New Poll of The Week!

Well, Billie Jean took the cake last week with 9 votes for favorite Michael Jackson song. Smooth Criminal came in second with 8. I apologize to all of those who wished to choose Dirty Diana as their favorite, but I simply forgot to add her. Hopefully I can make it up to you someday.

Since I have been driving around and running errands for a lot of my time during work lately, I have noticed some inappropriately named vehicles roaming the roads with me. Has anyone ever noticed how suggestive some make/models of cars are? Let's discuss some names of vehicles that, if read into, could be really offensive (at least if you have a dirty mind):

Dodge Dart Swinger

Ford Probe

Dodge Ram

The Hummer

Seriously, can we be any more suggestive? The streets should come with a ratings system nowadays. So which car model do you find the most sexually offensive?

View From My Desk

At my wonderful new job, we have what I like to call Quirky Policies. This is what I stare at when I'm not turned around chatting with those people who face my back all day or running random errands:

Here's a blind item for the celebrity-obsessed... (I'll even give you multiple choice options, but only because it is raining outside and I feel a little crabbier than normal). Which actor requested that the production office bathrooms be locked because he didn't like that people kept #2ing in them? (Like the production staff doesn't go #2!!!! And like random strangers say to themselves "Oh, I think that I'll go over to Knight Street on the 3rd floor and poo in the men's bathroom?")

Here are the choices (Go ahead and leave a comment with your guess):

A. Val Kilmer

B. Edward Norton

C. Michael Douglas

D. Jesse Metcalfe

E. Luke Wilson

F. Tim Blake Nelson

So, since the aforementioned actor demanded that the bathrooms be locked, we have those signs. Anytime, anyone comes to our office, I have to show them where the key is and direct them to the bathroom, because this policy is ridiculous. BUT, there is an upside. I always know who is in the bathroom and for how long they were in there. So, really I am now the poo monitor. I wonder how that looks on a resume?

New Poll of The Week!

Last week's "What Wine is Your Fave?" poll ended with an overwhelming amount of votes for Cabernet Sauvignon.

I'm impressed with the results because I love a good Cab Sav as well. I so anticipated that it would take the cake that when I went to Ruston last weekend, I picked up a bottle of this in order to celebrate what I thought would be the winning category:

With a label called Cupcake, I figured it had to be good. I mean, who doesn't like a cupcake? I haven't tried it yet because I don't want it to interfere with the Neti-Potting (Summer colds are officially the WORST!!!), but when I do, I'll let you guys know how it turns out. No worries though, there was a four-way tie for 2nd place. Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Grigio and Miller Lite (for you non-wine drinkers) all had 4 votes each. I'm pretty sure that was the most successful poll to date!

On to this week's poll. So last night, under the medication of NyQuil, I had a dream that took me back to elementary school. At that age, I was OBSESSED with The Babysitter's Club book series. My mother purchased me one at some point, and by the end of 6th grade I had probably 60 of them. I absolutely LOVED those books. I would read one a day during the summers and wished so badly that I could have been a member. I was one of the few children on my street so I didn't have many friends, so my best friends that I never had were Kristy Thomas, Claudia Kishi, Mary Anne Spier, Stacey McGill, Dawn Schafer, Mallory Pike and Jessi Ramsey. My first pseudo-boyfriend was Logan Bruno. Sigh. Mary Anne made a BIG mistake when she decided to break up with him. Ugh, at least he was still an alternate member of the BC after that.

Anyway, last night I dreamt that I was hanging out in Claudia's room on either a Monday, Wednesday or Friday at 5:30 and we were having our weekly meeting. They were getting on to me for slacking on my job duties lately. Stacey was eating some saltines and Claudia and her almond-shaped eyes were going through her always trendy closet. Then I woke up. So I always wanted to be Dawn. I imagined her to have the most beautiful hair, since she was a California girl and all. Take a gander at some of these book covers to take you back in time. And vote on which Babysitter's Club Member you always wanted to be. Happy Thursday!

