shame on you!!!

SHAME ON YOU, INA GARTEN!!!!!!

recently it has come to the attention of the public that celebrity chef ina garten(of food network, barefoot contessa) denied a little 6 year old boy his make a wish, which was to cook a meal with her. she stated a year ago that she was just to busy due to her book tour. a year later make a wish calls her to see if she could make this little boy's wish a dream come true and she stated, "i don't have the time. i can't do all charities and blah, blah, blah." really? it's not like they were asking her to donate a liver or millions of dollars, just some time to fulfill a dream of a boy who's dying of cancer. i cannot believe this woman.
i am an avid watcher of food network and at one time i liked her show, but i plan on boycotting her show(exclusively). i hope that food network cancels her show and decides to stand up for this little boy. what i think is awesome is that two other food network personalities(more popular than ina and probably busier too) have offered to make a meal with the boy. how amazing? they have busy schedules but heard that this kid wanted to make a meal with her, she denied and they stepped up. food network is constantly doing charity work and charity this and food for hunger and so many amazing things to help charities. i hope they see what this selfish woman has done and take action.

home, home on the range...

i can't tell you how much i'm looking forward to going home(even if it's only for 3 days). i cherish every visit to arizona.
i get so excited as i drive through west gallup and i see the huge state flag sign. my heart beats really fast and i blast my music.
i've been making this trip now for 6 or so years.
some may ask why i moved if i love arizona so much, but really what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, or the absence makes the heart grow fonder(whichever).
i miss arizona more now than i did when i first left, but back then i was running from my problems(when in reality i was creating more problems for myself), but i have yet to move back, scared that i'll fall back into my old ways and feel the same way i did back then and i don't think i'm quite ready for that, besides, i want to return home with a bsn so i can have a career and not just some job.
so every year, i make the 900 mile trip 3-5 times to spend certain holidays and birthdays with those i love the most.
tomorrow d and i are going out to celebrate his 4th birthday with my side of the family. i think after spending his other three b-days with his dad's side of the family, it would only be fair to spend this birthday with my side.
i also really miss my grandma, my seth, my sister, my lily and my margot and my dad and mom. it's hard to let month after month pass and not get to see them and know that i chose this but it's for the best.
sure, one day in the next few years i'll choose to move home and i'll be happy to live in the sweltering heat, but for now these trips are worth the wear and tear on my car, the whole day behind a wheel... it means seeing the people i love and care about the most.

teen mom 2

*long drawn out sigh*

geez, this last week's teen mom was... well... wow.
let's start with my least favorite girl ,kailyn. i can't believe she had the guts to just tell jo the way she did and expect something different from what happened. seriously? does she not remember all the things that jo and his family has done for her? she is so disrespectful. i think jo is acting a little immature holding her clothes hostage, but he does have a right to get his money back. after all, she did borrow it but holding her stupid clothes and shoes hostage isn't right. neither is asking the cops about the whole custody bit(even though it's absolutely true) it will not look good for him in front of a judge if he chooses to do that, but then again, his family can afford an attorney and maybe the baby is better off with jo and his parents. that seems to be where he's at most of the time anyway. i wish kailyn could watch herself doing this. she looks so bad and so does suzi. i had so much faith in kailyn in the beginning but you know... dr. drew warns kailyn about turning out like her mother.
jenelle, poor, blind, jenelle. i don't think her mom should have freaked out as bad as she did on her about taking the baby to the store but whatever... her mom does have custody(which she likes to throw in jenelle's face), but leaving to jersey with your loser boyfriend and lying about it... not cool. i think she should have been mature and told her mom. either way her mom would have gotten upset and her mom knew she was with keifer, so what makes the difference? and using her mom's credit card is a bad, bad, bad idea.
the whole chelsea and adam thing did not surprise me one bit. it was coming. their family and friends knew it was coming. damn1 did she expect different from a man that yells at her, talks to her like crap? doesn't have the motivation to get a job? i'm glad she doesn't act all crazy when he leaves and that she stay strong, but i have a feeling she'll keep taking more from him. she's not through with adam. not yet and it's a shame.
corey and leah...
yep, still love em. i think they continue to grow and mature as parents and yeah, they may not be super smart or classy but they have have love and if you have love, well, you have it all.

