Stuff from Stephers

Specs-tacular

2008-06-26T16:32:00.002-05:00

Yesterday Adam and I were out and about and happened upon a spectacular event. Wine Wednesday. Apparently on the last Wednesday of every month Specs has a wine event. For $10 you get a wine glass, sample about 20 wines, and get samples of tastey foods. It starts at 5:30 but the guy who rang us up said to show up at 6:15 to avoid a big pack of wine-o's. I said wine-o, he just said to avoid the pack. We are planning on going to the next one, so clear your calendars for the end of July and plan on going with us!

Adding to the resume...

2008-06-20T10:19:00.002-05:00

I've been thinking of the new job skills I have now. First of all, I've dealt more with the police in the last few months than I have the rest of my life. Second, I can make a sandwich with a spoon which I've never even tried before. I spend half my time figuring out what could become sharp if broken and the other half trying to figure out what song lyrics are appropriate. OK, maybe that isn't all I do, but those are what I'm learning to do with the back half of my brain while the conscious half deals with more pressing issues.

I'm still trying to figure out how, in my off shift, to maximize both my time sleeping and time spent with friends and family. It is a tough balance. Hopefully I'll figure that out soon.

Random fact #1028

2008-06-13T13:04:00.003-05:00

I stir my coffee with a drink stirrer. Like a mixed drink stirrer. I realize most people don't do this, but who said it had to just stir alcoholic drinks? My stirrer is multi-use and appreciates its far reaching abilities.

In other news...I can't wait until it is October again.

Sound effects man

2008-06-07T12:41:00.001-05:00

When me and Adam walk the dog he sometimes makes sound effects for her when she's pooing. I admit that is gross but it cracks me up.

Crafty

2008-06-05T17:17:00.002-05:00

Maybe it isn't the epitome of craftiness, but I love this website. You can color online. Yes, it takes a lot of the meaning out of coloring, but it is really cool to be able to change colors around and see what different combinations look like together. To color online you can go to this website. Another thing I'm liking is the animal mandala coloring sheets found here. So go forth and color!

NOLA the Anniversary Edition

2008-05-25T10:34:00.008-05:00

Adam and I got back from New Orleans last night. It was awesomely fun. When we got there Wednesday night we just wandered around and had some drinks. Adam was tipsy and decided we were eating at the Acme Oyster House. The picture is him with a raw oyster. Ick! The next morning we didn't feel super well but we went to lunch at Commander's Palace. Unfortunately it rained the rest of Thursday and although we tried to wander about in it for a while we ended up just chilling at the hotel most of the time. Friday we made up for it by wandering all over. We went to the Faubourg Marigny area, the French Market (which the new building is almost all the way done), rode the trolley, and went to the Aquarium. Adam was entertained by an otter playing with a cup and swore that a sea horse was posing for him. We also pet some sting rays. That night we went to Irene's for dinner (pictured right) which had the best cheesecake I've ever had. After that we headed over to the Hotel Monteleone's Carousel Bar (pictured left) where I had a French 75 and we drank and spun around (slowly) and made friends with the people next to us. I happened to spot the Broom Man on Bourbon street drinking beer on a corner. I hadn't seen him working at the Gazebo Cafe that trip though. Saturday on the way home we stopped off at Oak Alley. I got us lost on the back roads trying to get back to I10 and probably added almost an hour to the drive. Oops. I also got some ear bling as my anniversary gift from Adam. Among the gifts I got him was an electric garlic roaster so expect to have lots of roasted garlic when you hang out with us. Now I go back to work and work off some of those pounds I gained!!

My work week is DONE

2008-05-14T14:16:00.002-05:00

So...I finally did my first restraint this shift. Luckily it was one of my kids and she was easy. All of my kids decided to do crazy stuff this shift and I'm super tired. I think I'm slowly getting the hang of it. I burnt two bags of popcorn last night trying to make snack. I think everyone was ready to let me just chill at that point. I let a kid dry erase marker my face as a reward and then had to go to another cottage like that to check in with a kid that we had over there. Interesting stuff. And dry erase marker washes right off by the way so if you ever want to try it - feel free. That's enough work talk. In other news...only ONE WEEK until my man candy takes me to NOLA!!! We have reservations for Commanders Palace and are planning on Irenes, maybe NOLA and a swamp tour and a plantation tour. I can't wait!!! I'd be more annoyingly ecstatic but I'm too tired!

