Friday, December 31, 2010

2011


Once again we are sitting in front of a new year thinking about what happened in the year prior and wondering what the new year holds for us. I didn't really do resolutions last year and I'm not really planning on doing any this year. Sure I have goals for 2011 but I'll take them on one by one. One major goal for me is getting the kitchen done. Our little do it ourselves project has been put on the back burner for far to long. It is so easy to just ignore it since we have a working kitchen, but I am done ignoring it.



Another immediate goal I have is to get in shape. Getting in to shape doesn't mean I have to meet a weight goal, but I want to be more healthy. I have already started working out at Dancers Shape, and it is going well! I have consistently gone twice a week during all of December. I have seen a little difference in my shape, a little less giggle. I have another month pass to Dancers Shape and I plan on making the best of it!


I hope everybody had a wonderful New Years Eve! Here are some funny sayings and jokes to bring laughter to your 2011




New Years Eve toasts:


Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man.
Benjamin Franklin

For last year's words belong to last year's language
And next year's words await another voice.
And to make an end is to make a beginning.
T.S. Eliot, "Little Gidding"

We spend January 1 walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives... not looking for flaws, but for potential.
Ellen Goodman

A New Year's resolution is something that goes in one year and out the other.
Author Unknown

May all your troubles last as long as your New Year's resolutions.
Joey Adams



New Years Jokes

A young man at a New Year’s party turns to his friend and asks for a cigarette.
'I thought you made a New Year’s resolution to quit smoking,' his friend says.
'I'm in the process of quitting,' the man says.
'Right now, I am in the middle of phase one.'
'What's phase one?'
'I've quit buying.'


On New Year's Eve, Daniel was in no shape to drive, so he sensibly left his van in the car park and walked home. As he was wobbling along, he was stopped by a policeman. 'What are you doing out here at four o'clock in the morning?' asked the police officer.
'I'm on my way to a lecture,' answered Roger.
'And who on earth, in their right mind, is going to give a lecture at this time on New Year's Eve?' enquired the constable sarcastically.
'My wife,' slurred Daniel grimly.


Jemima was taking an afternoon nap on New Year's Eve before the festivities. After she woke up, she confided to Max, her husband, 'I just dreamed that you gave me a diamond ring for a New Year's present. What do you think it all means?'
'Aha, you'll know tonight,' answered Max smiling broadly.
At midnight, as the New Year was chiming, Max approached Jemima and handed her small package. Delighted and excited she opened it quickly. There in her hand rested a book entitled: 'The meaning of dreams'.


New Year's Resolutions by Fido




I will not bark each time I see or hear a dog on TV.
I will not steal underwear belonging to my mistress and then dance all over the back yard with it.
I will not chew red crayons or pens, because my master will think that I am hemorrhaging.
I will not roll my toys behind the fridge.
I must shake the rainwater out of my coat BEFORE I enter the house.

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

This video is amazing! I love how they have to keep moving the clock as well as resorting to the yard stick to show how much snow they received! I can't imagine living in an area that receives that much snow!

December 2010 Blizzard Timelapse from Michael Black on Vimeo.

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Christmas Cards


For the past 5 years or so, my mom and grandfather have created some very funny and memorable Christmas cards. Often it is my mom dressing up my grandfather and making him do things that normally he probably wouldn't do and of course that makes the Christmas cards awesome. Pop Pop has been a cowboy, a cotton picker, a bike rider, a golfer and he has worn a shirt that made him look like he was just wearing a thong. These cards have always been a mystery because my mom keeps her mouth shut about the cards. The last 2 years I have been lucky enough to help create the cards.


This year we thought about doing something that made Pop Pop look like he was hiding in a bunch of stuffed animals... kind of like ET did in the movie. We went out and bought some stuffed animals and some "props" for Pop Pop. Before we got Pop Pop involved in the photo taking process we decided to test it out ourselves. Here is mom trying out the props... you know to help her look more like a stuffed animal.




After taking this photo, we realized we needed a lot more stuffed animals to help make the photo. We raided her Christmas decorations and founded some much needed filler.



Here I am with all of the stuffed animals that we found in the house.