american idol

so, did you watch american idol this last week?
so good, wasn't it?

my top 5
1. casey abrams
2. james durbin
3. paul mcdonald
4.naima
5.scotty mccreery

if you haven't watched this season... shame on you!! it's awesome.

daylee's birthday!

thought i'd try green. since my little boy was born on st. patty's day.
anyways,
i wrote a little bit about my car accident and i've been working frantically with the adjusters and the body shop trying to get my car in so that i could leave next week to go home for a visit. i didn't think the rental car company would let me take the rental out of town, but to my very surprise they do!!!! the best part? the best part being they are going to let me either take a dodge avenger(:D) or a crappy ford focus. either in my opinion are better than putting all those miles on my camry. so, i'm pretty jazzed about that, my little man will be four this thursday. i cannot believe how fast times flies. just yesterday i was rocking him, nursing him and snuggling him. now, it's hard to get a kiss! he's just too busy for mommy, he hasn't rocked with me in years and even if he wanted to, the rocker is in the local dump or someone rescued it. who knows? daylee is very much my little nerd. which is fine. i just thought it'd be sethikins and not the d-man. daylee is so in love with star wars(both old and new), he-man and she-ra, xmen and all the nerdy/comic book geek stuff. it's just funny because he's only four and i can tell that these things are important to him already, but he's still a fantastic fellow and if anyone dares to say different, well, i'll knock their teeth out. no offense...
i digress...
anyways, so yeah, four years old. my last baby. *sigh*
i know i can change my mind, but i know myself well enough to know that daylee james is my second and last child. seth aaron was my first and now he'll be eleven in july!!! i don't feel that old!!!! i just know the Lord only gives you what you can handle and i truly think that is why i have boys!!!
so, this st. patty's day, whether you stay in and eat bubbles and squeak, go have a green beer or spend the day doing your own irish thing. i hope it's fun and makes you smile and fills your heart.

just a reminder...

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.................................... TEEN MOM 2..............................................................
.................................... TONIGHT!!!!..............................................................

i am a .... FOODIE!!!

all my life i have loved food. i think someone along the way should have told me to put down the fork, but i have a passion for cooking and for eating. i have my most favorite spots in every city i've lived in or traveled to... and i thought it'd be a neat idea to share them with y'all in hopes that you might want to taste them too.
i'll start with three and then continually post more and more.
i truly do hope that if you're ever in amarillo or phoenix or california that you'll really go try these places out.

1. carolina's(amarillo, texas)
wow. last friday was my first time trying carolina's and boy, oh boy, was it super fantastic. in amarillo there are probably 5 italian restaurants that are not the olive garden. i've tried napoli's and pescaro's and neither of them wowed me in any form or fashion, but carolina's is a hidden gem. it's a small building off of wolflin and it's non-descript, you have to know where you're going or you probably won't find it. the decor isn't wonderful, but they boast wood-fired italian. they have a casual fine dining setting, no booths(only tables) and they aren't super busy(even on a friday night). after being seated and drinks ordered this delicous wood fired bread comes to your table and it's still in loaf form but pieces are cut half way through so you have to grab and pull. and like many italian restaurants there are olive oil, parmesan cheese, salt, pepper and dried chili peppers on your table but there are also little bread plates that you use to put oil and parm or salt(what have you) to dip the bread in. mind you the bread is phenomenal on its own but dipped lightly in the olive oil. so good. i ordered the manicooti(my italian staple. with easy sauce and a side ceasar salad). when the ceasar salad came to the table i was astonished on how much you get. it's a huge plate with heaping piles of creamy, salty ceasar salad. every piece of lettuce was covered in dressing and cheese and had so many croutons, then when my manicotti arrived it was bubbly and smelled heavenly! there were 4 rolls of the manicotti stuffed full of a ricotta, parmesan, mozzerella mixture soaked in the sweet, tangy marinara. ugh, so good. i couldn't believe the portion size, the price was very affordable(cheaper and better than the olive garden) and it ended with me taking home a cannoli(one of the best i have ever had).
so, if you're ever visiting me in texas(or traveling through) i will take you to carolina's and you will not be disappointed.

