Ashamed and McRibbed

I have a confession to make.

I am a McRib fanatic. I'm one of those crazy freakazoids that get excited about the McRib's return to our country. I'm the one that yells "The McRib is Back" as I drive by every McDonald's I see. I drool at the mere thought of the rib meat dripping with tangy bbq sauce...or whatever it really is.

Is it weird that the sandwich is made up of God knows what? Is it weird that this meat is so processed that I can't think of a joke to couple with that idea? Yes, but the cholesterol induced coma (or is that a heart attack?) I get when I eat it wont let me think straight. It's just so good when it touches my lips.

And bonus, Hubs is equally obsessed. We are a McRib family til the end. And I pray that the McRib will be kind to our arteries so our end will not come sooner than what's in God's DayRunner Agenda.

My second confession is that I've already had Two McRibs this McRib season and yes, it's only been two weeks. That's two heart attacks in two weeks.... I must have nine McRib lives.

I can't help it guys. I probably need help but get the hell away from me and don't touch my sandwich!! I have been taking major leaps....nay... astronaut bounds to make my body healthy and strong. I even ran twice this week and did 90 minutes of yoga yesterday...doesn't that cancel ANYTHING out? I wasn to believe so.

I'm making all the health food bloggers cringe writing about this I'm sure, but the truth is, this sandwich reminds me of my childhood. This is a memorabilia from the times in Germany when my parents would take us to McDonalds and where this delicious sandwich was a constant on the menu. So, I hold on dearly to the times when they come back because.... who knows if I will ever return to Germany? That's what I'd like to know. This sandwhich is my childhood friend.

Welcome back, friend. Welcome back. 

• Any fans out there? Haters?

Teacher Talk Tuesday: Parent Conferences

This year, 3 out of my 20 parents came to conferences.

Last year, 8 out of 31.

The year before that, I had a woman show me some boob.
Let me explain so you can wipe that silly surprised look off of your face.

Imagine the mom, her baby, the translator, and I, all at a smallish round table. We're chattin' it up about her little first grader. She is holding her chunky one year old (and I say that endearingly) in her arms. Her baby is happy as a clam and suddenly... BAM, mom whips out her nip and starts breastfeeding without so much of a hesitation, let alone warning.

To make this situation that much more confusing and surprising for me, I love how the translator felt the need to say:  Oh, she's going to just feed her baby.

Source: thestir.cafemom.com via Elizabeth on Pinterest

  
I'm no Dora the Explorer, buuuut, I think I know what she was doing Miss I-need-to-translate-everything.

I don't want to come off as an objector of breastfeeding in public because I really could care less if you decide that you need to feed your baby in the middle of the deodorant aisle at Target (true story). That's their prerogative and a baby's gotta eat when they gotta eat.

But.... is it necessary to do it in front of your child's teacher? I mean, the meeting was only 10 minutes long and the baby wasn't fussing at all. I highly doubt this chubby cherub would've died without eating for 10 minutes. She didn't even bother covering up. It was a show!

Source: None via Jill on Pinterest

This is a bit excessive, you might as well go into a room...or build one around you.

And to make the situation even MORE awkward, because life is just that beautiful, the sounds of baby suckling at her teat drowned out any sound of me informing the mom about her child's lack of reading skills. And never mind the drool that was dripping on the table from hungry hungry caterpillar baby when mom leaned over to sign some papers.

Note to parents: Just don't. I appreciate you feeling so comfortable with me, but just don't.

Magic, Make believe, and Tequila

For my next trick, I will make you believe that no time has passed in my Project Wifey Wife...project thingy. By the time I finish this post, you will magically believe that I have been blogging every day about the fantabulous meals I make for the hubby. No Time has passed. No time has passed.

If you don't believe me, I'll cry. And you don't want to see my ugly cry face. It'll make you wonder if you should feel sorry for me, laugh, or be scared shitless.

Moving on....

I made the best pasta known to man. AND it has tequila. Pasta AND Tequila? This has to be against the law...and not just the healthy eating law. I first tried this magical creation at the California Pizza Kitchen and it blew....my....mind. In my little black book of pastas, this and mizithra with browned butter are my go to booty calls. The fact that I got my hands on this recipe makes my tummy all giddy!!

Project Wifey Wife Week #23- The Savory
Chicken Tequila Fettuccine
from allrecipes.com a la Kimberly :)

Ingredients:
1 (16 ounce) package fettuccine pasta
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 Tbs minced garlic
2 Tbs minced jalapeno
3 Tbs butter
1/2 cup chicken stock
3 Tbs tequila
2 Tbs fresh lime juice
3 Tbs soy sauce
1 1/4 lbs skinless, boneless chicken breasts; cubed
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 yellow and green bell peppers, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1. In a medium saucepan, saute cilantro, garlic, and jalapeno pepper in 2 Tbs of butter over medium heat for 4-5 minutes.

