Foodie Friday

Normally I don't like to be a "hater", well, I don't think a hater is a good word. I guess maybe a "negative nancy" when it comes to restaurants. But last date night was not a good night. I don't mean as in the worst night in the world but it still sucked. So I feel compelled to share this with everyone as a warning of what your getting yourself into when you go to this place.

Jared's friends at work highly recommended Woodshed created by Texas-known Chef Tim Love. Some of his other restaurants include the Love Shack and Lonesome Dove. I looked up the website because I wanted to be ready to pick a dish when we get there; it looked great. They even had ramen on the menu, score!


We drive up to the restaurant and its packed; that's usually a good sign. We didn't have to wait even 5 minutes to get in-even better. But things started to go downhill when I ordered a drink. I asked for a pint of Woodchuck and they bring me this.

A small plastic cup for $10!  (it was filled up to the top, no ice) That is not a pint! That was rape. I should have sent it back but I didn't.

Looking at the menu, the dishes sounded amazing. We were a little nervous about the pricing though. Jared went with the rib meat tamales and I got the bourbon and coke "bahn mi" tacos. Our dishes did not come with sides; that was going to be $5 a piece so we didn't get any.

 

 

First of all, there was nothing "bahn mi" about these tacos. Even with quotation marks on the menu. Just don't. You can see the pile of sliced jalapeno peppers on the side that I had to scrape off from my meat. Shame on you whoever thinks that a mountain of peppers will hide the lack of flavor. The meat was ok, but it had a dryness to it and I was in need of some sauce. I got three tortillas for the dish but the meal was still small. My dish cost $9.



Jared only got two tamales and they were small. He said the filling was ok but nothing special. He, too, paid $9 for this. That's $4.50 a tamale. A bit ridiculous for the size and lack of flavor for us. Granted, Jared ordered from the 'Simple Plates' section of the menu but the pricing and flavors still stood out negatively for us.

We left pretty shortly after eating everything. We were still hungry and that made me mad. No customer should leave a restaurant hungry. Ever. We were not willing to pay extra $20 or so to fill us up. I expected a lot from Chef Tim Love's cooking. No I didn't expect him to cook the meal for us personally but I expected his cooks to prepare the dishes exactly how he would have presented the food.

I have never left a restaurant frustrated like that before which is why I feel that I should warn people that if you come to this restaurant, be prepared to get raped. The atmosphere was chill and definitely our kind of scene and the staff were great. You should definitely go for the atmosphere and the live music but don't buy the food. Jared and I are considering giving Woodshed another chance and try their ribs or some other BBQ, but it will not be any time soon.

Written Word Wednesday

For my next novel I've chosen Cold Antler Farm by Jenna Woginrich. This novel got me inspired to start my farm dream. The story is a woman's account of how she got started with her 6 acre farm and how she manages it on her own.

"...I had been offered a job working for a clothing retailer on the Northern Rockies. They paid for my move, and once again I drove a packed station wagon to my new home. In hindsight, it was an erratic and crazy change in my life, but I am certain that surviving that jump was the only reason I could pack up from the city and move cross-country alone. If I made it that time, I could make it again. SO I left the city and everything I had built, career- and relationship-wise, to follow an idea I understood only from the vantage point of a bookstore cafe's magazine racks. For me, it was 2,800 miles and three time zones away to turn glossy pages from a farming magazine into reality. "

"The 1860s farmhouse had my name on the deed just three months after the day I first saw it. Sometimes things simply work out.
    And sometimes there's a reason: the house wasn't very popular on the local market. Families and professionals weren't interested in the old, wavy floors and the single bathroom on the first floor. I can't blame them for not investing in exactly what they wanted, or envisioned. However, I was not buying with such concerns on the table. I didn't need something for a magazine shoot or a remodeled kitchen with steel appliances. I needed land, water, grass, and possibility. The little house was a blessing, a perfect fit. I didn't care about my furniture sitting level, but I did care about the pasture, barns, forest, pond, stream, and outbuildings crying for a caretaker. It became home that moment I pulled the driveway. .."

"I, Jenna Woginrich, am weather's bitch.
  I didn't always live like this. I can remember-just a few years ago-the days of waking after hitting SNOOZE at least four times and staggering like a zombie to the coffeemaker. I'd shower and dress myself, and only when I realized I was about to walk outside to my car did I even consider the atmosphere. And even then it was only for reasons of fashion. Was it a light jacket or heavy cardigan day? Should I avoid the suede boots in case of puddles in the office parking lot? That brief acknowledgment was all the import I assigned to weather. Meteorology seemed archaic to me back then, lost lore, something for someone else to worry about."