2. the corvette diner(san diego, california)
the corvette diner is classic american diner. it is such a fun place. it doesn't matter if you're 8 or 88. the diner has something for everyone. in the evenings on the hour every hour there are servers dancing around for your entertainment, a gamer's garage full of ski ball, guitar hero and bass fishing, a full soda bar for those craving a sweet treat like an elvis shake or real brown cow, but i want to tell you about my favortie item on their menu: the spicy fried pickles. you heard right. fried pickles. they are not for everyone but if you love pickles you'll crave these fried spears o goodness. trust me. now, there are other great items like the deedee burger or the popeye salad but for the pickles with their crunch and slight spice with the cool, creamy ranch. wooweee. seriously, go to san diego, then to liberty station and visit the corvette diner.

3. i have to mention this one and even though the name is the same, it's under different owners so their food is sub par to the real deal. that being: max's taste of philly in mesa arizona. the old max's made my mouth water. their philly subs were the ultimate. it was owned by my friend aaron and his family until his mother was diagnosed with a brain tumor and they sold the business but not their family recipe for the best damn philly cheese steak ever. it was thinly sliced ribeye steak in their family's secret seasonings, cooked on a flat top grill topped with ooey gooey cheese and placed in the softest sub roll ever and served with steaming hot pencil fries. and you could add onions or keep them off but trust me, you wanted those caramelized onions something fierce. you can go to max's today and get a philly but it will not be the true max's and you'll be so sad.

so, those are my reviews for today.
hope you get the chance to enjoy these places like i have.
j

ugh....

here's the deal,
for the past three nights i have not been able to sleep. i'll fall asleep for 30 minutes or so, and then bam! i'm awake. it's driving me nuts. i don't want to take any sleep time aids as they make me sleep too deep and then i'm non functioning the next day but geez, i really need a good night's sleep.
that's all i can blog about for right now.

quiche lorraine.

i love posting my recipes for y'all. i just hope you use and enjoy them as much as i love to share them!
here's one for the adults who crave savory/salty deliciousness.

quiche lorraine

6 oz bacon
2 stalks green onion
1/2 cup gruyere cheese
3 eggs
1/4 cup heavy cream
black pepper(to taste)

pie crust( i just buy frozen pie crust but you can make your own)

set oven at 375
cook your bacon, crumble and set aside until you're ready to build the quiche
put your bacon, sliced onion and pepper in the bottom of your pie crust
in a seperate bowl add your cream, eggs and cheese
mix
add egg, cheese, cream mixture to the top of your bacon and onions
top with pie crust and place in oven for 40-50 mins
let the quiche cool
slice
i suggest serving with a light salad of field greens and an orange garlic vinaigrette or something light and tasty
dig in and enjoy your mouthful of goodness.

american idol.

yesterday i admitted to watching american idol this season(and thankfully i was not alone). laura, you rock for admitting your idol watching!
so, anyways,
they chose the top ten, plus, 3 wild cards.
wow.
so my wild cards made it. well, two of the three made it. i was so happy that niema(?) got her spot. she truly has an amazing voice and style. and stefano, what a strong spirit... and voice to match.
i was also happy to see james durbin and scotty mccreery had made the top ten, along with paul and casey.
the girls did not impress me at all and i was very surprised that the girl from louisiana did not make it and neither did julie zorilla. well, like i said, the girls this season haven't done it for me but the guys... the guys rock my socks. especially casey, scotty and paul.
did your hopefuls make it through or were they cut?
do you even know how awesome american idol is?

