Meet and Greet Monday: Deuce

I have declared the last Monday of the month “Meet and Greet Monday.” On said day, I will introduce you to some of the most important people and things in my life. I can’t imagine my life without these people and things, so I want to share with my readers (all 5 of you) what it is about them that makes them so special. As my first “Meet and Greet Monday” subject I give you Deuce, my dog. I realize, of course, that Deuce is not a person. But neither is he a thing. He is, however, my constant companion and one of the loves of my life. So without further ado:

The moment I saw Deuce two years ago, I was in love. I had been looking for a dog for a few weeks and came across a Craigslist ad featuring a three-month-old part-pit puppy. There was no picture, but the description (and the fact that he was free) was enough for me. The ad informed me that he was white with large brown patches and was the last remaining puppy of the litter. I’ve always had a soft spot for animals, especially dogs. Knowing this particular pup was part pit bull (and some people have reservations about this breed) and still unclaimed after three months solidified my decision—this was the dog for me.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t sold on the idea of having me as his mommy. He wanted nothing to do with me the first couple days. He stayed curled up in the tightest spaces he could find, barely ate a thing, and only moved when I forcibly picked him up to take him outside. Eventually he must have gotten used to the idea that he was stuck with me and finally warmed up to me. We’ve been inseparable ever since.

Deuce is unlike any dog I’ve ever met. My youngest brother calls him “Dennis the Menace,” my other brother says he has ADHD, and I am often convinced he has no brain. He barks for who knows how long when I leave the house. The only words he knows are his name and outside. When I get home from work every day, he bursts out of the room he stays in, sliding across the wood floors, and jumps up at me repeatedly, getting a good three feet off the ground every time. Taking him for a walk is an impossible task, as is giving him a bath.

Despite all this, however, he really is one of my best friends. Coming home to my over-excited canine is the highlight of my day. Seeing how excited he is when I get home warms my heart. It’s my fault he’s spoiled rotten (he’s just so darn cute that adequately disciplining him is impossible), so I have no one to blame for his bad behavior but myself.

Bad behavior aside, my life was changed with the addition of Deuce that February night two years ago.

And now the moment you’ve been waiting for, adorable pictures of my furry friend: 

It was extremely hard to limit myself to just a few, but I don’t want to be that girl. Oh wait, maybe the simple fact that this post is devoted to him automatically makes me that girl. But if that’s the case, so be it. My dog is my baby, and I’m proud to be his mommy.

My Week in Review

The fact that I haven't posted all week may lead you to believe I have been a ridiculously busy girl whose calendar is so full not even the date shows. Not so. And you'll see for yourself that the ten most noteworthy things I did, said, or saw this week aren't even that noteworthy. But because I decided to make "My Week in Review" a weekly blog post, here goes...
This week I:

1. was called "Toots" by an author via e-mail. I would have sent him an e-slap in return if I didn't think it would have gotten me fired.
2. made friendship bread. The stuff is quite tasty, but if I knew how much work went into it going in, I'm not sure I would have accepted the starter bag. For one thing, you're supposed to mix all the ingredients in a large, non-metal bowl. The only truly large bowl I own is metal, so I was screwed from the start. I decided my almost-considered-large ceramic bowl would do the trick. It did the trick, but just barely. For another thing, there are like a gazillion ingredients. By the time I had added the 2 cups of flour, cup of milk, cup of sugar, and various other ingredients, the mixture was precariously close to spilling out of the bowl. Gathering the gazillion ingredients, adding them to my too-small bowl, and stirring agonizingly slowly so as not to fling the mixture out of the bowl took me 2.5 episodes of King of Queens.
3. found out I have an amazing boyfriend. I already knew he was pretty great, but he outdid himself with this one. No, I didn't get flowers for no reason. No, he didn't surprise me with a gift certificate for a massage. (Hint hint, Randel...) But he did offer to keep Deuce while I am in New Orleans. If you know Deuce, you know what a big deal this is. He's a handful, to say the least. The very least. I was pretty stressed out trying to figure out what to do with him while I was away, so when Randel told me he would keep him those five days, I could finally get super-duper excited about my upcoming trip, rather than just super excited.
4. realized my vacation countdown is now in the single digits. Watch out, New Orleans! Here I come!
5. was dismayed to find out my favorite baseball player, Andruw Jones, is now a Yankee. I have quite the dilemma on my hands because I'm morally opposed to the Yankees.