Marriage Monday

Lately Jared and I have been, well, frustrated, with life for a while. There are a few projects in the farm and home that we want to take care of but we have been super tight on money. Jared is, especially, frustrated because there are a few things he's wanting to buy, including a tractor that would help get a few of the yard projects done quickly, but that's not happening anytime soon.

Plus I'm under a bit of stress regarding my future (that I've yet to reveal) that involves taking an important test.

So a little bit of positive energy and prayers would be super.

Farm Friday

Wednesday evening, I (well my husband did first) discovered one of the younger chickens had died. It was the little one that turned out to be a cockerel, my sweet boy Beckham. I am not sure if it had just happened yesterday or the night before. We have suspicions that it was our new puppy Annabelle, but there was no blood or bite marks that we could see.  There were several bald spots where his feathers have been ripped out.

I was devastated, knowing that there was an opportunity to save him and I didn't. I hated that he suffered. But my husband made a point that we were going to have to choose to get rid of him (meaning make him Sunday dinner) or our other rooster. I would have rather he had died by my hands than in a fight with something else and suffer for it. 

Then yesterday, we left the dogs out in the backyard while hubby and I went for a short run. As soon as we came back we noticed one of the other younger hens had died too. There were feathers all around Annabelle's muzzle. We found the culprit!

Jared was livid with her. He picked up the dead chicken and tried to bring it to Annabelle so he can punish her for it. Obviously, she was scared of him yelling at her so it didn't work so we had put her in her kennel. Our puppy is grounded for the weekend.

I'm not happy with this at all. If it was one of the older hens I probably wouldn't be as upset but the babies are the ones we've raised since they were days old chicks. I have motherly feelings toward them and now we only have three younger girls.

I don't know how to train our puppy from staying away from them but we've got to figure out something. This is not ok! We don't intend to get rid of her; we already have a bond with her and she's part of the family. But something needs to be done.

Written Word Wednesday

"...The young woman's hand, touching her skin, sent something like an electric shock through The Queen. People didn't usually reach out to touch her at unchoreographed moments. She knew how to keep her distance when they looked like they might want to grab her hand. This woman had touched her unexpectedly and the human contact suddenly revived her. She remembered how people sometimes glowed when she reached out to shake their hands, usually with gloves on, but sometimes not. They all seemed to adore it. It was a power she had, touching people, the royal touch, a power she'd at that moment just recalled. From the Middle Ages up until Queen Anne's time, people had believed in the royal touch as a cure for illness. The woman had given her a jolt, but not an unpleasant one..."


"...Under normal conditions Lady Anne certainly would have stood up when The Queen entered the room. She was literately doubled over with the combined pain from her shoulder and headache, however, and found it impossible to move.
  "Forgive me, Your Majesty. Feeling a little under the weather at the moment. A kind of migraine, I fear." She pronounced "migraine" as if it were a French word.
  "I expect it's the stress," said The Queen kindly. "Happy Baby would help with that."
  "Happy Baby, Ma'am?" The stress?" Anne was beginning to fear that The Queen had given in to old ladies' confusion again.
  "Happy Baby. Yes. Yoga pose. You roll on the floor, while holding your legs in the air and massage your back. Relaxes you no end. I could show you here, but we'd need some yoga mats. The stress of looking for me, I meant."
  Anne shot a cautious glance in Shirley's direction. When they'd discovered The Queen on Waverley station the previous evening, they'd been so relieved to have found her that they hadn't required any explanations of her. They had wondered whether she hadn't had a small stroke, or was showing the first sign of dementia , not uncommon for someone of her age...


"...Diana died quite a long time ago," observed Lady Anne into her lap. "What is it? Ten years now surly?"
  "Well, yes, it was some time ago," agreed The Queen. "But I may have been having a delayed reaction. And then Mummy and my sister dying together in the same year. Barely a month apart. At first that was liberating in a way. One was old, the other unhappy. They were both ready to go. But recently it has seemed to hit me more forcibly. That sense of being alone. It'll be me next, of course."
  "And the winter coming on now," said Anne bending sideways to look at The Queen. "The darkness doesn't help, does it?" she asked sympathetically.
  "Oh, I don't know. That may be contributing. But it just struck me. And I was quite sad. I felt quite, well desperate. And I thought to myself, 'When are the times I've been happy?' Britannia of course came to mind. I thought I might run up and have a look at her I had a wander over to the Mews to look at the horses. Talked to Rebecca about the cheddar that Elizabeth likes. Some painters turned me out into the road. Didn't recognize me. I had on Rebecca's jacket, you see? And I thought, well, now I'm out, maybe I'll catch a train to Scotland. Did you know the Prime Minister told me they want to abolish the royal train? I'll have to learn to live without it. So I thought, 'I'll sample the public train, have a look at Britannia, and take a bite of that cheese from Paxton & Whitfield.' And, well," she put her hands on her hips and began chuckling, "I was away. I was off."