Jingle Bells

2008-05-08T14:25:00.004-05:00

You might be surprised to find that my most effective coping strategy this past week for the kids was singing Christmas carols. We were in the middle of a safety - which is basically when someone isn't being safe. The "unsafe" kids were outside and the door was locked, but they like to bang on the doors, windows, etc. etc. When the banging started I saw the frustration on the kids faces who were inside and said "anyone like Christmas carols?" So we started singing and it was a lot of fun. Probably pissed off the kids outside, but we enjoyed it and it helped calm them down and get them ready for bed. It didn't help that we were locked out of the fridge, but it is much easier to tell a calm kid than an agitated kid that they might not be getting milk with their HEB Buddies. When dealing with a crazy situation you just have to bring in a little bit more crazy to stay sane.

Leave a message...

2008-05-04T13:11:00.001-05:00

The other day I called Adam and left him this voicemail "When we're married can you sleep on the couch sometimes so that Saffy can sleep at the top of the bed next to me?"

Busy Bee

2008-05-01T15:01:00.004-05:00

I made it through my training shift this past week. Granted the leaving houseparent was there so she was in charge and I can't take credit for the fine behavior this weekend. This next weekend I am on my own, with my kick-ass YCC that is, so it's up to us to keep the good going. I really enjoyed it and I only felt nervous around a kid once and it wasn't even one of my own kids. This coming weekend I get to take a few of the kids on a bat cruise so I'm pumped about that.

This coming weekend is ALSO Sarah's wedding, which I can't believe is here, but I'm totally pumped about. I feel like I've been in a bubble the past 5 days and I'm super excited to see my friends! It really makes me appreciate being on the outside when I know I'm going back in for 4 nights and 5 days afterwards. If you find that I'm more difficult to communicate with just know that it is because I'm at work and not because I don't heart you.

Rolling with my homies

2008-04-22T10:23:00.002-05:00

I just did my van training. After cruising around in the area I'm allowed to take the kids out on my own. It actually isn't as bad as it looks. I'm still a little slow, but I'm ready to kick it in the 15-passenger.

J-O-B

2008-04-14T19:52:00.002-05:00

As many of you may know I have accepted a new position. My last day at ACS will be April 25th and after that I will begin the life of a therapeutic house parent at a residential treatment center for girls. The set-up is a cottage with about 9 girls that I'll live at for most of the week. My dog can live there too or she'll stay with Adam. I'm excited and nervous all at the same time, but the benefits and learning opportunity are great. Another plus is that I hear that I'll lose a lot of weight because I'll be so busy. Yay. I stopped by to visit the other day and the girls were hanging out outside and they had baked brownies for the staff and were painting nails. I had my nails painted red by a talented young lady. When I was leaving they were off to get sno cones. It sounds like something I wouldn't mind getting paid for.

I see you found your eyebrows

2008-04-11T17:07:00.005-05:00

A few weeks ago I was shopping with Barbara at Ulta and I found this cute little tool called an eyebrow razor. It says that the "Tinkle Eyebrow Razor removes the fine hairs of the eyebrow, neck and face as well as unnecessary hairs elsewhere." I don't know why I bought it knowing my obsession with cutting hair. The directions sounded simple.

Directions:
First, remove the safety cap from the razor.
Glide the razor softly downward. Don't press too hard.
For more effective use, apply the shaving cream before shaving.
After use, be sure to put the safety cap on the razor and keep it out of reach of children.

I asked the man at the register if he thought I could shave off my whole eyebrow with it and he said no because the blade was too small. I felt comfortable with that so I took it home and began trimming my eyebrows. If you have seen me in the last few weeks then you know that the man underestimated how obsessive I am about getting every little thing and that I almost completely removed my eyebrow. I put make-up on the next morning and Adam said "I see you found your eyebrows."

where oh where has stephie been?

