I'm Back

Hello all, I finally managed to remember how to log back into my blogger account. It took a while, and I really don't know how I figured it out. I'm a smart man, I guess. Well, my daughter, S. was born in April, and she has been the light of my life. I could wax poetically about her, but I won't bore you with the details. Needless to say, I think that she's the best baby ever...what father wouldn't say such a thing? Gotta go, because I've got a pork shoulder about to come off the Big Green Egg. More later. Keep on keepin' on.

My Baby Girl Is Almost Here

Much to the extreme disappointment of my 0.16 readers out there, I have been on a hiatus from blogging. It is mainly from amnesia and laziness. 1000 apologies.

As I type this, Sweet T is sleeping, marinating our Baby Girl. She is technically due on April 1, but who knows when she will pop out. I do know that Sweet T is READY to have this baby, and I can't say that I blame her.

I am very excited to finally meet my baby girl. She will be the apple of my eye, and T. is very worried that I will not discipline her, and she may be right. I did tell T. that since we are having a girl, I will need to buy a new gun each year until she is 18... to keep the boys away. T. is OK with it. :)

I hope and pray that everything goes well with the delivery. God knows that we will need it.

Keep on keepin' on...

Psuedo-live Blogging - Final Update

I like to cook. I like to bake. I like to BBQ. I don't like mean cats, but that's for a different post. So today, I have foolishly decided to BBQ/cook/bake for two separate events. The first one is for tonight, when my parents, Bubba, and Toot's Aunt K. will be coming over for dinner. The second one is for Toots' brother's birthday party, which is tomorrow evening.

Tonight's menu:
BBQ baby back ribs
BBQ chicken thighs.
Homemade pinto beans - and not the ones from the can. These are the dried ones.
Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread - from scratch.

I'm getting adventurous. Or crazy.

For those that give a rat's booty, here is my process for smoking ribs. I started at 8:00 this morning:

Here is the rack, right out of the package.




Here is the rack with the inner membrane almost pulled off with a paper towel.



Here is the rack with the rub on it. I used Angelo's Beef Rub, from Fort Worth, TX.



Here she is with saran wrap on her.



Here is the rack all wrapped up in foil for the marinating.



Here are the pinto beans, soaking in water. They seem very happy there, don't they?



I forgot to mention what I am baking for the birthday party tomorrow. It's a Chocolate Expresso Cheesecake with Ganache. I'm not exactly sure what "ganache" means, but it has chocolate and cream, so it has to be good. Here is the recipe.. I also forgot to take pics during the mixing/baking process, but here is a picture of it, cooling in the oven. I'll get a pic when I get the ganache put on it. There is a small crack on the top of the cheesecake, but from what my previous ones looked like, this is a work of art. My previous ones had craters like the Grand Canyon, which is why I put the ganache on it.



If you have never cooked a cheesecake before, let me tell you it is a bit of work. In this recipe, you have to have a bunch of the ingredients at room temperature. I always forget to do that, so I end up having to wait for the ingredients to warm up. Tick, tock, tick, tock...

It's 11:43 A.M., and I've had a very busy morning so far. And it's only beginning...

Oh, one tip to remember if you decide to wrangle this cheesecake recipe, BE SURE TO USE A HEATPROOF BOWL WHEN MELTING THE CHOCOLATE! I learned that the hard way the last time I made this cheesecake. Let's just say that I had glass shrapnel all over the kitchen. No me gusta.

Update:
Here is my pride and joy, my Big Green Egg, which will be getting a workout today.



Apple and hickory wood chips taking a bath. I use about 60:40 apple to hickory. I soak them for about 1 hour.



Update #2 at 4:15 PM:

I realized that my post was getting pretty gay, so here is a pic of my Glock 9mm



I put the ribs on at 2:00, and here is the Egg smoking away.



The chicken thighs, getting ready to have a party in the Egg:



My cheesecake, cooling. It's right before I put on the ganache.



My finished cheesecake. It's OK to drool.



I've got the beans going strong, the thighs are on the egg, and the ribs have been soaking up the smoky goodness for over 2 hours. Mmmmm...

Final Update:

I was so excited about the food being finished, that I forgot to take pics of them before we devoured them. Here are the leftovers, and it was good eats!

The Walls Seem to be Closing In

Our house isn't a small house, but it ain't exactly the Taj Mahal either. I am beginning to realize that with the baby coming, our house is looking MUCH smaller. Our 3/2.5 house is going to need some serious moving of the ole furniture and a redesign of things.

