Wow, that came out good!

I've never really made up a recipe from start to finish, but I couldn't find anything that sounded like what I wanted. I was craving some kind of Tex-Mex chicken with rice and beans and corn, and couldn't find a single recipe that sounded quite right. Sooo, I made up a recipe and wow, it came out really good!

So, here's the recipe! Enjoy, kittens!!!

Tex-Mex Chicken and Rice

2 tbsp olive oil, separated
1 can corn
1 small onion, chopped
1 lb chicken breasts, cut into 1 in. strips
1 pkg taco seasoning
2/3 c. water
1 can black beans
1 small green pepper, chopped
1 small red pepper, chopped
1 1/2 c. cooked rice
1 small jar chunky salsa (I used medium heat, you can use whatever you like)
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions:Preheat oven to 375. Heat 1 tbsp oil in skillet. Add corn, saute until it starts to brown. Place corn in large casserole dish. Heat 1 tbsp oil in skillet. Saute onion until soft, add chicken and cook until no longer pink. Once cooked through, add taco seasoning packet and water. Cook for 1 more minute. Add to casserole. Add all remaining ingredients, and mix well. Top with cheese. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Enjoy!

My '90s R&B/Hip Hop mix

As I approach the dreaded 3-0, I find myself looking back to the good ole days - especially the good ole days of music. Remember when hip was awesome and funky, and R&B was REAL R&B - as in, remember when music didn't suck? Don't get me wrong, I LOVED the rock that came out in the '90s (hellooooo grunge!) but even then I was torn between the hip hop and the rock. So, since they still play all the good rock on the radio (thank you 92.9!!!) I am giving you something you can feel :) - my 90's hip hop/R&B mix for some birthday goodness!!!

Enjoy Kittens!!!
En Vogue: Giving Him Something He Can Feel

PM Dawn: Memory Bliss

Arrested Development: Tennessee

TLC: Creep

Wreckx-N-Effect: Rumpshaker

En Vogue: Free Your Mind

TLC: Ain’t to Proud 2 Beg

Fresh Prince: Parents Just Don't Understand

ABC: Iesha

SWV: Weak

Shai - If I Ever Fall In Love Again

Salt n Peppa: Whatta Man

H-Town: Knockin the Boots

Blackstreet: No Diggity

Bel Biv Davoe: Poison

Montell Jordan: This is How We Do It

Zhane: Hey Mr. DJ

Salt N Peppa: Shoop

Color Me Badd: I Wanna Sex U Up

En Vogue: Hold On

Janet Jackson: If

Erykah Badu: On & On

Warren G: Regulate

Dr Dre: Nuthin but a G Thang

Zhane: Groove Thang


Janet Jackson: Again

X-scape: Just Kickin It

Deeee-lite: Groove is in the Heart

Arrested Development: Everyday People


PM Dawn: Die Without You

En Vogue: My Love (Never Gonna Get It)

Janet Jackson: That’s the Way Love Goes

Snoop Dogg: Gin & Juice

Bone Thugs n Harmony: Crossroads

2Pac: Dear Momma

Beatnuts: Watch Out Now

Tribe Called Quest: Can I Kick It

Digital Underground: Humpty Dance

Queen Latifah: UNITY

Digable Planets: Nickle Bag

Tribe Called Quest: Bonita Applebaum

Young MC: Bust a Move

Pharcyde: Drop

De La Soul: Me Myself & I

Naughty by Nature: OPP

Pharcyde: Passin’ Me By

Naughty By Nature: Hip Hop Hooray

Dr Dre: Let Me Ride

Luniz: I Got 5 On It

Digable Planets: Rebirth of Slick

The Roots & Erykah Badu: You Got Me

Mourning Wood: A Movie Review

Fat Foot Films has entered its first feature length film in Mourning Wood, just in time for Halloween, and judging by Saturday afternoon’s hilarious premiere, it is sure to become a cult classic. Writer-director Ryan Convery’s brainchild definitively falls under the category of sui generis.

Part Evil Dead II, part Kill...er Klowns from Outer Space, part really bad B porno movie for gay men, Mourning Wood truly stands in a genre all its own. It pays homage to the comedy-horror flicks of the ‘80s, with some classic characters from the pulp horror flicks of the 1950s. After 4+ years in the making, I was pleasantly surprised to find that Mourning Wood is actually a (relatively) well-made, genuinely funny "horror" film for the 21st century. The cinematography is surprisingly smooth, with well-edited transitions, angles, and interesting shots that lend insight into the plot line.



Someone has tampered with the products in Dr. Pendelton’s lab, an infomercial king made famous for products like FartX and Dick Killer Condoms. He is now poised to introduce a new product called ‘Shampube’ designed to do … well, we never find out because it turns the entire town into semen-spewing humping zombies. Yes, you read that right.



In a bit of reality meets plot, a loveable group of nitwits (with Marc Guild playing the hilarious Derik) are too busy smoking pot and talking about making movies to notice what is going on the world. Hilarity and semen-drenching ensues, and (almost) everyone makes it out (mostly) alive.