teen mom 2

i have yet to miss a teen mom 2 episode but i must say here lately almost all of the girls are irritating me.
joanna pointed out that we were that age once as well and that maybe i was being overly cynical and harsh but seriously?!
i have to say that kailyn is selfish, inconsiderate and totally rude. i think she has been given so much by jo's family and that they have carried her through and made her feel like she belonged in that family, supported her and stuck up for her. it's literally like watching her stab them in their backs. i wish i could strangle her!
jenelle has shown how truly depressed and lonely and insecure she truly is over the past few episodes and my view on her has changed slightly. yeah, i think she makes a lot of dumb choices and runs her mouth when she shouldn't, but to never hear that you're worth something, that you're loved in any way... well, i kinda see why she is the way she is.
leah and corey still get me. their redneck family photo is hilarious. they just make me smile. ahh! young love.
i could also slap chelsea. she chose adam over her best friend and her dad, instead of being like, "chelsea, you shouldn't choose adam over megan." was like," no, no, no chelsea, you made a good decision." wth was he thinking? honestly, chelsea has everyone pretty much do everything for her besides wipe her ass and you can see how much it's hurting her. i agree with chelsea's dad on one area- adam. he's a total opportunist and saw an opportunity to live away from home for free and jumped on it. he's lazy, she's lazy and i think they both should strive for something. chelsea is spoiled and i don't feel bad for her when she cries over adam. she let her best friend walk right out of her life for someone who isn't worth a dog's poop and she wanted to be validated for her actions. really? chelsea needs a dose of growing up. i feel bad for aubree because she is such a sweet child but her mother is lazy and absolutely spoiled.
those are my feelings on teen mom 2. maybe you disagree, maybe you agree...
your thoughts are more than welcome.

addicted... to horrible t.v.

so, as many of you know. i have my die hard shows. the shows i will not miss or i get super cranky about. i know, right?! it's television. whatever. i know that you have your favorite something. be it, your radio or ipod, cooking, television, facebook, whatever. we all have our vices and mine is television.
so the shows that i must watch are(in no particular order)
1. teen mom
2. american idol
3. the biggest loser

those are my must see shows. you're probably thinking i'm nuts to actually admit to watching american idol but i can't help myself. and the boys this year are phenomenal. i also have to quickly let you know my top favorties...
1. scotty mccreery
2. casey abrams
3. paul mcdonald
4. james durbin
5. stefano something
6. brett lowenstein

for the girls, well, i haven't really liked too many of the girls and i'm not familiar with their names but i have compiled a small list...
1. niema(?)
2. thia

see? i can barely even remember the girl's names but the guys this year are blowing my mind! i really hope my top 5 make it into the top 5.
i'm so lame to be sharing my personal idol feelings, but hey, at least you know where i stand.
and you're probably wondering about the biggest loser...
well, years ago when i was preggers with daylee i watched the biggest loser non stop and i fell in love with the show and haven't watched it since but one night while waiting for teen mom 2 i flipped through the channels to see that it was on and bam! i was hooked again. it's such an emotionally charged show and it makes me happy and sad and fills my boring life.
obviously teen mom is up there in the number 1 spot. i have yet to miss a week and i hope i don't. i haven't posted my personal thoughts on it in weeks but plan to later when i have more time.
so, this leads me to ask...
what are your favorite shows? any of them too embarrassing to mention?
and why?

dutch baby.

i know a dutch baby sounds weird or gross but honestly, it is so yummy and a different take on a plain old pancake.
it's sort of like a flat, thin, semi-crispy, delicious breakfast item, so, i hope you try it for yourself.
oh, and it's cheap and easy to make.