Notice how his smile doesn't even reach his eyes.

See how much happier he is as a Brave? I'm just sayin'.

6. survived one helluva deadline week at work. (Pardon my French.)
7. changed Randel's life by introducing him to Jersey Mike's. I'm pretty sure he's forever in my debt now.
8. finally watched Catfish...with my boyfriend, whom I met on Facebook. I'm glad I didn't send him steamy text messages only to later find out I had been talking to some forty-something creepster who looked nothing like the painting of himself he sent me.
9. showed some impressive self-discipline and cooked every night, except Saturday when Randel and I went to Jersey Mike's. But I never count weekends when I'm planning my menu anyway.
10. got to demonstrate my knowledge of English and philosophy when helping my brother with an English Comp. 2 paper about Plato's "The Allegory of the Cave." I'll feel terrible if he gets a D.

While it was a pretty hectic, stressful week, zumba and the fact that my Mardi Gras vacation is only days away kept me going. Just one more week of work before I'm collecting beads in New Orleans.

My Week in Review

This week I:

1. had a wonderful first Valentine's Day with Randel, complete with beautiful roses that are still serving as the centerpiece on my kitchen table. They're kind of dying (okay, they're definitely dying), but I want to enjoy my first flowers as long as I possibly can.
2. thought about making a dentist appointment...then chickened out. I have got to get over my phobia of dentists before I have to get a root canal. I will not embarrass myself by telling you how long it's been since I saw the inside of a dentist's office, besides the times I went with my best friend in college. Her appointments were always in the morning, so we'd go together and then hit up IHOP afterward. Oh, those were the days...
3. got my taxes filed!
4. took my first trip to the Yukon craft mall. As I was sitting on my couch watching Sister, Sister Saturday afternoon (in my defense, there's absolutely nothing on TV on Saturdays), bemoaning the fact that I was sitting inside with nothing to do on this gorgeous afternoon, my friend Shawna called to see if I wanted to accompany her to the craft mall. Apparently I was so excited to get out of the house that I not only left my back door unlocked, but it wasn't even shut all the way.
5. got up at an ungodly hour on Saturday morning (okay, it was 8:00, but I think that counts as ungodly on a Saturday) to work out with Shawna, whom I must thank for threatening to de-friend me if I didn't make it. (Okay, she never actually threatened me, but it was implied in the tone of the e-mail she sent me telling me I better be shakin' my hips with her at zumba the next morning.) I ended up having a pretty productive Saturday, which would not have been the case had I been allowed to stay in bed until my usual 11:00 a.m.
6. was warned by my little brother to watch out for crazy Cajuns when I go to Louisiana (in less than two weeks!). I miss him. He cracks me up.
7. have had Foreigner songs stuck in my head, probably because of the commercials I've been seeing about their concert in Norman next weekend. I want to go. Real bad. I have my mama to thank for instilling in me a love for such great music.
8. made a key lime pie for the first time. It's no LD's key lime pie, but it was pretty tasty. For those of you who don't know, LD's is an adorable tea room in Mustang. They serve fantastic grilled cheese sandwiches (with bacon and avocado!), wonderful peach tea, and the best key lime pie I've ever had. It's served with a tangy key lime glaze that is to die for. Okay, now I'm hungry...
9. went 2-5 on my all-star game predictions. Fail.
10. spent this beautiful Sunday with my best friend, whom I hadn't seen in much too long, and even got some one-on-one time with Reed, her 9-month-old and my "nephew." He treated me to some priceless smiles and giggles and even the coveted cuddle time before his nap.