Convery ingeniously uses TV broadcasts (starring himself as the very-funny on-scene news personality and the loveable but lost Nick Brown as the host) to give the audience the feeling of "reality".



In the end, the makeup and special effects alone are worth picking up a copy (the entire dream sequence with “G” is amazing!), but likewise Ryan Convery’s script is thoroughly funny and enjoyable, in a sick & twisted way. A++

Buy your copy today, available at http://www.fatfootfilms.com/mwood/dvdsale.htm

Another Ruche Lookbook for Fall!

This one was shot in New England, which is awesome.

The text is sort of lame (sorry Ruche, but really, it is) but the looks are simply fabulous!

Open publication - Free publishing - More ruche

Oh, Hilary.

Hello Kittens!

We all know that I am pretty obsessed with all things wedding, so you may be surprised to learn that it is really quite rare that I pay much attention to celebrity weddings. I guess they are often so over the top, and to be frank, often lack much of the creativity one gets with something a little more home-grown. I'm not really into the sort of DIY, handmade thing either, but I like a sort of mix, I guess, of opulence and home-spun classic goodness. Its hard to find the right middle ground, I think, that really pleases my eye.

And you know who TOTALLY missed the mark? Hilary Duff. I mean, for really. It shouldn't really surprise me that a teenagers wedding wasn't really all that and a bag of chips, but this one is just SO off I had to blog about it ... sorry, Hilary, but really?

Exhibit A: The hair.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm all about the messy up-do/bun thing, but really? I could have done a better job on your hair, Hilary, and I can barely remember to run a brush through these locks on a daily basis. This thing is just a frizzy giant bouffant of a disaster. What were you thinking?! How did your stylists even let this happen? How did you not look in the mirror and say, "Y'know, the frizzy bouffant thing is just not working for me ..." Oh, Hilary. 
Exhibit 2: Spelling mistakes. Oh my.

Unless we're in some weird country that spells "Compliments" differently than we do (hey, it's a possibility, look at how the Aussies spell "aluminum"!) then you MUST check your spelling, silly girl!!! If you didn't notice, seriously, shame on you. And if someone else noticed and didn't tell you, shame on them and I hope you fired them. And if you DID notice, and decided to use it ANYWAY, I give you this piece of advice: if I learned anything from Tim Gunn, you've got to make it work, and if it doesn't you send your model down the runway naked rather than humiliating yourself like that.

Exhibit 3: Really terrible, not-good kind of retro 90's blue uplighting

It's tacky. It had it's moment, and now it's over. Please, please, please stop using this hideous uplighting business! It looks just plain BAD!!! This is not a discotheque, or a rave in 1998, this is your wedding. You wouldn't use a mirror ball, would you ... oh, please, Hilary, tell me there was no mirror ball ....

Exhibit 4: Icing-less cake. So Hilary said she wanted her wedding to have that home-grown kind of feel that is uber popular in weddings these days. Well, as stated, we all now know that I'm not a huge fan, but I HAVE seen it done really well. And Hilary, darling, with everything else your wedding had going on, a random icing-less cake does NOT make it home-grown. It just looks weird, unfinished, and out of place.

Well, my mom always told me not to say anything if I have nothing nice to say, so here it is.

Her ceremony space looked really pretty.



Sorry, Hilary, I know you're just a kid, but somebody should have hired you a better wedding coordinator. hey, like my friend Emilia over at Sweet Emilia Jane - she's pretty awesome and DEFINITELY would have thrown you the prettiest little home grown wedding you've ever seen!!!!

XoXo,

The Cat.

New York, here I come! (And an announcement)

This weekend I am going to visit my BFF in NYC ... the same one I blogged about last week! Funny how that happens ... anyway. My impending trip got me thinking about the subject of friends. Friends make us who we are - they help us cope with things when we are down, they help us realize what direction it is that we are supposed to go in - and they base it not on who THEY are, and not on what direction THEY would go in, but a real friend just knows you so well that they can say, look, friend, you and I both know that this is what is right/wrong for YOU.

My friend in NYC is just like that. She understands me even when I don't speak. We are only able to see one another a few times a year, but we've gotten so good at chatting on the phone that she can just HEAR my voice and know that something isn't right - and 9 times out of 10 she even knows what it is that isn't right!

I realized that I've been holding on to a lot of anger and sadness in my life. I've known about it for awhile now, and while I've tried so hard to let it go, I just can't seem to shake it. It had to do with betrayal, and unfinished business, and a lack of understanding why what happened had in fact happened ... This summer I was able to get some closure (which was incredibly painful and difficult), but it didn't help me to let it go in the way that I really hoped it would.It wasn't until very, very recently that I really got to the real root of why I've been holding on. It was sort of a really fucked up epiphany moment, but now that I've recognized it, I am SO glad that I am going to NYC to see my friend so we can hash out what is going on in my head. She always knows how to fix me  :) Love you Corn Flakes!!!!

