I Have Returned....

Happy Tuesday! How was everyone's weekend? Mine was good - I spent Saturday on the Guadalupe (literally...got on at 11, got off at 6:30) and Sunday puttering around Gruene. I really enjoyed the Karmic forces that were in charge on Saturday. Gary lost his glasses and a flip flop, and the band fell off of his hat. It was a rough ride on Saturday and I told him it was payback for laughing at me when I almost drowned! I visited Dry Comal Creek Winery Sunday. It's outside of New Braunfels off of Hwy 46. Small winery, really great wines. Gary and I love their Red Table Wine. I also bought a bottle of their Spanish Red, the Cabernet and the Blush. We also stocked up on wine at The Grapevine in Gruene.

I've got two more weeks of being gone and then I'll be back in my school year/chili year routine. This Saturday is my birthday and we'll be celebrating it - where else - in Gruene. This is going to be a Brignon/Bowden/Fieseler/Brockman/Perdue family vacation on the river. We're going to float on Friday and Saturday, and a few of the group are going to Luckenbach Saturday to shop. Saturday night will be dinner at the Gristmill followed by Charlie Robison at Gruene Hall. I'm so excited!!!! I can't wait for the rest of the family to spend time down there and have a blast - I know they will. I wish I could just live down there full time during the summer. It's my happy place :)

The weekend after that will be the GP Meeting in Salado. This has all the makings of a VERY interesting meeting this year! I'm still on the fence about my arrival time and I'm feeling extremely guilty - Paige has a Karate tournament that Saturday. I didn't find out about it until a few weeks ago, so I'm trying to figure out how to be in 2 places at once :)

Two years ago, when I turned 35, I said that the next 35 years of my life were going to be different from the last. Well folks, I can confidently say that I have taken a very big first step towards meeting my goal. Stay tuned.....

Have a great day!

Kelly

Prayers for Sister Lucy

Please say an extra prayer for Paige's 4K teacher, Sister Lucy. Her cancer has spread and she has been read her last rites. She is in Houston at her Motherhouse and is being taken care of by her Sisters. She is on a morphine drip and hopefully no longer in pain. Please pray for Paige as well because she is really too young to grasp what is happening. We talk about Sister and pray for her, but Paige thinks she will feel better. She sent her a card the other day with a picture of them under the sunshine :( So sad for everyone.

Good night everyone....have a wonderful weekend.

Kelly

Conversations with Paige

Paige: Mommy?
Me: Yes....
Paige: Mommy, what is fencing?
Me: It's where you fight with swords.
Paige: Okay...I thought so. I would like to fence when I'm older.
Me: Sounds good.
Paige: Yes, if someone touches you with their sword, they get a point. You get a point if you touch them.
Me: Yes, I think that's right.
Paige: But I don't want to cut off anyone's head or arm.
Me: No...you probably don't want to do that.
Paige: Yeah, cause I'm also going to be a police officer and I don't really want to have to arrest myself.
Me: Uhhh....okay.
Paige: But if they cut me, then I'll show them my badge and arrest them.
Me: Good deal.

I love my child.

My Pancreas, My Doctor, CASI, My Child, My Turquoise Cuff Bracelet...and Other Random Topics

Good Afternoon! Only two more days until the river. Wooo Hooo.....I'm so excited! I plan on having a great time; relaxing, drinking wine, floating....I can't wait to get down there. After I drop P off at school Friday morning, I'll catch up with the boys.

Soooo....I went to the doctor this morning...my evil pancreas doctor. I mean, my pancreas is evil, I love my doctor. He's just so cool and down to earth. First of all, I've gained weight. I knew I had, but I didn't realize how much. I have got to get back to eating better...which is probably why my pancreas has been such a brat lately. It just pisses me off. I'm good and I still have problems. I'm bad and I have problems. I don't want to give up my wine. I'm not going to give up my wine. I'll give up red meat and food in general before I give up alcohol. (Great, can't wait for my mother to read this.) I'm back on my restrictive, pancreas is the king diet. No oils, no butter, no fats (including avocados), no red meat and NO CAFFEINE. I told him he could kiss my (large) ass over that. I mean, what's the point? If I can't have caffeine, well, you people had just better watch out! And I have to cut back on the wine....and fried foods - which I guess means fried veggies, too! And no cheese. Three weeks of this. I can do it. I did it for three months last summer, so this should be a breeze. If I'm not feeling any better, another round of tests and.....some of Michael Jackson's Milk!!! Hell Yeah - that is some good shizz!!!! Okay, enough about the pancreas. It has gotten entirely too much attention today.

