A Picture Is Worth 1000 Pounds....

If you want to know something about me, please put this at the top of your list. I LOVE THIS. Basil, Mozzarella, & Tomato, drizzled with Balsamic Vinegar and Olive Oil, and a pinch of sea salt. I mean, if its on the menu, I will have it. And if I haven't had it in a while, I go get the stuff to make it. Here is the latest platter full, I just had to take a picture it was so pretty. I actually made a Basil Pesto and the 'chocolatey' looking stuff is a Balsamic Vinegar Reduction (ie, boil the BV until it turns thick). Oh Baby. And then this. This is what you must drink to make the dish complete.

A buttery, oakey, glass of chilled Chardonnay.

Oh baby.

But, FAST FORWARD to this past weekend. Photos at two different events were taken, and suddenly, I regret the Mozzarella/Chardonnay Festival also known as My Summer of Unemployment. I do, have a partner in crime for this activity, so if you're saying 'unemployment pays well,' well it doesn't. She ponies up the groceries too, when we need a fix.

And the photos. I hate them. But they led me to do this.

Grocery store, veggies, fruit, chicken, tuna, yogurt, you name it, if its on a diet anywhere in recent history, I bought it. And, again, if you know me, the Truvia is the biggest step because I dump 1.5 pounds of sugar in my coffee. But alas, it is not serving me well. So, as I write this, I am choking down my first Truvia Latte, and I'm just going to have to stare at those damn pictures until the bitterness goes away.....

And I'll be washing it down with this. 64 ozs or more, they say, so if you need me, I'll be in the bathroom.

LYIfeellikeKirstieAlleyGuts,

Bj

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LORRIE VEASEY....

you don't look a day over yesterday!

We Lurve You, hope your day is mucho bueno

LYAreYouFiftyYetGuts?

Bj

No Blog Sheila

Editors note: this picture has nothing to do with Sheila. I just liked it. The Title is Hanging by A Thread......... http://envisage2009.blogspot.com/

If you haven't seen this site, you need to go there, sit back and look at the photos.

Miss Thystle and No Blog Sheila are contributors, and the photography is real, personal, beautiful, just a really neat perspective by each person.

LYSmileandSayCheeseGuts,

Bj

The Basset Hound Shuffle, aka, Owen see's his People

Saturday we loaded up the speed bump, Owen, and took him to the annual gathering of Basset Hounds. It is a fundraiser for the North Texas Basset Hound Rescue, and it is amazing to see all of these dogs that resemble each other, but are all sizes, lengths, ears, colors, etc

He quickly found a very cute little female, but moved on because there were too many butts to sniff...

Which made him very tired.

M2 thought he was the most handsome of ALL Basset Hounds at the Shuffle!

There were about 200 of them. They were friggin everywhere.

And this is the thanks we got on the trip home. All the way. One hour.

Snoring.

Guess he had fun.

LYAdoptAShelterPetGuts,

Bj

Marguerite Blanc

Besides finding all of my old high school friends on Facebook, they also have these little games that you play and one was "what is your French name?". I am friggin Marguerite Blanc, yall, and I kinda like it. So I decided to find a photo that looked like my new BFF MB, and saw this one.

Just look at her face. That is so ME, like I am saying 'you didn't just say that did you? Really?'

I might write my book under that name.

Although thankfully nothing else about me resembles MB, the name alone could move mountains, don't cha think? "Sir, there is a call on line two from someone named Marguerite Blanc...I don't know her, maybe she is part of the Sauvignon Blanc family?...

Just think of the dinner reservations I could hook us up with.

LYRightThisWayMissBlancGuts,

Bj

FW:FW:FW:FW:FW:FW:Re: Save this animal please

Ok, here's the deal. I am STILL receiving emails like this, and I can't believe it. Even though it is endorsed by June Blowhard, Attorney at Law, or Phil McGroin, Legal Counsel to the UN, I just want to scream when I see these. That little girl that needs us to forward something so her neighbors cat's tumor will magically disappear, or the Christmas Card one or the tracking device by Microsoft........................Really???

