Holy Jalapeno Pickles!

     If you know me at all, you know about my extreme love for pickles! Since I was a young girl, I have always had a slight obsession with pickles and anything pickle flavored! In fact, my sisters and I use to  share a celebratory pickle juice drinking at every family barbeque! So, last night, I decided to make some spicy whole pickles. I remember trying them once at my Aunt Fudge's house in Texas and not liking them. (Aunt Fudge and Uncle Pete always had a huge jar of them laying around.) I was a kid at the time, so they were probably a little too spicy for me! What was I thinking? So, I've decided to try them again, as an adult! On a late night Winn-Dixie run last night, I grabbed the necessary items:

     

     This is my first time buying the "Giant" jar of pickles that I've been coveting for so long. Man, am I one happy girl!

Me and my "pickle baby"

     First of all, I had to have the hubby open the jar. Clearly, his muscles work a lot better than mine do!!

     Next I had to pour some pickle juice into another jar of pickles to make some room for the jalapenos. NOT DOWN THE DRAIN! Who in their right mind would waste the precious juice??

     After making some room, add the whole bottle of jalapenos. I had to take out 4 of the pickles and used a fork to push the jalapenos to the bottom of the jar! 

     Then, I added the master of all creole spices that every respectable cajun would own....

If you're from Louisiana, you eat this on practically everything!

     I put them in the fridge to soak and I suspect that they should be ready to eat when I get home from work! I can't wait to try one! Justin complained that I was "wasting" the jalapenos, but I assured him that the pickle flavored jalapenos would be eaten-whether I had to find a way to incorporate them into a recipe or just eat them with a fork! Besides, the Spicy Pickles are gonna be SOOOOOOOO worth it! I'm sure he'll agree!   

 

                                                                

Radical Round-Up!

It's that time again!! Here are this weeks Radical Round-Ups! Let me know what you think!

#1.

BAHAHA! Love it!

#2.

For all my Jersey Shore fans! Yes, I must admit, I watch Jersey Shore... don't judge!

#3.

Redneck curlers! I wonder if they actually work!

#4.

Even if you don't like Glee, you can agree that this rendition of Michael Jackson's "Human Nature" is pretty awesome!

#5

I couldn't resist putting another one of these things up! Especially when it's about my home state!

     Here's to the weekend!

Monday Blues

     It's clearly a Monday! I could feel it's effects as soon as my alarm went off this morning. Even hitting snooze 5 times couldn't get rid of my Monday blues! I blame this unfortunate event solely on the King Cake making festivities!
     The rents' came into town Saturday afternoon. We ate some lunch and then went on a walk to the nearest park- Sanlando park. It was less than a mile from house which was a really exciting discovery! However, when we got to the park entrance, we noticed under the park rules and regulations that it said "No Pets". I mean really? What kind of park won't allow adorable little puppies? Well, clearly, this one. We had to turn around since we had Lily Pup with us but decided to go ahead and walk to Crane's Roost park since I knew that she was allowed there. The leisurely stroll that we had planned ended up turning into a mile & 1/2 power walk to get to the park. Once we got there, we noticed that there was a large area blocked off from dogs for a middle eastern festival that was going on complete with tents and vendors. Just our luck that every park was discriminating against dogs on this particular Saturday! HATERS! So.... after taking a short stroll in the small area that allowed dogs, we decided to go ahead and head back to the house since it was starting to get late anyways. When it was all said in done, we had walked about 4 miles. So, at least we got some cardio in. And if anything, I know that Lily had a great time!
     That night, my mom and I went to go see Emotions Dance Company perform

     

     The performance was awesome! The choreography was great and the question and answer style format of the show was unexpected and very enjoyable! I really loved being able to hear the history behind each dance and how the choreographer, Larissa Humiston.Watching the show really made me miss dancing and realize that I need to find a way to make dance my career in some way shape or form. I just love it too much to do anything else!

