Turner Family Weekend, Grocery Store Love and an Apology to Men Everywhere

So while Isaiah was away at a bachelor party for his friend Tyler at Possum Kingdom this weekend, I had fun too! On Friday night, I went to dinner and a movie with my cousins Erin and Andi, and several of their friends. They have both been so sweet to include me in their girls nights out since I still don't really know anybody here yet. It's hard to meet people when you don't work and your husband works in a town an hour away. I feel like I'm a very social person, but I also have a hard time making the first move in going beyond the "nice to meet you" phase into actually becoming friends with people. Anyway, we went to see Julie & Julia, the movie about Julia Child and the gal that cooks through her classic French cookbook in one year. It was cute and I think we were all wanting to run home and whip up something delicious when it was over.

Saturday morning saw me baking two dozen snickerdoodles and two dozen chocolate chip cookies (thank you Wal-Mart easy bake cookies!), followed by a trip to get the Camry's inspection sticker, a jaunt to Autozone to get a missing lugnut, a drive back to actually get the inspection sticker (complete with lugnut!) and a buzz through a quick-change oil change place. Random, but one of the guys at the oil place could have been the younger brother of actor Mark Wahlberg. Anyhoooooo....then I ran home to get cleaned up and headed to Plainview where I met up with my Uncle Eddie, Aunt Susie, Erin, Damon, the kiddos and Andi. We carpooled to Canyon to our cousin Matt's house (which is gorgeous) for a mini family get-together. I love riding in the car with Erin & Damon's daughter Avery -- she entertains herself by taking off and putting on her shoes for a good 15 minutes, followed by opening and closing her hair clip for another 15 minutes, followed by begging for my necklace, drinking all her juice in one big slurp and throwing her stuffed lamb on the floor for me to pick up....again and again. She's too fun!

Our cousin April, her husband Brandon and their kiddos Eden (almost 2) and Baby Salem (2 mos.) were in town for the week from North Carolina, so we took the opportunity to all get together to hang out and have dinner. All of my aunts and uncles on the Turner side were there, as well as four of my seven cousins, three cousin-spouses and six kids.....whew! It was so fun watching all the kiddos play -- Matt and Jill's two: Audrey (5) and Judah (almost 3), Damon and Erin's two: Cayden (4) and Avery (almost 2) and the aforementioned Eden and Salem. Baby Salem didn't actually get in any play time, as he was too busy being held and passed around, getting fed and napping. It was a really tough day for him... ;) We had a great time hanging out with family and just spending time together. Isaiah got home safely yesterday evening and we just wound down at home together, which was nice.

So, I'm finding that even small things become more important when you're home all day without a job. For instance, I decided to try going to the United Market Street grocery store today instead of the regular United that is closer to the house. It's more foofy and they have more interesting options in the bakery (mmm...fresh sourdough!), produce (fresh ginger, lemongrass, jicama and locally grown/organic zucchini!) and meat/seafood (fresh salmon...with no color added!) departments. Yep, I get excited about going to the grocery store these days. I think it's because I have the time to spend trying out new and more time consuming recipes.

I've enjoyed cooking so much lately, I actually checked out culinary schools online the other day. I would love to learn all the stuff they teach there, but I don't think I could deal with the hours a restaurant chef would have to put in. (Plus, they'd never let me in if they knew about the easy-bake cookies....) So for now, I'm just an amateur and happy that way. In the past week, I've made Italian, Mexican and Jamaican food! Last week I made homemade marinara and meatballs with rigatoni (making fresh pasta is too intimidating for me still) and ancho chile chicken enchiladas with creamy jalapeno hominy. Then today I made jerk pork tenderloin, yellow rice/black beans with cilantro and lime and roasted cherry tomatoes. Mmmmmm.....

Finally, I just needed to send an e-apology to men. We women always complain that men can be so shallow and only care about a woman's looks, figure, hair, style, etc. I am embarassed to say that I think we may have finally turned the tables on them and claimed the designation of "completely shallow" for our fairer sex. I have watched the last few weeks of the ABC show "Dating in the Dark." Yes, it's totally ridiculous, but as I was telling the girls on Friday night, I am a reality show addict. But I don't watch a lot of the stuff everybody else does (no American Idol or Dancing with the Stars for me), so I guess I'm picky about my vice.

Anyway, DitD has three new single men and three new single women every week -- they live in a house but the guys and girls are separated from each other. They only get to know the folks of the other sex in the dark and these crazy people actually make romantic connections with each other! They talk, dance, box, flirt, feel each other's faces like Helen Keller (finger in the eye...ouch!), drink, hula hoop, make out, and all sorts of other nutty activities. Then, at the end of the "experiment" (a.k.a. cruel, cruel joke) they get to see each other in the light but they don't get to talk. And because ABC can't possibly have a show without a painful cliffhanger, they have one half of each "couple" wait on the balcony for what seems like an eternity......waiting to see whether their "match" will show up or walk out of the front door of the house, rollie bag in hand with nary a glance up to their jilted partner.

I find myself sitting on the couch holding my breath every time. Pathetic, I know. ANYWAY, here is why men in general deserve an apology. I think on the first week, maybe one guy stood up a girl, but every week since, at least one or two girls leaves behind a poor, broken-hearted fellow. And what is so funny is that every single one of these girls, prior to the guy seeing them in the dark, is paranoid that he won't find her pretty, skinny or attractive enough. And then they turn around and say, "Oh, he's too short....he's got a receeding hairline.....he's wearing a frilly scarf...." and some other such nonsense. And I yell at the screen, "Yeah, but you're fat and he gave YOU a chance!!!" Anyway, I can get all worked up about reality TV -- it's such a great medium to showcase the beautiful, comical disaster that is humanity. Sigh.....so sorry guys, I guess even neurotic, pierced, chubby, ugly girls can turn you down and somehow justify it when they've just been whining about being judged on their looks their whole lives. Even though I don't believe in karma, it makes me wonder whether these girls have it coming....

Sorry about the ramble. I must take this opportunity to acknowledge the person that made me into the reality junkie I am today.....my sis-in-law, Mrs. Maryann Elizabeth Stallings Hicks. She got me hooked first on the Bachelor when we lived in Colorado. Addiction is indeed a slippery slope! :)