To Kill a Fish

When I was growing up our cats would often show their love for us by leaving lovely little treasures of dead mice or birds on our doorstep. And although we were entirely repulsed by the sight of these gifts, they brought a certain degree of happiness with them in knowing that we really were appreciated. This pretty much describes the way I felt when this beauty showed up on my doorstep, courtesy of a neighbor we do adore. My reaction was a sore sight, according to Bryce, because my son now believes that fish are the cause of all that is evil in the world. And it may well be true! What you're looking at is a real, live, genuine, bottom feeding Texas Catfish -sitting on (what used to be) my lovely cutting board. And I do mean live. Not only was I disgusted by a fish about to be gutted in my kitchen, but I was entirely distressed by the fact that it was still moving...and suffering...however small it's brain is. I begged Bryce to put it out of it's misery quickly - which is the only reason I didn't take the time to set up a gutting station OUTSIDE. I removed Snackie from the room (the tasks of "hunting and gathering" will likely not exist in the LaughAtme household...we simply enjoy our weekly grocery store outings too much, so seeing daddy kill a fish at age 3 would probably only instill fear in the boy), and poor Bryce set to the awful task of killing and gutting the fish. And of course...then eating the fish. I am certain that it will disappoint many of you (ahem...Chewy) to know that I do not enjoy eating fish, but the first and last time I tried catfish I found it similar to slurping pond scum through a straw - something I generally try to avoid doing. So, no, I did not partake. Nor did I partake of the lovely soup our friends offered when they invited us over for dinner later that evening. And just watching as everyone "fished" tiny little bones out of their mouths as they ate, reinforced my decision.

So...just in case y'all were feeling a desire to share some love, just know that I do prefer Chocolate & Toffee cookies over catfish any day.

a little smooch anyone?

it's my birthday and I'll eat what I want to, eat what I want to...

...you would cry too if it happened to you. Ok...so I'm not exactly crying about all the wonderful treatment (and treats) I received for my birthday, but come scale time and I might start! This year brought a feeling of elderly-ness and a lot terrific foods, here's how it went:

• Made from scratch chocolate cupcakes with a heavenly frosting, from a friend
• Lunch with the girls at Fuddruckers (heavy on the dippin' sauces & soda mix-ins)
• Bryce's marvelous dinner of Carbonarra, Caesar salad, and fresh strawberry's & kiwi (topped with a sugar glaze of course!)
• A strawberry's and red velvet ice cream cake from Cold Stone
• A gift of "Sublime" white chocolate candies
• 2 inch thick homemade brownies with Milky Way's melted inside, from another friend

...and the scale says, "ouch, they may love you - but I sure don't! Go take a walk...or two."

Kudos to Kara

(sorry Kara, these pics were just toooooo awesome not to share!)

I brought Bryce some leftover cake from a baby shower last night, and as he gobbled it up for breakfast this morning he exclaimed, "that's the best cake I've ever had." Of course I didn't need to tell him that our friend Kara had made it, he knows well enough that she is an amazing baker. So he then proceeded to tell me that I should, "take baking lessons from her." I felt you all cringe at that one...but I didn't cringe one bit. He and I both know that I can't bake/don't desire to bake...even to save my life, and his statement was said in the same way someone might say, "you should learn Chinese" or more accurately in my case, "you should create a Universe." Bryce would LOVE to have the kind of yummy treats around our house on a daily basis that you find at the Nelsens, but the truth is I really have no desire to bake. I mean I do wish I had the ability to make wonderful yummy things if the mood arose, but it would only really be worth it to me if they simply appeared in my oven without the labor involved, and the mess to clean up afterwards...or better yet...it would be nice if they simply appeared...on my doorstep! But until that day I'm sure Bryce will survive on the yummy BlueBell Popsicles in the freezer, and the store bought sugar cookies on the counter. :)

Just another reason...

...why we love the Dad-n so much! Bryce will usually take a day or two of the week and whip up a tasty meal for us. Today's meal was worth a post (this one is for you laina).

We're not big on burgers around here, so Bryce bought some burger sized Portabella mushroom tops and fried them up. He added cheese, and bacon on the side. Very tasty! Better than a burger any day honestly, and I'm generally not a huge mushroom fan (even eating this I couldn't really look too closely at it...looks like squid or something!).

Bryce also whipped up his summer time specialty - Pasta Salad. Bryce makes one of the few pasta salads that I actually like. It's a very lite, simple salad - not doused with dressings etc. Vine ripe tomatoes, fresh basil, cucumber, garlic, whole milk mozzarella (fresh is best...hard to get that in Texas!), freshly grated parmesan, olive oil, salt, and a good al dente pasta. Yummers.