Tex’s Vacation

Tex really enjoyed vacation! He had the best time, getting tons of attention from my family and our friends. He also got to visit the beach for the first time. He was a big fan of the other dogs on the beach, all of them except any black lab, who would promptly be attacked by my little 12 pound dog. I guess Tex just doesn’t like their smell.

He enjoyed walking along the shore with me in the morning.

He loved getting hugs from Lauren at the house.

He couldn’t be happier to sit on Cassie’s lap, while surveying the street from the front porch.

His absolute favorite though, was playing rough with his Uncle Erik.

Yupp, Tex already misses the beach. He’s my little beach bum and enjoying his company on the beach in the morning and late afternoon were highlights of my trip.

<3 Frank

Hydrangea Messages

Hydrangeas are one of my favorite flowers. They make the most beautiful bushes. In my backyard we have at least a dozen hydrangea bushes. Some are purple, some are blue, some are pink, and one is white. The white hydrangea bush is taller than me, and really wide. In some species of hydrangea, the ph level of the soil determines the color of the flowers, pretty cool right. You can control the color of the flower!

Hydrangeas are special at my house for some interesting reasons. There is one bush, my mom calls “my dad’s hydrangea,” that my mom planted when her father died, in his memory. This bush never had a single flower on it for 8 years, until a few years ago. When that bush finally bloomed, my mom was extremely excited. She felt like her father was smiling at her.

Two summers ago, our big beautiful white dog, Hercules passed away. His end was tragic and sudden, and we returned home early from our vacation only to put him to sleep. One of his favorite spots to lay in the yard was near the giant white hydrangea. Last year, when all of the flowers on the entire plant had all turned pinkish brown, one flower remained pure white. In my heart, I felt like it was nature’s way of saying, Hercules is safe, he came back to us and we’re glad to have him.

I know this kooky and kinda weird. These things that happen aren’t necessarily what we think they are. My mom and I might be reading into these occurrences but sometimes if it makes you feel better, it doesn’t matter if it’s real or not. How you feel about it is real and that’s all that really matters.

 What’s your favorite flower? Do you read into thing? Do you have something that reminds you of someone you’ve lost, that makes you feel better when you see it?

<3 Frank

Hello, Again

It’s been almost a month since my last post. I have 5 drafts from about a month ago that have not yet been posted. I haven’t posted in so long because I was away for a short trip to North Carolina with my family. Then almost immediately after arriving home, I got a stomach flu that has yet to leave my body 100%.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m no longer genuinely sick, but sometimes after I eat, my stomach still gives me issues. I really should see my doctor, but honestly, I do not like doctors. I’m more of a self diagnoser. Jon and I have a running joke about it and as soon as I complain that something hurts he asks me what my diagnosis is.

Irene came to visit our neck of the woods this weekend. I was very nonchalant about it, expecting all of the hoopla to pan into nothing but our area has definitely experienced a lot of flooding and damage. We only lost our internet. We had power the whole time and our basement only flooded a little. We were lucky. My thoughts  are with those who experienced a lot of damage and loss.

This week I’ll have a few posts about my vacation, some food, and about finishing my reading pledge.  Because of Irene(I didn’t go to work today),  I was able to finish my pledge of 10 books!

So just wanted to check in and say sorry for the absence and I’ll be back tomorrow with a regular post.  Here’s a picture of me with a carrot from the garden.

I’m not sure why I like this picture but I do. Possibly because 1. I like the combination of my target jumper with the loose blush shirt underneath it. It reminds me of elementary school. & 2. My face is really ridiculous. I seem to be thinking, “Yeah I grew this carrot, bet you didn’t think I could do that did you.”

What have you all been up to?

<3 Frank

Zucchini Invasion

Last weekend one of my goals was to tackle some of the mass amount of zucchini and yellow summer squash we’ve been getting from the CSA and also the garden. I already made zucchini bread a few weeks ago, zucchini cookies, zucchini pizza, and I’ve grilled a large amount of zucchini as well. I decided I wanted to try a new recipe. I thought about zucchini pancakes, but I knew that wouldn’t keep well and be good for leftovers all week, so I made a kind of baked frittatta/casserole. It’s pretty yummy. Here’s what I did.

I grated 2 1/2 zucchini/ summer squash in the food processor.

I put it into a big Bowl.

I cut up Onions.

I added the onions to the zucchini/summer squash.

I beat two eggs. I added red pepper flakes, ground black pepper and salt to eggs.

I added thyme and basil to the zucchini/summer squash.

I coated the zucchini mixture in the egg mixture.

I added about 1/3 a cup of bread crumbs and a good amount of grated parmesan to the mix.

I poured it into a casserole dish.

I sprinkled bread crumbs and more cheese all over the top.

I added little bits of butter to the top.

I baked in the oven at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes.

Then I ate a very large serving.

If you don’t like parmesan you could use cheddar or even mozzarella. This dish was pretty yummy and pretty easy to make. If I hadn’t taken pictures as I went, it only would’ve been like 10 minutes of prep. And it gets rid of uses a lot of the surplus zucchini during a zucchini invasion. What’s your favorite way to cook or eat zucchini?

-Frank

Pizza with Jon

The last weekend I spent with Jon before he went away, I decided to make pizza. While Jon packed, I made the dough. I used this recipe. After letting it rise the appropriate amount of time, it was time to make the actually pizzas. I did the first one by myself, opting not to use a rolling-pin. It was a margarita pizza, with sauce, mozzarella cheese, and tomatoes. It looked like this:

Jon came and saw it and he immediately asked me if I failed Geometry because apparently I don’t know my shapes. I gave him sass and asked if he could do better. His pizza was going to be a zucchini lemon goat cheese pizza. It came out like this.

Obviously, Jon should be the pizza assembler from now on. Apparently I stink at the actual assembly of the pizza. It didn’t matter what they looked like however, because in the end they were both delicious. The recipe was easy to follow and turned out great. Next time, we’ll try and grill it. It was pretty fun. I enjoy cooking with Jon, even if he can be a bit of a pizza shape snob.

What’s your favorite kind of pizza?

<3 Frank

Crazy Monday Morning Hair

Last night, after watching True Blood, I took a shower. I didn’t dry my hair. I never do, but usually I wait a good 2-3 hours before going to bed  so my hair has time to dry. Last night, not so much. So when I woke up this morning, this is what my hair looked like…

I know so funny. Even Tex couldn’t help but stare as I went about my business making lunch this morning. Trust me he was staring at my hair not the food I was preparing.

My quick fix for a bad hair day has always been French braids and or a hat. What’s this Frankie, class starts in 20 minutes, you just woke up and you haven’t showered in a week? It’s okay do a quick braid grab a baseball cap and your good to go!

Well since I can’t wear hats at work, and French braids make me look like I’m 14 years old, I improvised. I ended up doing 2 French braids, tying them in a knot in the back and then pinning it in place. I looked like this…

Somehow without the braids dangling in the back, I don’t look 14, I think I pass for at least 19 with my hair like this! I kind of like it. Maybe it’ll be the new go-to bad hair day look.

What do you think? Do you have a bad hair day go to style? Is there a hair style you avoid so you don’t look like you shouldn’t be driving? and lastly, Have you ever gone a week without showering or washing your hair?

Happy Monday!

<3 Frank

P.S. How awesome was last night’s True Blood? I may still be swooning over Eric Northman without his memory…