Thank you, thank you to Renee Moore for responding to my email and for suggesting some of my ideas on the ED's Blog. I know I didn't just come up with a cure for incontinence or anything, but hey - anything helps when it comes to saving money! Maybe if enough people stop receiving the Trails and an actual membership card, CASI can save some money and put it to use in other areas. It was brought up that a lot of cooks like to receive paper versions of the Trails as a benefit of paying $15 annually and being a member of CASI. Uumm...okay. I don't know if I agree with that, nor do I feel that a paper version of the Trails is going to make anyone feel like they are really getting their money's worth out of CASI. To each his own, right?! Still, I really believe that if you feel like you can offer a suggestion that can help CASI, or you've got the time or knowledge to give when it comes to advertising or marketing CASI, SPEAK UP! We can either be our own worst enemy, or own best advocate! Let's stop relying on "free press" and sponsors to help get our message out to the masses. We need to work with the Board and drill it into their heads that CASI has got to start taking responsibility for marketing CASI. I'm tired of hearing that "CASI needs to change how they do things", or "CASI needs new blood" and then the next thing you know, the majority has voted against the change that most of them were screaming about in the first place! Well, we aren't going to change things if we keep standing in the way of those who can lead the way, and we aren't going to get any new blood if we don't innovate and advertise who we are. We are not doing anything productive for ourselves by hanging onto the "But, we've always done it this way" whining and crying. That attitude is not going to help our organization - whether it's coming from the BOD or the membership. That's my CASI soapbox for today!

I still cannot find my turquoise cuff bracelet and I'm so mad and furious. I've been looking online and I can't find anything similar to it. I'm just so pissed! I can't believe I lost a bracelet that size. It was an Old Pawn style Turquoise cuff bracelet and it was just beautiful. And it was Manassa Turquoise, which is a greenish blue Turquoise with brown in it. Ggggrrrrrrr............

Paige cracks me up. A recent conversation:

Paige: Mommy, what are you doing?
Me: Fixing your lunch.
Paige: Where's my soup and thermos?
Me: Oh, I forgot. I'll put up the bologna.
Paige: I told you yesterday that I wanted soup for lunch today. What were you thinking fixing me a sandwich? Are you having memory problems again? Do you need to start using your reminder notebook again? Do you even know where it is?
Me: Paige, go finished getting dressed.

Keep in mind, this is someone who can't remember to go put up her backpack minutes after I've asked her to. Yet, I'm somehow damaged goods because I forgot about her soup request sometime between Tuesday evening and this morning. Jeez...what a loser :)

I'm seriously considering buying a bed and pillow for Eddie and Waylon. They already have a dog bed. I mean a little toddler bed for them. I know...aren't I sick? Waylon loves to lay his head on the pillow. He drug one of my throw pillows in his crate and was sleeping on it yesterday. Awww......

If I have a tile bench in my shower that keeps cracking, and you tell me it must be because water is getting on it, I'm going to verbally assault you and chastise you for saying something so blatantly ignorant before I make you speak to my husband.

If you work for me, and I tell you to take the rest of the week off as long as you don't have a job to run or Gary doesn't need you for anything and you lie to me and say that you don't, I will crawl so far up your ass for getting my ass chewed out by my husband that you will never, ever call me again for anything.

On the other hand, if you work for me and you continually protect me from the stupid people, I will give you anything that you need :)


Have a great day everyone. Enjoy the rain!

Kelly

Charles Breeden's Mother

From Ron Barnes:

Charles Breeden's mother passed away this morning. Please keep him and his family in your thoughts.


I'll be sure and post any funeral information should I receive it.

I will be back later. I finally hauled my fat ass into the office from my doctor's visit. My pancreas is evil and it must be destroyed.

Kelly

Kelly's Random Thought for the Evening....

Have you ever noticed the people who talk the most about change are usually the ones tripping up everyone else working for it?

Put that in your pipe and smoke it!

Kelly

Bowtie Pasta with Tuna and Pancetta

I love recipes like this; they're versatile and easy to substitute ingredients if you don't have something or are still going "ewww...gross" at the thought of pancetta and tuna in pasta. Give it a chance, will you? This isn't that nasty pink tuna we all grew up on that came packed in oil (and that I still eat in tuna sandwiches cause it's GOOD!!). This is upper class tuna that comes in the foil packs and is seasoned :) Like I said, it's easy to substitute so if you aren't a fan of tuna, use chicken. Or shrimp - or even salmon. You can even make it vegetarian by leaving out the meat altogether. Give it a try...I bet you find some way to fix it that even picky eaters will enjoy!

Bowtie Pasta with Tuna and Pancetta

1 lb farfalle pasta, cooked and drained
1/4 lb pancetta, diced
2 4 oz packages of lemon pepper tuna (or plain)
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 shallot, chopped
6 oz artichokes in oil
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 cup vegetable broth
3 Tbsp chopped parsley (use fresh for this recipe)
8 oz cherry tomatoes (I grabbed a couple of handfuls and tossed them in)
Salt and pepper to taste

Cook the pasta according to the directions, drain well. While the pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add the pancetta and cook for about 3-5 minutes. Add the garlic and shallots and saute over medium low heat until tender, about 5 minutes; add the vegetable broth and artichokes and bring to a simmer. Once simmering, add the tuna and allow it to heat through and break it apart. When the mixture is heated through, combine the pasta and tuna/pancetta mixture (broth included) in a large bowl and mix well. Add the cherry tomatoes and parsley and toss to combine well; salt and pepper to taste. Serve and enjoy!