It is SO important to have good friends in your life. I've had to "break up" with my share of friends in my life (ahem). It's never easy. But when a friend stops "getting" you and understanding your life it may be time to start saying your goodbyes, even if it is really difficult, because we all know there is nothing worse than having a toxic friendship. It's like being betrayed over and over again - you USED to get me, what happened?! But sometimes it's just a matter of life happening, and people moving on & changing. It's just like a relationship with a significant other - sometimes, depsite your best attempts, you become different people and you wake up one day and realize: I don't know this person anymore. In these cases it's not so much anyone's fault, but sadly, that doesn't always make it any easier.

In other cases (aHem!) you have no idea what happened, you simply wake up one day and realize that you've been broken up with. Not to say its ever happened to me, or anything (AHEM! Must be a frog in my throat, sorry!) but it seems to me that you really need to be certain that a friendship can't be salvaged before you go and cut ties so completely. Or, at least, make sure the other person knows why you've decided to move on, and not just pack your shit and leave while someone else is on their honeymoon and then never speak to them again after 20+ years of friendship. Bastards. Oh look, there's that anger!

It's also kind of funny that sometimes, the real root of your anger doesn't become fully actualized until it happens again. It's like the world needed to bash you on the head before you finally woke up and say ... Ohhh. I get it now.

But I digress. The point is, I don't have enough good girl friends in my life - not ones who live close to me, anyway. Especially new mommy friends, women who really "get" the concept of mommy-hood and the immense changes that it brings. So, I am excited to annouce that I've joined a new mom's club, and so far the members have been more than welcoming. They have TONS of great kid-friendly activities all the time (evenings and weekends included, so working moms like me can actually hang out), along with book clubs, and (here's the best part) they try to do at least 2 moms-nights-out a month. Eek! As scary as it is, I am absolutely thrilled to bring new blood into my life, and into my daughters life. There is nothing more thrilling and exciting than a new relationship - and in this case, it's several! And I really, truly believe that this is going to be the key to helping me to realize the anger I've held on to for so long, and really let it go and move on with my life.

After all, I've started this new chapter of mom-hood, it's best to start filling the pages, right?

I am so high right now.

Last night I was talking with my BFF in NYC. She was heading out with another mutual friend for drinks - on a Thursday. And I thought (and said as much) maaaaaann, I remember Thirsty Thursdays. Heck, I remember Thirsty Mondays ... and Tuesdays, and Wednesdays for that matter. But shit changes when you become a mom. Like, big changes, along with the weird other little changes that are just a pain - like grocery shopping or errand-running with children. Pain! Anyhoo, that night I got to feeling all down on myself, because really, I totally miss that.

Perfect example: last weekend, all I wanted was to watch a movie at my very good friend's brandy new condo. But I couldn't, I had to leave early, because the kid needed to go to bed and she doesn't sleep well in foreign places. Lately it seems like that's all we do - see friends for a minute, then go home and put our kid to bed for 8:30 and then watch TV 'till we get tired ... and then the weekend is over. It's a giant bummer. I just want to go out! Put on some cute heels, wear some fun makeup, and go OUT! Even if it's just something totally minor. And I don't want to have to plan it, I want it to just happen because I FEEL like it, and not because we lucked out on a babysitter that night.

And then, tonight happens. I came home, and the hub was giving the kid a bath and was feeling frustrated. So I took over. She splashed me in the face with water, and giggled at me, and then paraded around the tub holding her dripping Elmo Tub Sub (her favorite bath toy), naked as the day she was born, laughing and splashing water at me, her fat little belly sticking out, all pudgy-like.

And then we got her in her p-jammers, and we sat down in the rocker, and she curled up in my lap and cooed for a little while, smelling all sweet. And I thought to myself: mine. This kid, this small little human, this is MINE. I made it. It depends on me. It sees me, and breaks out into this giant ridiculous grin, and toddles over to me, reaching for a hug. It calls me Momma, for chrissakes. When is the last time you found that in a bar? (If the answer to this is any time recently, I'm not certain I want to hear that story) And this is my LIFE. This perfect little person is my life, for the rest of my life. She will be the biggest part of me I ever let go into this world. I will watch her grow into a big kid, and then a bigger kid, and then a teenager. I'll watch her get married, I'll watch her have kids of her own. This kid, this sweet-smelling, awesome giggly toddler, will be MY LIFE forevermore. And that is kind of the awesomest thing ever. Especially because she's super cuddly, and kind of looks like me  :)

Here's the thing. Life has it's ups and downs. And that's true if you're a mom, a working professional, a job seeker, a world traveler. You are ALWAYS going to see greener pasture no matter where you are in life. And you know, what? My pasture: its pretty darn green, and it smells like lavender after it bathes and it has the sweetest giggle you've ever heard. This for me is a giant "up" in life, even if I sometimes miss the Cosmo's. Yeah ... I am so high right now.