We had to think of a way to get all of the stuffed animals at a height that would be easy for Pop Pop. We decided to use the ironing board and a white sheet. It seemed to work pretty damn good. Here is mom showing Pop Pop what we wanted him to do. I'm pretty sure at this point he just rolled his eyes.
Here is the final shot for their Christmas cards. They turned out so cute!!! One day Jim and I will take over the funny Christmas cards, but for now we'll just leave the funny Christmas cards to mom and Pop Pop



Here is the 2009 Christmas photo :)


Christmas 2010

We headed over to Jim's parents house for Christmas this year. Jim's sister's family also met us over there. It was a nice relaxing day full of food, drinks and spending time with each other. Of course the kids were far more interested in playing with their toys (as all kids their age do) but we still were able to spend a good amount of time with each other.

Jim's Nephews: Ryan, Dawson and Caden



Munchies before dinner

Jim's sister and the kids made sugar cookies

The boys had Santa bring them some type of pellet gun... it actually shoots a plastic ball. They spent some time in the back yard hitting targets.


Lots of great food!
Jamie, Jim's sister
Little Goof-ball, Caden
Big Goofball. I feel very Zoolander-ish in these goggles
Thoughtful Jim

I can't remember this game, but everybody gave it a try. The goal was to get the ball to the furthest slot and it wasn't as easy as you might think

Lilly is staring me down... gonna be a cat fight :) Okay, no cat fight, just some kitty lovin
The Bartender of the day
Horsing around... I was laughing so hard while Caden and Ryan were goofing around

Jim and I with Caden and Ryan. I think Dawson was in the other room watching basketball
I hope you guys had a great Christmas!!!

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Sunday, December 19, 2010


FOOD!


I separated most of the food pictures from Lee and Tracy's visit so I could have them on this post. I really tried to stay with local places, and with exception of a Starbucks stop (which now that I think about it I might have gone right before they came) we kept it local! I don't think we really had a disappointing meal, but we did forget to get Lee to The Best Wurst. Last time he was here (one weekend) he ate their twice, and I think he would have eaten there more if he could :)





TORCHY'S

Our first stop was at Torchy's for tacos and queso. I love their tacos and thought it was a good start to their visit in Austin. We visited the location on South First, which is an old house converted into a restaurant. The weather was nice so we sat outside on the patio. I ordered my favorite Ranch Hand taco which is fajita meat and scrambled egg (YUM!), Lee and Tracy both ordered the pulled pork tacos (another of my favorite tacos). I also ordered the queso for us to share.





HOPDODDY



For dinner on Friday night we went to Hopdoddy which is a newish Hamburger joint on South Congress. We haven't been there before so I was hoping that the reviews were right and I wasn't taking them to a "eh" type of a place. It is a little confusing when you walk in... somebody guides you to the line of people to place your order and then they find you a seat and then give you a number. Once you order, you find your table and then your food is brought to you. Both Jim and I ordered the Llano Poblano which was a burger with Pepper Jack Cheese, Roasted Poblano Chilies, and Apple Smoked Bacon. I'm going to start off talking about the delicious buns that are homemade at the restaurant, they were fantastic! The burger was cooked perfectly (medium) and had great flavor.


EAST SIDE KING


On Saturday we decided to do a pub/trailer crawl around the Rainey Street area. Our first stop was at Bar 96, which has East Side King in the back. Once we ordered our beers and headed out back to order some food. I will be the first to say that this menu was a little more adventurous that we typically eat. We stayed on the safe side and ordered the Momo which was grilled chicken thigh, green onion, tare (Japanese BBQ sauce), and kewpie (Japanese mayonnaise), the Butabara which is grilled twice cooked pork belly, appl, tare (Japanese BBQ sauce) Karashi mustard and kewpie (Japanese mayonnaise). Both were excellent! I could have eaten a few more skewers but I didn't because we also ordered the Tamago Gohan which is a grilled soft-boiled egg, sweet chili sauce, rice, furikake, bonito flakes and green onions. I was a little disappointed with this dish because I wanted my egg a little less cooked so it would run over the rice. The rice was good, but honestly it was just fancy rice and I thought was like a filler. Had the egg been less done I think it would have been a totally different dish.

Perhaps one day I'll just order something off the wall like chicken gizzard or beef tongue, but for now I'll be playing it safe as I fear what my gag reflex might do.


EL NARANJO

After Bar 96 we headed over to Luster Pearl for a couple of drinks. They normally have a taco trailer over there but I guess it wasn't late enough for them to be open. After we were done at Luster Pearl, Jim and I headed to El Naranjo while Lee and Tracy headed to another food trailer called Cazamance. If I remember correctly Tracy got some type of Lamb wrap and Lee got lamb sausage? They seemed to really like their food, but they were bummed that the trailer was out of hummus.
Jim and I ordered 3 items to share. We ordered the Molotes Oaxaquenos which is fried cornmeal stuffed with chorizo-and-potato, the Tinga Verde tacos (shredded chicken in green sauce) and some other type of chicken dish that was on special that night. The chicken tacos were small but they packed a delish punch, especially when you added the green avocado sauce. This was my first time having Molotes and they were pretty good, but I would have liked more filling.