Variations: you can substitute cooked chicken breasts for the tuna as well as shrimp. You can also omit the pancetta or use bacon if that's what you have on hand. To give this a little more "oomph" if you want to go meatless, add baby spinach and saute some mushrooms. You can use this recipe as a base and vary it to your tastes!

Have a wonderful evening. Lord Brignon has made it home. We had dinner and then we took P to Braum's for ice cream. She got dressed up for her daddy before he got home. She also did a spot on impression of Molly Shannon's "Superstar" when I told her I had bought hot dogs with cheese in them. She is so easy to please :)

You know the twisty tie that's on the bread sack? In my house, it will be forever known as the "wrapinder". YES! That is what Paige calls the twisty tie. I can never remember what she calls it and I always think she's calling it the "wrapinater". Oh Paige......

I'll be back tomorrow, spreading my own special brand of joy and kindness!!

Kelly

Back to School...Back to Work (by 8:30 am)

This is why I love the school year - I am forced to spend an entire day at the office. I screw off all summer long because I don't have to be here on time. I have no reason to get up early, no need to hurry. Granted, I come in to the office every day, but during the summer, I show up when I feel like it. While that's a nice perk to have, it doesn't bode well for me as it takes me awhile to acclimate to the office bullshit and by the time I'm in a frame of mind to work, it's time to leave! So yeah...I'm totally loving back to school.

I had a great weekend! While some people like to spend their weekend on a beach drinking fruity drinks with umbrellas in them, I prefer to be productive. Here's a rundown of my weekend:

Spent Saturday cleaning and redecorating my house. We had our carpet replaced with (fake) wood flooring last week and the dust created by that process was unreal. My mom came out to the house and helped. She reorganized my cabinets and helped me redecorate.

Supervised Zoe as she cleaned her disgusting pigsty. There is a reason the girls' rooms are in an area of the house that cannot be viewed by the rest of the house. I never knew how nasty one person could be. Whew!

Folded piles and piles and piles of laundry. I still have another load to fold. I was unaware that 88 people lived in my house. Where in the hell does all of this friggin laundry come from?

Cleaned out P's drawers and rearranged them so that she can get to her uniforms in the morning and get dressed.

Took the girls shopping and to dinner at Outback. We had a lovely afternoon at Target and dinner was wonderful. We all came home and went to bed. Cleaning wore us out!

Broke up a fight between my bloodhound Wyatt and coonhound Blue. Wyatt is the baby of the group (yet weighs in at 120) and Blue is your typical middle child, dirty agitator type. One of them will look at the other one sideways and then they get pissed and all hell breaks loose. After they got finished arguing, they got in their doghouse (because they sleep together) and all was well.

Tucker, the basset, gets tired of the Wyatt/Blue drama. Tucker decided to stay on the back porch and sleep there. This was great news to Eddie. Eddie, if you remember, is my dachshund who needs to get laid. Eddie is in love with Tucker. Obsessed would be a more accurate term, actually. Eddie cried and moaned and panted all night. He wanted to be with Tucker on the back porch. I made Eddie come in and he was out of control at the back door. He wouldn't stay in the bed with me and Waylon, so I put him in his crate. Well, he broke out of it at 3 am trying to get to Tucker. So I put him in the other crate, went back to my bedroom, shut the door and put my earplugs in. He wined all night. Tucker was also sick of the obsessive love that Eddie has for him and decided he'd rather sleep with the fighting jackasses than listen to Eddie's wanting cries for him. Lord...did I just write that??? LOL

So that was my weekend. Paige, Zoe and I had a great girls only weekend. I got up and made breakfast both mornings. The girls love it when I make Eggs In Toast. I cut a hole out of the bread and fry the egg inside of it. It's sooo good and I love it, too. Gary had a great time in the Virgin Islands and is on his way home today. Dr. Ray got 2nd, Gary got 4th, Shirley Sexton placed 6th and TJ got 8th place. Congrats to all!

Looking forward to the River on Friday.....can't wait!

I've got grocery shopping to do so that I can get to cooking this week. Plenty of recipes to post....and they'll be healthy!

Kelly

Letter to Renee Moore

Below is an email I sent to Renee Moore regarding the advertising and promotion of CASI. I'll let everyone know if I get a response :)


Hi Renee,

I’ve been thinking a lot about the recent letters, responses, and opinions (mine included!) regarding promotion of CASI and the TICC winner. I’m not in marketing and I certainly don’t have the savvy that Jim Ezell or a few other cooks have when it comes to promoting our organization. However, I do run a business and I understand the dilemma so many businesses have when it comes to deciding when it does and does not make sense to spend money. I am always the last one on board when it comes to spending money. I have, in the past few years, reluctantly agreed to make purchases that were somewhat painful at the time, but have paid off in spades for our business. I would hope that CASI could somehow compromise on how it spends its money in an effort to give more tools to Jim and other cooks interested in promoting and advertising CASI.



