Q & A

As promised here are the answers to the questions asked by my fabulous readers. It was great to be able to answer what you wanted to know.

Describe the perfect handbag for you.

I’ve mentioned before that I’m not a huge label person. I’m all for spending money on something if it’s a quality piece, but not just because it has some logos on it. In fact, if a bag has a big logo or a logo print I won’t even consider buying it.

That being said, my perfect bag is not too big, but not too small, has a nice sturdy and comfortable strap and isn’t very heavy on its own (empty). I like a nice, simple solid colored leather bag that will stand the test of time. Some of my favorites are by Calvin Klein and Coach and have braided straps that are comfortable on your shoulder.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

In ten years I see myself as a mom and a chef. We’d like to have two children and hopefully that will have happened by then (I’ll be 42 ten years from now, yikes!). I would also like to have successfully pursued my dream of completing culinary school and be a cooking instructor.

I also hope to be helping my sister and niece plan a graduation trip to France since that’s her wish to go when she’s finished high school. Strange to believe in ten years she’ll be 18!

What accomplishment are you most proud of?

This is a really hard question for me to answer. I’m not sure if it’s my nature or my way of being hard on myself, but I tend to not be proud of myself for much. Is that bad? I don’t want to sound like I don’t try to, but I’m always surrounded by such successful people (I mean, my husband has so many more accomplishments than me) that it’s hard to say, “I’m proud of this.”But, on the other hand, I’ve also never been someone who thinks of things I’ve done as really big deals.

That being said, if I had to narrow it down to one thing, I guess I would say that I’m most proud of teaching myself to cook. I’m primarily self-taught. My grandmothers cooked, but never really taught us how and my mom cooks a few things, but was more of a mix-cook than a from-scratch-cook like I am. I do love when I make something and it’s a success. There’s not much that makes me happier than those I love enjoying my food.

I’ve taken a few cooking classes, but generally most of what I know I’ve watched and learned and applied myself. Not to say there hasn’t been a bunch of trial and error, but overall, I think I’ve always taken to cooking and it makes me very happy!

I hope one day to be able to say I’m proud of myself for making it through culinary school.

How did you and your husband meet?

I met my husband at a Halloween party on October 28, 2006. I almost didn’t go to the party. The costume I had ordered, which was supposed to be a tad racy, was WAY too slutty so I figured I didn’t have anything to wear. Well, my best friend instructed me to just throw something together and come over. So, that’s what I did. I was a hiker. Lame, I know. I basically wore hiking shorts and boots, a t-shirt and had on a backpack and a hat and carried a hiking pole. My husband was dressed as Borat. Fake mustache and all!

We weren’t introduced or set-up, we just started talking to each other. After the party a group of us went to this great dive for a late night breakfast and I rode with him. Here’s the funny part- I left my hiking pole in his car. I will never admit it was on purpose so he would call me, but that’s how it happened and I think it was fate!

We had our first date a few days later on Halloween and he took me to a Ben Folds concert. The rest, as they say, is history!

Where did your blog name come from?

It comes from a song by the Old 97s, one of my favorite bands. You can read the whole post, complete with lyrics, here.

What are some of your favorite blogs to read and why?

I love reading blogs! Don’t laugh, but I have them organized in my Google Reader by type of blog. Some of my favorites are listed to the left under “Fabulous Reading” A few other favorites are:

Dooce

Emily Post’s Eiiquette Daily

The Pioneer Woman

Almost Vegetarian

Did you and hubby get the pups together? Or did they gain a parent when you got married?

I like to say that we're a blended family. We each had a dog when we were single. I think it's pretty obvious that the miniature dachshund was mine and the Black Lab my husband's. Everyone always asks if they play together and the answer to that would be no. She's 8 pounds and he's 80, so literally ten times bigger! They do get along and that's important. She used to be pretty cautious around him since he's so big, but he's really gentle.

If you had to pack up and move to another city - what city would it be?

Well, we would both love to live in Austin. Unfortunately, my husband's profession is MUCH more specialized than mine and we'll likely always be where he has a good job. I'm just hoping we can be near a big city, since some of the places we could end up are less than desirable in my opinion. I've always wanted to live somewhere else though. I grew up in this area and while I'm glad all of my family is here I think it would be a great adventure to start fresh somewhere.

How are the plans for culinary school coming?

Thanks for asking. Right now, it's still an option and I'm considering the school in Fort Worth. Part of the delay is trying to figure out if I need a culinary school education to do what I'd like to do, which is cooking instruction. All of the schools are quite expensive and we want to be sure that it's the right step prior to making any big decisions.

This was fun and of course I welcome anything else you want to know about me!