Branching Out...

One thing I love about Dallas is the restaurants. I really feel like we have some amazing choices around here, I just never make the effort to enjoy them. This weekend, however, I went to two awesome restaurants and enjoyed two of my most favorite things in the world: lots and lots of white wine and seafood.

On Friday we (me, Ande, Liz, and Norton) took a trip across town to Bishop Arts for dinner with one of the locals (Adrienne) at Bolsa. I was very excited to try it because I have heard nothing but wonderful things, AND I was not disappointed AT ALL. Like I have said before, I am a huge fan of mussels (and muscles...actually not so much), and so when I saw them on the menu on Friday, I of course had to try them. So Adrienne and I ordered the mussels and the twig and branch flat bread (goat cheese and grapes) to share. I was more than happy with our decision. The mussels were pretty much drenched in butter, and absolutely amazing. Just how I like them :)

Ande made the amazing call of getting Bolsa's version of PB&J for dessert: a peanut butter cookie with ice cream and jelly...also quite pleasing.

All in all, Bolsa was amazing and I will be returning again and again.

On Saturday I had the pleasure of joining Kori and her mom at Stephan Pyles for dinner at the ceviche bar. I felt very spoiled this weekend with all of these great dinner plans. We had oysters, three types of ceviche (the lobster with mango was the best), traditos (holy Spanish Mackerel), and a few appetizers. My favorite was the foie gras, although not seafood, one of my own personal mottos is: never say no to foie gras. I was right once again! We had two amazing desserts as well. The best part was the Heaven and Hell cake that was about as big as my face and garnished with chocolate filled raspberries. All of this was paired with several glasses of white wine and several stories reminiscing about college. Don't worry, I didn't eat all of this on my own, we shared everything, and we had the best time! Needless to say, I also recommend the ceviche bar at Stephan Pyles.

On Sunday I did something I very rarely do. I ate grilled chicken. Streeby and Desha and Natalie made dinner and invited me and Paul over for some play time. I have to say, I was still very pleased with Desha's grilled chicken. It was free range, so I thought it would be okay for me to give in just the once. I'm glad that I did. Paul and Riley ran around like kids at recess the entire time we were there. Cute little cousins.

I feel like I might relax a little bit on the exciting dinner plans for the rest of the week. Tonight for dinner: leftover lo mein with tofu and vegetables from Pei Wei.

Finally, shout out to Phil on his big win this weekend. Remember when I followed you one year at the Colonial? I wish you followed my blog...

Peace, Love and Seafood,

SES

I So Happy.

I don't really laugh at stupid photos very often, but this one had me laughing out loud this morning. The Today show always knows how to put me in a better mood.

If the photo doesn't bring you happiness, the thought of TOMORROW IS FRIDAY should. Oh law, I am ready for the weekend!

A Tradition Unlike Any Other

I believe I was around the age of 4 years old when I was first exposed to golf. This initial exposure more than likely took the form of my mother complaining about my dad's obsession and my grandmother (Nani Smith) trying to convince her to take up the game. Nani had an extra set of ladies clubs that she begged my mom to try. I remember them sitting in her garage on the right hand side - when they actually had extra room for storage in there. They were in a baby blue bag. I think when Nani died they were probably buried somewhere beneath mounds and mounds of Christmas and Halloween decorations and probably hadn't been used in 20 years. There was a brief time when my mom finally took custody of those clubs and kept them in our garage for awhile. But, she never used them. In her own words, she had too many chores to do!

As you all know, I never play sports. Honestly, I haven't played any kind of sport since I was 15, and I am a happier person for that reason. So, it should come as no surprise to you that I have never so much as swung a golf club or walked on a golf course outside of the Kappa Klassic and Fourth of July fireworks at Oak Tree. But, sometime over the years I did develop a love for watching, NOT playing, golf. I am a very devoted spectator. And, I owe this devotion in no small part to my Nani.

You see, my Nani loved two things in her life (you know, other than the important stuff): Golf and Wheel of Fortune. There was not a Sunday that was spent over at Nani and Papa's that did not involve iced tea, fried chicken, some talk about Arnold Palmer, Freddie Couples, and Jack Nicklaus (my dad's hero), with a tournament on in the background. I can't tell you how many times the kids would have to be excused to the other room to watch the Disney channel so that we wouldn't create interruptions in the game room. This is usually when we would start causing trouble with a game of Jenga or a puzzle...but that story is for another time...

In recent years I have been preoccupied on most Sundays with other events, but I always make time for golf on THIS weekend.

As most of you know, tomorrow marks the first day of the Masters. Right now I am giddy with anticipation. I love the tradition, the suspense, my lover Serge (please don't be a little biyatch this weekend), watching Tiger (which will clearly be different this year), and the best part, Sunday afternoon. BUT, most of all I love the memory of Nani in her chair, Papa in his, the back doors open, the Oklahoma breeze blowing through the kitchen, sipping iced tea and napping to polite claps. Those times when nothing mattered in the world except those itchy tights your mom made you wear to church that morning and your annoying little brother punching you in the arm because he was "practicing" tae kwon do (no you weren't Curtis, you were just being rude)...and when you knew you could go to Nani and Papa to ask for anything when your parents told you no - thank you Papa, I WILL have another gum ball! That is my own personal Masters tradition. That is why I love this weekend so much. And that is why, on Sunday, I will be able to spend just a few hours reliving those times, and will, for a moment, not have a care in the world. I hope all of you are just as excited as I am :)

Fat Bride

It pains me to tell you this, but the information I am about to share with you was learned from Jessica Simpson’s Price of Beauty TV show. (yes, again) Never in my life did I think I would be learning from Jessica Simpson. This is the girl that thought her Chicken of the Sea tuna was Chicken! But at last, I have learned something else, I would like to share. And women, after reading this post, you may just want to move to Africa.

In America, we have what we call the “wedding diet.” Women strive to look great on their wedding day. I have actually pretended I was getting married, so maybe I would get on the “wedding diet.” It’s a day all about you, and a day filled of pictures that will last for a lifetime, so the goal is to look your best. And as you know, in America, thin is beautiful.

But in a far, far land, there is a tribe that believes a FAT Bride is beautiful. The Hima Tribe of Uganda (Africa) encourages a bride to gain as much weight as possible before a wedding. “Brides to be” are actually sent to a fattening huts for 2 months prior to their wedding day to fatten up. In the hut, the bride drinks whole milk virtually non-stop, and consumes 5000 calories per day.

The bigger your woman and the more cows you possess indicate your status within in the Hima Tribe. Fat bride, plus lots of cattle? Consider yourself the Steve Jobs of the Hima tribe.

On the show, they had an actual Hima Tribe wedding ceremony. The bride was pleasantly plump after her two month stay in the hut, and the groom could not be happier. He actually dedicated a poem to her, in which he said, “When I set my eyes on her (bride), she reminded me of red cows in Rwanda, beautiful and sleek.” I don’t think any woman wants to remind her husband of a COW, but the Hima Tribe sees this as beautiful.

The brides also must wear black on their wedding day. It amazed me at how different our cultures were. In America, it’s a choice between white or ivory (unless this is your 10th go around and you opt for red) and the goal is to be the thinnest you can be (well, for some people…I guess I am stereotyping). If we were a part of this tribe, our goals would be to fatten up and find a black dress.

On a day like today, the Hima tribe does not sound too bad (I am hungry, and I enjoy black dresses)…but then again, I think eating 5000 calories a day would be a pretty big challenge.

If I were to live there, we would have to industrialize the place and build a Braum’s. That is what I would want to get fattened up on, and there are plenty of cows to go around.

Hope everyone has a happy hump day and enjoyed their cultural lesson. It’s going to be a long day here – my dress sleeves have been caught on 4 door handles and I have been dressed for an hour. My shoes are also making a funky noise – sounds like wet feet on flip flops. (squeak, squeak) Maybe I should just pop some popcorn and really be an annoyance to the office.

Hoppy Anniversary

Happy Easter everyone! I hope all of you are enjoying this special holiday in your own special way. If the Easter Bunny came to your house, make sure you find all of those eggs so they don't rot.

In addition to Easter Sunday, today is the two month anniversary of White Wine and Glow Sticks! We would like to thank all of our readers for your continued support in this endeavor. Please note that at some point this week, Ande and I will be enjoying a glass of white wine in your honor.

Keep on glowing,

SES

Things YOU Need to Know NOW.

Things that make you go HMMM….

Five Finger Running Shoes – I keep seeing more and more of these pop up on the Katy Trail, so today, I decided to google, or should I say “Topeka.” I still despise them, and I still don’t get them. They are suppose to help you build more strength, but you can still feel rocks, sticks, etc in the road. Regular running shoes please.

Le Whiff – Saw these on the Today show this morning, and you bet I am ordering. Zero calories, looks like an inhaler, and you get your chocolate fix for the day. I think this is just what every American needs. Good bye obesity, hello good lookings. You can get 3 inhalers for just $8. For you coffee drinkers, they also have a coffee one- one inhale = one shot of espresso. I have to say, Anne Curry acted like the Chocolate version tasted good this morning.