"...After forty-five minutes, she turned to Luke, and said, "Now, Major Thomason, can you help me find Mrs MacDonald, please?" He had inquired earlier where the room was and led her to the lift that would take her up to the eight floor. The private secretary had telephoned when Shirley was admitted to ask that arrangements be made to give her a private room, rather than in a crowded ward, where most of the cardiac patients on the National Health Service were placed. When The Queen, Luke, and Anne arrived at the room, they all three looked in with trepidation, slightly fearing what shape they might find the patient in. They were surprised to find that William, Rajiv, and Rebecca had preceded them, all three having walked over from the Old Vic while The Queen was downstairs making her rounds. Rajiv was in the thronelike visitor's chair, singing a Bollywood tune from the play they'd just seen. Rebecca was standing awkwardly behind him, looking embarrassed. William was bending over Shirley and trying to persuade her to have a plastic spoonful of ice shavings.
  Rajiv leapt to his feet when he saw The Queen, William straightened up, with the spoon still in his hand, and Rebecca continued to look ill at ease. Shirley was awake, alert, and angry. She had an intravenous tube in her arm. She was still too weak to stand unassisted.
  "Ah," said The Queen. "Here before us to attend the patient, I see. Still in one piece, Mrs MacDonald?"
  "Semi," said Shirley, unwillingly.
"Well, you look all right. Now, gentlemen, that will be all. This ward is ladies only."
Rajiv protested, "We've been here for the last fifteen minutes and it was all right with them."
"Yes, but you're no longer wanted. Lady Anne and Rebecca and I shall be taking over. Thank you very much, Cheddar. Thank you, Mr de Morgan. Thank you, Major Thomason." There was nothing for the three men to do but gather their things and depart, two of the three squeezed Shirley's hand and William kissing her cheek on the way out....


Her nerves felt overly stimulated and she knew that, though she was exhausted, she would not sleep unless she took some measures to relax and calm down. She suddenly recalled the traditional last pose of her yoga practice, savasana, in which, at the end of all the hard work and stretching and holding difficult positions, she lay covered up on the floor, breathing deeply, listening to her breath, but purposely not allowing her mind to wander onto any discordant thoughts. She went and found Rebecca's hoodie, which she had not yet returned to her, put it on, and, stepping out of her shoes, lay wrapped in the hoodie prone upon the floor on top of a yoga mat. She stretched out her arms and legs, closed her eyes, and lay for five minutes, doing nothing, thinking nothing, but breathing deeply.
  When she opened her eyes, she felt better. She said a brief word of thanks to her body for supporting her through the practice as she'd been instructed to do by her teacher. Then she pulled herself to her feet by gripping the side of a chair, changed into her nightgown, and walked deliberately over to the small laptop computer that was on her bedside table. She got into bed with the laptop computer on her knees and her copy of Henry V. Like the others, she was feeling unusually moved by the conclusion of the play. She found a vaguely remembered passage from Act V, where the French Queen hopes Henry's former hatred of France will come to an end in his marriage to her daughter, Katherine. She notes how angry and poisonous his former view of his French antagonists had been, then adds, "The venom of such looks, we fairly hope, have lost their quality, and that this day shall change all griefs and quarrels into love."

Marriage Monday

When you marry your spouse, you marry their families. You are told this millions of times but you don't fully understand the concept until you are in the middle of a situation; and you think "I'm married to this family! How did that happen?" Most of the time it can be a blessing, while other times it can be a struggle.

Yesterday was very stressful and a bit too much for my taste. In result, I became stressed out. I have found a few tricks that were able to help me get through the 18+ hours of crazy my family and I went through recently.

Trick #1
If you are a stress eater, try drinking a cup of tea. Teas with lavender are great in calming you down. Make a mug. Find a quiet spot. And focus only on the tea and breathing. I know that sounds hippy dippy but this helps focus your energies on what you are currently doing; it distracts you from the noise of everything else.


Trick #2
Go outside for about 5-8 minutes and meditate. Politely excuse yourself and find a quiet spot outside. Take a few deep breaths and soak up the vitamin D from the sun.


Trick #3
Think of at least three positive things in your current situation. What I mean is-count your blessings. This trick is supposed to help you see the bright side of a bad situation. After you hit three positive thoughts, try to keep making the list and I guarantee you will feel better.