Please forgive me if any of my suggestions are redundant or already in place so to speak. One of the first things that came to mind over the past week has been a budget review – not just by the board, but by the GP’s. Rather than looking at what is spent after the fact, why couldn’t the finance committee work together to draft a proposed budget for the year in order to look at what is being spent, how it’s being spent and what opportunities might be there in order to spend the money in a way that is beneficial to all of the needs of CASI – including advertising. The advertising issue is never going to go away and unless CASI promotes itself 365 days a year, instead of the weeks following TICC and with a champion to help, we’re never going to consistently gain any ground when it comes to increasing membership and sponsorship. As wonderful as Jim is at what he does, his hands are tied by the very organization he is trying to sell. In my opinion, CASI cannot continue to ask its members and sponsors to bear the burden of financing our hobby unless the organization itself is willing to spend money to help its cause as well.



Another idea I had concerns the membership cards and Terlingua Trails. What real purpose do our membership cards serve? They seem to be a needless expense. Yes, it may not be a large expense; but after awhile, small dollars add up. I view the Trails the same way. Why, in this day and age, do we continue to communicate with all of our membership via print? CASI could save so much money by allowing the members to choose how they receive their Trails. I am aware that there are a lot of people without internet access and those who still like to receive it via the USPS. Still, why can’t CASI poll the membership and ask if they are willing to give up a membership card and a paper version of the Trails. I know money could be saved and spent in other areas of need.



My last suggestion regards an actual PR/Advertising position for CASI. I don’t believe it needs or even has to be a board member. We have so many talented people in our organization. Why can’t we have one person with a team of volunteers to advertise CASI? I don’t know if it needs to be a paid position, but why not offer a paid membership to CASI for a year? What about an expense reimbursement for their time and materials to promote and advertise CASI? I know it will cost money, but how much money is CASI making by remaining stagnant and not really committed to innovating and advertising its brand?



I hope you will look upon this email as suggestive rather than critical. I feel that the BOD needs to reach out to the members and capitalize on so many of us willing to volunteer our time and talents to make CASI a strong and viable organization. If CASI wants to just be a group of people that cook chili and raise money for charity as a benefit, then it needs to get that point across to the membership and stop with all pomp and circumstance of being something that we really aren’t. If CASI wants to be viewed as a large, charitable organization committed to its members, charities, and sponsors, then CASI is going to have to step up their game in order to get the name recognition needed in order to bring in more people to support CASI and cook chili for CASI.



Thank you for your time and I look forward to seeing you at the Great Peppers Meeting in a few weeks.

Random Tidbits From My Day......

What's that writing style called...you know...where you just start writing down everything that comes in your head?? Free association? I dunno...but whatever it's called, this blog for the next few minutes is going to resemble that style of writing.

One last comment/clarification about the Steve Nadeau vs. CASI Board issue and Jim Ezell's response - Yes, I added my comments, but other than criticizing the Board, I absolutely was not criticizing Jim or Steve. I have an immense amount of respect for Jim Ezell and everything he does for CASI. He has always been unbelievably kind and supportive of me and Gary and in no way would I ever, ever be disrespectful to him. I'm not backtracking or kissing ass after saying my peace, I'm just clarifying in the event I was too scathing and therefore misleading in my comments. I do not know Steve personally but respect anyone willing to put it all out there and say what needs to be said.

I have a miniature dachshund named Eddie. Many of you have met him. Eddie is, to be completely frank, ready to get it on. He is out of control and won't leave Waylon, the other MALE miniature dachshund in our home, alone for one minute. The moaning, and crying...the ear cleaning, the humping. It's just too much. I'm afraid to go to bed at night. Please, for the love of God. If you have a female weenie dog who's ready for a little action, contact me. Email me, call me collect, I don't care. This is getting out of hand.

Thank you to Roger Foltz for coming to our Pod meeting tonight. Roger comes to most of our meetings and I appreciate the fact that he is active in three of the Pods in the DFW area; Cowtown, TOT and our Pod, the NOW Pod. I really, really appreciate his support, advice and contributions. I hope he is re-elected to the Board. Yes, that Board...the one I get all worked up over from time to time.

My sister cracks me up. I bought dinner tonight and bless her heart, she wanted to repay the favor by buying my drinks and the round I bought for everyone else...hahaha, at the KJT Hall tonight. Poor girl pulls out her debit card and I told her, "They don't take debit cards here!!" So, I bought dinner...and drinks....LOL. It was just kind of funny when someone thanked me for the round and I didn't tell them Courtney was buying...I guess cause she really wasn't!!!

I just discovered my dogs eating something so important to me that I could make a very good case for putting them out in the wild this evening. Nooo...not my CrackBerry, a plant. My Eddie plant. Eddie was my uncle who passed away four years ago. Eddie was like one of my parents and I still miss him. I can't keep a houseplant alive to save my life, but I have kept my Eddie plant alive since he died and I will personally hurt anyone or anything that harms my Eddie plant in any form or fashion. I've called Gary and told him he better get home and get these little bastards ASAP.

