The H-E-B ad is what I look at first. I cook whatever proteins are on sale and then add two veggie sides. I try to never spend more than $2.97 per pound for a protein. Also, I don’t always decide in advance how I am going to cook the veggies.

I haven’t made all these recipes, so I don’t know if they are good. Some meals are more exciting than others. I never know how they will turn out. Sometimes my husband loves the simplest recipes. The words in orange are hyperlinked to the recipe online.

Tuesday – Peach Whiskey Barbecue Chicken, green beans, sauteed zucchini and yellow squash.

Wednesday – Italian Pork Chops, broccoli, brown rice

Thursday – Texas Style Beef Ribs (cooked with Jennifer’s brisket recipe), cauliflower, spinach

Friday – Not Your Mother’s Meatballs, asparagus, carrots

Saturday – We have plans to eat out both meals.

Sunday – Bratwurst sandwiches and German red cabbage 

Monday – Leftovers, or Pizza Italia’s $7 large pizza, or breakfast for dinner

What are you making this week? 

I had a lot of fun going out and seeing friends, but I realized that I can not physically keep up that pace. I am old. Like 32 years old. Did I mention it was my birthday last week? Being 32 doesn’t bother me one bit. It’s nice knowing what I like and not really caring if people like me. I got awesome friends and family who do love me no matter what. I digress. Back to being a party mama.

Here’s what I’ve been up to:

I’ve been heading over to my friend Rachel’s house to watch Top Chef on Wednesday nights. I love watching T.V. with her. Her dry wit cracks me up. Plus we get to swap stories about how crazy it is to have three kids under the age of 4.

My friend Jenny was hosting a Bunco party at her house for her MeetUp play group. I love Bunco, so I crashed her party. I ended up staying late and chatting about documentaries.

I have new San Antonio foodie friends! We are the #foodiemamas on Twitter. It’s really fun to go and critique food and restaurants with them. I learn new things like homemade kale chips are terrible, but thinly sliced, sautéed with parmesan makes kale amazing. Also, beets are in style. Who knew?  Claire was having a birthday dinner and we went to Max’s Wine Dive in the Quarry late Friday night. I wrote a review about the restaurant here.

That Saturday night I didn’t go out, because it was Daniel’s turn to go to the movies with a friend. I finished watching “The Time Traveler’s Wife.” I am a sucker for time traveling movies. I am glad I watched it, but I don’t need to see it again.

Last Tuesday Daniel surprised me with a new iphone! My old 3G was very, very slow and had a very old operating system. I couldn’t download new apps to the phone, because they didn’t support my old iOS. My new one is beautiful. I LOVE IT.

I’ve already mentioned that I had amazing friends. They took me out to dinner last Thursday night for my birthday at Trilogy Pizza and Wine Bistro. Barb made me my favorite chocolate birthday cake for the 3rd or 4th year in a row. Daniel and I fought over the last piece. SO GOOD. Trilogy has great pizza and happy hour specials. They have one of the best Chicago style pizzas in San Antonio. You can order a pizza with two completely different halves. So we ordered 5 different styles in 3 pizzas. It was so much fun having our own pizza buffet at our table. Appetizers were $3 that night and we had 3 appetizers and a half price bottle of Chianti. The whole evening was a blast and I am so thankful to my friends who celebrated with me.

That night my friends surprised me with a pretty beaded bookmark and a gift certificate to take a cooking class at Sur la Table. I totally teared up. They had all chipped in for this fantastic gift. I can’t wait to choose a class and go.

Friday night was book club. The 8 of us sat at the big table in the middle of Panera Bread and caused a big raucous of laughter until we shut down the restaurant at 9:00 p.m. After book club  a few of us went to go see the movie, The Descendants. As long as you know that you about to watch a drama, then you will enjoy the movie for what it is.

Saturday night Daniel and I got a babysitter and saw our niece Samantha in her last high school production. She was a fantastic Adelaide in Guys & Dolls. We are so proud of her! After the play Daniel and I were starving. It was getting late and our selection of local places were limited. Our top two picks were very crowded, so we ended up at Freetail Brewing Co. I’ve been wanting to check it out, but it wasn’t quite what I had in mind for a birthday celebration. The food was good and the place was different than what we are used to. It had an odd mix of people. I would definitely go again when I am in the mood for a more casual vibe.

We had our own Super Bowl party with the kids at home on Sunday. I won the chili contest at my house. Haha. The kids had late naps, so they were in good moods when it was time to watch the commercials. I mean the big game. Annabelle did tear up when we wouldn’t let her watch the half time show for the third time in a row. I was so glad that we stayed home. Everyone was relaxed and had fun.

Phew. I am tired now. I need to remember that little sleep and not eating makes for a very cranky mama. I don’t mean to be cranky, but it comes out anyway. I’ve already started catching up on sleep. And that’s what I’ll be doing the rest of the week. Hello, ten o’clock bedtime. Maybe.