Wine Night Wednesdays!

Well, yesterday was a rough day all around. My grandmother made me cry, my bosses acted like jerks to me, John was sick, Jessie nominated Casey and NOT Ronnie (WHICH WAS THE PLAN!!!) AND it rained all day. It seems that I must have predicted that yesterday was going to be a bad one a week ago when I scheduled a wine night with Sass and this little darling:

Everyone, meet Paige! (Hi, Paige!) Let me just give you all a little background on her. So, a few years ago (back when Sass and I were each others' only friend after we moved back from college), we would frequent my brother's youth group events. We loved the kids. They were super fun. It's also nice to give some high schoolers some insight as to why you are definitely not going to marry your high school boyfriend and things like that. (If I had married mine, then I would have been in for a rude awakening because he turned out gay. So that's that.)

Well, we were Paige's camp counselor one year and we absolutely hit it off. She is a bright, spunky girl with a straightforward attitude, she asks a lot of questions, and she is open to anything. I love her!

So fast forward a few years. Paige went off to college. She came back and has desperately been trying to get together with Sass and I. We all decided on tonight for a wine night! It may be weird to drink wine with the Baptist youth group grown up, but I feel like Baptists who drink, all share a secret bond of some sort. Like we really know what the other Baptists are missing out on....

Things I Look Forward To (Part 2)

In 2003, I was a senior at Louisiana Tech University. At the beginning of that school year, the Visual Arts Center decided to offer a new program for it's students called the French Quarter. With the discontinuation of Tech's "Tech Rome" program, this would be the replacement. When I found out that it was to be offered I begged and begged and begged (literally, for weeks) my parents to let me go. They were always hesitant about me traveling (anywhere) after 9/11. I said 'Mom, I cannot live my life in a 'What if?' mode, and please please please let me go.' So, after MUCH thought and prayer, they finally caved and let me go. Woot!

So, I was to spend 3.5 weeks in Paris. I was pumped. The only other people that I knew were two girls from the BCM (Baptist Collegiate Ministry). So, we get to Paris and lo and behold, what did I do? I ventured out of that shy comfort zone of mine and made some new friends. Specifically, these three:

At the Louvre

Dara, Hillary and Aarin were all photography majors and that would be the reason why I had never met them... until now!!! We had the best time venturing all across the city together seeing sights, trying new food and most of all, enjoying wine (they are the ones who introduced me to it, after all). I will let you readers get to know these girls better via pictures so that you can see for yourselves why I love them so much:

On a 'Photo Safari' at Notre Dame and the Seine River.

At the Arc du Triomphe

In the Hotel Elevator

At Versailles

With Colin's Hats

At Versailles (again)

In Les Halles (outside of a public restroom)

Wine Night in the Lobby

Wine Night in the Lobby (Part 57)

At the Paris Zoo

At Aarin and Ray's wedding

At Dara's Bachelorette Party (with tiaras)

Dara's Bachelorette Party (Again)

The girls are the main reason why I finally came out of my shell. I opened up to meeting new people and making new friends. I truly believe that they helped shape me into the person that I am today. If it weren't for them, I wouldn't have made some of the best decisions of my life. Thanks girls!

Anyway, on Friday afternoon (after I cut out of here early) I am going to Ruston to Aarin's new home for a weekend visit. Hillary is travelling in from Arkansas and Dara is coming from College Station. I cannot wait. No one is pregnant, so we can all enjoy our old mutual friend wine and take silly pictures together. We are all going to bring along our sketchbooks and photo albums to go through and reminisce. It sounds like it should be super girly, yet extremely nostalgic weekend. I cannot wait to get away and semi-travel back in time and pick up right where we left off!

