True Story: The Steak

A few weeks ago, my loving husband took me out to a nice dinner in Houston at Vic and Anthony's Steakhouse.  I've never been a big fan of steak, but it seemed like the best choice for a nice restaurant in downtown.  (I was secretly planning to get lobster.)  Cy convinced me that lobster is for a trip to Maine, and steak is for a trip to Houston.  I conceded and skeptically ordered the filet mignon. 

I had no idea what I have been missing.  That steak was truly mouthwatering!  I am officially ruined.

We haven't had steak since, and I was grocery shopping (which sometimes takes a herculean effort for me) and saw some great looking steaks.  I picked one out according to price per pound and size (to feed us both).  I put it in the fridge for Cy to grill the next day.

The next evening when I came home, I was on the phone with a friend and was in quite a deep discussion.  She lives across the country and we were catching up, so I put the steak out and left the rest to Cyrus.  He gave me a funny look when he picked it up, but I was too engaged to process what he was trying to tell me.

At dinner, I was supremely disappointed in the steak.  I didn't want to insult Cy's grilling, so I didn't say anything and chewed and chewed away at each little piece until my jaw hurt.  Cy didn't say a word about it.  Later, I finally confessed that I wasn't happy with our steak and I felt like maybe the amazing Vic and Anthony's filet mignon had ruined me.  He grinned at me and said, "that was a roast, love."

A roast.   I made him grill a roast to medium-rare.  And he might have never even mentioned it.  He's a good man.  And now you know the extent of my culinary skills.  :)

Spring Flowers, Doggies, and Chocolate

Spring is in full force here in Austin.  Some days it feels like summer already.

Here are some of our potted flowers and plants around the house.  Special thanks to my mom for helping me pot the flowers when she was here in March. :)

A few of my favorite things

There are a few things in my life right now that are my favorites.  Here are some of them:

Oversized handmade coffee mugs

Thanks to Jeffrey for the secret santa gift of this mug!

Peonies (a new favorite)

Cyrus got these for me.  Good husband. :)

My new red hair!  

It was semi-permanent and is already fading. Perhaps the reason for my sad face in this picture?


Bob's Red Mill Oats!

Howie the turtle at work. :)  

Don't laugh, it's perfectly adult to have a coping mechanism at work.

Colored folders.  There is method to my madness!

This picture.  I feel this way a lot.

Credit: hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com

The red wall and white Ikea lamps in my office.  :)

Refurbished Rainbow Vacuum

Excellent for living with allergies and pets.

Rachel Perry facial scrub

Super teeny tiny flowers!

I zoomed in, but it's tiny!

Gluten/Casein/Soy Free Yumminess

I am on my second box and have yet to actually bake some.

Getting packages from UPS. Or FedEx.

Yikes, I need to wash my windows!


Our new bed!

Courtesy of Tempur-Pedic.  This amazing bed is changing my life.



This wouldn't be an adequate list without these two, of course.

And finally...

 The fact that I'm posting this from home and now officially on vacation until next year!

As of right now, the last one is probably my top favorite thing. :)

Life Changing Discovery

So the pollen and environmental allergy discovery was pretty eye-opening.  Since then, we've completely cleaned out our HVAC system, bought a new mattress and pillows (thinking for just 5 minutes on dust mite feces was life altering alone), and a new vacuum.

Then I saw a naturopathic doctor for help managing the allergies outside of pharmacotherapy.  A few lab tests later, I find out I'm very allergic to gluten, casein, and soy.

That means: no bread, no cheese. (And a lot of other things, but these stuck out to me in particular.)

Unrealistically optimistic, I thought, "no problem!  Who really needs bread and cheese anyway?  This will be fun!"

Reality set in at work one afternoon.  I thought I had packed enough almonds and sweet potatoes to keep me happy for a full 10 hours.  Turns out cutting out breads and cheeses does something (and I have no idea what, but it's happening to me!) to my insides.  I'm hungry all the time!  I don't know what to think of it, but I'm hoping it's a transitioning period.  If it's not calmed down in a few weeks, I'm going to call the doctor and see what she suggests.

Someone told me twice this week that I'm losing weight - not a side effect I'm going to lament over.  But, seriously, I'm so hungry, it's not funny.  Within an hour of eating I'm hungry again. 

Can you tell it's bothering me that I'm hungry all the time? 

At least I found something to keep my mind off of the hunger:  http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/.  She is so funny, I've cried 3 times from laughing too hard since yesterday.  I could spend hours reading all of her posts in one big gulp.

Inspired by the above mentioned blog, I had the brilliant idea to illustrate what I think my stomach looks like right now.  I have a serious appreciation for her MS Paint art after this pathetic attempt:

But it made me laugh and forget my hunger. :)

Meet Maru.

I am a self-proclaimed addict of the cheezburger network.  One particularly adoable kitteh frequently graces the pages of this blog: Maru.

Take a deep breath, and enjoy the gold standard of cute: