T-Shirt Ideas

I recently purchased 2 t-shirts from Woot. I purchased today's shirt after I couldn't stop staring at it. Maybe since the cool weather arrived yesterday and I get to wear a jacket put me in the mood to dream about the upcoming sweater weather. Whatever. I got it. Then, last week Woot had a sale on their shirts and BAM, I got this beauty. I'm not a big Doctor Who fan but ANYTHING for Back to the Future. Besides, I totally get it.

Then, during a moment at work, when I realized things were turning a bit too stressfull, I drew this.

This particular one took me a moment because I couldn't find the right face to illustrate exactly how No Bueno is supposed to be read.

I might need to come back to this one and fix the face but I really like it.

This one though, I like a lot. I can envision the whole thing as a shirt as well as the shirt my imaginary person is wearing. The BNC gets t-shirts made for his band and I may inquire about making these 2. I need to sketch them better and that may be hard since I'm not an artist. Hell, I didn't even take art in high school. Come to think of it, I can't remember what I took as my fine arts elective. Spanish? Heh. Let me go off on a tangent. I TOTALLY bombed that class. I would skip it all the time, smoke out by where the auto shop class (another class I should have taken and breezed through since MY DAD is an auto mechanic) was and share some smokes with people I never really knew. So, I received a 50 in that class. Yes, me. I speak spanish, it was my first language and I got a 50. But, I took the final and made a 100. My report card was awesome that year.

Okay, I'm back in. During last night's craptastic Project Runway, contestant Mondo, who should have won, made this amazing tote and I want it. I want to make my own but I'm not creative enough to pull it off. But, maybe, just maybe, I am and just maybe, I should start with a t-shirt.

And now I'm nervous about sharing this.

Beyond Pissed

I stayed up late last night, Project Runway was finally having its season finale, so my bedtime was moved from 9p to 10p. I went to bed angry, very angry. I think I am done with the show. I joked that I would be done until next season but, after the WTF from last night, I think I mean it. Nina Garcia and The Duchess, Michael Kors, can eat a BIG stale shit sandwich.

More info here and eventually here and here as well.

Move Over, Julia!

Sometimes you need to clean out the pantry and the refrigerator, bust out your dutch oven and make something that just is nothing short of yums. It came at the right time, too. I've been burnt out lately. I'm tired, slightly stressed and despite my Lunesta, not sleeping as comfortably as I would like. Add the urgent need for new pillows and a perfect storm of yucks in the morning is created. My spine feels off center and that in turns makes everything hurt. I have always suffered from terrible back problems so feeling my back out of whack (haha) has me feeling sluggish and incredibly old. But making dinner is extremely therapeutic for me so, despite a long and tedious work day, putting the time and effort for some chicken noodle soup was just what I needed to get a little spring back in my step. Part of the routine is to talk to a feline, doesn't matter which one, that may have wandered into the kitchen in hopes of a nom, as if I'm on the Food Network, and explain to them what I'm doing, why I'm doing and why it needs to be done. It's got Crazy Cat Lady written all over it (including an A&E show) but I tend to be home alone for a good while until that old Ball-n-Chain comes home. Typically Bitty Girl is my main audience. She listens and watches attentively, doesn't have her legs in the air that much and doesn't yawn. So, excuse me while I check my phone for any missed calls from the Food Network, TLC or A&E.

I Was Unprepared

Today marks the 2nd anniversary of the passing of the BNC's beloved Grandmother. If I close my eyes and transport myself out of here, I can smell her house with that Grandma smell made up of food, candles and memories. I can feel her hands so translucent, soft, warm, nurturing. I can hear her voice announcing our arrival to her home whether anyone was there or not. And most certainly I can feel the love. It was evident from our first introduction, several years before, that she held the BNC in extremely high regard. Watching them together, as the BNC turned into mush, warmed my heart. Her passing had been expected for a while but it still came as a surprise because you always think you have a little more time. And that is awful, just awful. The family, huge even by Mexican standards, slowly gathered at her home as the day progressed completely at a loss as to what to do. Grandma passed at home, in her sleep while her only daughters (2 of them) were with her. In all honesty, I had never been in a home where a body lay and simply calling Grandma that makes me feel sick to my stomach, but it was something different for me. Then again, I was not present when my own Grandfather passed away including other members of my family. My Grandpa's passing was the first funeral I had ever attended and I was 21 years old. But, it's this unfamiliarity with death that would break me to pieces the day after Grandma died because it was then when I had to put Boochie down. It was something unfamiliar to me as well. I didn't know it was going to be that hard and if you don't know something then you can't truly prepare for it. So, I fell apart very slowly. By the end of this particular 2-day period, I couldn't cry anymore. I was so defeated as I was unprepared for both of these deaths. I was unprepared to sit in a house waiting for them to show up and take Grandma away. I was unprepared to watch her get wheeled out of the house while I held my breath for what seemed like an eternity. I was unprepared to see so many people cry for the first time in the entire time I had known them. I was unprepared to say good-bye to her. I was unprepared to go home and finally succumb to the decision that had to be made concerning my cat. I was unprepared to say good-bye there too. I was unprepared to walk into the vet's office as the staff gave me The Look. I was unprepared to hold him while he went to sleep indefinitely while I cried and cried for him because I kept thinking this is not happening. I was unprepared to go to sleep without him that night. I was unprepared for the lasting effects of putting the greatest cat ever down to sleep. I was unprepared for the hole he left in my heart and my little family. I was unprepared for these back to back deaths. I was unprepared for just how awful that week was going to be. I was unprepared of how hard the life of a pet owner could be. And here I am, 2 years later, most certainly prepared but now with a bandage on my heart because that's where it hurts the most.

