Eating Like a Queen

Since last week when my husband began cooking dinner every night for one of his catering clients, I have eaten like a Queen. I get to sample all of these delicious meals and desserts and I feel so indulgent with every bite. All of the flavors meld together into such an experience...I am in awe!

I have to be honest, Hubby and I went to a very nice restaurant on Saturday night for our anniversary dinner and, although our dinner was good, I truly feel that my husband's food is way better. Maybe I'm biased; maybe we share a love for certain flavors and spices, but I really do think my husband's food is so much better than most meals I have in restaurants. Of course he says that translating one's food to two people at home versus 150 people in a restaurant makes for a variance in quality, but I think he's just gifted.

So, here's to my gifted and talented chef husband. I know how hard you are working this week, how hard you are always working for us and our home and I hope you know how much I love and appreciate you.

Happy Anniversary, my love. Four years married and it feels like four minutes! Seven years together and I wouldn't change a thing. Thank you for who you are and how you love me. Cheers to us as we celebrate our love and our beautiful, wonderful, perfect day on Saturday, October 25, 2003.

Meet Jett!

So this isn't my exact baby, but I'll have to settle for this photo of a close cousin of her's I found on the Internet to show you how fabulous she is. We brought her home on October 8 and I've enjoyed every minute of my time spent with her. I waited a little while before shouting my love for Jett from the rooftops so as not to offend Rocky, the Jeep Liberty that kept me safe and happy for the last four years. I feel that three weeks is enough time to mourn Rocky and move forward with Jett. All kidding aside, I really do enjoy this car.

My vehicle history is short, but distinguished and might even say a bit about me. I've driven a Jeep since I was 16 years old when, for my 16th birthday, my father gave me "Bitch" as I called my fire engine red Jeep Cherokee Laredo. I drove her for a mere five years before some kids out causing trouble on Halloween in 2000 decided to break into her, drive her into a fence and dump her. She was never driveable again. So sad. Then I was given Sahara, a gold Jeep Grand, through the generosity of our family's local Houston bank and my grandparents. She was expensive, but a nice luxurious step up from the more rugged ride of the Laredo. Sahara and I went through a lot together in the short three years of our relationship. She and I sang tunes at the top of our lungs on the long road between work and home on 175 to Seagoville. And one terrible night, on that dreaded highway as I spoke to my Mother on the phone, I came upon a dog in the far left lane of the highway. I couldn't swerve and I couldn't slow down in time...you know the rest of the story. It was horrible. Sahara and I both knew that things had to end soon after that. If there ever were such a thing as bad karma that was it. So, Sahara was traded in for Rocky - the Jeep Liberty. Rocky was special because it was the first vehicle my husband really encouraged me to get for myself. I picked it out, I wanted it and I was so overjoyed with it. Rocky had leather seats, a sun roof, was the perfect size for a lady and I had no complaints about that great vehicle. But Rocky was leased and it was time to say 'good-bye.' I had a short separation period preceding the lease turn-in, which allowed me to more easily part with Rocky. During that time, I drove my husband's Jeep Grand (pretty sure he hasn't named his Jeep!). I, once again, was able to appreciate it's feeling of comfort and safety that was there from the beginning when I first sat behind the wheel of the Jeep Laredo - the car I learned how to drive in. Jeep has been good to me and I'm glad we've still got one in the family. But now on to my new love...

Jett is a 2008 Volkswagen Jetta. She is a beautiful, yet fun, blue graphite color and she has all the upgrades - sun roof, satellite radio, six-disk CD player, leatherette seats and, my favorite feature, butt warmers!! Jett has a fantastic sound system and she drives like a dream. I, once again, feel both safe and luxurious. I'm glad to know this car is one of the safest on the road with it's multitude of airbags and what not. I also love that the trunk is unreasonably large for a car this size. I never thought I would want to drive anything but a Jeep, but now I know there is a car that suits me just as well.

So, though it may seem strange to spend this much time and thought on a new car, I think it's important to enjoy something you spend so much time with. What a great way to start my day than being excited to drive my new car?! So much has happened with me and my vehicles over the years and I look forward to many new memories with Jett.

Things I've learned this week...

We are coming to the end of the Information Age and going into the Imagination Age. In this new age, we must focus on our emotional intelligence - people skills & creativity - if we are to excel as a nation in this global economy.

Children can't fine tune their emotional intelligence with their thumbs working a Gameboy, their fingers on a keyboard, eyes always glued to the TV or with a phone afixed to their ear. They will need time every day for sanctuary to think, create and work on who they are as people and for those around them.

I miss playing outdoors and being creative like I was as a kid. I fill so much of my time "doing stuff" and not "just being." I'm sure there's some deep-rooted psychological reason for this...

I'll never stop being amazed by my husband's talent, skills and ability to wow those around him with his creativity, humor and great ideas. He is already waltzing through his own "Imagination Age" leading me to think he'll do just fine over the next decade.

Being the first to finish a mid-term exam should feel good, but it actually feels damn scary. Oh the power of peer pressure and self-doubt...

Fridays come pretty fast when you're enjoying every moment of your week.

I just love this quote, especially that I'm receiving it today since I've kind of splurged in the last 24 hours: had a piece of milk chocolate with my afternoon tea yesterday, licked the spatula after my husband made fudge last night, had a non-fat white mocha latte this morning and two pieces of toffee this afternoon. Funny how once you get started with that sweet tooth, you just can't stop!! We all need a little sweetness now and then...

"Vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread and pumpkin pie."
— Jim Davis

Fort Worth & Fall

It's amazing how the season of fall makes you feel. I'm so glad things are cooling down a bit. It's crazy how different 82 degrees feels from 92 degrees. It's been a warm October...a long summer and I am happy about fall. October is the month of leaves changing, people beginning to don light sweaters and jackets and snuggling a little closer together. October is also the month of my anniversary and that of several of my friends. We so enjoy the excitment of the plans and the reminiscing on our special days. Yes, October is one of my favorite months. There's just something fun and electric in the air.

On one of the first nights of fall, I went to Fort Worth over the weekend for only the second time in my life and I already want to go back. A friend and I met my Mom and Aunt for dinner in the Stockyards, which is a bustling area with restaurants and bars that definitely make Texas really seem like Texas. The restaurant we patronized was Lonesome Dove whose chef, Tim Love, has battled the Iron Chef (and won!!) on the Food Network. We got our photo taken with Chef Tim (see below) and enjoyed the food and wine.

Nicole, Chef Tim Love and Me

After dinner, we headed to downtown Fort Worth where we encountered bikers, cowboys, rockers, frat guys, rastafarians and a late-in-life gigilo all at one old music mainstay of Fort Worth - J&J's Blues Bar. Quite an experience! The music was great and I'd say it was a memorable night.

Yes, I definitely want to return to Fort Worth and experience all the other things that city has to offer. For only being about 50 minutes from Dallas, it sure is different and I liked it.

VALIDATION

"Shall we bet on the over and under for how many words they'll change today?"

"I think they might be on LSD...how much of this thing has changed..."

"You've really busted your ass on this thing and they just keep changing their minds."

I've been working for the past few weeks on a project that has truly tested my ability to mediate and communicate between different people from various facets of this new career world I am living in. The quotes above are from a faculty member who really "got my back" throughout this whole thing. We met for the first time in the meeting where this project was first discussed. I had not met him, or anyone else in the room that day, before. My job was to take what the internal folks and the external folks all wanted and make it cohesive and executable while maintaining the professionalism it takes to keep everyone happy. A lot of trust and faith goes into all that. This faculty member I mentioned previously not only put the utmost of faith and trust in me, he has also validated what this process has been like for me through his humorous comments above. And let me tell you, there's nothing quite like validation, especially when you've been thrown into the fire on a $500,000 proposal that involves curriculum changes at the masters level and the approval of people like the Provost of the school, all of the heads of my department, the leadership of the business school and the department that stands to benefit from this gift. Yes, validation is paramount and I have latched on to all that I can get through this whole process.

Luckily, the proposal is complete, has been approved by all the powers that be and it is due today. I am sincerely grateful for getting through this and coming out on the other side feeling relieved, frazzled, proud, scared and validated all at the same time. Strange thing is--though it's been a crazy few weeks working on this project and I've questioned myself and battered my way through--I've loved every minutes of it!!!!!

That Stinks!!

As I look out my office window I see the students and adults walking by with cigarettes in their hands or hanging from their lips and I am reminded how much I loathe it. I truly think smoking cigarettes and chewing tobacco are two of the absolute worst things. I've always hated cigarettes as many of the people in my family smoke, including my Mom, so I've been exposed to it for as long as I can remember. Luckily now that I am older, cigarettes have less of a place in my life except when I am with family. Only a couple of my friends smoke and they are very considerate of those who do not that I don't even notice that they smoke, and since the smoking ban passed here in Dallas, I don't even have to encounter this smelly, disgusting inconvenience when I'm out anymore. Thank goodness! Honestly, I just don't get it. The smell, the cost, the health risks...why would ANYONE want to smoke? When I see these college kids smoking, it makes me think that it's being done purely for the rebellion. If you never start, you never have to stop and I don't know why anyone would ever pick up something that gives you bad breath, stinks up your clothes, burns your throat and lungs, makes you cough, takes money away from other, more fun, activities, and annoys those non-smokers around. This is one of those soap box issues for me-I'm surprised I haven't hopped up on it for a blog entry before. Cigarettes and tobacco are good for nothing and they affect not only the consumer, but also those around them and that just stinks!! I wish cigarettes and tobacco would cease to exist and that all tobacco and nicotine addiction would be eradicated.

New things in my life that I find fun/interesting/unique:

-walking in the rain this morning with my new raincoat on--I LOVE my new raincoat and have been dying to wear it!!

-Baby Isabelle, Baby Oscar

-learning about being of Generation Y

-great double dates with M/M Childs

-an extended and beneficial beauty routine in the evenings

-reading the news on Yahoo! each day

-class descriptions, though seemingly enthralling, can be deceptive of what you actually get

-watching "Dancing with the Stars" when I can,

the new "Bachelor" and the new show

"Private Practice" every week

-new friends that make me laugh

-attending new and different workout classes

at the SMU gym

-not sweating the small stuff

-eating sushi for lunch two times per week--YUM!

-keeping a lunch date with my friend, Brooke, every week

-not using car time as "phone time" but as "me time"

-new windows, new carpet and some other new surroundings that make our home even more wonderful for us to come home to, which I didn't think possible

-the simplest luxuries that make a real difference

-waking up earlier, working later

and making the most of every minute that I'm awake!