About 3 months ago, we got a wall o' bookshelves for our office, which was desperately needed. The other bedroom is currently a guest bedroom, with a queen sized bed in it. So now with the Little One coming, we need a nursery. So that means that something has gotta give in terms of space. We could shoehorn in the queen bed in the office, and literally have to squeeze around it to get to the computer. I don't think that is gonna work.

Toots and I are in the process of figuring out the best way to use our house. I think that it is going to involve a moving company too, or a heavily bribed brother of mine.

It's gonna be a short post today, because I've caught a case of writer's block.

Keep on keepin' on.

I'm Back in Black

For those 1.34 former readers out there, you'll be glad to know that I actually am writing again! In my defense, sort of, I couldn't for the life of me remember what my password was to Blogger. So I would put it off for a while, and months would go by before I thought of trying to figure out what my password was.

So this morning, victory is mine! After almost 15 minutes of volleys of html links, I finally was able to reset my password. And here I am. Yippee!

Since my last post, circa 2008, not much has happened in my life. It has been pretty bland. I got married to a beautiful woman that shall be called "Toots" in this hear blog, bought a house in the 'burbs, bought a veterinary clinic, and knocked up said wife. And the last 3 events all occurred in the last 12 months. Talk about a busy year!

Toots got her first sonogram of the Little One, who at that point last week was the size of a sesame seed. As a veterinarian that has seen hundreds of horse and cattle fetuses via sonogram, I was a little unimpressed at first of our Little One. That is because all animals and people look the same at this early stage of the game. So, our Little One's sonogram pictures could be a freakin' horse for all I know. Maybe he is...*

The projected launch date of the Little One is March 31, but I am hoping for an April Fool's baby. And then the Little One would pop out 1/2 black, and Toots would say, "Little One is not yours! April Fool's!"

On second thought, I'm pulling for a March 31 shuttle launch. Speaking of launches, we have 2, count them 2, sets of couples that are going to have home births. You couldn't pay me to do that. Oh, and they are going to use cloth diapers for their babies too - and not for the money-saving part of it. I think that they want to save the world, one poo-filled cloth diaper at a time. Good luck to them!

As far as the home-delivery thing goes, I feel pretty confident that I would be fine, because after all, I've delivered plenty of babies into this world. Oh, you mean that it matters that all of the babies I've delivered were animals? Then I think that I will politely pass on the home delivery - unless the midwife comes bringing gifts of Woodford Reserve. Then I would be a-OK with it...Honey, could you pass me a glass with some ice in it - I ain't drinking this neat.

I bought the clinic in April, and it has been an interesting ride to say the least. The first week was more stressful than I ever could have imagined. But now, it's a pretty fun ride. I LOVE being my own boss. Yes, I comes with more responsibilities (like deciding on what color to paint my office, what scrubs to wear - you know, those kinds of responsibilities), but it is a heckuva lot better then being an employee. It is what I was meant to do: run my own vet clinic.

I also fulfilled a life-long dream to become a Dallas Cowboys season ticket holder. I am soooo looking forward to going to the games, tailgating, and other assorted fun, which may or may not include drinking a beer or two.

So brothers and sisters, I will be signing off now. In the future, I'll get some pictures up here and whatnot. So for now, keep on keepin' on.


* I am calling the Little One a boy.

Here is a pic, just to throw you a bone, although it has absolutely nothing to do with this post, except for the fact that Fort Worth is the greatest city...period.

Keep On Kickin'

This summer is flying by, and I haven't even been out of school for the summer. Man, I miss those days. Having 3 months off. Heck, now I can hardly imagine a week off, much less 3 months!

I went to 3 Rangers games in 2 weeks. The first two games were in 105+ heat, and the last one was in 75 degree coolness. Welcome to Texas. And the Rangers are at least keeping it interesting this year. Now I fully realize that the odds of them actually taking the Wild Card is about as likely as Big R getting a modeling gig, but a guy can at least remain interested in the games when they play .500 ball.

Sweet T and I are doing great. We are going to stay at her parents lake house for Labor Day weekend. With her parents. And her brother and sister-in-law. With 2 jet skis and a boat. And lots of beer, wine, whiskey, hookers and blow. Wait, not the hookers blow part, but with 2 jet skis and a boat, it should be a grand gala.

I'm freaking pumped for football season to start, and to start hitting some Aggie games. I can't believe that it's almost that time of year again. Didn't it just end? They say that time actually speeds up as you grow older, and I'm beginning to believe them. Hopefully the Ags can muster up a >.800 record for the season, but it's gonna be a tough one.

I'd better get back to saving the puppies and kitties.

Keep on keepin' on

Sorry Lil N For The Lack Of Posting

I realized that I'd better get to posting on this here blog, or else Lil N might just kill me.

