Have you ever hit the Sonic order station with your car?

I'm calling this thing the "order station"...

Sonic.  Yes, you all know what Sonic is... I'm hoping.  Have you noticed lately how many of the order stations have apparently been smashed by cars?  Or is it just me?  It seams like 3 out of the last 5 times I've been to Sonic I've had to back out of my original spot and re-park my car in a different spot because the original spot had been hit by a car and was inoperable.  And apparently my beloved Sonic doesn't believe in "out of order" signs.  This has happened to me in more than one city.  

So there is a Sonic about a minute and a half from my work.  So today Shane suggested I pick up some lunch and bring it home so we could eat together.  I was all over it.  I love me a cherry coke!  So I pull into a spot, and the above photo is what I saw.  I was sort of shocked.  It was in surprisingly good shape and (shock!) it worked!  However, I do not think this order station has ever gone  unscathed... notice the weird dent in a place where a weird dent would seem hard to place.  Yeah, weird.  

So what...what do people do?  Do they just totally not pay attention and ram their cars into the Sonic property because they don't care?  Oh yeah.... prolly so...

So you would think that after so much frustration with out of order stations I would give up.  Today I asked myself why I keep going there.  

And then I remembered...

It's the dang SuperSONIC Breakfast Burrito with Tots and a Cherry Coke.  I've started ordering the breakfast burrito with no onions because I got tired of picking them out.  lol.  The jalapenos are yummy. The whole thing (even though I can't finish it ever) hits the spot for me.  It's prolly because I heart breakfast ALL THE TIME.  And Sonic, no matter how crappy their property can be at times, I will never be able to give it up.

P.S.  I do NOT eat at Sonic everyday.  I don't even eat there once a week.  I just know about it... from experience. :)

White should be white... we're talking cameras here.

Recently I got a quick lesson on White Balance from Shane.  For those of you who are not photography buffs you may be wondering what the hell white balance is.

Have you ever taken a photo inside and it looks yellow or blue?  Or it may not look yellow but it's kind of grainy and certainly doesn't look the way it did in person...  Well that could be because the white balance setting on your camera is all screwed up.  Yep.  So the following pictures were each taken on a different white balance setting.

Auto White Balance

Day Light

Cloudy

Tungsten

Fluorescent

So what is white balance?  Well, different light sources can throw different color casts.  In other words, an object's color is going to look different in florescent light than it would in natural light and it will look different in day light then on a cloudy day.  Now you may be thinking that you can't tell the difference.  You would be correct.  Our eyes are good at determining what is white under different kinds of light... our cameras are not.  And here enters WHITE BALANCE.  All of the above photos were taken in my living room under yellow light bulb light.  Each of the above photos were taken with a different White Balance setting.  Do you see how the colors in the pictures change when the white balance setting changes?  You may have to experiment with the different settings while you are taking the photos to decide which setting will work best.  Auto is not always the best setting.  Remember, the end goal is for the white in the picture to look white, not orange or blue or yellow.

So the other day when I was taking beautiful photos of egg in the hole ...  I set the plate next to a window.  At first I had the white balance setting on tungsten, as I figured I had lightbulb light from the ceiling light.  The picture was ugly.  The white of the egg looked blue... Yep.  So I then changed the setting to day light.  The white of the egg looked white!  who'da thunk?

So when I went to Amarillo a few weeks ago and posted picks inside the Big Texan ...  yeah, turns out I had the white balance set on fluorescent the entire time.  Do you notice how the pics are kind of orange? And that is after I tried to correct the color in photoshop.  In hind sight I probably should have had it set to the tungsten white balance setting...

It was after that Amarillo trip that Shane took my camera and asked me why I had the "white balance" set on fluorescent.  And it was then that I asked Shane what the hell he was talking about.

Now I know.  I will never misuse white balance again.  Amen.  

Egg in a hole? YES PLEASE!

Something amazing that I had never experienced before I met shane was a simple little dish called "egg in a hole."  I'm a big fan of breakfast food.  I may be the biggest fan of breakfast food.  I love me some breakfast!  Hey, have I told  you how much I like breakfast?  oh yeah... So I could eat eggs for almost every meal...

So this is egg in a hole.  Have you ever seen something so delish?  I don't think you have.

How the heck do you make egg in a hole and what is it?  Well first you take a piece of bread, then you take a drinking glass (or round cookie cutter), then you push the rim of the glass in the middle of the piece of bread to create the hole.  Then  you can either spread some butter on both sides of the bread or put some vegetable oil in a pan.  The vegetable oil makes it more crunchy.  Crunchy=YUM.  So you put the bread in a pan over some heat.  Think grilled cheese, you don't want to burn it.  Then you crack an egg open into the hole in the bread.  Now, think fried egg.  You want to flip it over when appropriate.  I love the runny yolk... you can dip the crunchy bread in it on the plate, like above.  Totally one of the best things in life.

Shane says he can flip the egg in the hole with his mind, but I wouldn't listen to him if I were you.  He also says he  has perfected the art of Egg In A Hole.  This I will agree with.  It's the perfect weekend morning breakfast.