Hey Now, You're an All-Star

It’s almost that time, people. That’s right, tomorrow night kicks off NBA All-Star Weekend 2011. Yeah, the NBA sometimes gets a bad rap. Sure, the players are overpaid and don’t try nearly as hard as they did in college, when they worked their butts off trying to make it to the Dance. But that doesn’t negate the fact that athletes in the NBA are the best of the best and put on a show every night. With nicknames like STAT (Amare Stoudemire), K-Mart (Kenyon Martin), Nashty (Steve Nash), and OKC’s very own Serge Iblocka, how can you help but enjoy watching the fast-paced action on the hardwood (no “that’s what she said” jokes, please)?

All-Star weekend is just a fun time for all, and it’s called the all-star break for a reason. Players, coaches, and fans get a break from the stress of worrying about the remaining schedule and clinching a spot in the playoffs. And yes, fans do need a little downtime too. Take it from this hardcore Phoenix Suns fan, whose beloved team might not slide into even the eighth spot in the West this year.

But for one weekend (and one weekend only, because after Sunday, it’s back to the grindstone), fans of the game get to see the NBA’s finest interact with one another in a much more relaxed atmosphere than usual. Instead of brows creased in concentration during a crucial overtime, fans witness friendly banter between players from rival teams, like the Celtics and Lakers.

I have always loved All-Star Weekend, but mostly for Friday’s and Saturday’s events. Of course, I’ll watch (and enjoy) the actual All-Star game on Sunday, but my favorite events are the Haier Shooting Stars contest, rookie/sophomore game, three-point contest, and the dunk contest. (I could do without Commissioner Stern’s “State of the NBA” address, though.)

Even if you don’t normally follow the NBA action from October to June, you’ll want to tune in for this weekend’s all-star game. In the Haier Shooting Stars contest, Team Texas, led by Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki, will defend its 2010 title, potentially making it the only team to win the competition back-to-back since its origination in 2005. Let me point out here that Phoenix won the first Shooting Stars challenge. Shawn Marion and my brother’s favorite WNBA player, Diana Taurasi, along with Phoenix legend Dan Majerle, completed the competition in a mere 28 seconds. Beat that, Team Texas.

• Prediction: As much as it pains me to say this, I predict the Los Angeles Lakers will win the Haier Shooting Stars contest this year.

The rookie/sophomore game promises to be quite the event this year. The guard-dominated sophomore team boasts Tyreke Evans, who led the rookie team to a rare win in 2010. And expect some impressive dunks from Blake Griffin and Landry Fields. I’m interested to see if Amare Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony, coaches for the rookie and sophomore teams respectively, show up in a get-up similar to Dwyane Wade’s from last year.

• Prediction: As I said, a rookie team win is rare, and I don’t think they’ll get the W two years in a row. I’m going with Evans, Stephen Curry, Ibaka, and company’s sophomore team this year.

The Thunder’s KD will be competing in the three-point contest, so I will certainly be pulling for the hometown hero. But I’m confident Ray Allen and Paul Pierce will make an impressive showing. Pierce was 2010’s winner, and just last week, Allen surpassed Reggie Miller’s three-point record.

• Prediction: It is because of this record breaker that I say Ray Allen will win this year, beating out teammate Paul Pierce. He’s gonna be hyped up and running on adrenaline, especially since he’ll be on his rival Lakers’ home court.

And finally, the dunk contest. OKC has a representative in this category as well: Serge Ibaka. Blake Griffin, however, is highly favored to win the slam-dunk contest this year. But the dunk contest can surprise you. I mean, who would have expected 5’9” Nate Robinson to win not one, but three dunk contests.

• Prediction: I don’t think we’re in for any big surprises this year. Call me a bandwagon jumper, but I think Blake Griffin will be crowned the 2011 Sprite Slam Dunk winner.

• Prediction: As for the All-Star game itself, it’s gonna be the West all the way. For one thing, the game is being played in L.A. Kobe will refuse to lose at the Staples Center and will be gunning for the MVP trophy. For another thing, the West has a better win percentage and puts up more points per game. And finally, I have to say the West will win because Phoenix represents the West. What kind of fan would I be if I bet against them?