Speaking of little bastards, I keep thinking it's raining outside, but no. It's Eddie...licking and licking and licking Waylon.

Sorry...I told ya'll this was going to be random and all over the place.

Paige had a spectacular first day of school. I'm so blessed to have a child who loves school and loves to learn. I hope she keeps that attitude - it will only help her in the long run. It was really sad without Sr. Lucy at the front door greeting all of her "babes". Everyone seemed excited to be back at school, but really sad at the same time. I'm so glad Paige goes there. I know I kind of flirted with the idea of putting her in public school over the summer, but St. Joseph is the absolute best place for her. We're lucky to have all of the wonderful people at St. Joseph in our lives - especially all the little ones. They are so loved there!

I guess that's my random, "free association" for this evening.

I'm tired, but I have to wait on my Cafe World food to be ready before I can go to bed. What a sad, sad life :)

I'm restless, but Eddie and Waylon got a hold of the one book I'm reading right now, so I don't have anything to read while I relax and fall asleep.

I'm afraid I've jinxed the rain by verbalizing my excitement over the lightning.

I asked an employee today if another employee under his supervision was trying to kill himself when he let a ceiling tile fall and slice his wrist and was disappointed when he said no. WTF kind of employer am I??? It was just one of those days at that point.

If my husband tells me one more f*cking time what I can and cannot say on this blog, I'm really going to embarass him. Budda won't be able to dial Gary's number fast enough. (Hahaha....love you Budda!!! Gary...not so much. Kidding, kidding....you know I love you!!)

I'm still rambling. I'm really leaving this time.

Good night all.....

Kelly

Steve Nadeau Letter and Response

Good afternoon! I've received permission to post Steve's letter as well as a response from Jim Ezell.


