Nutella Day...

In honor of all the hard work Sara and Shelley have put in to make this Nutella Day special, here is my submission!

I remember the first time I ever tried this yummy treat. It was in the early 90's, I was on a college trip in Europe, Munich to be exact. Breakfast was included in our hotel stay - bread, cereal, brioche, toast, etc. So I went to grab some jam and saw this mysterious chocolate looking spread among the packets. Of course, I had to try it - looks like chocolate, smells chocolately - how could I not? From then on... I WAS HOOKED. Everywhere we went in Europe that summer, my breakfast was the same: orange juice, brioche and nutella. I even stowed a few packets in my suitcase for use when I got home. Unfortunately, after that trip there was a bit of a lag in my nutella consumption. As far as I knew, it hadn't caught on in the States so I had to give it up until my later 20's. I have been trying to catch up ever since!

In honor of this exciting day, I decided to get to baking. I looked at a million and one recipes on the internet but in the end decided to be simple. Pound cake. Should it be a nutella pound cake? Maybe vanilla with a ribbon of nutella running through it?

I decided to use a recipe from one of my favorite sites "bakingsheet" and the cake turned out yummy. I will say though, I cooked it too long. It was not as moist as I like pound cake to be, but that is the flaw of the baker and not the recipe. The husband liked it alot; but then he dunks his in milk/coffee so of course the dryer the better! Here is the recipe I used. (As a side note, the batter is DELICIOUS too. hehehe)

Sour cream pound cake? what does that have to do with nutella? Ahhhh ... herein lies my genius... a yummy sour cream pound cake slathered in.....NUTELLA!

Oh yeah - it was so good. And none of the calories count right? I mean, I WAS doing my civic blogging duty particpating in Nutella Day. AND the cake was less fattening than other pound cakes (I think). So, it's all good.

Ohh the sacrifices I make for my fellow bloggers. *sigh* such a burden....

More later...

Texas History 101

Here's another installation of local and state history! What do you think of when you hear "Six Flags Over Texas"? anyone?

Am I talking about the very fun amusement park we have in the DFW area? Home of my favorite roller coaster - the SHOCKWAVE. I can't tell you how many fun filled summer days of my youth were spent at 6 Flags. (not to mention scary rides and haunted houses that they have during Halloween) My sweet parents never gave us a hard time about the 30 minute drive to/from and even during our poorest times, there was always a $20 bill waiting for me to spend. Ahh... visions of "pink things" make my mouth water. (they are strawberry-ish ice cream things)

But no.... that is not the Six Flags Over Texas I am talking about.

What I actually mean are the 6 national flags that flew over Texas at different times of our history (hence the name). They are the flags of Spain, France, Mexico, Republic of Texas, Confederacy, and United States. The name "Texas" comes from the spanish word "Tejas" which means friend. Obviously, it's easy to see the Spanish and Mexican influence - both historical and contemporary. France tried to expand its rule from Louisiana but that didn't last terribly long. However, you can see some French influence in East Texas and we do have a French Consulate in Dallas.

It's the 10 yrs as a Republic though, that I think spawned a lot of Texan characteristics. The rugged, cowboyish "Texan first, American second" attitude you can see today. Believe me - I KNOW how brash and arrogant Texans can be. And honestly, I'm not proud of certain aspects of our history or personality traits. However, I like the confidence and the little bit of wildness we also maintain. It is a huge state of varied landscapes, with wide open sky and pioneer spirit. It's people can be obnoxious, but underneath most, is a good heart and friendly disposition. As an added bonus you totally get to say things like "ya'll" and "fixin' to"! We are proud of our state (though sometimes I don't know why.lol) so if you ever get the chance to visit, do.

Put aside your preconceived notions and get to know the real Texas, warts and all. It's a huge complicated mess of interesting people and influences. Spanish, Mexican, French, German, Czech, Native American - we all have our little caveats of the land; trust me - you will find different types of Texans all over the state. In a single week (or 2-3) you can get a taste of the wild west, float down a lazy river, enjoy some Latin flair and cosmopolitan high life.