Written Word Wednesday

"...She recalled with shame how little she'd taken it seriously when Diana Wales was suffering from depression. None of them had. In her generation depression was really only something that soldiers returning from battle suffered, 'shell shock,'yes, but everyone felt dejected every now and again. You didn't take medicine for it. You pulled up your socks. You went for a walk. The whole Diana business had taught her that depression was an illness and that there were drugs that would help if it didn't lift after a month or two of feeling unhappy. Still, she couldn't bring herself to ask the attending physician for these pills. It would have been too humiliating, much worse than asking for more help on the computer. So she fell back on her usual tricks to try and feel better...


"...Now with her hood up, the rain mixed with sleet, and the wind moving the big wet branches of the plane trees, she felt in a holiday mood. She loved wet weather, and a storm always cheered her up. She could recall being in a California rainstorm with the Reagans one afternoon when they were driving her up a hillside to their ranch in Santa Barbara. The President wanted to show her his horses. She liked him. He might not have been all that bright, but certainly he was the most charming of all the American presidents she'd met. The rain came down in buckets and the mud flowed down the gravel road. Mrs Reagan twisted her handkerchief and wailed about the luncheon being ruined. "Nonsense!" The Queen remembered telling her. "It's an adventure!" She meant it."


"...'I did find a picture of him in the paper the other day."
 "Oh?"
"In a pontoon boat, harassing a Japanese whaler. Trying to prevent them catching whales. Greenpeace."
"Good cause. Brave chap."
In her heart, Anne loved Luke more for saying this, as it was near one of her own divided reactions to the picture. She articulated the other reaction, "But he should be working toward a degree now. Greenpeace could wait for later."
"Got to discover that for himself."
"Why risk his life six thousand miles away?"
"Why go to Iraq?"
"That's different surely?"
"Not that different. Chaps like showing their stuff in a Boy's Own Paper sort of way. Scouting. Going into the wilderness. Living off nuts and berries. Oriental travel. Enduring hardship. Contributing a very little bit to a very big cause."
"Yes," said Anne bitterly, "and getting themselves killed."
Andy's face passed in front of Luke's eyes for a moment and he stopped walking. Anne turned around to look at him behind her, leaning on her stick. His face was blank. "Oh! I am so sorry. Forgive me." She walked back two paces to collect him. She said, "Come now, help an old woman whose rheumatism is bothering her." She put the walking stick in her right hand and slipped her left through Luke's arm. She knew in her aching bones that now was not the time to bring the friend Luke had lost. He will have regretted telling her as much as he did..."


"...The Queen kept being drawn back to what had been bothering her even though her whole purpose in coming to Britannia was to think of happier days. "Let's see, where did we go after Florida?" The Queen thought they went to Mustique to see Princess Margaret for a night or two. Not too long, as her sister had a way of getting on her nerves, but she was curious to see what kind of life she had down there. Margaret had built a house which had been decorated with about thirty varieties of bamboo. Someone had snapped The Queen's picture on the beach. In a straw hat. Wearing trousers! Almost as outlandish as the private secretary in his shirtsleeves. She remembered the photo, and, yes, she had been happy then. The dogs hadn't liked it, though. Sand too fine for their paws, and being at sea often disagreed with them. She was forever cleaning up after their seasickness in a way she rarely had to do elsewhere. But this also made her feel useful..."

Marriage Monday

When you get married, you are pretty much expected to have visits from extended family members and sometimes it'll be a crowd. My lovely sister-in-law, her Italian sweetheart, my four nieces and nephews, Italian sweetheart's mother and his two daughters are coming to visit us for a week.

Yeah, it's a lot of people but I love my family and I'm super excited to see everyone. The kids absolutely love our farm and the farm loves them. There's so much to prepare and plan.

For the type of person I am, I am a planner. So what I do when I know I'm having family or friends staying for a period of time, I take my planner and look at the time frame that my guests are staying. I'll get with my guests and ask them what they would like to do during their stay; I'll probably add one or two more things on the list and start from there. I'm going to use my sister as an example.

Heather wants to do some fun stuff with the kids but at the same time don't want to constantly run around town when the main focus of the trip for them is to spend time at the farm with the animals. Her Italian sweetheart's , Matt, daughters and mother are coming down for a couple of the days during the visit too so we need to plan something fun with the girls as well.

So that means I plan on stretching out some farm time and fun stuff throughout the week. For example, Saturday we plan to go swimming, either at a water park or the base pool, and either Monday or Tuesday we'll go bowling or have a picnic at the Botanical Gardens.

Meals are another important factor when it comes to taking care of my guests. Some of the dinners I've planned include nachos, a taco buffet, and spaghetti. Easy stuff that will not take long to prep, they're something almost everyone will love, and it can feed a big group of people.