Promoting CASI by utilizing the current TICC Champion - By Steve Nadeau

The Nadeau household was very excited after Margaret won TICC for the
second time. To try and make the experience for Margaret as rewarding
as possible and also given the golden opportunity to promote CASI, I sent
a letter to the CASI Board of Directors to solicit their support. Here are
some excerpts from letter I sent in November:
"The experience in 2005 when Margaret won for the first time was
somewhat tarnished by the complete lack of participation from the board.
All of the opportunities she was presented with were created by myself.
There were zero opportunities presented to Margaret from the board and
no work was done at any real level to promote her. I was outspoken and
voiced concerns about promoting future champions and thought there was
some momentum from the board in that direction. Hearing comments from
the champions since then, it does not appear that much has changed since
2005 and everyone has pretty much done their own thing.
Coming from a sales and marketing background, I see this as a huge
opportunity to promote CASI. I would challenge anyone to find a better
personality then Margaret to promote the organization. Now having a
second win only heightens the opportunity. In the spirit of full candor, I
think CASI does a poor job of promoting themselves. Charity starts at
home and CASI should be focused on investing and promoting
themselves, which in turn will bring in more revenue allowing for more
charitable giving. A good start here would be to invest in and promote the
current 2 time champion.
I have already contacted dozens of media sources, both local and national,
as it is important to strike while the iron is hot. The only contact from the
board so far was a request from Roger for Margaret to go to Walmart and
get a picture taken for CASI sponsors. There was no offer to pay for this
service. Roger later then asked me to take the picture myself on a colored
background for editing purposes. This is not representative of CASI taking
this opportunity seriously. I would think at the very least CASI would like a
professional photo for marketing purposes with their sponsors.
If we are to get (and keep) high caliber sponsors, we need to provide more
then a good photo and maybe a banner. I would recommend that our
current sponsors are contacted to see if they would like to invite Margaret
to attend some type of corporate function (company cookoff etc.) or other
marketing opportunity. Margaret is willing to travel and use her personal
vacation to attend these events. I would recommend the cost of this travel
be negotiated between CASI and the sponsor. There are also many other
opportunities not involving current sponsors out there that can be obtained
if the effort is put into it.
As I said in the beginning that my goal is to make this experience as
rewarding as possible for Margaret. I can guarantee you that CASI
participating in promoting her will play a big part in achieving this goal.
CASI is going to get some excellent PR from the opportunities I create, but
we can take it to a much higher level if we all work to find and create the
opportunities together.
Please take this email in the positive spirit it is intended. My minor criticism
is in no way meant to be confrontational, but instead an effort to help make
improvements."
After sending the above letter I was informed there was a PR Committee
and later asked to join by Roger Foltz.
Roger said: "I would love for you to help us on the PR Committee, if you
would. Alan Dean, Dale Reinecker (also marketing background) are also
on the committee. I do advise Jim Ezell on most items, trying to get
sponsors involved when we can. I would like all committee members to
give me feedback on items to present to the Board at our January meeting.
At that meeting we will also discuss possible budgets for the coming year,
so I'd like to have your input on this also."
The "PR Committee" consists of a number of directors (including multiple
past champions). In the committee correspondences leading up to the
meeting, the only people taking part in the conversation were Alan, Dale
and myself. I also in good faith compiled a draft of thoughts and
suggestions for promoting CASI which I was told would be presented at the
January BOD meeting. Here is a copy of what I sent:
• Existing sponsors - All sponsors should be notified of the willingness of
the champ to travel to their events and take advantage of their sponsorship.
Costs incurred to be negotiated between CASI and sponsor.
• Corporate events
• Existing or new event to recognize CASI and the current champ.
• Trade show or festival for their industry.
• Chili cookoff in their hometown etc.
• Provide professional photos for their marketing purposes.
• Custom banner for their company logo and current champ details. Cost to
be split between sponsors participating. Champ to take to CCOʼs and
venues.
• Chili Cookoffʼs - Invitation to be published in TT and Blogs to all cookoff
promoters.
• Application to filled out with eligibility criteria. Some criteria suggestion:
• Large public venue. Confirmed from previous years.
• Large number of cooks. Confirmed from previous years.
• Local news and newspapers notified in advance and offer for
interviews.
• Organized recognition and planned participation of champ at event.
• Participation to be negotiated between CASI and champ.
• Travel and living cost to be covered and negotiated between CASI and
promoter.
• Some cookoff possibilities:
• CA State
• Louisiana State
• Ladies State
• DFW: Cowtown, Stop/drop/roll, etc
• Texas Open (and other states)
• East Coast
• Midwest
• Other venues - Non chili cookoff venues and trade-shows to be contacted
for guest appearance.
• Meat industry
• Spicy/Fiery Food venues (chile, salsa, BBQ etc.)
• Fancy Food Show and other food shows
Food competitions
• BBQ cookoffʼs
• Publicity - TV, radio, print and digital medium. A continuous marketing
campaign should be made all year long to promote CASI and the TICC champ.
• TV morning shows, both local and national
• Daytime and evening shows, Ellen, Leno, Letterman etc.
• Food Channel (multiple shows)
• Radio, local and nationwide
• Magazines, travel, food etc.
• Blogs, food, travel etc.
In February, after learning that nothing was brought up nor discussed
about marketing of TICC champions at the January Board of Directors
meeting as promised, I sent another email to the Board of Directors. Here
is a copy of that letter:
"Hello again BOD et al,
It is now February and we are 4 months into the new chili year. I was
hoping the BOD would have grabbed a hold of the golden opportunity in
front of them did everything in its power to try and utilize Margaret for
marketing CASI, but alas it has not happened. As a matter of fact there
have been ZERO results.
After sending the email below, I was asked to join a marketing committee.
I was told this was an opportunity for me to help CASI with a plan for
marketing the champ. I was also asked to submit my ideas for the BOD
meeting that took place last month. I was told that this was a high priority
on the agenda and that a plan would be submitted and voted on. I
submitted in good conscious my ideas and suggestions (see attached).
After the BOD meeting was held I inquired as to what was agreed upon. I
was told by Roger that "Nothing specific was discussed & nothing specific
was agreed". This came as a major disappointment to me. I asked to
be removed from the committee, as I get all the exercise I need riding my
bike. Unfortunately I feel that many times these committees are formed as
a means to move forward on the days agenda. The committee
without good/proper leadership then becomes nothing more then a little
girls tea party with all show and at the end of the party nothing changes.
I learned last week that Bruce Foods was looking for a good photo of
Margaret to use for a banner, recipe card and other marketing purposes. If
you recall in my previous email I was asked by Roger to take the picture
myself and I explained this was not the actions of someone taking this
opportunity serious. While on the committee, I researched and submitted
to Roger the cost of having a professional picture taken for marketing
purposes and for the sponsors utilization. Roger told me he would submit
to the BOD. There has been no response and looks like a missed
opportunity with one of our premier sponsors.
I would encourage the BOD to lose the pomp and circumstance and take
action. There is a wonderful opportunity in front of you."
It is now August and the Board of Directors did not act on anything that
was suggested nor create any opportunities to promote CASI. Margaret
was not once contacted by the Board of Directors.
So here we are again and another wonderful opportunity to give CASI
some much needed exposure pissed away. This is not about entitlements
for the current champ. It is about ways to promote CASI and also create
some real value for it's current and future sponsors. Isn't that what the
board is in place for? To be quite honest I am not clear what the mission
of the Board of Directors is. Do we really need administrative jobs to be
board positions? Important roles such as CASI sponsorship and what
CASI does with it's money (Scholarship) are not even board positions.
Marketing is non-existent and unfortunately an afterthought. The entire
Board of Directors was copied on all of my correspondences. I have heard
time and again that "it has always been this way" etc. CASI members
need to start questioning the rolls of the board and it's directors and define
some clear goals on how to move CASI forward, instead of the recessive
state it is in now. Shirt size should not be a criteria.
Regards,
Steve Nadeau

Jim Ezell's response:

I would like to take a few moments of your time to address the comments espoused by Steve Nadeau.

