Ruff Love

I miss my baby. She lives with my marmy in Odessa. 

I do have Goose though. Goose loves Red Bud Isle. Goose loves to swim. Goose loves to roll in the dirt while playing with other dogs. Goose loves to run his 100+ pound body between my legs making me muddy and wet and sometimes knock me over in to the dirt. 

I love dogs. They never let me down. unlike Emma, who hasn't learned to properly poo in her litter box and likes to eat until she barfs, occasionally on my computer desk and mouse. 

Thanks Emma. 

Pickled Freckles

Poor people, named Jennifer, make creative Christmas gifts. 

Ceramic bowls. check. 

Paintings of family pets. check. 

Metal pans/mixers/silverware turned wind chime. check. 

Flower pots decoupaged with seeds and seed packets. check. 

Homemade PICKLES. check. check. and check. 

I've been saying that I was going to pickle for some time, seeing as I am obsessed with the thangs and can't get enough of them. And after finding pickle ornaments, I knew that I had give my family an ornament along with a jar of pickles. 

This also gave me an excuse to explore Ace Mart for the first time, and buy a big ole metal pot- so now I can make stews til' I turn blue! Yar!

Apparently I wasn't supposed to use metal, as it can react with the vinegar and turn it cloudy... But my green things didn't have a problem with it. 

Whole Foods: No pickling cucumbers.."they are out of season" says the produce man.. Fiesta and HEB: hell yeah! Take that!

After reading some basic pickling guidelines online, it turned out to be pretty simple. All jars were (hopefully) sterile and sealed successfully. However, I wasn't sure how they would taste and I didn't get to try any before giving them away. 

So basically I told everyone who received a lil' jar-o-love, "I am not responsible if you get sick. I do not know how they will taste. This is the first time I've done this......Enjoy!!"

I finally got to try a pickle of mine (I gave one jar to Emmanuel) after returning to Austin and I must say.... not too shabby. A bit on the cinnamony, clovey side. A bit of a bite to them (I added extra pepper flakes to the pot of love. But they were definitely crunchy, the way I like pickles. 

I'm certain I will try this again. 

But when I don't have time, I will head on over to Starlite, the restaurant serving my favorite (also homemade) pickles in town. 

Gettin' Sweaty

For Christmas I received two skidless yogitoes towels and a new Nike yoga mat. 

Want to spend 90 minutes surrounded by minimally dressed, hot n' sweaty people?

Want to spend 90 minutes trying to put your body into positions they may not have been in since you were in yer lil' womb?

Wanna think, 

"I'm going to barf" 

"I'm going to pass out" 

"I can't believe I am doing this"

 "wow! I'm doing this!"

 "I've never sweat this much in my life"

 "I'm in hell" 

"I feel really good about my body"

 "I think I shouldn't have smoked/drank/ate that before I came"

"I really wish I could punch the instructor in the face"

"Man, that guy is hot"

"Man, I feel hot"

"Why am I doing this?"

"I'm so glad I did this!"

All within 90 minutes?!

Well do Bikram Yoga. 

I am starting the 60 day challenge at Yogagroove...

(For newcomers it is only 28 bucks for one month unlimited yoga... woo-hoo!)

60 days of yoga... In a row..... If I miss one, I have to do double on a day. 

It'll be hot!

Happy New Years and a (hopefully) new Body. 

And I'm still working on getting all the way in to this pose- I'll report my progress as time goes on!