Life has been pretty rosy lately. I met my Shorty 2 months ago, and we're going strong. We made a trip to San Antonio to visit Big Judy and his new baby. I will relate a hilarious story about that trip.

Big Judy tends to love his whiskey. And when he does, he tends to pour back a few more than would be necessary. It makes normal conversation and walking abilities a wee bit difficult. He also has a wickedly weak stomach. Here's the story.

The Sunday morning after Big Judy, his wife, Big R, Lil N, My Shorty, and I all went out, I awoke to find Big Judy sitting on the rocking chair with the baby. He looked white as a ghost, and I knew that he had already vomited that morning. I asked him how he was feeling, and he stated that he felt like..arse.

Not long after we started talking, he got up and as he is handing me his 6 week old baby (G Money), he asks, "Hey dude, will you hold G Money for me?"

I reached out to grab the little guy, and replied, "Sure."

He then proceeded to walk around the coffee table, and head into the kitchen. At this point, I had no idea what he was doing, until I heard the unmistakable rumbling of Big Judy's stomach. He then retched into the kitchen sink for about 5 minutes. I, for some reason, thought that it was hilarious and started laughing my arse off at him. I actually laughed to the point of crying.

Ah, good times.

I can't wait for Aggie football! I look forward to hanging out with Big R and Lil N this football season.

Keep on keepin' on.

God's Sense Of Humor

I don't know if you folks out there believe in God, or if He has a sense of humor or not, but I certainly do. I will explain.

About a month ago, I was on the phone with Big Judy, and I was telling him about how I was going to go out with a girl for the first time. Let's call her T for now, because I haven't as of yet come up with a nickname for her. So I was talking to Big Judy about how I've been on so many freakin' first dates in my life, and that since the vast majority of them have gone horribly wrong, I don't get nervous about going on them anymore. I further explained to him that I wasn't surely wasn't gonna hold my breath for the outcome of this date.

Well, the following day, I met T. Everything started out just great. About 15-20 minutes into the date I began to realize that I was getting nervous. You see T is very beautiful, funny, outgoing, and we were hitting it off very well. Once I realized that I was nervous, it got worse, because I was conscious of that fact. Plus, she has a certain way about her that she manages to embarrass me quite easily. That is another interesting aspect about her personality. She manages to make me nervous (in a good way), but she also manages to make me blush. I must state now that I don't get embarrassed easily, and I rarely blush. But she manages to bring that out in me too.

On our 4th date, we ate dinner and talked there at the restaurant for over 4 hours. We had a great conversation, and she managed to really make me feel embarrassed and nervous all at the same time. That feeling of uneasiness only intensified as I attempted to compliment her. I told her what I meant to say, only she took it the wrong way. It's kinda like how it is a lot of times with men and women. A guy says something, and there are two possible interpretations to it: the one that the man meant to say, and the way that the woman interprets it - which ends up being the complete opposite of what the man meant to say. So after my botched compliment to her, which I managed to get her to understand what I really meant after some explaining, I became very embarrassed which lead to me becoming nervous.

She then excused herself, and I had a few minutes to ponder the events of the previous 5 minutes of my life. I then thought about how God has a very good sense of humor, because of her and how I feel about her. I went from blatantly stating that I never get nervous on dates anymore, and there I was, on a 4th date, and still nervous as a 14 year old boy on a first date. It made me smile.

So we've now been on 5 dates so far, and I am very excited about us. I still get nervous around her sometimes, but it is still in a good way. She still manages to embarrass me, and that's fine. In my defense, I managed to do the same to her, so that's good.

I am very grateful that I met her, and I hope that this here story has a happy ending. I know that my mom sure does. Just a few days ago she asked, "Is she 'The One', Big D?" I told her, "Mom, I've only been out with her 4 times, so I can't really answer that."

She is really ready to marry me off, so she can have some more grandkids. Madness I tell you. So Big R, you're not the only one that my mom bugs about getting married.

Keep on keepin' on.

Ode To The Enema

I got this from here

It really is a monument to the enema. My life is now complete. I have now officially seen everything.

Waiter, check please.

Keep on keepin' on.

It's A Boy!

Big Judy and Triple D had a baby boy yesterday. I'm very happy for them, and as of now, they don't have a name for the little whipper snapper. I'm still going with "Judy", but I'm not quite sure that that's gonna fly. Big Judy, you're world has just changed. Good luck you two, and congratulations again!

Sweet, I'm an uncle again.*

Keep on keepin' on.

* FYI: Since Big Judy and Triple D have no siblings, then I am, by default, an uncle to their El Nino. I've told them that I was going to be their baby's uncle since even before they were married.