Since the late 90s, I have been very unhappy with the utilization and recognition of the TICC champion. I do not think that is a secret. Public Relations is and has always been, in my view, the biggest weakness of CASI. The vocal nature of Mr. Nadeau's pleadings is just a more eloquent culmination of years of dissatisfaction by the champions. It has been my frustration to observe this discontent and not act on it accordingly. It is difficult to financially justify a PR campaign when our membership is spread so thinly over a vast geographic area. We have thus had to depend primarily on free press or public appearances in select venues. The cost of advertising is constantly brought up to the board and the cost usually does not seem to justify the anticipated outcome. We have also never been able to attract that special person to the board that would have a knack for making this magic. Perhaps some of the detractors would like to come over to the dark side and experience the reality of board/membership interaction. Remember, this is not a Margaret Nadeau issue, it is a CASI issue.

Four years ago, I was charged by the Great Peppers to come up with a way to fund and reward the TICC Champion in a monetary amount. I have submitted a proposal to address that issue. I also put together a package of gift items for the winner that I felt was long overdue.

Two years ago, I gained board approval to submit on a case by case basis, funding requests for the winner to travel to events I believe to be in the best interest of sponsorship. The board has gone along with these requests although sometimes the dollar amounts were not what they could have been.

I have always conveyed, as part of the sponsor presentation package, that CASI would be happy to provide the current or a former TICC champion at any event chili or non-chili where a benefit would be felt by that sponsor. The photo issue is a non starter as everyone knows that stage photos are a vital part of our ceremonies at TICC.I always emphasize that our representative would be glad to promote the sponsor and its association with CASI. In addition, I always remind sponsors that this feature is available to them after TICC. Below is the context of the email sent to some 50 sponsor representatives Dec 14 of last year immediately following Margaret's win.

Subject: Availability of TICC Winner


To all our valued sponsors.
Our 2009 Terlingua International Chili Champion, Margaret Nadeau, has graciously agreed to make her time available for sponsor functions or related cookoff events in the coming year. If you have something coming up that would benefit you by having this CASI Champion there, please contact Margaret and see if arrangements can be made.
Margaret is a two time Terlingua Champion, having also won it all in 2005, She is a beautiful and talented person who has much to offer in promoting CASI and our sponsor products.
As most of you know, CASI is a charity and we do not give prize money to our winners. If you would like an appearance, we would of course like you to help her with some of the expense she may incur.
This is a win win situation for your company and CASI and we would love to share our winner. Please contact Margaret at mnadeau@gvtc.com or myself at jezell8642@aol.com if this might interest you.

Thank you for your support, and Best Wishes for a prosperous New Year.


Jim Ezell

I guess the major thrust of where I am going with this is evidenced by the Four Point Proposal I have placed before the membership for consideration at the upcoming Great Peppers Meeting. Much of the thought and reasoning that went into this proposal came as a result of the situation outlined by Mr. Nadeau. I have been working on it since the early part of the year for submission at the summer board meeting and action at the GP meeting. The four points are:

Membership
Great Peppers Meeting
Scholarship Funding
Recognition and rewarding of TICC Champion

I will be available at the GP meeting to address this proposal and defend it. I welcome any comments or criticisms on this proposal by any member and have been attempting to travel as much as I can lately to interact with more members. The only other point I will address is the insinuation that sponsorship is somehow demeaned by not being handled as a board position. If there is discontent with this current status I can resign, as I serve at the pleasure of the board and membership.

In closing, lets use this situation as a positive and work toward the betterment of our organization. We are not perfect, but we have come a long long way since my early years with CASI. We have a limited, dedicated, diverse and sometimes vocal membership. Each and every member has earned his or her right to be critical of management. Criticism is part of the venue and comes with the job description each aspiring director must accept. Before you "Throw the Bums Out" make sure the talent pool is the real deal. All a former director has to show for countless hours of service is a plaque and a satisfaction that somewhere they made a difference. Please forgive the abundance of ( I's) in this memo, but I am not speaking for the CASI Board of Directors, but as a non-board contributing member that greatly enjoys my association with CASI.

I do not have a distribution list as to where Steve's memo went, so I would appreciate this reaching as many CASI members as possible.

Thank you

Jim Ezell
Sponsor Chair
Former CASI President and Director


I have to say that both of these individuals have made excellent points and at the very core of the disagreement, agree that more should be done to promote the TICC Champions and CASI as an organization. Steve, like many of us, is in the unfortunate position as being cast as "just a cook", whereas Jim Ezell has the history with and ear of the Board of Directors. In other words, he's viewed as more than "just a cook". Jim is also a businessman and I'm sure he, along with the other business minded individuals on the Board, have felt that after careful consideration, it would not be beneficial to take certain monetary steps to promote CASI and the TICC Champion. However, as a business woman, I believe that sometimes you've got to spend money to make money. Maybe the board members of a Not for Profit organization would be willing to give up their bar tab or room/transportation reimbursements in order to help with advertising costs. Why not explore the possiblity of having advertising donated? It's a write off and if I can get it for our 3 day cook off in February, I feel quite possible an organization such as CASI could get donations as well. Or even better, why can't a sponsor offer that as a part of their sponsorship package - or why not market that to the sponsors? Kind of like the "Friends of CASI" sponsorship program, that in the interest of full disclosure, T & B Demolition is a part of.