Airstream RV’s – they are coming back baby! If I was going to travel around in an RV, I would prefer to do it in style…vintage style. Even Pam Anderson owns one! They can come "as is," or totally customed with wood floors and marbel counter tops. Winstar Casinos is actually giving one away this month. (this is not an April Fools)

Last but not least, I have a word to the wise. My goal is to one day be the oldest woman living. Every morning Willard Scott does birthday’s on the Today Show- you have to be at least 100 years old. I kid you not, at least 1 of the birthday men/woman contribute old age to having at least one drink a day. What does this mean you ask? Bottoms up, and have a Happy Easter weekend!

April Fools

Why is it so fun to play tricks on your friends? Every year on April 1, I am reminded of that as soon as I conduct my first google of the day or sign into gmail for the first time. Google, errr Topeka, makes me giggle on April Fools. I have this crazy dream that one day I could come up with a really awesome April Fools hoax that was so well-orchestrated it just sent everyone reeling. I love this "holiday" for some reason. I think part of that might be that every year on this day I play at least one prank on Jenny Hoge. This morning, I told her I rear-ended someone and was at the hospital because I hit my head so hard. She believed me. But, I felt bad, so it didn't last too long. I am SURE I will get her again today, it is too easy. Maybe I will pick out a tougher target...all of you, consider yourself warned!

Anyway, the point is, I hope all of you are successful in your pranking today. Read below for a few of the most successful April Fools hoaxes as listed by Wikipedia. I don't think any of you have the resources to try them, I sure don't...but man do I wish I did :)

• Alabama Changes the Value of Pi: The April 1998 newsletter of New Mexicans for Science and Reason contained an article written by physicist Mark Boslough claiming that theAlabama Legislature had voted to change the value of the mathematical constant pi. This claim originally appeared as a news story in the 1961 science fiction novel Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein,^[9] however see also the actual Indiana Pi Bill.
• Spaghetti trees: The BBC television programme Panorama ran a famous hoax in 1957, showing Italians harvesting spaghetti from trees. They had claimed that the despised pest, the spaghetti weevil, had been eradicated. A large number of people contacted the BBC wanting to know how to cultivate their own spaghetti trees. It was, in fact, filmed in St Albans.^[10]
• Left Handed Whoppers: In 1998, Burger King ran an ad in USA Today, saying that people could get a Whopper for left-handed people whose condiments were designed to drip out of the right side.^[11] Not only did customers order the new burgers, but some specifically requested the "old", right-handed burger.^[12]
• Taco Liberty Bell: In 1996, Taco Bell took out a full-page advertisement in The New York Times announcing that they had purchased the Liberty Bell to "reduce the country's debt" and renamed it the "Taco Liberty Bell." When asked about the sale, White House press secretary Mike McCurry replied tongue-in-cheek that the Lincoln Memorial had also been sold and would henceforth be known as the Lincoln Mercury Memorial.^[13]
  
  

  

  Wikipedia's Main Page on April 1, 2007. The featured article write-up purposely confuses U.S. President George Washingtonwith an inventor of the same name.
• San Serriffe: The Guardian printed a supplement in 1977 praising this fictional resort, its two main islands (Upper Caisse and Lower Caisse), its capital (Bodoni), and its leader (General Pica). Intrigued readers were later disappointed to learn that San Serriffe (Sans serif) did not exist except as references to typeface terminology. (This comes from a Jorge Luis Borges story.)^[14]
• DT Day: In 2008 fliers were handed on Brigham Young University campus, saying that the last in a series of dorm buildings being torn down was scheduled to be imploded on April 1. Hundreds of people eagerly turned up to see the implosion, but to their consternation it never happened. The culprits of this prank remain unknown.^[15]
• Decimal time: Repeated several times in various countries, this hoax involves claiming that the time system will be changed to one in which units of time are based on powers of 10.^[16]
• Smell-o-vision: In 1965, the BBC purported to conduct a trial of a new technology allowing the transmission of odor over the airwaves to all viewers. Many viewers reportedly contacted the BBC to report the trial's success.^[17] In 2007, the BBC website repeated an online version of the hoax.^[18]
• Tower of Pisa: The Dutch television news reported in the 1950s that the Tower of Pisa had fallen over. Many shocked people contacted the station.^[19]
• Write Only Memory: Signetics advertised Write Only Memory IC databooks in 1972 through the late 1970s.^[20]
• The Canadian news site, bourque.org announced in 2002 that Finance Minister Paul Martin had resigned "in order to breed prize Charolais cattle and handsome Fawn Runner ducks."^[21]