Have you done anything fun recently? Saw a good movie, went out to eat, or something fun with your kiddos? 

“Ready Player One” by Ernest Cline

I heard about Ready Player One on a TWIT episode referencing the Sword and Laser podcast so I added it to my To Read bookshelf.  Then Amanda grabbed it from the library for me a few weeks ago!

The book is packed with 80′s pop culture references, video game sub plots, and sci-fi goodness.  Looking forward to it.

I had heard Dave Ramsey mention this book when he listed out recommended reading for his employees and leadership team.  Then this past Christmas I received it in the mail as a gift for being a Financial Peace University coordinator.  (Thanks FPU team!)

Here are a few that we have enjoyed watching:

“Exit Through The Gift Shop”

A film about street art. This is the first documentary to pull me back into loving this genre of films. (A few years ago when we subscribed to Netflix DVDs I had a lot of documentaries in my queue back then.) The entire movie is well done and well produced. You are engaged the entire film. A nice bonus is that you will recognize street art and know the history of  behind the art pieces when you catch seeing them in other films, shows, and apparel.

“Sound and Fury”

A film about two brothers and one is deaf and the other is not. They both have deaf children and one brother decides to get cochlear implants for his baby. I have a son with a moderate hearing loss and wears hearing aids. The first 15 minutes hit very close to home. It made me appreciate how far technology and our culture has come in making the world a better place for deaf and hard of hearing people.  There is a follow up documentary that was filmed 6 years after these events. I haven’t seen it yet.

“Catfish” 

A film about a guy meeting a girl through the internet. Do not research this film, just go watch it right now! Especially, if you are a Facebook user. It led to some great discussion between Daniel and myself.

“King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters”

A film about the world record holders of Donkey Kong. This film was oddly intense. I was so nervous for one of the characters. I was cheering in places and mad at the antagonist in other places. It was really fun to watch. The research afterward was very interesting.

In the Queue

Here are a few documentaries that are in our queue (on Netflix Instant and from the library) to watch. We have not seen them, so I am not entirely sure what they are about. You can click on the names of the films to learn more.

The Parking Lot Movie

Man on Wire

Helvetica 

Do you have a favorite documentary? Have you watched any of these ? (No spoilers please!)

The very poorly lit picture I texted to Amanda showing my accomplishment

We recently moved our wireless access point from my former office (now Zander’s room until we redecorate it for Roman) to the family room so it could be in closer proximity to where we spend most of our time when we are online. The upside is the iPad and laptop have better reception and the XBOX and DVR can now be hard wired to the internet. (Thanks John for handling the cabling!) The downside to this move was that our 8 year old iMac G5 (nickname: Manzana Blanca) that didn’t come with a wifi card installed (and hadn’t needed one until now) was relegated to being a stand-alone machine. The G5 is our digital hub for music and photos so it needs to be online.

Last night while shopping for a suitable USB wifi card I saw in forums that people had hit-or-miss experiences with G5′s and USB wifi cards and they advised to use an AirPort card in the built-in slot for best results. A quick Google search showed me I could buy one off Amazon or eBay for around $30 bucks. In the description I saw that these cards were compatible with G3, G4 or G5 machines. *Light Bulb*.  We had bought Amanda an old G4 Macbook that she used until the hard drive demonstrated what the sound of metal scraping against metal is like. A quick removal of the keyboard and eureka! An AirPort Extreme card! But, would it fit in the G5?

I flipped the iMac on it’s front and loosened three screws (seriously, Macs are the best designed machines) and immediately saw the slot for the AirPort card and it was the same size. Rear panel back on, power up.

G5: “I’ve found an AirPort card, would you like to use it?”
Me: “Yes, yes I would.”

Done.

It felt good to ‘use what we got’ – A mantra Amanda and I often recite in our continued endeavor of Gazelle Intensity. Also, this episode was also an example of how great design of products pays dividends years later.  I challenge anyone to show me an almost 8 year old Windows machine that is in such good shape as our little Manzanita.

Last year at this time I saw a doctor for an upper respiratory infection and a sinus infection. Last year I was pregnant, so I thought it had something to do with that. I saw that same doctor again this year for the very same symptoms. She said it was Mountain Cedar. I mentioned that I have lived here for 13 years and I have never had a problem with it. She pointed out that it effects you more as you get older. Hooray for getting older.

I got my prescription for a z-pack and left her office. I’ll probably be there again next year for the same thing.

Today is my fifth day being sick, but the drugs are beginning to work. I think the coughing and the head pain is the worst. I began to feel almost normal once my headache started to subside yesterday. Hopefully, I will feel well again by the end of the week! I got stuff to do.

The interaction between the Apple team, the key additions made and the availability of the right technology made the iPod’s development seem ordained.