Spaces for guests to sleep is very crucial. Thankfully our home will be big enough to accommodate everyone that's coming. Just in case, we have two blow mattresses, one queen and one twin.

I'm super excited to see everyone and meet Matt's mother and his girls. I'll be posting pictures on my instagram feed and facebook. Have a great week!

Farm Friday

The younger females are finally starting to lay eggs, or at least I'm assuming it's them. I'm finding smaller, more white than tan, eggs in the coop and I'm very excited.

Just started planting some more veggies: pumpkins, cucumbers, summer squash, and spinach. We are still having issues with chickens getting into our garden. We are hoping that this weekend we can fix the netting so we won't lose anything again.

We are preparing for family to come down next week so I'm hoping that I'll have pictures posted soon.

Have a great weekend!

Written Word Wednesday

Here are more excerpts from Mrs. Queen Take the Train by William Kuhn.


"...If there were no official dinner or other evening engagement, Luke usually stopped by The Queen's sitting room before leaving for the evening. He would ask her if there were anything more she'd like. Most of the time her answer was a not unfriendly negative as she looked up from the news on television or a racing paper she'd spread out on the sofa next to her. If she were in an expansive mood, which was rarely, she might say, "I suppose you're in too much of a hurry to have a drink with a granny," her eye twinkling-it was the side of The Queen that still surprised him the most. Of course, she was not to be refused. He tried to rise to her tease with something in the same spirit. "Well, if Ma'am will take a drink from the hands of this establishment's most junior barman, he'd be delighted." A smile was The Queen's assent. He didn't have to ask her what she'd like. A potent combination of gin and Dubonnet was her usual, and, like the senior officers at whose tables he'd sometimes dined, she never acted as if she'd sipped anything stronger than lemonade...


...He fully expected to finder her reading briefing papers at the desk while the dogs slept on the carpet. He tapped gently with his knuckle and waited for her reply.
   Instead of The Queen's voice what he heard was a strange noise from the dogs. It was not unusual for his knock to make the dogs bark, but then he would hear her shushing them. Now they did not bark. They whined.  He knocked again, which prompted somewhat louder whining from the dogs, and an isolated howl. He opened the door a crack to see the door to the garden terrace ajar, A December shower wetting the rug and blowing the curtains into the room. He walked in and shut the door into the garden. She'd clearly been here and was gone. Stepped outside for a moment? Gone for a walk in this weather? If she had, she would have taken the dogs with her. Instead, they waddled back and forth between the door and the center of the room, as if they were children shocked at their abandonment...



...He (Andy) looked up to find a British major saluting him with the kind of formal, angular gesture of his hand and elbow he'd been expecting all along. He was briefly torn between helping Luke back to his feet and jumping up to return the salute. He stood up, leaned over to give Luke his hand, pulled him up, and then turned smartly to salute the British major.
   After that, Luke and Andy became friends. They planned maneuvers together. They listened to lectures together. They deciphered maps together. They tried to figure out computer software for the weapons systems that often malfunctioned together. Outside of duty hours, they spotted one another lifting weights in the gym. They got on the cardio equipment and ran in place until their T-shirts were soaked with sweat. They exchanged playlists of their favorite music to listen to on their iPods. Their favorite thing to do was to play video games. They had each taught the other rules of their national sport: "Football," Luke said. "Soccer," said Andy, refusing to retreat. "Better than American football," said Luke. "No, it's just 'football,' not 'American football," said Andy, standing his ground. They saved their best jabs for when the video games grew heated. "You fucking take that back," Luke would say in an accent that was part Arnold Schwarzenegger and part Bruce Willis. Andy replied in a voice drawn from somewhere between Austin Powers and Harry Potter, "Goodness me, clam down, my dear."

Marriage Monday

Yeah, I didn't post last week. I forgot to take my laptop. My bad.

In any case, some plans I've been discussing with my husband I have also shared with my family. Thankfully, they were very supportive which makes me feel so much better. Once my husband and I get the details figured out I'll be happy to share.

The 4th of July holiday was super fun and it was nice to be back in New Mexico. The only person I didn't get to see was my niece since her family and she went camping for the holiday. But I did get to see my goddaughter and my folks.

We got home around 11 pm last night but we were so happy to be back. I missed our critters! My best friend who was housesitting for us surprised us by planting flowers in our front garden. She's amazing! It certainly helps enjoying a vacation when you have someone reliable watching the farm for us.

I hope everyone had an amazing 4th of July holiday!

P.S. WAY TO GO USA WOMEN'S SOCCER TEAM!!! WE ARE #1!!!