dutch baby
1/2 cup flour
3 tblsp sugar
3 tblsp butter melted(divided)
2 eggs(room temp)
1/2 cup milk(room temp)
1/2 tblsp salt

heat oven to 375
in a cast iron skillet or a regular oven safe skillet put half your butter in it and place in the oven
in a blender or food processor add all your other ingredients and blend till mixed and is thin and bubbly.
place mixture in skillet and leave in oven for 30-40 mins or until the top is golden brown and your desired crunchiness.
once out of the oven cut like a pizza, add orange juice(or lemon or lime juice) and sprinkle with sugar.
such a quick and easy recipe that is so good. enjoy, my friends!

when it rains...

wow! what a rough weekend.
let me just catch y'all up.
so...
ugh...
friday night i joined my friend lindsey at the gym for some girl/buff time together. it was a lot of fun. i enjoy going to the gym. it makes me feel fit and healthy and just all around wonderful. well, lindsey enjoys tanning(which we all know i do not partake in) so i left. i was heading home and i was in the very right hand lane(going down western) and i was coming up on the light to turn right and head down 45th. a huge two-tone f-150 started coming into my lane and before i could honk my horn, the truck comes fully into my lane and hits me and i see my side mirror fly off and bounce and burst into a million pieces across western. i seriously saw my life flash before my eyes. mind you, i'm in a toyota camry and the top of my car doesn't even meet the f-150's window. i thought i was going to die. if she would have hit me any faster i'd probably be dead. thank the Lord i wasn't seriously injured but man, i was angry and scared! we pulled off into the parking lot of a pizza place and out comes this 80 year old woman and she's claiming it was my fault?! seriously? from the obvious damage it is her fault and so i called 911 and charley to get some help and i said something loudly along the lines of "if i were to have caused the accident i would have claimed responsibility because as adults and humans we should take responsibility for our actions." well, the lady heard me(i'm sure) but she said nothing more. we exchanged information. the lady ended up being very kind and nice and she was worried but i assured her it was okay, i was okay and that daylee(who wasn't in the car was okay). after an hour and 20 mins the cops show up and he assesses the damages and confirms that she was the person responsible for the accident and she actually admitted fault to the officer. whew! i felt bad for the lady because her husband had just had hip surgery and she was going to sonic to pick up dinner and head home and i felt horrible if i had been rude to her or unkind in any way but my car is messed up, but drivable(the side mirror is hanging on by a thread and the alignment and lights are screwy), but i'm okay and she's okay, so after the officer gave her the tickets and i was sent on my way; i was fine with it. i'll just call her insurance agent on monday and get it all handled.
well....
on sunday there were multiple, huge grass fires across the panhandle. well, heppe gets a call from his siter saying that his parents area out in the canyon is being evacuated. he's wrestling with the idea to go out there or not. around 7 he decides to go out to see if he can get to his dog. i see that he has called me 5 times and i call him back and guess what? his parents land, barn and property is gone. all destroyed in the flames. the only things left are the house, the wooden decks and a few trees but there are so many embers that the fire dept can't put out because there isn't enough water. brian runs into his house and grabs his dog and some clothes and leaves, honestly thinking his parents home won't be standing through the night. fortunately, on monday we found out that part of his parents basement and deck did go up in flames, the pool and deck were destroyed and the property was gone. i know, right? wow. worst weekend in a long time. thankfully his folks have great insurance and the damges will be taken care of but other people lost everything in the grass fires on sunday...INCLUDING THE LADY WHO HIT ME ON FRIDAY NIGHT!!! YES, YA HEARD RIGHT. THE SWEET OLD LADY, WHO'S HUSBAND HAD JUST HAD HIP SURGERY LOST HER HOME, HER DOGS AND THAT F-150 ON SUNDAY. wow. words cannot describe how sad i am for her at this point. so, if you read this, please pray for jodelle and her family.
anyways, brian and i are okay. it was just surreal and comical and i thought i'd share.