The love affair between garlic and cilantro in this dish is Tabloidelicious.

3. Add the stock, tequila, and lime juice. Bring to a boil. **The recipe says to let it come up to a paste consistency and I boiled for a LONG time and couldn't get that. It still turned out perfect in the end. So if you're impatient like me...no worries. **

4. Pour soy sauce over the chicken and set aside for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, in a skillet, saute onion and the bell peppers with 1 Tbs of butter, stirring occasionally.

The recipe called for green peppers, but I refuse to conform to society and used orange instead.

I'm a rebel without a cause. 

5. Boil the pasta. Duh.

6. When the peppers have wilted a bit, add chicken AND the soy sauce. Toss and add the tequila/lime paste from earlier and cream. Boil and cook chicken well. Toss with pasta and HOLY MOLY, you got yourself a dinner fit for the King of Mexico or Italy. Whatever.

When I snap my fingers, you will believe that I am a consistent blogger who makes the best food in Bloggertown. You will try this recipe and make your own ugly crying face because you will be crying tequila tears of pure and utter joy. You will love it. You will LOVE it. ::SNAP::

Our 1 Year Anniversary

This weekend, Hubby and I celebrated our one year wedding anniversary. I know this is cliche, but this year was full of ups and downs. Marriage is WORK! Why didn't anyone tell me in their wedding card to us? I thought marriage was all sexy time, laughing, farting, and happiness. I kid. It isn't just ALL those fun things, but there is that too... am I getting too personal? Really, marriage is a lot of work but well worth it. The amount of work you put into a marriage comes back to you ten-fold when pay day comes.... and when taxes come...oh boy.... break out the good sheets.... ok ok, too personal.

To celebrate this momentous occasion, Hubby and I went to San Diego. This is where we celebrated our One Year Anniversary of being boyfriend and girlfriend and where we have decided to take our one year old baby (when he or she comes). Look at us trying to make our own traditions...awww.. aren't we cute?

In good food blogger fashion, I will tell the story of our weekend through the eyes of my stomach. We ate magnificent food that I couldn't wait to show you guys! Watch, watch!

We chose this place because it was where we ate dinner the first time we came to celebrate.

Fresh tortillas made in the entrance to entice you.... smart move. I just wish she handed out samples. How do you say samples in Espanol? I thought the drool on my chin would give her a clue but she was too busy "working."

 

Carne Asada Fries.... Oh Dios Mio!

Carnitas and Chili Verde.

Bunelos to top it all off. Hubby and I thought my Bunelos were better.

The next morning, I took the Facebook advice from my friend Theresa to visit this place.

Theresa recently graduated from Le Cordon Bleu, so I knew she meant business when recommending this. Also, the fact that there was a TWO HOUR WAIT made it clear to us that we, one, were in for a treat, and two, are insane for spending our day waiting that long for breakfast.

We were also insane for walking a block down the street to get a snack while we waited. Ok FINE, I was  am insane. I couldn't take it, so I bought a croissant...filled with warm Nutella...as a breakfast appetizer. Damn, that sounds even worse when you say it out loud.

Of course, the second I finish licking the last shmear of Nutella off of my fingers, we were called to our table. I ordered a Hash....with veggies to balance the Nutella I had earlier that hour and Hubby went with the chicken and waffles.

We were very full after this, almost to the point of taking a needle and popping our own stomachs to relieve the pressure on our more important organs... like our hearts.

Yet, we marched on and for dinner we went fancy time to Morton's Steak House. This place is legit. Hubby had the Ribeye Steak, while I went for the "smaller portion" Ribeye Steak. We shared potatoes and grilled asparagus.

We also shared a chocolate lava cake, because meat is just not enough to keep a girl satisfied.

We made the mistake of eating rather late and let me tell you, going to bed with a tummy full of steak makes you feel like a bear going to its Winter nap..... except add a whole mess of crazy ass dreams.

On our actual anniversary, we celebrated at the restaurant that catered our wedding. Nostalgic.

The food was great. I ordered a Bacon Spinach Salad (because nothing says salad like bacon) and Penne a la Vodka, while Hubs had the lasagna and half of the bread basket.

 

And lastly, to end our journey through these mountains of ridiculously portioned meals, we ended our trip reminiscing about our Honeymoon in Maui. We Yelped the best Hawaiian place around.

This hole in the wall eatery was SO good that I forgot to take pictures of the amazing chicken teriyaki that I had.

Or the amazing chicken katsu that hubby inhaled.

You'll just have to trust me on this one.