So even if you’re not interested in viewing crazy dunks, rapid-fire three-point shots, and rookies and sophomores duking it out, you should at least watch the NBA All-Star events just to see if my predictions were right…and because OKC is representin’!

Oh, What a Night

I’m not one of those girls who hates Valentine’s Day when she’s single and spends the days leading up to it dropping hints about what she wants when she’s in a relationship. I have actually always enjoyed Valentine’s Day, not because I’ve always had a sickeningly sweet boyfriend who went all out for the holiday (although I do have a pretty amazing valentine this year), but because my mama always made it a special day. Every February 14^th my brothers and I would wake up to red and pink treats and a card that let us know just how special we, her valentines, were to our mom. So even if I wasn’t going to get candy from my crush, I knew I could count on Mom to supply me with enough sugar and sugary words to get me through the day.

Valentine’s Day 2011 was my most memorable Valentine’s Day by far, though. I wasn’t sure what to expect because my guy and I have only been dating about four and a half months. We’re obviously not at the jewelry stage (ahem, Shawna and Laura), and I didn’t have any other V-Days to compare this one to. So why, you ask, was this Valentine’s Day so remarkable? Because my sweetheart sent me roses at work. 

Now you might think, What’s so special about roses on Valentine’s Day? Well, these roses were noteworthy because they’re the first flowers I’ve ever gotten from a significant other. Yes, I’ve had other boyfriends, but none of them ever bothered to send me the classic roses on The Day of Love.

Now, I’ve never been good at picking out gifts for guys, other than my brothers. (Give ’em cash, and they’ll love you forever.) But I had no idea what to get Randel for our first Valentine’s Day. Luckily, he helped me out a few days before The Big Day, by way of this text message:

Randel: You know what sounds yummy right now?

Me: What? Ice cream? (Because that’s my answer to everything.)

Randel: A heart shaped box of valentine chocolates.

Bingo, I thought. I’ll get him a card and chocolates and call it good. I’m not sure if chocolates are a typical V-Day gift for guys, but mine loved it. He ate them all in one night. Before you accuse me of being a totally lame girlfriend, though, I didn’t stop there. We’ve heard forever that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, so when I found out Randel was getting off work early Monday and would get to spend the evening with me, I decided we’d do dinner and a movie at my place. On the menu: chicken and rice and steamed broccoli. Chicken and rice is, like, the easiest dish to make, and Randel loves his chicken, so I figured it was a win-win situation. I was right. Randel cleaned his plate and even complimented me on the broccoli. (I usually steam it too long, so this was pretty high praise in my eyes.)

After dinner we settled down (as much as you can “settle down” with Deuce jumping all over you) to watch Date Night. Red Box was pretty wiped out by the time we got there, and this was one of the only movies left neither of us had seen and were both at least mildly interested in. I later found out we could have gotten a free rental by using the coupon code “Be Mine” (which is probably why the selection was pretty lacking). Too bad Shawna didn’t tell me until this morning… But Red Box movies are only a dollar, so I’ll forgive her this time. But I figured Date Night was a pretty fitting film for our Valentine’s evening. We didn’t want anything too sappy (think movies based on Nicholas Sparks books), and I had heard Date Night was pretty funny (you can’t go wrong with Tina Fey and Steve Carell), so we thought this would be a safe choice. I can’t say it was as hilarious as I thought it would be, but I did laugh out loud (for a good minute or so) a few times.

So V-Day 2011 was a success—I consumed an unhealthy amount of chocolate, literally got to smell the roses, and spent the evening with a pretty wonderful guy. So no, I don’t hate Valentine’s Day. Not in the least.

