before i start this post, i have to say...i really love my pup. he's the best and greatest dog ever. i could not ask for a better dog. i mean come on, how can you not love this face?!?!

okay...on to the post.

so, i've had this urge the last couple days to bake cookies and to use my new kitchenaid stand mixer. and not just any cookies, but sugar cookies and learn how to decorate them with icing and such. (yes, occasionally, i get these overly time consuming ideas that i have to do...ie: like making cards to give to people or planning and designing my whole wedding.) so i searched for recipes in my Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook, Food Network, Epicurious and even in my binder full of recipes i've clipped over the last 10 years. none of them interested me or were way too much work for sugar cookies. finally i ran across gordon and yvonne's blog and she had a recipe for cookies AND icing! and the photo of the finished product looked amazing. so i went to the store picked up all the necessary ingredients, made the cookie dough tuesday night so it could chill over night as the recipe instructed. so yesterday, i get off work, and i get to baking so I can the cookies can cool off. i go to work with the cookie cutters trying to make perfect longhorns, duckies, planes, teddy bears, dogs, and martini glasses. after about an hour of cookie cutting and baking i was done. and pretty darn proud. by the last batch (3rd in the group) they looked perfect and they tasted so yummy! so i let them cool on the kitchen table.

now, during this whole time, my beloved dog is laying right outside the kitchen entrance (because he's not allowed in the kitchen when i'm cooking since i'm a klutz and drop stuff on the floor.) so i'm sure he was totally being tortured. to make it worse i went straight into cooking dinner...so double whammy. all this time, my beautiful cookies were all just hanging out while b and i eat dinner. mind you, luca at this point isn't even sniffing around the kitchen.

after dinner b & i had to go run an errand. we were gone no longer then 30 mins...max. before we left i even pushed the cooling racks further back on the table and pushed in all the chairs just in case he got a little bit tempted to go after the cookies. alas, the will power of the little white dog was stronger. we get home, he's all happy to see us then suddenly he lowers his head, and uncurl his tail and walks straight in to his room (laundry room) as we head to the kitchen. and to my shock and horror, he knocked over the rack of perfect cookies...not the first two batch ones that were slightly too brown or misshaped...the perfect ones. to make things worse, he ate 15 cookies. that is a whole lot of calories and sugar for a pup his size. i was furious with him. and he knew it. he was sitting in his room, head bowed, ears back, tail tucked between his legs..."i'm sorry...i couldn't help it. the cookies were taunting me." so to say the least he is in solitary confinement for disobedience and just in case he tosses his cookies. oddly enough, the only two cookies he did not eat from the batch were the two dog shaped cookies. they were left sitting on my kitchen floor, perfect, untouched, not even chipped.

Judge tosses $54 million suit over missing pants via cnn.com

good to hear that there are still people with common sense and know right from wrong.



my original post about the story is here.

it seems like my weekends are more busy than my weekdays. i mean, yes, it is a different type of busy but i kind of miss sitting around at home with nothing to do :)

this weekend was a little of both. i went down to houston b/c i had to work sat. morning in baytown. we had 104 krbe out doing a radio remote. it was fun...just really hot and muggy so made working on a sat. that much tougher. i will post pics later. but i have to be thankful that it did not pour rain until after. i got to my exit off of the hwy to my parent's house and sheets of water just came pouring down! it took me almost 20 mins to get home when it should have only take less than 5. and it was totally flash flooding. i got home, showered off all the insect repellent and sunscreen, hung out with my parents for a bit and went off to meet my just because space for some quality girl time. we headed over to lot 8, which i've been wanting to visit for a while now. we needed to find something to wear to our dear friend's wedding in NYC next month. so I ended up talking her into buy two fabulous dresses and i picked up a beautiful halter dress for the wedding. (i would post pics, but i had to ask my just because space to help me take it back there to get the security sensor removed. oops.) ahh, the memories of our trips to the mall when we were in jr. high buying candy and crazy clothing. then we walked around the rice village some more and had a yummy dinner at kubo's. then we headed over to this chocolate, truffle, gelato place for dessert. i have to admit i was feeling a little sad...not because we were having a bad time or anything. but i knew that we wouldn't be having these spur of the moment girl times anymore once she is a married woman and moving to "music city usa". having been friends with someone for over 2 decades is pretty impressive...i'm sure gonna miss her. i have no doubt that we'll be friends forever, but i'll miss having my buddy in houston. got home and found my mommy in the kitchen making mango pudding (YUM!) so i helped out, learned how to do so. it's actually pretty easy. i will post the recipe sometime soon.