This trip was much needed for our hearts and our tummies. We had an amazing time remembering the past six years and the last six meals. We had a chance to think about what we can do to improve our marriage and what we can do to make life happier for each other. We spent the weekend laughing, eating, and enjoying each other's company. It was perfect.

On This Date

On October 16, 2005, we became boyfriend and girlfriend.

 On our four year anniversary, October 16, 2009, Sergio asked me to be his wife.

On our five year anniversary, October 16, 2010, we became Mr. & Mrs. 

I love you, hubby. Here's to 6 years together, 1 year as hubby and wifey, and many more years together.

Wandom Wednesday: Namaste New Moon

1. New Moon- If some tween googled New Moon, I wonder if my blogpost would pop up. I hope not because there would be a boatload of disappointed Twi-hards and Twi-cougars. I was referring to the REAL new moon, the O.G! Do you see it in the sky? It looks like it's about to explode with love and energy....sorry, I just got back from yoga, more on that in a bit.

My kooky happy yoga instructor said that the New Moon marks a New Beginning. I love that idea. I'm all about new beginnings because it allows you to purge theraggity old  crap and start anew. That's sooooo yoga, isn't it?

Speaking of new moon, this new season has also got me reinventing myself. (I'm like 2 weeks too late on mentioning fall but, what the hey!)

I decorated with little pumpkins everywhere and ummm, can I just mention how AMAZING fall candles are? The smell of pumpkin spice is nose-gasmic.

This week will also mark a new year for my hubby and I. We will be celebrating our first anniversary. I'm unbelievably excited for our little getaway we have planned.

2. My Hubby- He's amazing. I'm a lucky girl because we started this super fun tradition on Wednesdays. It's called, I go to yoga and hubby makes dinner. I LOVE IT! Right now he's working so hard on dinner while I'm blogging, smelling the aromas of dinner wafting through the house....and I don't have to lift a finger!! WHOA BABY!

And look at him being all organized. He knows that his wife will freak the hell out if there's mess in her our kitchen. He learned well. He learned well.

3.Yoga time! I used to do yoga when I was in college. I loved it because it was something I chose to do alone. I didn't ask for a friend to accompany me, nor did I look for friends at the studio, this was something only for lil' ol' me! 7 years later, I am going again and my body feels challenged and my mind feels clear and enlightened. I feel new! New and improved, with better staying power. Give me a couple of weeks and I'll be doing this....

Except I will be wearing more than a diaper thong. But first I need to learn to touch my toes, which will also help with the toenail painting (man, I have to do all kinds of weird poses for that one!) and I need to learn how to balance. I can barely balance on two feet, let alone my big toe.

4. This is totally random, but a life changer for me. I found THE best shampoo and conditioner in all the land. My hair is medium thickness, semi-smooth, and what people like to call "Asian Straight." I was it about every other day or every two days, depending on how lazy I am that week. I recently started switching up my shampoos every wash so it can't get used to one product. I like to confuse the follicles. We play this game and I know they like it.



I have to admit that I'm a sucker for packaging. The fact that the bottle has the same colors as my wedding was a big selling point. This coincidence I now know to be FATE. My hair has never felt so soft. I fell like I have a new head of hair.

5. Best Damn Tacos- My hubby found his new favorite dish that I make. I can thank my awesome co-worker Kimberly for the insane recipe that had my husband going loco.



Here is the recipe. Carne Asada Tacos. I really wanted to make a whole blog post about it but I didn't really change anything. But, I assure you that these are the best Tacos I've ever made. Hubby said they were pretty amazing. He's Mexican, so he knows his tacos. (Is that stereotyping?) Slap together some salsa, squeeze some lime, and sprinkle some Mexican cheese and by golly, you have yourself the best damn tacos around!

• Tell me something Wandom

Motivation Monday

Sitting and browsing on Pinterest is ubermotivating! I mean, where else can you sit and scroll for three hours straight and find motivating pictures such as:

Source: awkwardfamilyphotos.com on Pinterest

This fully motivates me to call my mom and say "Thank you...for not being weird."

And this:

Source: img525.imageshack.us on Pinterest

This motivates me to start trying to make babies...like before Halloween. (Not really. Sorry, mom)

Seriously, I found some things that really put a fire under my underloos to getting choppin' this week.

Source: healthylivingforyou.tumblr.com on Pinterest

I will not reward myself with cakepops after going out for a run. I will not reward myself with french fries after yoga class. I will not reward myself with candy because it's a weekday.

Source: stephiehunter.tumblr.com on Pinterest

I will remember that  I DO deserve to be happy. I'm WORTH IT! Thanks Loreal.

Source: 9gag.com via Joanna on Pinterest

This motivates me to remember that no matter how dumb I look when I'm running, I'm still running. I'm still trying my best and being proactive with my health.

• Give me your best motivating quote.