The House of Dawg

Not only did we end up having a house full of 30+ of our nearest and dearest this weekend, we also added 4 dogs to the mix.

Meet Odie.  Odie is short for Odetta.  LOL.  And note the Mardi Gras beads.  All the people were sporting Mardi Gras beads... it just wouldn't be fair to our four-legged friends if they couldn't wear them as well.  I also have to point out that this is the only photo ever taken of Odie where she isn't completely blurry.  Odie is a little dog.  Odie is a dog that is constantly on the go.  She's like a tinier, darker version of Brownie.

Meet Shorty.  Shorty is Odie's big sister.  Odie has added years to Shorty's life.  They are two peas in a pod.  Shortly after this picture was taken, Odie walked up and laid down on top of Shorty with her arm around Shorty's neck.  This is a very patient and forgiving creature.  These are the Louisiana dawgs and belong to my mom.

You can't pet one without having to pet the other at the same time.  

And then you have this one.  This is my one.  Belle.  Sweet Belle.  She chooses to spend most of her time in her crate.  It's the safest and softest place where she can get her beauty rest and not be bothered by the other ones.  Belle can be in a dead sleep and if you dare to open the front door she's in the front yard in 2 seconds.  And lord... the tap dancing.  Belle is also known as our tiny dancer.  If she so much as thinks we are going on a car ride she loses control and does this crazy tap dancing on the hardwoods.  It's so great.  If she didn't run to another room when I brought the camera out I'd take a video of her tap dancing for you.

And finally, there's this one.  This is Shane's one.  Brownie.  Crazy Brown Dawg.  This was one of those rare moments when Brownie was laying down.  Don't tell anybody.  He'll prolly never do it again. This was when the party had ended.  This was when everyone was regrouping themselves... in the House of Dawg.  

Laissez les bons temps roulez!

Being from Louisiana, it is very disappointing moving to a state where Mardi Gras isn't a key part of the culture this time of year.  When Shane and I moved here we had no idea how home sick we would be when Mardi Gras rolled around.  Wait... let me be more specific.  Shane is from Texas.  I lived in Louisiana my ENTIRE life and I had no idea how home sick I would become.  Last year at this time I wanted fleur de lis in my life, I wanted cajun and zydeco music in my life, I wanted cheap plastic beads in my life, I wanted parades with floats that threw hot dogs, I wanted king cake, man, and most of all I wanted good cajun food.  Gumbo.  Jambalaya.  Beignets.  Shrimp & Grits.  Dirty Rice.  Abita .  Okay, you caught me, Abita isn't technically food.  Whatev.

So, I'm a Louisiana girl stuck in the land of cowboys and indians, literally... there are fleur de lis in random places but most people have no idea what they are... there is no cajun or zydeco music... cheap plastic beads cost a fortune... parades with floats that throw hot dogs are just plain non-existent... king cake is scarce and dry... and good cajun food isn't even on radar.  Not to me anyway.  What can I say?  When you've lived in Louisiana your entire life nothing else can compare.  It isn't until you move away that you realize what an awesome culture it truly is.  And you miss it.  Bad.

So a year ago we decided to start a tradition.  It was our goal to bring a little piece of Louisiana to Tulsa, OK.  Ha!  So we decided to host a Mardi Gras Brunch.  So we decided to make a little gumbo, beignets and coffee & chicory.  So we decided to have about a dozen people over and it was fun.  We got our gumbo fix and people thought we were cool coming from this foreign land of amazing food and music....

This year was a completely different story!  This year neither one of us knew just how many people we've grown to know over the past year.  Every day I would come home and talk about another group of people that was coming to the party.  So Saturday morning, about 3 hours before the first guests were to arrive we realized there could possibly be about 50+ people in our tiny 1,200 sq. ft house!  Ahh!  Could it be?  Had we over done it?  Lemme answer that for you... HECK NO!

We started with shrimp & grits and beignets with loads of powdered sugar, as that's the only way.  Libations included mimosas, bloody mary's, and whatever people brought.  We then moved onto the dirty rice.  Shouts of joy (literally) arose when the gumbo made it's debut.  Then just as people were getting a little full, we brought out the bread pudding and the king cake!  Guests also brought different dishes... shrimp & jalepenos, vegan dirty rice, and sausage and egg casserole... they were all quite tasty!  I think people finally understood why they were here and what this whole Mardi Gras business was about.  It's about the food, cher!  It's about the good food and good friends.  It's about "Laissez les bons temps roulez!" Yep, it's about letting the good times roll....

This get together is an annual thing.  So if you missed it this year, you gotta come next year!  

My "explorations" cont'd.

So I've been asked what all this is about?  You know, the whole "new explorations" part of my last post.  Well that was a sense of my dry humor.  I was being a bit sarcastic when i added the quotation marks... that's how I show dry humor and sarcasm...  ANYWAY.

Travels.

Yeah.  Are you getting a sense of the sarcasm of my "new explorations" in traveling?  Yep.  I recently drove to Muskogee, OK to teach a couple of food safety classes.

