Archives for June 2009

Well, I just had no idea about Pittsburgh, y’all.

The hills. The green. The bridges. The water. The old churches. The charm.

It was all a revelation.

In fact, I think I’m going to be fairly obnoxious about Pittsburgh from here on out. Because I fully anticipate that the next time I’m at a restaurant and a waiter asks me what I’d like to drink, I’m going to look at him and say, “Never mind my drink. HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT PITTSBURGH?”

I got home really late Saturday night, so late that it was almost Sunday morning, and then I sat up and talked to my husband until about 2:30. I had a lot of information that I needed to share – plus, you know, I HAD TO TELL HIM ABOUT PITTSBURGH.

I also had to give him a run-down of all my electronic equipment that had fallen into disrepair over the weekend. It was the craziest thing. My camera wouldn’t use any batteries for longer than 5 minutes before the battery light started flashing. My phone wouldn’t let me get anywhere near the internet (it must have told me to contact my service provider at least 80 times over the course of the weekend, and quite frankly I did not appreciate its tone). My headphones fell apart. There was a point Saturday morning when I decided that I might as well have traveled to Pittsburgh with a bag phone, a Polaroid Instamatic and a Walkman.

But even with all the technological mishaps, I had THE BEST TIME. Oh my word. It was a blast.

And with all that being said, I would like to show you a picture of one of our hydrangeas, mainly because hydrangeas have absolutely nothing to do with my trip to Pittsburgh and I feel that I owe you a hearty dose of COMPLETELY DISCONNECTED CONTENT each and every day.

Isn’t it so pretty? Doesn’t it make you want to get married just so you can make a bouquet out of those flowers? And do you think they have hot pink hydrangeas in Pittsburgh? I bet they do. I bet they grow on hillsides next to rivers with scenic bridges. And historic churches.

Anyway.

I’ll be back later tonight with a Bachelorette recap. I watched last week’s episode but never got around to blogging about it, and for the thirteen of you who care, I do apologize.

Which reminds me: do you think that tonight Jillian might take the guys on a fantasy date to Pittsburgh?

Because she totally should.

I’ve always liked to think that while I enjoy caffeine, I’m not dependent on it. I know that might not make much sense, especially if you know how much I love my diet Coke and my Starbucks, but with the exception of a few days when I’m so tired that I rely on caffeine to keep going, I typically think that I can take it or leave it. That it’s incidental to me. That I could easily just drink Crystal Light or water and not miss the caffeine one bit.

Well.

This challenge is teaching me that I’m way more dependent on caffeine than I like to think. Right now I’m out of town, and I just ran down to the lobby in my hotel to get a little afternoon pick-me-up in the form of a grande Starbucks. Yes, I could have bought a bottle of water – but I wanted the jolt of caffeine. And I think the caffeine probably helps me mask the bigger question, which is why am I so stinkin’ short on energy by 3 or 4 in the afternoon?

A couple of days ago I made Pioneer Woman’s Chex Mix, and when I got to the part where you add the Worcestershire sauce to the butter, I had a flashback to 1998 when I went to a grocery store in Louisiana with my sister-in-law, Rose.

Rose is a fabulous cook, and she had a big ole grocery list of stuff she needed. We decided to divide and conquer the list, and one of the things I was in charge of finding was the Worcestershire sauce. Once I’d managed to locate everything, I made my way back to Rose and dropped the items in the cart.

She took one look at that Worcestershire sauce and said, “Ooooh – I can’t use that.”

I double-checked the bottle to make sure I hadn’t grabbed steak sauce or some other such nonsense, but sure enough, it was Worcestershire. So I said, “What’s wrong with it? Did I get the wrong size bottle?”

“Oh, no,” she replied, “the size is fine – but I can’t use French’s. I only use Lea & Perrins.”

I was completely fascinated. At that point, as a newlywed of less than a year, I hadn’t really been cooking long enough to have favorite brands (with the exception of Hamburger Helper, of course). So the whole notion that my sister-in-law had noticed a difference in Worcestershire sauces and then also had a preference?

FANCY.

However, now that I’ve been cooking for awhile (truth be told, after 12 years of marriage, some days it feels like I’ve been cooking FOR A SWEET FOREVER, AMEN), I definitely have favorite brands. I mostly buy whatever the store brand is, but when it comes to certain products, I am fiercely loyal.

Here’s my Fiercely Loyal list:

1) Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce (Rose taught me well)
2) JIF peanut butter
3) Blue Plate mayonnaise (I know. I’m a Southern girl and supposed to prefer Hellman’s. But I LURVE Blue Plate.)
4) White Lily flour
5) White Lily cornmeal mix
6) Maxwell House coffee
7) Campbell’s soups
8) Diet Coke
9) Hidden Valley Ranch dressing packets
10) Heinz ketchup

I think the only way I’d deviate from these brands is if I could get a competing brand for free. But even then I’d have to wave at these products – and maybe even whisper a bittersweet “I miss you” – as I passed them by in the grocery store.

What about you? What are your favorites? Or am I the only weirdo who has favorites?

(Please don’t tell me if I’m the only weirdo.)

(I find great comfort in my illusions of normalcy.)

Today I made the most exciting discovery.

Crystal Light Pomegranate Lemonade.

OH MY WORD. It is so tasty. And tart. And refreshing.

And apparently it has something in it that’s good for your skin, but I don’t even care because it is perfectly delicious with or without any added benefits.

Now I’m fighting that urge I have when I run across something I really like: the urge to go to the store and buy several packs of it because WHAT IF THEY RUN OUT? WHAT IF I CAN’T FIND IT THE NEXT TIME I’M IN THE STORE?

You might say it made a bit of an impression.

So now I’m going to go to sleep so that I can wake up and drink it again tomorrow.