daddy, ME - super happy to see my family, brother's GF (Shawntel), and brother (Kelly).  Of course, we were at Poppa Rollo's pizza on Friday night. It's not a trip to Waco without it.

6. Saying goodbye to my Daddy at the airport - the hardest way to end a great trip!

Lots of fun activities over the course of the weekend, including lots of cooking, lots of eating, and lots of Big XII women's basketball watching. Oh, and multiple trips to HEB Plus.  Because I can find a million reasons to go to HEB. So many, in fact, that I had to borrow another bag to get home with all my loot.  (Well, my HEB purchases - such as multiple bags of Houston Blend coffee - plus birthday presents, plus frozen deer meat and hog meat from my brother.  You know, the important things that I can't cross the state line without.)

Did I mention that we ate a lot?  Well, we did.  When I'm only in Texas a few times a year, I have to take advantage of all my favorites...

1. Bush's chicken.  Such good, crispy chicken tenders.  I'm pretty sure they cook with trans fat, which just breaks my heart.  But, oh well - worth it.

2.  ThunderCloud Subs.  When I was trying to hold back tears in the Austin airport after saying goodbye, seeing this immediately lifted my spirits.  I haven't eaten one of their yummy subs since college!

3. Poppa Rollos Pizza.  I've already explained why this is always on the agenda.  My favorite pizza joint.

4. Jalepeno Poppers Cheese Curls.  Now, I actually didn't know these were missing from my life...but, they were.  Holy goodness, that's a lot of good flavor in a cheese curl.  In general, I feel like you can find some really great chips in Texas.  This is most likely due to their proximity to Mexico, who has - by far - the most outstanding chip collection of any other country I've been to.

5 / 6. Deer Sausage and Steaks (grilled by my Dad) and Homemade Deviled Eggs, Corn Casserole and Pasta Salad (made by my mom and Shawntel). Who needs to go out a lot when the family cooks this good.

7. Kolaches.  If someone can find a decent kolache within a closer driving distance to me than West, Texas, then please - for the love - send me the address.  Because I've yet to find anything that even comes close to these babies.  (Actually, take that back - I've yet to even FIND a kolache outside of Texas.)  We bought a few half dozens of the fruit, cream cheese, and meat kolaches.  They were all gone by Sunday, minus the couple I stowed away in my purse for James.

8. Dairy Queen.  Something about Texas just makes me want Dairy Queen.  Their motto, "That's what I like about Tex-as", gets stuck in my head and I feel the need for a blizzard.  This one, outside the little town of McGregor, Texas, hit the spot.

I'm sure you can all agree that it was a pretty fabulous weekend.  Seeing all my fam, eating so much good food, spending some time in my home State.  Can't complain one bit!  Well, except for the fact that James missed out on all the fun.  :)

I'm already looking forward to May when I'll see all this gang PLUS about 30 more of the fam and family friends.

Happy Birthday, Texas!

Ah, March 2nd - Texas Independence Day.  I don't know how many other people actually celebrate their State's birthday...but then again, how many other states actually operated as a sovereign nation for nine years? Um, that would be none.  How many other states defended their freedom and liberty against a powerful nation to win their Independence? Nope, not a one of you.

So, naturally, we needed to celebrate 177 years of Texas being awesome.

Over the past year, we have met a great group of neighbors who all live within 7 houses on our street.   Everyone is about the same age, everyone is super fun, and around half of them are from Texas or went to a Texas school.  Needless to say, everyone gets along well, and Texas Independence Day seemed like a great reason to get together and have some fun.

I have to brag on my honey, because he really anchored the food spread with some darn good smoked wings and ribs.  YUM, they were delicious.  I also contributed some jalepeno cornbread (made from a great recipe in the Homesick Texan cookbook), and then the neighbors all brought so much other great stuff: Love Dip (shout out to Central Market!) and Fritos, homemade salsas and Xochitl chips, potato salad, fruit, and stuffed jalepenos.  So delicious!

Of course, we had the right drinks to support such an event:  Lone Star, the new Lone Start Bock (that my parents brought us from Texas), Shiner Bock, homemade Margaritas, and REAL Dublin Dr. Pepper.

People showed up dressed to celebrate our great State, too.  Loved this festive attire.  And seriously - the little guy in Wranglers and baby cowboy boots?  Too cute for words!

And, because it's not a birthday party without a cake, I also made sure we had something a little sweet to commemorate such a day.

Overall, a really fun time!  It makes us feel very blessed to have such great neighbors (and now friends).  And also such a fun reason to celebrate - Happy Birthday, Texas!