Grandma was buried on Halloween day and since November 1st is Day of the Dead, we will be spending the afternoon at the cemetary just like we did last year.

We totally fit.

The Results Show

I had a doctor's appointment this past Friday afternoon and while I received high marks, I received some sad news. During my 3-day CGM, my blood sugar reached 200 just 1 single time. The culprit was peanut butter. So, it is with great sadness that I part with PB. Who knew that PB would do such a thing? We had some good times there. You will be missed.

Give me a treat

I know they're in there. You know they're in there. Who are we kidding?

Come on! I was good today!

And now for something completely different...again

The BNC wrote this as a 9-year old and my MIL, being a super organized hoarder, kept it and finally handed it over to me. It's a piece of folded paper, the word note written on the outside. On the inside is the real gold with the following sentence: Dear mom I am leveng you. cos I hat you. The story of what finally drove him over the edge was, as punishment, my MIL purchased 2 Happy Meals, the BNC's favorite, proceeded to eat them both, play with the toys and then dump them in the trash. All in front of his face. Psychological warfare, my friends. The CIA has nothing on my MIL. That eventually led to the runaway letter.

I adore that he remembered his salutation. I adore more that she kept all of his stuff such as his heavily played with Transformers and the self-portrait he did in 3rd grade.

Live from NY, It's Saturday Night!

30 Rock was amazing last night. It was live and utterly hilarious and it was what I wish SNL could be one day (again); hysterically funny. I long for the days of Chris Farley, Adam Sandler, Chris Rock and, most certainly, the genius Phil Hartman. I wish I could share my favorite skits but I guess just saying that era was my favorite is all I can muster. Those early SNL with Belushi, Chevy, Gilda Radner, Eddie Murphy, etc. were great as well. Samurai Deli, the Blues Brothers (great movie btw) and Belushi's Olympic commercial for donuts are some of my favorites. Ah, good stuff.

30 Rock gave me hope even if the laughing audience threw me off since 30 Rock doesn't have a laugh track.

There is no reason, much less a tie-in to SNL and 30 Rock, with the following photo other than to showcase exactly what I walk into when I come home every day; A cat nap that I'm sure is well into its 6th hour. It's as if Logan McFatPants was playing with his toy and just decided to take a nap. That is a jerk move if I ever saw one.

If those 3 aren't in a pile then they are scattered. Bitty Girl may be on the counter passed out or on the table passed out. Apolo could be on the couch or under the table.

Notice Apolo's stumpy legs under the table with Bitty Girl nonchalantly wondering why I'm making such a big fuss when I clearly should be getting everyone some treats. She's a menace (II society) for tearing up all of my paper napkins that should be in their holder in the background. If there was a cat juvi, Bitty Girl would surely be in it.

Grandmas Do It Better

My Grandma makes the most amazing chicken ever. (Are all of our Grandmas the best?) But, she doesn't really bake. She instead uses her oven to store her pots and pans. It must be a Mexican thing cause I've been to several homes in the Old Country where they use it as a storage unit. Everything my Grandma ever cooked was prepared on the stove itself. So, when it comes to chicken, Grandma fries it. Yet, hers doesn't stick regardless that she doesn't own any non-stick pans or a cast iron. Even my momma's chicken sticks. We call this special talent as having The Hand or, in spanish tiene mano. My Grandma tiene mano for everything. She has The Hand for plants, cooking, head scratches, story time, playing games, telling jokes, drinking beer and jumping rope. In other words, my Grandma rocks.