     After the performance on Saturday night, we stopped by Wal Mart on the way home to pick up some ingredients for our homemade King Cake. We started making it as soon as we got home but didn't realize that it took over 2 hours to let the dough rise. So, we were up until 3:30 AM making that darn cake. We didn't ice it until this morning though- when we ate it. I must say that it turned out delicious. However, the tons of icing that we filled it with seemed to disappear or rather soak into the cake. I'll have figure out how to perfect the art of King Cake making.  

The King Cake in it's pre-bake state

After baking it! It kinda lost the "ring" effect. so much for having a hollow center.

The King Cake in all it's glory after being iced and sprinkled. Wal Mart didn't have purple sprinkles so we had so improvise. 

     
     Sunday afternoon, Justin had a baseball game. The first couple of innings there was no scoring. Then all of a sudden, the other team  scored 3 runs in the 3rd inning and then scoring one more around the 6th . UGH! For a while, the score was 3-0 them. Then, around the 8th or 9th inning, we came back scoring 3 runs. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to win. But, it was a close and interesting came and the guys played pretty good. We'll get them next time!  

At least the ladies had a good time drinking margaritas! We know how to watch a baseball game!!

     Overall, I had a wonderful weekend with the rents' even if the Knights did lose. I had a blast hangin out with them and getting practically no sleep. I guess having the Monday blues is well worth it!

    

Radical Round-Up!

     

     So, I've decided to do a "weekly round-up" every Friday to share all of my favorite things that I've found throughout the week from a funny picture to an awesome video on youtube! I hope you enjoy my top 5 finds!

#1.

                                   This picture makes me laugh so hard because it's really accurate! If you click on the actual picture, it'll get bigger and you can read the captions!

#2

This video cracks me up! Totally made my day!

#3

I know I already posted a picture of my mom with the one we gave her, but I couldn't resist posting it again! I just love them so much!Click  HERE to get your own pair on Etsy!

#4

Lily decided to jump into bed with me while I was asleep. I guess she thought that my tummy was the appropriate place to rest her little head!

#5

 

    A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that 1,100 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.Three minutes went by, and a middle aged man notic...ed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace, and stopped for a few seconds, and then hurried up to meet his schedule. A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping, and continued to walk.  A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.
      The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried, but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally, the mother pushed hard, and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.
      In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money, but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition. No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the most talented musicians in the world. He had just played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, on a violin worth $3.5 million dollars.
      Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100. This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste, and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?

One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be:
 
If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?



     I hope you like my Radical Round-Up. What are yours?

Be Mine

     So, I've been training someone at work since last week which is the reason for my lack of blogging! But, alas, I am back! Happy belated Valentine's Day to everyone! I hope it was a fabulous day! I had a nice evening with the hubby getting dinner at Spice Modern Steakhouse downtown. We had never been there and had a really good time. The food was very food and the atmosphere was intimate. I didn't think about taking pictures until after we had left the restaurant!....Rookie mistake! ; )
     After seeing people post things about Valentine's Day on their Facebook page, I got to thinkin....If you would have asked me how I felt about Valentine's Day a couple of years ago, my answer would have been much different than it is today! While I enjoy getting flowers and eating at nice restaurants, I just feel that the "holiday" is very overdone. I really don't care to get a heart shaped box of Russell Stover chocolate- I mean really, does anyone actually like the way they taste? However, Godiva is a totally different story. I will ALWAYS welcome some Godiva (My thighs....not so much). The point is, so much money gets spent celebrating one day of "love" when I feel like we should be expressing this kind of appreciation for one another year round. I think Valentine's Day meant more to me before I got married because I didn't have an anniversary to celebrate. Now that I'm married, I'd rather focus all the extravagant hooplah towards my anniversary. While I did enjoy my evening out, I would have been content with a homemade candle lit dinner and a bottle of wine. Maybe next year we'll start a new tradition!

      One of the "Redneck Wine Glasses" we sent my mom for Valentine's Day!

     My parents are coming into town this weekend for President's Day and I'm really hoping that they bring the wine glasses! If so, it's on like donkey kong!!

