Top 5 Bad Concerts I Can't Believe I Actually Paid to See

1. Saxon and Armoured Saint at the Arcadia
2. Sammy Hagar at Reunion Arena
3. Ronnie James Dio at Reunion
4. Pantera at the Arcadia
5. A very wheels-off Debbie Harry singing to recorded music at some little bar on Greenville Ave. She kept forgetting the lyrics.

I'm sure there are more that I can't think of right now. Please feel free to comment with stories of bad shows you've seen! Thanks for reading Top 5 Tuesday!

Stay tuned...Tomorrow is Whaddayathink Wednesday.

Ooh Wee!

In order to force myself to have something to blog about, I have decided to start a series of regularly scheduled topics. I got the idea from some other bloggers out there who have started a thing called "Flashback Fridays," in which they post old photos of themselves from childhood or whatever. I may do that too, but I'm not sure how to hook up our scanner, so I thought instead I'd start with Happy Mondays*. On Happy Mondays, I will post a picture of one of my happy places, and maybe that will help me get my week off to a good start. Pictured above is delicious food from VoodooBarbeque on St. Charles in New Orleans. We went there on our honeymoon in April 2003. This picture is Kev's plate. You can tell because it has two pickles on it. I hate everything to do with pickles, so I always make Kev take mine right away before it contaminates the food on my plate. Next to the pickles is a pile of the best corn pudding on the planet. I wish I had some now. New Orleans gets my vote for best food in the country.

*Happy Mondays is a cool band from the 90's but I lost all my Happy Mondays cassette tapes.

Tune in tomorrow for Top 5 Tuesday!

Rats

I have finished Harry Potter as predicted. Now I have post Harry Potter Let-Down. I knew this would happen. And this time, there is no "next book" to look forward to. Dang.

School Supply Envy and So Forth

Yesterday I went to Target. They have just set up their seasonal display of school supplies. Oh, how I wish they had such cool school supplies when I was in school. I might've liked going to school if I'd had stuff like that. I must be kept out of Target until at least mid-September when the last remains of school supplies are on super-clearance.

I am concerned because it is unseasonably hot in Wyoming/Idaho, which is where we are going in three short weeks, presumably to escape the Texas heat. I believe it was just as hot in Jackson Hole yesterday as it was here. This will not do.

The new Harry Potter is pretty good so far. My plan was to make it last, but that's not gonna happen. I'll probably finish it by the end of the week.

I need to know the secret to scallops. I have made them a couple times, but they were only just OK. And last time I made them, the house smelled fishy for a whole week. The fishmongers at Central Market were giving out samples of bacon-wrapped scallops on Sunday, and they were DE-licious. Mine never taste like that. If you have any tips, please let me know.

The Peanut...

The Peanut...
Originally uploaded by Tara H.

...doesn't fall far from the tree.

Bounce House

Bounce House
Originally uploaded by Tara H.

We had a Big Weekend. There was swimming, bounce houses, chicken dancing, bbq, shopping at Kwik E Mart, cheese grits, risotto...so exhausting, but the Peanut had a blast. Now, I am going to go read the first chapter of the last Harry Potter.

Now, THAT's More Like Me

A different Simpsonizer here that starts with a real photo of you and then allows you to make minor changes. More fun than the other one.

Hair Experiment

Hair Experiment
Originally uploaded by Tara H.

Daphne's hair is becoming a little unruly, so I tried a little experiment. The bands stayed in for a total of 45 seconds.

If I was a Simpson...

Well, if anyone is looking for a good timewasting activity, you can go here and make yourself into a Simpson's character. That's me, above. I couldn't find a curly-haired option I liked, so this will have to do. While I was at it, I made a Daphne Simpson, below.



And here is my favorite: Kev Simpson, below. Looks just like him, don't ya think?

The Road to Recovery (or...Happy Feet)

So, I got my new Target shirts, a pedicure, and (finally!) a haircut, and I'm feeling a little better. But all that doesn't change the fact that I am turning 39 in less than a month, and I'm not handling it very well. I don't want to be 39. I want to be 37. Forever. It's a great age. Anyway, that, plus the heat, plus the fact that a lot of people I like are stressed or sad or having a general malaise, and I can't seem to quite get my groove.

One thing that is good is that the day after my dreaded birthday, we are heading to the mountains for a much needed vacation. There will be clean air and trees and wildlife and delightfully cool temperatures, so it should be good. Perhaps I will forget all about being 39. Maybe, just maybe, I will even see an owl. That would probably catapult me right back into hypergroove.