My Week in Review

Because I don't have time to write about everything I do in a week (not because I'm a super busy, important person or anything, but because by saying I don't have time, I mean I choose to spend my free time planted on my couch, watching TV), and because not everything I do gives me enough material to write an entire blog post about (or, let's face it, is actually interesting enough for a post), I'll briefly share the ten most noteworthy things I did last week.
Last week I:
1. got new glasses for the first time in way too many years.
2. got my hair cut short and sassy, as one friend described it.
3. had lunch with my brother and caught up Laguna Beach style, according to him. I wouldn't know; I've never watched the show. And come to think of it, maybe that's not something he wants anyone who happens upon my blog to know. But oh well; there it is...
4. enjoyed my third snow day in eight days...and didn't even bother getting out of my PJs.
5. saw Ray Allen break Reggie Miller's three-point record.

 

You da man, #20!

6. got three gift cards—Target, Pei Wei, and Outback. The Target one is already spent (didn't take long), but I've still got the restaurant ones, if anyone would like to join me. (Did I just try to buy friendships with promises of free food?)
7. had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming when, on Wednesday evening at 8:00, the new episode of Criminal Minds was actually on instead of OU women's basketball.
(Wouldn't you be upset about not being able to see this man at your regularly scheduled time every week?)

8. had an elementary school-style Valentine's Day party at work, thanks to my friend Aubrey's mad party-planning skillz.
9. read three books: Catching Fire and Mockingjay of the Hunger Games trilogy and False Victim, Tate Publishing's February book of the month—all great reads.
10. spent a gorgeous Sunday afternoon, not enjoying the beautiful weather that would have been great for a walk (or a run, if I were a more ambitious person), but in bed. Fail.

Even though that last one was a fail, I had a pretty awesome week. I am continually amazed at how blessed I am and look forward to what next week brings.

Those (Sometimes) Simpler Times

I don’t know if it’s the three snow days in one week, the recent conversations I’ve had with my brothers about our growing-up years, or the fact that my mortgage, gas, and water bills were all due this week, but lately I’ve been longing for my childhood. Maybe it’s a combination of all three. At the risk of sounding like Modern Family’s Manny (love that kid), I was never much of a child. Sure, I learned to ride a bike, I went to sleepovers, and I mixed different flavors of pop together to see what they tasted like (actually that was more of my brothers’ thing, but I did sample their concoctions on occasion). But with my mom raising three unruly kids on her own, she needed all the help she could get. So I became a sort of mother to my younger brothers, much to their dismay, I’m sure. Plus, my grandparents own a grocery store in Tipton, America, so at the age of fourteen, I became a cashier (a pretty darn good one, if I do say so myself), working every day after school, besides Fridays during football season. (I had to play my trumpet in the high school band, you know.) I worked my way through high school bagging groceries and stocking shelves with canned goods, laundry detergent, and junk food. Thus I was able to buy my own clothes and first car. Now, I'm not seeking pity. I didn’t have a bad childhood by any means. Of course, my brothers and I hated each other and regularly re-enacted WWF wrestling, and my mom and I were often at each other’s throats about something—my clothes, boys, my attitude. But I wouldn’t change a thing, except maybe my hairdo from second through seventh grade: a jerry curl, à la pitching great Pedro Martinez.

 

And that’s why I’ve been recently reminiscing about and desiring to go back to those simpler times when Mom picked out my clothes, made my dinner every night (complete with a meat, vegetable, and fruit), and tucked me in bed. How I wish my biggest worry now was forgetting to do my math homework.

But we all must eventually grow up, some sooner than others. This fact of life, however, does not prevent me from watching Mulan on a regular basis and considering implementing a daily naptime.

New Name

I forgot to mention in my first post that my blog name (Chatty Ash) was temporary. I didn't really like it, but I needed something, anything, before I chickened out on throwing myself into the blogging world.
After much deliberation and brainstorming, I decided to try using my initials.
I pondered such names as "Animals Make Love" (and quickly scrapped it for obvious reasons) and "Aimless Musings on Life." But I realized my writings probably wouldn't be considered musings so much as ramblings. Thus, "Always Many Laughs" was born. Mind you, this brainstorming session took place late last night, when I'm apparently least creative. But for whatever reason, I do prefer "Always Many Laughs" to "Chatty Ash," so this is the new name...for now. I'm probably breaking the cardinal blogging rule by changing my blog name (and possibly doing so again in the future), but hey, it's my blog. I can do what I want.
While I can't promise that my posts will actually always make you laugh (sometimes I'm the only one who thinks I'm funny), there is no shortage of giggling in my daily life. My coworkers, friends (some of whom are coworkers), family, and dog provide me with endless entertainment. It would be selfish of me to keep the hilarity to myself.