2008-04-09T08:27:00.002-05:00

First, last week I took the NCE, which happens to be the big bad National Counselor Examination. If you pass it you can apply for a temporary license after taking another test and paying $98. I'm on my way because I PASSED!!! When I got back to work on Wednesday my co-workers had all written me congratulations notes and decorated my desk. Unfortunately half of it got ripped down by Facility Operations because streamers are apparently a fire hazard. Only on your desk - they're ok in your trash can. I now have a party in my drawer. Don't tell anyone. They might take that away too. After that I got prepared for one other venture before hunkering down with last minute tasks for a bachelorette party (not Sarah's in case anyone asks). After loading my car for an hour and making last minute trips to Spec's and the bank to get cash for the stripper (Strippper?!) I was on my way down south. We had cheesy porn to make fun of, a home-made spa day, Passion Party, and the stripper who was cliche enough to make us all laugh. Since then I've worked two Gap stock shifts because we got in all new stuff. Some of which is pretty darn cute and any of you UT fans would be happy to know that we have t-shirts and cardigans that appear to be somewhat of a burnt orange. We have many other colors too though. So there is the breakdown of why I've been MIA. Now I'm off to wake up my cheeto who is making me biscuits and hash browns for breakfast. And he brought me flowers last night too.

Contenders

2008-03-29T09:55:00.005-06:00

I took this quiz just for fun - not to seriously decide who to vote for. Obviously it looks like I'll end up voting for whatever Democrat is running for president (but I already knew that). Here are my rankings of agreement on issues:

91% John Edwards
90% Barack Obama
88% Hillary Clinton
84% Bill Richardson
82% Chris Dodd
76% Joe Biden
73% Mike Gravel
64% Dennis Kucinich
48% Rudy Giuliani
43% John McCain
40% Tom Tancredo
39% Mike Huckabee
36% Mitt Romney
25% Fred Thompson
13% Ron Paul

2008 Presidential Candidate Matching Quiz

I also took this quiz and it says that I'm pretty equal on the amount of things I agree or disagree with for Obama and Clinton, and although it's the same amount it is different things for each one.

Happy Birthday Saffy!

2008-03-24T15:30:00.001-06:00

In addition to yesterday being Easter it was a special little lady's birthday. Saffy turned 4 so she is our age in dog years. To celebrate I baked her a cake in cupcake format so I could share with her friends. The recipe is below, and since it is all stuff I would eat I tasted it and it wasn't bad. I didn't make any frosting like they suggest. She seems to like them so if you want to make your own doggie cupcakes here's an easy recipe.

Peanut Butter Carrot Cake

1 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup shredded carrots
1 tsp. vanilla
1/3 cup honey
1 egg

Mix flour and baking soda. Add remaining ingredients. Pour into greased 8" round cake pan and bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Let cool. Puree cottage cheese in blender for icing. Decorate with more peanut butter and carrots.

Happy Easter

2008-03-23T08:21:00.002-06:00

The people that believe God is everything around us....plants, animals, air, etc...what do they think they are eating? Are they eating God? Or is that different? Or am I making up a religion?

If I had a bug like that I would make a coat out of him

2008-03-17T18:08:00.003-06:00

This story makes me think of this post from Barbara's blog. Yesterday Adam and I were taking the Saffster on a walk and just off of Spicewood Springs Adam did a little bounce type thing onto the sidewalk by the drainage slot in the curb. I thought maybe he tripped, but then he pointed at something on the curb. Something the size of my hand and hairy. With legs the size of my fingers. The thing was a freakin' tarantula!! Right on the curb. Just sitting there!! I wonder if it was wild or maybe an escapee pet. I wonder what it eats and if might ever wander as far as my apartment. I wonder where all it can come out of when it goes back down into the sewer drainage on the side of the road. Are tarantulas wild in this part of Texas? Surely not...surely...

Things I love right now...

2008-03-16T13:01:00.004-06:00

I found some new stuff that I'm really liking right now. I thought I'd share my finds.

I bought Bare Minerals and after the first few days of using it I think I might stick with it.
CoverGirl's Lash Blast mascara is the best I've tried lately.

OPI's new "India" color collection is what I'm loving to see on my toes.

Now I'm on to finding some sort of product to make my hair less dry and icky at the ends...

An oldie but a goodie

2008-03-12T18:52:00.003-06:00

Last night I baked some good ol' chocolate chip cookies for a co-worker's birthday. I used this recipe from allrecipes.com. It was easy enough to make, but the cookies seemed more cake-like than I usually enjoy in a cookie. Everyone at work said they were great, but I don't think they are my favorite cookie.