Chicken a la Kev

Kev cooked dinner last night. Lucky me. De-Licious.

All the Young Dudes

Yesterday, we took a road trip to East Texas to visit some friends. First stop was Whitney and Bob's new house, which is very cute and has a screened porch and some bluebird houses. This was the first time all of our kids (mine, Whitney's, Shannon's and Julie's) have been together, and it was really fun to see. Of course, just as we got the kids situated for a picture, my camera batteries died, and by the time I changed them, the kids were no longer sitting nicely. I am hoping one of my other friends got a good shot.


Shannon's daughter was kind enough to let the Peanut try out her wings.



From Whitney's, we headed to our friend Cheryl's house for a big BBQ. Cheryl lives on a ranch. She has cows. Below, you can see Kev looking at them. Kev would make a good cowboy. But I would not last very long on a ranch. There is a lot of dirt and mud and stuff out there.

It was fun, but not very relaxing, as we had to chase Daphne around the whole time. She had a blast with all the people and babies and dogs and cows.

There was a lot of good food. Cheryl smoked a brisket, which I heard was excellent. I couldn't bring myself to eat any, what with all the cows staring at me from just over the fence. I had some sausages. I didn't see any pigs around.

Would you eat brisket if this was staring right at you? She looks like she knows exactly what was going on.

It was a good day out, but very exhausting. Today we're taking it easy.

The Continuing Story of Charlie and Harriet...

So, after I finished embroidering Charlie and Harriet, I needed to decide what to do with them, and it was my big idea to frame them for the Peanut's room. She likes birds.

First, I scorched the fabric when I was pressing it (bottom left, under Charlie). Then, I messed up sewing on the pink background fabric, hence the lumpy bits. Then, I couldn't get it centered in the frame. Then I cut the (bad word) out of my finger when I was cleaning the glass with goo-gone, trying to get off the goo from the dumb Target sticker. There was blood everywhere, and I probably need a stitch, but I'm not getting one. So, it is far from perfect, but a lot of blood, sweat, and tears went into this simple little project. I sure hope Daphne doesn't put this in a garage sale or something when I'm dead.

Hooray for Target

Exactly what I was looking for yesterday, found this morning at Target for $16.99. I will probably add a little something to make it less plain...

It's a good thing I found this shirt. I was pretty close to just completely giving up and getting some sweat pants.

Good Times Bad Times

Yesterday, our friend John came for dinner. I made jambalaya (ooh-wee!) and this blueberry cake (recipe here). The cake was really good...not too sweet. I added a little lemon zest, but otherwise, followed the recipe exactly, and served it warm with some of the home-made ice cream my dad made for Daphne's birthday. If you make this cake, you will probably feel happy for at least the few minutes it takes to eat it, and maybe even for a few minutes afterward. Daphne cried when hers was all gone. Plus, it will make your house smell good. And blueberries are really good right now, so this is a good way to use them. It was good to see our friend John, and a nice time was had by all.

Things have taken a slightly more negative turn today, though. Nothing seems to be able to crush my self-esteem more than a trip to the mall. I know I always make fun of Kev for having a "uniform," but since I pretty much only wear jeans and a t-shirt every day, I don't have much room to talk. So I decided I should get a couple of nicer shirts to wear this summer, and you would think this would be easy in a mall with hundreds of stores. Geez. And it's not like I was looking for pants (don't even get me started). All I wanted was a simple white light and airy blouse that fits. But no. The first problem is that everything at the mall is expensive. The second problem is that all this season's shirts are cut like maternity shirts and make me look 6 months pregnant. I do not want to look 6 months pregnant. I have already been through that. Anyway, after trying on about 30 shirts in 4 different shops (poor Daphne, she was so patient), I finally found one shirt I liked, and payed way too much for it, but I will wear it because it is orange and kinda cute and doesn't make me look 6 months pregnant. But the whole experience was depressing. Plus, while we were at the mall, I happened to look down and notice the sad state of my feet, which are in desperate need of some attention. I don't even look in the mirror at my hair anymore. It hasn't been cut since before Daphne was born, so it is very unruly, especially with all this rain, and the silver ones are slowly taking over.

This post is a cry for help. Please, someone, nominate me for What Not to Wear so I can get some assistance from Stacy and Clinton.

I know, Kev, I know. Somebody needs a nap.

Charlie and Harriet

Last night we watched So I Married and Axe Murderer. It was funny as usual.

All is does is rain and rain and rain. I think we will go to the mall today.