Another Monday, Not Just Conversations, But LIFE with Paige and Other Ramblings

WARNING: THIS POST MAY OFFEND CASI APOLOGISTS....AND MY HUSBAND WHO IS ALWAYS PUCKERING HIS ASS OVER MY BLOG!!!!!

Okay....I was warned...but I just can't help myself. One of the most inflammatory areas of chili cook offs seems to be the Junior division. I love how so many of the ads in the Trails state "CASI Rules Apply" immediately following the advertisement for the Junior cooks. I know this is mainly to stress the importance of the junior cooking his/her own chili, but if you are going to put "CASI Rules Apply" in the ad, then ALL CASI rules must be adhered to...not just the ones the Pod (cause really...how many promoters are going to put that in there) want followed.

So, you know what that means? If you DO NOT advertise an age requirement, then you DO NOT get to enforce it at the cook off. If the juniors must be a certain age to cook, then you DO NOT get to turn away or disqualify chilis from kids that do not fall in the "supposed" age requirement. That sets SUCH a bad example on so many levels. First of all, you really aren't following CASI rules if you are enforcing a requirement you did not advertise. Second of all, how can you in good conscious turn away someone who's brought their 6 year old to cook and didn't know there was an age requirement. And lastly, and really most importantly, THEY'RE FREAKIN KIDS FOR GODS SAKE! Seriously? Is it really that friggin important that these kids not be allowed to cook over a rule they had no idea they had to abide by? If you are going to enforce CASI Rules for junior cooks, then play by all of the CASI rules and go by the advertisement in the Trails. Period.

So, now that I've pissed off a bunch of people, I'll move on to less polarizing subjects, such as my child :)

I know alot of you read my blog for "Conversations with Paige" and I can't say I blame you. I love talking to Paige...she's a hoot. There are a several conversations I don't get to share because I forget all the particulars before I can post them; or, they border on CPS inappropriate....LOL!!! The Juicy of Love and Deliciousness was on her game this weekend. She bowled with Daddy and Sissy Friday afternoon, debated the subject of meatless Fridays during Lent with her Daddy and myself Friday evening at Outback. (Yes, we went to Outback for a meatless meal...WTF?) and rode 4 wheelers and the golf cart with her Bubba and his four friends Friday night. She was holding one of their phones as a flashlight because they didn't have lights on the golf cart. Every couple of minutes or so, I'd hear this loud giggling and screaming coming from the back of the compound. She was having so much fun and by the time she came in she was FILTHY! I wouldn't let her go back out and large tears started rolling down her face and cutting through the dirt. That baby was dirty!!! Then she got upset because I wouldn't let her stay with her Bubba and his friends on Saturday. She ended up going to Denton with me. I had to bribe her with a frappaccinno from Starbucks :). So, off we go to Denton and in a matter of minutes, she was inside the Antique store and ticking off items for purchase. She found a vintage pink rotary phone. Cute, huh? Not a cute price....$135.00!!! I told her NO WAY! We were not spending $135 on a phone that I could buy at Target or Wal Mart. She kept wearing me out. Asking me why I didn't have any money (because Daddy always does), and why I couldn't afford a phone for her! WTF?? I told her that I could afford a $135 phone, but I wasn't going to pay for a $135 phone. So we looked around at some other stuff to see if she could find something else to take the place of the phone and she found a dollhouse. It was $60 and had quite a few pieces inside it. She fell in love and told me she wanted the dollhouse instead of the phone, so we shook on it. And then....perfection:



I almost wet my pants and cried tears of joy. I couldn't believe it. A three stone turquoise bracelet so similar to the one I lost that I went batshit crazy in the Antique store. And...at a FANTASTIC price! So in addition to my 2nd place finish, winning the inaugural El Guerrero Renegado trophy and our side bet, I was so excited about my bracelet. What an awesome Saturday! Speaking of 2nd place chili, below are the results from Saturday's cook off:

Denton CCO
23 Chilis

1. Regina Petros
2. Kelly Brignon
3. Tom Dozier
4. Alan Fennell
5. Debbie Longabaugh
6. Susan Spencer
7. Sam Roberts
8. Doodie Johnson
9. Don Walker
10. Jason Clark

Beans
1. Budda Manske
2. Debbie Longabaugh
3. Frances Sullivan

The folks running the cook off, in addition to the CUT Pod, did a great job Saturday. The public came out and we had lots of judges! Congrats to all of the winners!

Paige and I went to get MommyBaby pedicures yesterday to end Spring Break on a "private time" note. I was washing her hair last night and I sat by the bathtub and shot the shit with her while she was soaking in the bubbles when she decided she wanted me to count how long she could stay under water. Well, when she went under water, her butt would go up in the air, so I'd pinch it. Or, I'd tickle her under her arm and distract her. She'd come up for air and just laugh, but the best was when I just put my hand by her face in the water and shook it:

Paige: Aaahhh! Don't do that, it creeps me out!
Me: How does it creep you out?
Paige: It's like when strangers touch me.
Me: (WTF all over my face) When the hell have strangers touched you?
Paige: They haven't, I just think that's what it would be like and I'd be creeped out.
Me: Soo...what you're saying is that you equate me shaking my hand in your face under the water to a stranger touching me?
Paige: Yeah, but you're a stranger I know.....
Me: Thanks....I feel so much better!

I made double stuffed baked potatoes last night. They were bad ass, from what the carb eaters in my home told me. Below is the recipe:

2 Baked Potatoes, cut length wise
1/2 Cup Diced Ham
1/2 Cup Diced Velveeta
1/2 Cup Sour Cream
Milk as needed to make mixture creamy
2 Tbsp Butter
Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray it with non stick spray. Remove the potato portion out of the baked potatoes leaving the shell intact. Add the ham, Velveeta, sour cream, butter and salt and pepper to taste to the potatoes in a large bowl. Combine and add a little milk at a time in order to mash the potatoes to a creamy consistency. Add the potato mixture back to the shells and sprinkle the cheddar cheese over the top of each one. Bake for 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly. These looked and smelled delicious and I will be consuming one as soon as Lent is over with!

Have a great day, everyone. I doubt I will as it is Monday and Mondays historically suck ass for me. I wish that someone in my immediate family would win the lottery and rescue me from T & B Demolition.

Keepin it real.......

K