INGREDIENTS
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 (3.5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars. Add pudding mix, eggs and vanilla. Combine flour and baking soda; add to creamed mixture and mix well. Fold in chocolate chips.
Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned.

Get in my belly..

2008-02-27T21:20:00.003-06:00

A couple more vegetarian restaurants I want to try now. This place has a veggie hero that sounds pretty amazing Rio Rita and I'm interested in Bouldin Creek Coffee House for the all day breakfast which sounds normal but pretty good. Maybe I'm just hungry right now. And in case you've never gone to Mother's Cafe or Veggie Heaven those are both pretty good veggie food that I'd rather be eating right now than sitting at work thinking about.

7

2008-02-20T21:08:00.004-06:00

Rachel tagged me, so here are 7 things that you may not know about me.

1. My new neighbors live here. The cemetary entrance is through the parking lot near my building. This actually makes me like my apartment complex more to have a cemetary nestled in here.

2. I’m taking the LPC licensing exam on April 1st.

3. My biggest fears are failure and smelling bad. Both of which I do often.

4. My boy name would have been Carl.

5. I was in OCP (On Campus Placement) once for 3 days in high school – a sort of all day detention program.

6. I made it onto the cheerleading squad in high school because I was the first alternate and someone decided to not be on the team.

7. I call my boyfriend things like “my cheeto” “snuggleufagus” and “love button.” He calls me “weird”…with love of course.

Valentines day in photos

2008-02-16T14:21:00.007-06:00

On Valentines Day I got home from work around 10:30. Here's our pretty dinner table. If you make the picture big you can see the cards and they're pretty funny.

Adam made me tofu and broccoli - one of my favorites!

He got me this beautiful heart necklace (with help from a personal shopping assistant)

Dessert was champagne and cake.

Here's my artistic photo of champagne and flowers.

Are you what you eat?

2008-02-14T19:56:00.003-06:00

Which dessert would you choose?

Angel food
Brownies
Lemon meringue pie
Vanilla cake with chocolate icing
Strawberry short cake
Chocolate cake with chocolate icing
Ice cream
Carrot cake

And does your personality match the description? I'm a brownie.

Angel food: Sweet, loving, cuddly. You love all warm and fuzzy items. A little nutty at times. Sometimes you need an ice cream cone at the end of the day. Others perceive you as being childlike and immature at times.

Brownies: You are adventurous, love new ideas, are a champion of underdogs and a slayer of dragons. When tempers flare up, you whip out your saber. You are always the oddball with a unique sense of humor and direction. You tend to be very loyal.

Lemon meringue pie: Smooth, sexy, and articulate with your hands, you are an excellent after-dinner speaker and a good teacher. But don't try to walk and chew gum at the same time. A bit of a diva at times, but you have many friends.

Vanilla cake with chocolate icing: Fun-loving, sassy, humorous. Not very grounded in life; very indecisive and lack motivation. Everyone enjoys being around you, but you are a practical joker. Others should be cautious in making you mad. However, you are a friend for life.

Strawberry short cake: Romantic, warm, loving. You care about other people and can be counted on in a pinch. You tend to melt. You can be overly emotional and annoying at times.

Chocolate cake with chocolate icing: Sexy, always ready to give and receive. Very creative, adventurous, ambitious, and passionate. You have a cold exterior but are warm on the inside. Not afraid to take chances. Will not settle for anything average in life. Love to laugh.

Ice cream: You like sports, whether it be baseball, football, basketball, or soccer. If you could, you would like to participate, but you enjoy watching sports. You don't like to give up the remote control. You tend to be self-centered and high maintenance.

Carrot cake: You are a fun loving person, who likes to laugh. You are fun to be with. People like to hang out with you. You are a very warm-hearted person and a little quirky at times. You have many loyal friends.

The Experts say....

2008-02-09T22:25:00.000-06:00

My boyfriend somehow found the website Video Jug. It gives you life tips via online video. I have to say that I think the one below is pretty much right on. There's all kinds of topics from dating, confidence, home improvement to style, cooking and make-up. Check it out, you'll be entertained by something.

How To Be The Perfect Boyfriend