Cornbread Fiasco

I’m going to blame my latest baking disaster on a disrupted routine. On a normal day, I am home by 3:30ish and have an hour or so to myself before zumba and/or hangin’ with my girls (or guy). Today, however, was not a normal day.

Reason number one: it took thirty minutes to get to work. I live about seven miles from the office. You do the math. (I am still alive, though, because my friend Briana offered to be the snow driver and got me safely to and from work.)

Reason number two: I got off work at 4:30. As I mentioned, I’m used to having been home an hour by now. At 4:30 on a normal Thursday I’m dressed in sweats, a t-shirt, and tennis shoes and on my way to the gym.

Reason number three: I began cooking dinner immediately upon arriving home (after tending to Deuce’s needs, of course). On a normal day I have a few hours to unwind before stepping foot in the kitchen, other than for snacking purposes.

But as I mentioned, today was not a normal day.

My dinner, luckily, turned out just fine. I whipped up my famous burritos (which are technically just soft tacos dolled up a bit) and Rice-A-Roni Spanish rice. I could make a meal out of that stuff. While the burritos were in the oven and the rice was simmering away, I began preparations for homemade sweet cornbread. I’ve never made homemade cornbread before, but I’ve been craving my stepmom’s cake-like cornbread and decided to give it a shot. It’s the easiest thing in the world to make. You just mix together flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt, baking powder, an egg, milk, and vegetable oil. Then throw it in a 9-inch pan and bake it for about twenty minutes

After I made my plate, I carefully placed my cornbread in the oven, set the timer for twenty minutes, and sat down at the table to enjoy my Mexican feast, reason number four my day was not normal. I never sit at the table when I’m eating alone. I usually plant myself on the couch and get my grub on while Deuce looks on longingly. But I digress. (Told you I’m chatty…)

Twenty minutes and three beeps of the timer later, I jumped up to check on my cornbread. I pulled my well-worn oven mitt over my right hand and grabbed my kitchen towel in my left hand. I only have one oven mitt, and I can’t get a good grip with my potholders. I carefully removed the pan from the oven and set it on a potholder so I could check its doneness. A sharp knife inserted precisely in the middle revealed that the cornbread needed to bake another couple minutes. So I put the oven mitt back on, not bothering with the towel this time. Surely I could grip the pan tightly enough in one hand long enough to turn from the counter to the open stove. Nope. Just as I bent down to place the pan back in the oven, I promptly lost my grip and dumped it into the oven. Just like that, my sure-to-be-heavenly cornbread was ruined. I would like to say Deuce was in my way and I tripped over him. Or that my oven mitt was thinner than I realized (it is well worn) and I realized too late just how hot the pan was after being in a 400-degree oven for twenty minutes. But not so. I honestly don’t know what happened, except this: 

I told you, today was not a normal day. On a normal day, I would never let any baked good come to this end.

Greetings!

I’ve been contemplating starting a blog for quite some time now (it was actually on my 2010 list of New Year’s resolutions). With all this time on my hands from the two snow days this week, I decided to just go for it. So I, Chatty Ash, am making my debut to the blogging world. If you know me pretty well, or even if we’ve only talked once or twice, you know I tend to be rather talkative. What can I say? I’m a talker. In fact, my mom used to joke that the song “You Talk Too Much, You Worry Me to Death” was written just for me.

While I’d like to think I am funny, witty, or in any way interesting to anyone but me, I know this is not always the case. On those rare occasions that I am, you will be regaled with hopefully hilarious (or at least mildly entertaining) stories about my job, my friends and family, and most often, my dog. However, when I’m not feeling funny/witty/interesting, I just won’t post. So don’t be alarmed if you don’t hear from me for days at a time.