So that pretty much wrapped up sat. then there was church sunday morning, then back to my parent's home to pack up and drive home to see b and luca. and that pretty much wraps up my weekend. next weekend isn't any better...going away party on friday, working sat. in san antonio, then housework on sunday. boy...i need a weekend from my weekend.

and it's printable :)

Judge Tries Suing Pants Off Dry Cleaners via NYT.com
this really pisses me off. not just because i'm asian or an immigrant. just because this judge is that cocky, power hungry, selfish, self centered, and just plain mean. i mean seriously...$67.3 million?!?! This makes me think he doesn't deserve to be a judge. he doesn't seem to have good judgement. he obviously has no problem abusing the power he has, or the legal system. i mean seriously. it's a pair of pants. they offered a settlemen. get off your high horse and let's not waste every ones time and resources. and please don't cry in court...especially over a pair of pants. this just proves my theory of more idiots in the world. he ranks right up there with the TB infested lawyer and that whole family. and as an employee of the city, this isn't the way to win any sympathy from anyone...he's on the city payroll as an attorney adviser to the Office of Administrative Hearings, at a salary of $100,512. go buy your self another $1200 suit and move on. better yet, find a hobby.

Two jailed after bridge built by blind man collapses via Reuters
are the chinese on to something...or just no smart?

Sarah Jessica Parker launches Bitten

so i have to say i am quite excited about this. unfortunately, there is no steve & barry's here in austin. :( i'll have to either go to san anotnio, houston or kileen. i don't think i would be this excited if i didn't find some great things at s&b's when my sister, b and i went a couple weekends ago. we even braved the torrential rains to go...yes, my sister and i are shopaholics. we admit to our problem and have learned it is gentic...it comes from my mom :) but hey, at least we are frugal shoppers. back to the topic...so yeah, we found some pretty good buys. maybe it's because we are not expecting the greatest quality, but were surprised the fit was good...better than decent. my sister and i both purchased jeans and some tops. cute tops...similar to old navy..but a little bit cheaper. i got 2 dress shirts for $10 each and a brown top for $8. they also have lots of fun t-shirts. the jeans, i have to say, i am VERY impressed. i have a really hard time buying jeans....especially since i'm not willing to drop $150+ on jeans and am vertically challenged an have hips. so i was surprised when their jeans fit...and were totally cute! so i purchased 2 pairs for $22 total. and i have to say they are pretty comfy (i'm wearing them now) sure, they are not sevens, joe's or anything like that, but I have to say, not bad for $11.

so now i'm really wanting to go see the sjp line. i'm even tempted to drive to san antonio tomorrow or sunday to look. if anyone has a s&b's and has gone to look, let me know what you think.

i know i don't have kids but my sister and her kids are showing me some pretty nifty things that i, as a child, did not have. i use to think that certain things were overboard, but the truth of it is, i think i'm just secretly jealous that i didn't have these things as a kid. even my mom thinks they are nifty.

Instead of using scissors that can rust and trap food/bacteria in places, this thing on the right can cut food into smaller pieces AND it is all completely plastic and one piece construction. The spoon is to smush things...but any spoon can do that. my sister and i tried it out and we cut pizza, raspberries - and they did not get smashed into unrecognizable bits, cucumbers, dried fruits, fresh peach, noodles, and fish cakes. and it really did perform. for a couple bucks, that was well worth it.

Combi Chop Sticks Trainer
This came about because the older child wanted to use chopsticks. we've tried all sorts of methods and gadgets from here to asia and none of them worked. but this one, it was great! he was picking up food like a pro! and as he learns, you can remove the trainer and use them as regular chopsticks. two thumbs up.

*both items were purchased at The Right Start. visit the combi website for more retailers.