And I get these from who I previously deemed semi-intelligent adults.

Not sure if they get over here and read, they are too busy sending these emails from their contact list from their I Phones..................Really???

If you get these too, and want to make sure that you haven't won the lottery in Sumalia, go to snopes.com, type in any word from that email and 99% of the time, its a SNOPE. But there's that one percent that could really be Apple sending me a free I Phone, so I will now need all of your emails so I can forward that to you and claim my booty.

and then you will get a thank you from me........Sent from my I Phone.

LYAmIJaded?Guts,

Bj

Not My First Rodeo...

When I first moved to Dallas, I knew one person, I was starting school, and I was very intimidated by the size of the city. But, I needed a job, and so me, my Camaro, a map and the classifieds braved the expressways and got out amongst the madness. Oh, and I was B-R-O-K-E. I didn't want to ask Super D for any $$$, trying to do it all on my own, and spent my last money moving my crap to an apartment I had never seen, with a roommate I had only met on the phone. Remind me to tell you about living with Skitzi Mitzi for exactly one month. But, this is about being broke.

I got a job at a restaurant called Birraporrettis (sp), and it was disgusting. Not only did the place smell like a damp rag, the kitchen was totally Asian and I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NOTHING AGAINST ASIANS.

But this group cussed you out, slammed plates, and scared the shit out of me basically and I hated every minute of it. So I quit. But they owed me a paycheck, which I would be able to pick up the next Friday. And it was about Tuesday. And I needed $200 in my checking account like right then. I felt pretty low, and desperate. So laying in bed that night, plotting Mitzi's demise (she drew a line in the refrigerator with tape that day because my stuff was getting on her side)

I thought the following: WHAT IF I write myself a check on my old bank account, which was closed, deposit in my now bank account and hope that would buy me a few days. I really thought what have I got to lose?

So I did it. And as I drove away from the drive thru, I said out loud to the Universe that I was sorry but I hope I didn't just commit a felony or something.

So I get to school, hang out at break with my BFF Concie (the creator of LYG, btw) and here comes Mitzi. Concie called her The Poodle because she shook when she talked to you. Anyhoo, the Skitzi Poodle had picked up the mail, and had an envelope for me. I opened it, and what to my wandering eyes did appear?? A refund for my apartment deposit in Tulsa for $300!!! Not only did this clear my felonious error of my ways earlier in the day, I did not expect it, so I was $300 to the good! And the next day I got a bartending job at a rockin place and the cogs of my life in Dallas starting clicking. And all that happened with that check was it came back 'account closed'. No fees, no handcuffs, NUTH-ING.

So, I remembered that story today as I was paying bills with my unemployment money. I don't recommend this for the faint of heart, because once again, I must be creative while we keep on keepin on. But, as you can see, I'll pull a rabbit out of my hat and make it another day.

Without writing any weird checks.

LYCouponClippinGuts,

Bj

I'm Thinking........

Today, in Dallas traffic, I was thinking how I wasn't happy with Best Buy not backing up my broken Nikkon camera, and Nikkon basically saying 'so sorry'. So suddenly, since I do like to spread the word on good service vs. shit service, I wondered if I should start a blog (I'm sure its not the first) that lets the readers voice their experiences, either retail, restaurants, airlines, dog walkers, whatever, and ALSO good AND bad, so the good comments get out there too.

Here's a good one; we have a chain of restaurants down here called Houlihans. Not sure how far out they go, but every time I go there, I love the food, the service, the interior etc. So I emailed them and told them and now I'm on some kind of internet advisory board called HQ. Looks like it will be fun!

What do you think? If you like the mohawk that Bills Barber Shop gave you in Des Moines, if you broke out in a rash from eating possum in Louisianna, or if you love Target so much that you got a target shaped tattoo, you could post it on here.

And I will need a name for this site. Thats where Yall come in handy. You are all such intelligent smart asses that I would love to hear your ideas.

What do you think?

LYRalphNaderGuts,

Bj