Don't mess with...

I am of an old western persuasion and have been a devout Coloradoan for most of my life. But as most of you know, I am now a little Texan too. So I decided to take a trip to see what makes things tick deep in the heart of Texas. And you know what? I've decided I make a darn good quasi-Texan.

So here are the fruits of my latest little fact-finding mission: My Top 5 reasons why I'm glad to (have at least part of me) hail from the Lone Star state:

5. They're nice. And when I say nice, I mean blessedly so. I was walking back from the opera house when a torrential downpour began. I ran to the closest hotel and asked if they could help get me a taxi. No taxis would come, so the hotel sent me back to my hotel 8 or 10 minutes away in their own SUV for free. See what I mean? Nice.

4. It's a genuine melting pot (or should I say pot of TexMex chili?). According to the U.S. Census, 36.9% of Texans identify themselves as Latino or of Hispanic descent, 12% as black. Pacific Islanders, American Indians, Asians and "others" comprise about 5 or so percent. It makes places like NEW YORK seem downright homogeneous.

3. It's BIG. Not Alaska Big, but big. And unlike Alaska, there are almost 25 MILLION people there. Which makes for...

2. Great art, food, music and culture. Rice University is there. The Houston Grand Opera is there. The Gaylord Texan is there... ummm... yes... well, it can't ALL be great culture. But really... Texas has natural resources which have produced $$$ resources that people have funneled into great artistic resources. Which makes me happy.

Houston airport art is beautiful. Denver airport art is not. Just sayin'.

1. Larger than life, exhibitionism and exceptionalism. Texas actually WAS a whole other country. That's why they think different rules apply to them. And they are somewhat right. For example, Texas is the ONLY state in the union that has the legal right to assert its sovereignty from the U.S. I can relate to this. People often tell me that I live in a bubble and assume different rules apply to me -- but they do! I can't shake people's hands, I cut to the front of security lines, sit in secluded corners and engage in all manner of what under normal circumstances might be considered rude and antisocial behavior because of my delicate Texan lungs (which were, as a matter of fact, a little too big). Somehow, it seems appropriate.

So when in doubt, don't mess with

The Pleasures and Perils of Snow in the City

A Church marquee in New York recently read

There has been no shortage of the stuff here and New Yorkers are totally sick of it.  It’s cold.  It’s wet. It's icy.  Within a few hours or days, it turns black and muckie.  Unless it’s Christmas Eve, snow is something New Yorkers are happy to forgo.

This is why I will never really be a New Yorker.  
New York got heaps of snow -- 19 inches in 24 hours and about a foot in the days before.  Other than the occasional cab or hired car, New York seemed empty.  Covered in white, it was like what heaven would look like it if was set in New York City.  There hasn't been a day yet where I have been such a happy semi-New Yorker.  

So here’s to snow and my TOP FIVE for Snow in the City!

5. There is a good chance school/work/life will be cancelled so you can get some much needed rest or home bound work done.

4. Kids sliding down the steps of the Metropolitain Museum of Art and sleds being pulled up Central Park West.  Kids rule this town when there is a blizzard.

3. The hills on every street turn out to be parked cars

What a lovely little hill -- I mean tuck.

2.  Snow turns NYC into a small town.  People stop and say hello, ask where you're from -- If you look happy, you've obviously never seen snow before --  inquire why you’re out and offer tips for avoiding the soggiest street gutters when you cross.

If there is any doubt that I am happy about the snow, this should dispel it.

And the number 1 reason for SNOW in the City is...

I just love a good snow storm.

It feels right.  And to enjoy it with people who feel I care about? 
The best.  

Y man, Two and KTL at the Cloisters in Inwood

So maybe I’ll hold off on praying for snow -- at least for New York -- but I won’t be the least bit sad about it when it comes my way!!!

Go Green!

Now, I'm no football fan, but I do love a good Cinderella story, so, huzzah for happy endings! And even though I wasn't watching the big game last night, we did have lots of good company for a yummy meal that just happened to be an appropos shade of victorious green.