My Grandma showing one of my littlest cousins, bottom right, how to jump rope.

Texts with B

How come all the other cancers get shade but yours doesn't? This sucks.

I know, huh...oh well...it's all good though.

And this is the kind of shit I talk about with B, though that is the first time I actually said/typed the C word. I retold this text to a friend who found it horrifying. I can see that but this is what I do with my brother. I can't joke about this with anyone else but him cause that's how we roll. When he was hospitalized, a day after, I told him how dare he try to 1-up me. (It'd been almost a year since my diabetic life began.) He laughed and remarked that he knew I would eventually say that.

Lick my wounds

A chorizo con huevo y frijoles taco is a nice reward for going to work early Saturday morning. So early that there was NO LINE at Laredo Taqueria. SCORE.

Caldo de res is also a nice reward after your team loses a second straight game. At least the Cowboys lost too but how dare they make me root for the Titans. Had we won our game against the Cowboys, I wouldn't have cared much less watched the whole game.

The Texans lost again, Logan. I'm sorry.

The Pantry

I've had that realization, the same one wherein you take a photo, yourself included perhaps, and realize dude, I look terrible.

After The Fridge 1 and 2, I noticed I had to clean out my fridge a little. The same now goes for The Pantry.

Wowza. I need to sift through it again and either have a big pantry party or just throw it away and not get sued. Fine, my stuff isn't that old, it's just, well, I have a lot of kitchen towels.

But, I didn't clean it out. I left it as it was and posted it anyhow. Why pretend? But, I do plan on cleaning it out this weekend and update my spices, etc. Until then, I'm on my way to being on Hoarders.

The top shelf, not seen from the first photo cause I'm short and my kitchen is a little tight. The contents are Bounty paper towels, Honey Nut Cheerios, Britta filters and generic Corn Pops. I hate Corn Pops, both brand and generic. Honey Nut Cheerios though, yum. But alas, those aren't for me. I've banned myself. Those, with even the skimest of milks, will raise up my blood glucose levels to 200 and beyond. Never, ever bueno.


The second shelf consists mostly of spices, salts, Nutella, peanut butter and bread.

The third shelf is mostly pastas, rices, oils, cat treats, my sugar-free drink mixes and canned tomato sauce.


The fourth shelf, ouch, look at all those towels. I did some purging in my closet and I guess I should do a kitchen one as well. Anyhow, dry beans, lentils, napkins, bacon press, matches and wet canned food for the cats. Shit, are you seeing those towels.

The fifth shelf is mostly trash bags, ziploc bags, foil, my toaster oven (rarely used but dude, it needs a cleaning), my hand mixer and my rolling pin for all those flour tortillas I shell out. :(



Lastly, a recycled container of cat litter, that I no longer purchase, full of cat food. I used to leave it in the bag until I once left the door open and BAM, food and fat cats everywhere.

It's evident I need to work on my organizational skills in the kitchen and while it may not seem like a lot of food, I don't like to store too much of it or chances are it will wind up in the trash. And, I have shaky hands and a tiny kitchen and I was trying to hold onto cats, who know the treats are in here, and eek, my photos are not that bueno.

However, I'd love to see other people's pantrys and fridges.

Get ready

Halloween has got to rank up there as one of the more awesomer holidays. You get to wear a costume! You get free candy! You can win a costume contest! FREE CANDY! And, the day after, you can hit up Target and get all of their Halloween stuff for 50% off! That's better than that 10% off sale they have before but patience, baby, patience. Patience gets you all that stuff you wanted for far less and next year, it pays off.

You might even get a Basement Cat that likes to lay on her back.

As for my costume, Yosemite Sam is ranking right up there but suddenly I'm thinking Lucy from Charlie Brown may be nice. If I do dress up as Lucy, it will be the first, in many years, where I actually dress up as a girl. ;)

Ronald Reagan?! The Actor?!

I saw a commercial for Beauty and the Beast last night and I got so excited and happy thinking holy shit, they are re-releasing it at the movies! ZOMG! I hope they have a sing-a-long! They aren't. It's just getting a release on Blu-Ray. Let me tell you, it was hard to come down from that. But then...

I find out the Alamo Drafthouse is showing Back to the Future this Saturday night. With, get this, DeLoreans in attendance!

What does this have to do with the picture of Jasmine rice? I spent the evening with B, where I made dinner involving the rice, all the while helping him with his re-certification for his work license (cause he needs more reasons for me to get a Lifetime Achievement Award for Best Sister Ever) and talking about the showing of Back to the Future.