I need to detox from the holiday indulgence. Also, I want to see if it will make a difference with my weight. I LOVE dessert. I’d have something sweet every day. This isn’t good if you have a high probability of getting diabetes. I’ve already had gestational diabetes once and was borderline two times after that.

Today is Day 7 of no sweets. I’ve eaten a lot of grapes and strawberries. I haven’t been too strict, because I still eat cereal and bread (a post about this later.) Those two things are not the same as ice cream, cookies, or a slice of cake.

Dessert Party

Before this no dessert phase, I hosted a Dessert Party for my book club. This is the only picture I have from that night. Aren’t these the signs of a good party?

This is what I made:

- Oreo Cheesecake Bars. I liked that I could make these a day in advance. I didn’t add enough butter to the oreo crust and it created a lot of crumbles. Also, I would have made the chunks of oreo larger in the cheesecake part to make them sweeter. They weren’t bad, but I probably won’t make them again.

- La Bete Noire. This is a flourless chocolate cake with a ganache frosting. The name of the cake is translated into “The Black Beast.” It is very rich. You have to eat it in very small portions. Overall, I liked it. I will use a better grade of chocolate next time, because you can really taste the chocolate. I used bittersweet chocolate for the cake part and semi-sweet for the ganache. I loved that I could make this night before and it keeps in the fridge. If another occasion rises I would love to make this for another group. It’s a fancy dessert that is easy to make and serves many portions.

- Carrot Cake. I used Sigrid’s recipe from the Pioneer Woman website. Ree made hers in a sheet pan in the blog post, but the original recipe calls for a bundt pan. I think bundt cakes are easier to bake and serve. Also, as a friend astutely noted, bundt cakes allow for more surface area for icing. Oh, this icing is to die for! It is one of those recipes that makes me wonder “Did this really come out my kitchen?” I had loads of frosting leftover so I served it as a dip for strawberries. I think that bowl was almost licked clean. I WILL be making this cake again. Easy and delicious.

A few other ladies brought stuffed mushrooms, chocolate chip bars, and butterscotch bars. It was a wonderful selection to suit anyone’s tastes.

Now that I have reminded myself of the sweets I am missing, I am getting back to my dessert fast. It ends on my birthday in February. I am definitely looking forward to my present to myself – a good piece of rich, dark chocolate.

I took a break from checking Facebook and updating my statuses over the holidays. I didn’t even log in for over two months.

This quote from LittleMissWilde.com articulates very well how I feel about Facebook:

“Facebook is a social utility that allows you to procrastinate by scrolling through a constantly updating stream of photos of pasta, cryptic updates and endless event invites from people you met once three years ago and haven’t spoken to since.”

Facebook isn’t inherently bad for those who can maintain self control, have lots of extra time, and can let silly comments roll off easily. I am not one of those people. Here are a few reasons why I quit:

- I can be a judgemental person. My pastor mentioned once that someone with a spiritual gift of discernment, can slip into using that gift to judge others for subjective reasons instead of righteous reasons. Raises hand, that’s me. I don’t mean to, but I become Judgy McJudgerson when I read people’s updates. Even to the point of judging their use of social media. (Vaguebooking drives me nuts.) I feel like God gave me the Bible verse Matthew 5:30, “And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.” Facebook was causing me to sin in my heart, so I am cutting it off.

- I don’t have a lot of spare brainspace and time to keep up with Facebook. I don’t have time to be upset that the app isn’t working again or that I have another change to figure out. It takes time to manage your account well. Also, I’d love to have time to care about all my friends’ daily minor details, but I simply can’t. All the information is overwhelming to me. I have a few friends and family members that I keep up with outside of Facebook and that is enough for me right now.

- I want to be sought out. If someone truly wants to know what is going with me, then I hope that they would email me, text me, send me a tweet, or invite me to coffee. The same is true in reverse. Since my break from Facebook began in November, I have made a point to invite friends out to lunch and to coffee. I have had brainspace and time to be concerned about friends I deeply care about.

- I don’t trust Facebook. Maybe I have read too many Science Fiction novels or I have taken the movie “The Social Network” to heart when I shouldn’t have. I feel like they want you to put your whole life into Facebook and follow you around the web to fill their data mines. It’s a bit too Big Brotherish for me. Their privacy policies are misleading. I’m not afraid to share about my life on the web. I am all over Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads, Flickr, and here. I just feel in more control over my information on these sites. Especially here at Team Espinoza where I own my own data. I know for a fact that Twitter sells their tweets to marketers, they don’t try to hide it like Facebook. Once a friend  saw a Gap ad on Facebook with a photo of her daughter in it that she had uploaded to Facebook. I shared about my distrust of Facebook back in 2010 here.

I am going to be making more of an effort to blog and update our site. Our baby is 9 months old and life in general in calming down. So look for me over here at Team Espinoza, instead of Facebook.

** Bonus points to anyone who can guess who wrote that post it note in the photo and to whom.