Check out these adorable vintage Packers -- I think I'm in love!
Green Green Butter

2 sticks butter, softened

1 large bunch parsley

a handful of spinach

1/2 cup green Greek olives (pitted)

zest of one whole lemon

juice of one half lemon

Kosher salt

fresh ground black pepper

Put it all in a VitaMix or food processor and whirl until smooth and very green. It is so bright and fresh and tangy in the most delicious way. We stirred about 1/3 of this into 2 lbs of steaming orzo mixed with 2 lbs of baby spinach and 14 oz good feta (I'm a big fan of Dodoni), then put the rest on the table to dollop on roasted tilapia and balsamic glazed carrots. The leftovers, (pictured below. Apparently, Fast Sunday appetites are not conducive to laborious pre-meal foodie glamour shots -- Sorry!), would be delicious on everything from zucchini to shrimp to turkey sandwiches to cardboard.

It's Harder Than It Looks. . .

A bowl of tiny pears. So peaceful, so enticing, so. . . zen.

But a lot of stress goes into such an effortless spread. Take the above photo, for example -- pears with the most picturesque flaws were carefully selected and arranged in a dish with a complimentary, but not too matchy-matchy, color-scheme; a set with excellent lighting and an interestingly vague, preferably infinite background was located; Then, and only then, was the camera introduced. Orientations, angles, and zooms were ruthlessly milled through, until 250 pictures of a tiny pear-filled bowl clogged the photog's SD card and eyes. The most pristine of seven practically identical pictures was selected, and then mangled in order to situate it in the square orientation required by sites like Tastespotting and FoodGawker -- who then declined to post it because tiny pears in a bowl are "not a compelling img subject". 

What I'm trying to say is that food photographers go through a lot for their art. So today I dedicate this post to all of those diet documentarians who labor to bring us scrumptious beauty. Those adorers of aliment who vicariously feed our stomachs as well as our souls.

I salute you.

If you have a food photographer who has fed you sans calories, please share their info. Heaven knows we want to admire their work, too.

10 Truths for Mature Humans

1. I wish Google maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.

2. There is a great need for a sarcasm font.

3. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

4. Bad decisions make good stories.

5. I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my 10 page technical report that I swear I have not made any changes to.

6. Part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.

7. How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear or understand what was said?

8. Sometimes I'll look down at my watch three consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

9. As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers. But no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate bicyclists.

10. There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are going to die after leaning your chair a little too far back.

(courtesy of funlol.com)

These are a few of my favorite things...

The gods must be smiling on me because this week I got some unexpected awesomeness! And while it might be a slight overstatement if I said they were my absolute-most-ever-best-in-the-whole-wide-world favorites, they certainly brightened my week.

A Birthday package from Four and Five!
(who cares if it's four months late? It's like it's my birthday all over again,
except this time I'm not reminded of how old I am!)

A Post Card from Paris

While a Parisian postcard is always something to smile about, this one was extra-awesome because it was sent by my wonderful friend and former roommate Loic! Dr. P and I really need to hop the pond and go see him sometime soon...

Study Time with TINY!
While Princess H was occupied with the ballet, Tiny had much more serious things to attend to. Dr. P was VERY grateful for Tiny's input.

A Big Debut!

We were lucky to be invited to a preview preformance of Shen Yun at the Kennedy Center this week. Three had the brilliant idea that Mr. One and I ought to bring the Princess along, since she just started dance classes and the tickets were free.

It wasn't until we were driving through the snow to the theater that it occured to me that taking a two-year-old to a performance of Chinese ballet might be a little nutty. In retrospect, I'm glad my Crazy-meter is out of whack, because the Princess was a perfect angel, and the evening was divine.**

**Shen Yun means Divine Arts, so I'm making a pun in Chinese.

Dad would be so proud.

My dear friend sent The Princess and Charlotte matching dresses for Christmas. So naturally Charlotte had to come along. I don't know who was better behaved -- which is actually saying a lot for The Princess, since Charlotte is a doll.

Shen Yun is a beautiful and impressive spectacle, but I must confess I missed a lot of the dancing. I was totally mesmerized by Princess H., and her wonder at the entire affair.

This is how we kept her quiet, so I guess we cheated a little....

The night was pure magic, marred only by the untimely demise of the royal pigtails.

Admiring a Matisse at Intermission