CISCO'S

On Sunday morning we ate at Ciscos. We love this little place and try to get over there as much as we can. Their food is simple but it is always good and we know we can count on them. I typically get the Migas and Jim gets the Migas with fajita beef. Getting the dish with the beef is certainly makes it better. I try not to get to to cut down on calories (which is funny because this place is dripping in calories). Their tortillas are amazing and they also serve biscuits with your meal. This time around they weren't' as good as I remember, but still tasty.




Flying Falafel and Po’Boys

Tracy wanted to eat Greek food while she was here, and I had hopes of taking her to Kebabalicious (Sure I know it is "Turkish" food, but pretty close) but they were closed on Monday. I used Yelp.com and found Flying Falafel and Po'Boys on Guadalupe. It is a tiny little place on the drag. I ordered the Chicken Shawarma Sandwich which has thinly sliced grilled chicken with onions, served in a pita with hummus, tahini salad and lettuce. I really enjoyed the wrap and thought the flavors were delicious. The wrap was crispy in some parts and I'm not really sure if it was supposed to be or not (first time having a Shawrma Sandwich) either way I thought $4.99 for the sandwich was a great deal. I paid a little extra for the meal deal and ordered a side of the falafel (which is garbanzo beans, onions, parsley and garlic seasoning fried to perfection). I thought the falafel was crispy on the outside and soft in the middle. It reminded me of a hushpuppy.


Lee and Tracy's Big Visit


Lee and his girlfriend, Tracy, came out to visit a couple of weekends ago. We had great weather and a fun time exploring Austin! I picked them up at the airport and headed directly to Torchys for lunch. We went to the Torchy's off of South First street, which is a cool little joint. I wanted to take them to all local spots, and I think I did a good job :)

After lunch we headed to Auditorium Shores off of Town Lake to walk around and enjoy the weather. We stuck around the leash less dog area and watched the dogs run around and swim.

After the park we stopped by Whole Foods on 6th street. I realize not everybody is like me and thinks this place is awesome, but I had an idea that Lee and Tracy would be cool with going. We walked around the whole store but had the most fun in the Beer Cooler, the dessert section and the cheese section. I LOVE this Whole Foods!

Tracy and Lee with the pups. Chewie remembered his Uncle Lee, but this was the first time that Lee has met Abby.


Abbey doing her best to look pathetic. She has this look down :)




Chewie hanging on the couch



Before we left for our night out, I decided to take a picture with Abbey. I thought it would be a simple picture, but she turned her head and practically licked from my chin to my eyeballs. Kind of gross and I had to re-do my makeup. :)

We ate at Hopdoddy's for dinner on Friday night. They are a new hamburger place on South Congress. (more on that in a later post).



South Congress


After dinner we went to Esthers Follies for their show. Their show is compilation of skits and some magic. The skits are about Austin, people in Austin, and world events.



After Esther's Follies we walked around 6th street to do a little drinking. We stopped at Blind Pig Pub for a few drinks. They have changed it up and extended their rooftop patio which was kind of cool. No idea why Jim looks like the joker here.



Lee, the drink goes into your mouth, not your shirt
A trip to Austin just wouldn't be complete without a lot of RBI baseball being played

We stopped at the Cherrywood Elementary to go to a Christmas Craft Fair. We went last year and really liked it

Lee and I thought this would be prefect for mama, but it's price tag said that it was out of our price range (over $200)
Lee and Tracy pretending to dance
At Bar 96 waiting for our food from East Side Kings

The aftermath of Irish Car Bombs


After Bar 96 we went to Luster Pearl (it was across the street)


Tracy was really good at the hula hoop... me, not so much. :)

Jim was good for one turn of the hula hoop... he couldn't quite work his hips right to keep it going
Lee was surprising good at the Hula Hoops
The guys played ping pong while we were using the hula hoops
Inside Luster Pearl
I loved the fire place at Luster Pearl
We picked up some food before heading to Clive

On Sunday morning we headed to Cisco for breakfast before a long day of watching 10 hours of football
Abbey sunning herself in the living room
Tracy enjoying her big beer during football Sunday
I'll post the rest of the photos soon!!