Awhile ago, we had a marketing slogan "Texas: It's like a whole other country". Even to me, a native Texan, this place can seem foreign. lol It can be frustrating but always interesting.hehe

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** Disclaimer, the opinions stated above are strictly those of the blogger. Any resemblance to you or someone you know is purely coincidental. Also, any error in historical statements are a result of a faulty memory and laziness of said blogger (who wants to do alot of research on a Friday night?). And hey, please don't give me too hard a time if you don't agree =) hehe

Some Dallas History

Since I don't have much interesting going on in life at the moment, I thought I would tell you a story of two infamous lovers who lived and are buried around here. Bonnie Paker & Clyde Barrow aka "Bonnie & Clyde"

The pair are legendary "in these here parts" and were immortalized on the big screen in 1967 by Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway. During the Great Depression, their gang robbed banks in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, New Mexico and more (I can't remember all) murdering many who got in their way. Their escapades generated a nationwide hunt by local/state law enforcement and the FBI.

We have a family connection with Bonnie - as my brother-in-law's grandmother worked with her at a local diner. She remembered her as a quiet girl and used to help powder her back in the heat of summer. Both Bonnie & Clyde grew up around Dallas in poverty stricken families. There are mixed accounts on whether Bonnie was a hardened killer, but what can't be debated is her twisted yet sincere love of and devotion to Clyde Barrow. Among other things, Bonnie was also a poet - click here to read her famous poem, "The Story of Bonnie and Clyde".

In my opinion, their deaths are more legendary than their lives. As the poem foretold, they were killed May 23, 1934 in Louisiana. Ambushed on a country road, close to 50 bullets riddling their bodies, bringing an end to the notorious lovers.
Inside the car, they found the following: 1 saxophone, 3 Browning automatic rifles, 1 10 gauge Winchester lever action, sawed-off shotgun, 1 20 gauge sawed-off shotgun, 1 Colt 32 caliber automatic, 1 Colt 45 caliber revolver, 7 Colt automatic pistols, and approximately 3,000 rounds of ammunition. They found license plates from Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Texas, Indiana, Kansas, Ohio and Louisiana.

They are buried in separate cemetaries in Dallas, TX.

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AGAIN...winter...

After waiting all weekend for the snow and ice predicted in our most recent "Winter Blast" and getting nothing but cold temperatures and rain... this is what we woke up to today.

I honestly had no clue this stuff was even expected and got up extra early in order to be at work earlier. I was just listening to the radio when suddenly they started talking about bad roads, etc. I was thinking, is this a repeat show? NOPE. The ice came at last!

Timing isn't the best because I have a Friday deadline I need to meet. But... any free day at home is always nice. I usually feel a mix of relief and guilt when I don't drive into work with this ice and sleet. But... I can't afford a car wreck (even with good insurance) and my life is more important so.. home I stay. The sucky part is that I was up early and couldn't go back to sleep. grrrrrrrrrrrrrr

So even though it all melted around 3. I was home with my man and cat =) Once we got our pool pipes thawed out (don't ask! I told him to turn on the pump but did he .... nooooo.lol) the day was fairly quiet. However, I did find ways to amuse myself...

she's not supposed do to that (climb the sofa) but it was so cute I couldn't get after her.

Cats and Pac-Man (Playstation 2) - how much fun can you have in one day! Isn't my kitty cute?hehe I love cats - they are so funny. Mine is exhausted now from all those acrobatics and is curled up beside me on the very sofa she just climbed; dreaming about something good to eat (she is swallowing and twitching like nobody's business). Its so amazing that animals dreams - dogs are hilarious too. So all in all it was a nice restful day but tomorrow I'm gonna pay for it I'm sure.

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A New Me...

So what do you think of the new blog? It still has pink flowers but I like them better. =) Special thanks to sognatrice for suggesting miss zoot's and for helping me get the template to work. I love my Mac but sometimes its a pain!!

I have some tweaking to do but otherwise - I like it!

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Some help please...

I think its time to change my blog template. These pink flowers are getting on my nerves a bit. Anyone have any suggestions on where to find cool free blog templates? or wallpapers (is that what they are called?).

Since Monday is a holiday here (Martin Luther King day), I think this weekend I am going to do some research on blogging. I have no idea how y'all do some of the cool things you do. like make your own banners. and so on.

Any tips or links are helpful.

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And so it begins...

2007 - I have dubbed this the "Year of change." I've decided to add some accountability to my resolutions so I am posting them here =)

1. Lose weight - and this year I'm really doing it!
2. Learn Italian. I've been a very poor student of the beautiful language thus far - its time I get serious.
3. Be a better blogger. (and learn more about blogging - I am such a rookie)
4. Improve my mind. continue learning and try to be more creative. I've gotten too lazy =)

There we go. Short and sweet but really each one takes a lot of work. Hopefully 2007 will bring about good change. I am determined to embrace it and make the best of whats to come.

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HAPPY NEW YEAR

here's to 2007 being a year of positive change and blessings. =)

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