Guess What Question My Team Got? (Plus Bonus Recipe) (TEAM PHOTO UPDATE)

Well, Mrs. Schillage finally uploaded her Game Night photos to Facebook so I decided to show you all who the real winners are. This is what I would like to call the A Team, with special guest, Ryan "Ron" Roberts:

John looks thrilled, as usual. Rachel, I know you are reading this, and I request that we make this a monthly affair. Thanks. Also, thanks to Chatty Cathy, I have a new dessert to bring. So, let's get on that, ok?

Guess What Question My Team Got? (Plus Bonus Recipe)

John and I had a blast at game night on Saturday. The A Team dominated (as predicted) over the B Team (although the B Team was twice as large), and took the game of Trivial Pursuit with a blaze of glory. You guys will NEVER guess which question came up during the game... I will give you a hint, it involved this little beauty:

That's right. My team got a question about the Guggenheim Bilbao and everyone was shocked that I knew the answer. Oh well, they should have read the blog, then they would have been prepared. Also, I provided the snacks for the event. I made a lemon pie, the Turkey Pinwheel things and this:
I apologize for the crappy photo quality, but I forgot to take a photo of mine and Campbell's likes to have super tiny photos with their recipes. So let me just tell you how good this Double Cheese Crab Dip turned out to be. Sass ate more than half of it. So it really was good. Here is how to make it:

You'll Need:
1 Cup Pace Salsa (Campbell's has to push Pace since I think they're the same company)
1 Teaspoon Chili Powder
1 8 ounce package of cream cheese (softened, i.e. heat in microwave for 15 seconds)
1 Can (8 oz) refrigerated crab meat (although I used the crab sticks from the Upscale Brookshire's and it was just as good and fresh)
1 Cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup sliced pitted ripe olives (although I left this out because, let's face it, some people are picky and won't eat them)
Pita triangles/tortilla chips/fresh vegetables for dipping

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine and stir salsa and chili pepper in a small bowl. Spread cream cheese on bottom of 9 inch pie pan. Top with salsa mixture, crab meat (if you get the sticks, you should shred them with a fork and knife first), cheddar cheese and olives. Bake for 15 minutes or until the mixture is hot and bubbling. Top with additional salsa (whatever's left in the jar after your take out your cup full). Serve with pita triangles, tortilla chips or fresh vegetables for dipping. I used tortilla chips.

After we played Trivial Pursuit, we whipped out Loaded Questions and all had some good laughs. The best question of the night would definitely have to be: "What are three words that you would use to describe the word black?" I feel like after that question that the group really loosened up. I also learned some new vocabulary words. Happy Monday!

Recipe of the Week (okay, probably month)

Back in the carefree days of college, my good pal Aarin and I would hang out at her house and she would bake stuff for seemingly no reason other than she liked to. So, I figured that I should probably watch her and get a recipe or two just to start out that recipe box of mine. This is what she would make:

I guess you would call these, um, Creamy Turkey Pinwheels. Yeah, I just made that up so call them whatever you want. To make you need:

1 pkg crescent rolls

A handful of baby spinach

1 pouch (1 oz) of cream cheese

6 slices of oven roasted turkey breast

So, you roll out the crescent rolls to where they are one giant rectangle of conjoined rolls. Then you take your pouch of cream cheese and spread over your rectangle. Take your baby spinach (pick off stems) and layer over the cream cheese. Then take your slices of turkey breast and spread over the spinach. So there should be 3 little layers. Roll your dough back into original cylindrical shape. Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees. Put in freezer until it gets firm (not frozen). Slice into pinwheels (makes about 15). Place on baking pan and bake for 15 minutes (or however long it says on pkg of crescent rolls). Then you are done!

And they are delicious. You can edit recipe for low fat or fat free options and make a healthy snack to bring to a Game or Wine Night!

El Chico and More

So this weekend we had John's Birthday Extravaganza Part Deux beginning with a dinner at his favorite Mexican restaurant in Shreveport: El Chico. There was an amazing turnout of friends that showed up... about twenty... and it ended up being a good time.