    

  

Cool Kid

     As I'm sitting here at work, I am thinking about all the things that I could be doing if I wasn't working this weekend. The list is pretty extensive and the thought of trying to find the time to cross off the things on my "To Do" list makes me cringe.

                                                                     

  
    *Sigh* maybe I'll get some of it done today.

    One of Justin's buddies came into town last night from Tampa. He's gonna be hanging out for the weekend since he hasn't seen Justin in a while. So, tonight they're going to go watch the UFC fight with another mutual friend and have some man-time. It's cool, I know that Justin misses him a lot so I don't mind hangin out with the pup at the house by myself again (Justin went to the Magic game with a different friend last night).
    I've been trying out this new thing called Independence. It sounds silly, but it's really hard for me. Growing up, I always had a lot of people surrounding me. I have 2 sisters and parents who always made sure to have plenty of family time with us. We went on family vacations multiple times out of the year and always had cousins over to play with. So..... THAT BEING SAID...I've always had a hard time being alone. But, I'm trying hard to be more independent and making Justin feel like he's allowed to have "Guy-time" without repercussions.  Besides, Lily Pup and I know how to party without "Daddy" around.

                                               Don't let her fool you, she's a party animal!

            In other news, I watched "The Experiment" last night which I definitely recommend seeing. From what I understand, it's based on a true-story which just makes it that much more insane. The plot is about 26 men that are chosen to be guinea pigs for a psychology experiment  where they basically pretend to be prison guards and inmates. Lets just say that things get out of control quickly. I love these kinda of movies however, my nails, or rather my thumb nails, don't seem to share my thought. EVERY single time that I watch a thriller or suspense movie, I end up chewing the heck out of my thumb nails-and only my thumb nails. I guess I'll be filing down the rest of my nails now! Thanks Adrien Brody!!

         A big event is happening today!..... I am FINALLY getting an Iphone!! Whoo Hoo! I can't freakin believe it! We had been putting it off for a really long time cause I was waiting for the Iphone 4s to come out so that the Iphone 4 price would drop. Well, I'm finally taking the plunge into the world that is Iphone land. The downside? I am phone-less today at work while Justin goes to AT&T and I feel so naked! But it'll be so worth it to be one of the cool kids!

     So, before I peace out for today.... I leave you with this: If you consider yourself a fashionista, you should check out my sis-in-laws blog:  http://theprettyfactor.blogspot.com/

    If  you love it, which you will, go HERE and vote for her blog to win an award!

 Happy Weekend!

                                                     

 

Caged

   So, I must confess...I have been DVRin' the MTV show "Caged". Lately it's been conflicting with other shows so we've been canceling the recording. I am ashamed to admit it, but I kinda like the show. No, not for the content or amazing story line. Not even for the production quality. The sole reason that I enjoyed watching the series premiere last night (we're always behind on shows) was because the show takes place in Minden, Louisiana. Minden is about 20 or 30 min away from my hometown, Shreveport. So, naturally, it grabbed my attention. Watching all of the good ol' country boys dip tobacco and have garage "parties" consisting of about 10 people, instantly brought me back to my high school days. It felt like I was takin' a trip down memory lane.
     Half way through the show, Justin turned to me and said "Why are you talking with an accent?". I immediately got a little defensive. What was he thinking? This is how I always talk! Clearly, I was kidding myself. He was right- the accents I were watchin' on T.V was definitely wearing off on me. It kinda made me a little sad. Not that I want to sound "country" or uneducated. I definitely don't want that. However, when I tell people that I grew up in Louisiana, I don't want them to be shocked or say "Really? You don't have an accent." Then, I have to explain that I've lived here for 5 years and it's kinda worn off.... but it comes out when I get agitated or drink. Look, if it comes out, it comes out. If not, it doesn't mean that I'm "pretending" or "faking it" on the occasions that it does slip.
       I doubt we'll continue watching "Caged" just because the show itself really blows. But it was nice to see it just for the bittersweet feeling it brought me.