This was part of my morning class.  Small but great.  Teaching safe food handling classes is something that I totally love doing.  It's something that used to take up most of my day, back in the day.  Now I wish I were able to do it more.  So when this opportunity came to me, I jumped, said, "yes!" and celebrated within myself.  And no, I'm not being sarcastic.

So I taught a class in the morning, had a break for lunch, and then taught another class in the afternoon.  On my break between classes I decided to explore the town of Muskogee.  Boy was I surprised!  Especially since I had in my mind that I was going to Okmulgee...  All these Oklahoma towns have names that sound the same to me.... most people prolly say the same about Louisiana towns...

First stop:

I followed a sign that pointed to "Three Rivers Museum."  I'm assuming it was the old Midland Valley train depot, it looked kind of train depot'ish to me anyway.  It was a cool building and a beautiful day.  

Right across the street:

This is the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame Museum.  I wish I had more time and it wasn't the beginning of the week.  I'd like to come back here sometime.

Then I got back into the car because it was FREEZING outside and I had no gloves on...

And I got caught by a train....

haha... this old Muskogee Hotel was "fireproof" back in the day.  Of course these days it's boarded up... But I dig the old sign.  I like old signs...

So, I'm just meandering around and I see a street lined with large old houses.  I love old houses, and I especially love looking at ones that have been refurbished...

I'm guessing this street wasn't aware that it was 2 months after Christmas though...  There were a number of houses still sporting holiday decorations.  I wonder how much houses run for in Muskogee?  Because I saw some interesting ones on this street that would typically be more upper class...

This was parked (and probably still is) in front of the house across the street from the above house.  Please note the following:  Skulls and flames on old hearse, skulls on front porch, lighted Christmas tree decoration in front yard, lighted cross decoration on front porch, and last but certainly not least... the humongous string of christmas lights hanging on the privacy fence on the right.  Hey, no matter what holiday season they are prepared!  Thank God for that privacy fence....  

By this time it was time to eat, so I stopped at the Sonic where I inevitably parked at a spot where the red button didn't work.  So I had to drive around and find a parking spot that wasn't out of order.  Am I the only one that has had this happy a lot lately?  I mean, not that I eat at Sonic all the time or anything...

After my last class of the day I headed out of town.  I had one more stop to make.  

The Castle of Muskogee.  I've seen billboards for this place.  They apparently do a big medieval times thing and a haunted house deal at Halloween... I don't know, but now I've seen it.  

I hope my next traveling "exploration" includes mountains, hiking boots, and a tent.

So. Grateful.

So most recently (this weekend and today) I've been going through some "new explorations" in my personal life, work life, and through "travels."  The next couple of posts will be about these so called explorations but...

First comes first...

These are my new best friends.  I am so grateful for these people.  We've recently been dubbed the "Grateful Green Grenadiers."  This is my LT small group.  Have you ever been to one of those team-building workshop retreats?  You know the ones... the ones that force you to do team building exercises... the ones that you grin and bear it through... the ones ... you know the ones.  Well on Friday 40 lucky community leaders went on a retreat... much fun was had, much self-discovery was found, and many new life-long friendships were formed.  Needless to say this retreat was NOT like all those other ho-hum retreats... this was literally life-changing.  Yes, I said LIFE CHANGING.  I can't wait to see what the next nine months unfolds for us all.

I've been eating a lot of this over the past two days...

Yep, chicken noodle soup.  It makes my world go 'round right now.  I hate winter colds (or whatever the heck this is).  I have the rest of today to get rid of it.  I've got plans that aren't allowed to be changed man.  

Okay, nap time....

Homemade French Bread? Yes PLEASE!

There is no telling what the boy does at home/his office while I'm at work all day.  I mean he works when he has gigs booked, but going freelance has also created a lot of free time for him.  After we get a new toy I can usually assume he's setting it up or researching/ reading the owner's manual all day (take our food saver for instance).  When we're about to throw a party or have family or friends in town... well he's usually cooking.  He likes to make pot roast you see.  He also likes to bake bread with the trusty kitchen aid.  Mardi Gras is coming up...  He likes to test gumbo recipes around this time of year.  I of course don't find out about these little cooking experiments until he posts a picture on facebook.  I find out with the rest of the world.  I also find other things out, like him wanting to have a pig roast, with the rest of the world.  Don't ask.  I have no idea.

What was he doing today?  Well testing my mom's french bread recipe of course!

It turned out quite well as you can tell.  I like my french bread smothered in butter.  Don't you?  While the gumbo wasn't from scratch (Bear's Creek mix... not too shabby) it hit the spot.  It was a great little taste of what is to come at our cajun feast of a Mardi Gras party in a couple of weeks.  

News Flash! Extreme Home Eats Neighbor's House!

This White house is right next door to the Extreme Home.  Wait, it's not just right next door to it, it's like a foot away from it.  In fact it's almost like the Extreme Home is slowly eating up the craftsman home...

And it's gone!  Where did it go?  You can barely see the peak.  Oh yeah, this monstrocity is sitting on top of it. 

It's sad to me that this huge house is sitting on top of it's petite 1920's neighbors.  I feel like South Tulsa just plunked itself ontop of my neighborhood, ouch.