When we left The Boy, (after John decided to take his sombrero with him) we headed over to sing some karaoke. On the way over, these two got engaged!!!! Congratulations Joey and Megan Hynes!!! So exciting!

After John and Rex finished singing "The American Trilogy" Mrs. Scoggin showed up.

Shortly after we visited with Jamie, we headed home, but not before snapping a photo with the Sensational Six (Carie and Trav were missing from the Elite 8, so we had to do with the six).


Saturday, John took me to the amazing Don Juanz, famous for their Fresh Mex menu. The fish tacos sound disgusting but are anything but that. If you live in the Shreveport/Bossier Metroplex and haven't tried Don Juanz, I suggest you do. You will never look at Mexican food the same. http://www.donjuanz.com/

Saturday evening, John wanted to watch the UFC fight. So he and his coaching buddies got together to watch it, while their pregnant wives and myself (neither preg or a wife) sat downstairs and visited. Well, let me just say that I heard enough in a few hours about pushing a baby out of a V, episiotomies, enemas, lamaze class, baby bedding, breast pumping, nipple cream, pediatricians, gas, cravings, morning sickness, strollers, cribs, due dates, NICU's, hospitals, changing rooms, baby monitors, registering, and rice cereal to do me for my entire life. No thank you, babies.

So that's the weekend recap. (Oh! And we saw Bruno. Not as funny as Borat. So, don't waste your time or money.) Big Brother last night was eh. I'm ready for it to get ugly!

Mistakes (Part 2)

I warn you, readers, that never, under any circumstances, never, should you watch this show on Discovery Health:

I don't know why, but at some point last night between watching a Chelsea re-run (I guess she doesn't have new shows on Wednesdays) and the local news featuring Jim Belushi, I somehow and for whatever God-forsaken reason, turned the channel to Discovery Health. "I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant" was on and I figured, how could these IDIOTS not know that they were pregnant, I mean really.

Well, apparently, you can go full term and right on into labor without missing your 'Devil's Way Of Saying Hello', have no cravings, develop no bump, etc. etc. All of these women's only sign was fatigue. One had lower back pain. One thought she had OVARIAN CANCER (she was 57 and was tampering with in vitro, so she should have known she'd get pregnant, the idiot)!

Nothing sounds scarier to me than going along with your day and your water breaking, followed by crouching on your bedroom floor while your 9 year old cuts the umbilical cord. Seriously, people, do yourself a favor and DON'T WATCH! Unless, you really want a baby of your own and these would be success stories in your eyes.

I guess if you MUST watch, don't watch the show that immediately follows "Obese and Pregnant" (what is it? Baby week or something?), unless you want a really nice self esteem boost... then by all means, go ahead.

The Emerald City.

John and I leave tomorrow for Seattle. We are so excited that we can hardly sleep. People keep asking us what we are going to do while we are there (as if there is absolutely nothing that would be remotely interesting for these people to see), so I will tell you. I have planned out an itinerary to ensure that we get to see everything that we want to see while we are there since it is possible that we will never go back there if we hate it.

Thursday - Travel day.

We leave Longview at 320PM tomorrow and won't arrive until around 830PM. No worries because it doesn't get dark in Seattle until 10. We will probably eat something and then pass out from exhaustion of flying. Flying makes me so tired to the point of lethargic. Or we will rock it out at the Nite Lite. We will just have to see.

Friday - Pike Place Market.

This is where they throw the fish at you. There is also a bronze pig named Rachel who is the mascot of the city (who also doubles as a giant piggy bank that supports the Market's charities).

We want to stop by the original Starbucks, and also get half priced tickets at their information booth to anything we may want to do. Such as an Argosy Cruise around Puget Sound (I like at least one SUPER-touristy thing to do on vacation)! Woot.

Saturday - Get this. We are going to take the 'Victoria Clipper' and head over to Victoria, British Columbia (Yes. We have our passports)! They have lots of pubs, shops, parks and little points of interest. Example:

There is a place called Miniature World with a working miniature circus, miniature aliens, and (hopefully) midgets who run the place. This had better be good. Also, Victoria has a totem pole park. I thought that may be interesting as well as a museum that was listed in my bathroom book "1000 Places to See Before You Die." So I figure we should probably hit that up so I can cross it off the list.

Sunday - John's Day. We are going to do whatever he wants to do this day (isn't that nice of me), including going to the Seattle Sounders' soccer game after hanging out in historic Pioneer Square. We are bringing our Drew Carey glasses and scarves. Can't wait!

Monday - The Seattle Center. This is where the Space Needle is. I plan on venturing to the top and riding any roller coasters that may be secretly hidden up there (like at the Stratosphere in Vegas)! Also in the Seattle Center is the Pacific Science Center, the Experience Music Project (Jimi Hendrix exhibit), Aquarium, a carnival!, and fountains and whatnot. I'm pretty sure it was all built for the World's Fair in 1962.

Tuesday - Unplanned. I figure it would be best to leave this day open in case we see stuff that we want to go back to later. Or shopping, or doing nothing.

Wednesday - We come home :( or possibly :)

I am going to take my laptop with me on the trip in hopes that I may have an internet connection at the Moore (rolling eyes) so that I may upload a photo or two for you precious readers. I know that you will be extremely bored at work with nothing to read because I'll be gone, and I don't want to have that kind of pressure ruining my vacation.

New Poll of the Week!

Well, well, well. There are apparently more art lovers that read my blog than I thought. I am so proud that there was an overwhelming vote to visit the Louvre first after you arrive on your trips to Paris! And why wouldn't you, when you can see 'The Big Three' that the Louvre is famous for housing. These include:

Ah, the beautiful Mona Lisa. Which, by the way, is not as large as you would think. She is actually around the size of an 11x14 inch painting. Which is TINY considering the rest of Leonardo DaVinci's work is GIGANTIC!!! Sigh.

The enchanting 'Venus de Milo' (some know her as the 'Aphrodite of Milos') who was made around 120 BC and was found by some peasant rooting around in Greece in 1820. Turns out that, the French had to return their former most beautiful statue in the world (Medici Venus) to Italy after Napolean went and stole it from them. What an ass! Anyway, when the Venus de Milo was found, Parisian art critics promoted it to be the most beautiful statue in the world, thus gaining her (and France) worldwide fame. It's up to her viewers to make that call. However, she is absolutely breathtaking (I mean, if you like art and stuff).

The last of the "Big Three" is what I call the 'Wings of Victory' but her actual name is 'Winged Victory of Samothrace' also called the 'Nike of Samothrace'. To me, Wings of Victory is just easier to say and remember. According to research, she was made to celebrate a naval victory in the city of Rhodes. She is famous due to her naturalistic pose as well as the rendering of her drapery to depict a strong sea breeze. According to Wikipedia, the wings were included to illustrate her descent from the skies to the prow of a triumphant fleet. She was made around 250BC and is considered to be one of the great surviving sculptural masterpieces from the Hellenistic Period. This sculpture probably has the best spot in the Louvre. She sits between two major corridors. One leads to the crown jewels and the other leads to the Mona Lisa. Can't get much better than that!

You are welcome for the art history lesson.

Not that you were wondering, but the first place that I went when I arrived in Paris 5 years ago (seriously, has it been that long?) was the Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral (which if you weren't aware means Our Lady of Paris in French.) Literally, we got off the plane, dropped off our luggage at the hotel and walked over immediately to Notre Dame (we had to stay awake to properly adjust to the jet lag). Notre Dame is one of the most beautiful places that I have ever had the pleasure to set foot in (it is considered to be one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture.) It's treasury, which costs 5 euro to see, was definitely Top 5 of the things I saw while there. I will leave you with two of my personal photos from Notre Dame de Paris.

PS. Take the new poll on Britney! She is coming to Shreveport on September 19th!!!! My hopes are to be front row.