What bothers me the most about this issue is the first person to respond wasn't an active Board Member, it was a past board member who still works to promote CASI and bring in and retain sponsors. I feel quite sure that no one wants to get into a public blog war, but where is the BOD response to Steve's concerns? Once again, it seems that "just a cook" is the one putting the thoughts and ideas together only to be subjected to a deaf ear by the Board. While I feel that it is Janice's obligation to post an opinion that a CASI member asks her to publish, was there a response from her or another Board member to Steve's concerns? At what point will the Board start listening to the members and actually act upon their suggestions. Why are Jim's proposals met with so much enthusiasm while Steve's suggestions were continually cast aside? In reality, they aren't that different and they both seek to better CASI's exposure to potential sponsors and to the general public. Why, when so much of the behind the scenes work is volunteer, would the Board of a Non Profit, Charitable organization, fail to capitalize on one more person willing to spend their time and talents bettering the organization that they support and believe in?

Other than my slightly bizarre view of sponsorship, I support Jim Ezell 99% of the time. The only comment in his response I disagree with is this (and I'm copying/pasting so I don't get it wrong):
"Perhaps some of the detractors would like to come over to the dark side and experience the reality of board/membership interaction"

This is where I become less pro CASI Board and more pro Membership. The reality of the board/membership relationship is that the board continues to do as they wish and ignore, for the most part, the voices of the CASI cooks. Since I have been involved in CASI and since I've been active in the lovely "politics" of chili, I've witnessed many cooks reaching out to Directors asking to be heard. Depending on who they are and where they cook, and who their closest Director is, they may or may not be taken seriously. More often than not, they have been branded a "complainer", a "negative voice". Now I know that there are troublemakers and as I've said in the past, bitter, bitchy old people (not talking about ANYONE in particular - just a generalization), but for every pain in the Board's ass, there must be a few cooks who take the time (like Steve Nadeau and Jim Ezell) to carefully and thoughtfully word their criticisms and suggestions in the interest of making CASI bigger and better. How did we all get lumped together? Why is it easier to just brand all of us as negative, critical, pains in the ass? I don't know how many times I've heard a board member say, "I get emails from so and so all the time", followed by the ever popular roll of the eyes. Well, what the hell did you think you signed up for? This is an organization that is member driven and member supported. Like Jim said, criticism comes with the territory. It's like we have a board full of egotistical, feelings on the shoulder people who can't handle any idea that didn't come from them, any suggestion that conflicts with their ideas, or the mere mention that we, GASP, do things differently than we used to.

Steve took time out of his life to make suggestions, offer ideas and help, and he was met with....wait for it.....APATHY!!!!

Jim Ezell takes time out of his life on a regular basis to offer suggestions and ideas and the Board falls all over themselves promoting his proposals.

Why is there a difference between the two and how much longer is the membership going to allow who the Board will or won't listen to, does or doesn't pay attention to...choose to or choose not to take action to make CASI stronger?

We've got roughly four weeks to decide the direction we want our organization to take going forward. I know I gripe and complain, but I'm certainly not afraid of voting for people who I think will make a difference and against people who I think will only look good in that year's colored shirt ;)

Regardless of what side you're on, or who you agree with, I commend both Jim and Steve for taking the time to care enough about CASI and share their ideas and suggestions so that CASI can move forward as a more recognizable charitable organization. Jim continues to promote CASI and look for sponsors to support our hobby. Steve is doing what he can to market and advertise not only CASI, but the TICC Champion, in an effort to promote "Chili, Charity and Fun".

Have a wonderful day! Paige and I both survived the first day of school and no one gave me any weird looks when I picked her up....whew!!!

Keep it real, folks........

Kelly

Speechless

Scroll down past the Chuck Spishock info for the real stuff.

http://edjanice.blogspot.com

As a very good friend just said, and I quote, "Looks like Kelly is off the hook for awhile."

There is nothing I can post today that will come close to the letter on the ED's blog. Read it...and then re-read. Man, I thought I had cajones.

Wow.

Looks like someone else enjoys spreading their own brand of kindness and joy!

Kelly

Hello Monday!

Whether I want to see it or not, it's here....MONDAY! We had a great weekend full of nothingness! Stayed home Friday night, had friends over for dinner on Saturday and Meet the Teacher Orientation yesterday. I tried to prepare dinner last night and it seemed like everything I did turned into a mess. I hate nights like that. I've never cooked purple hull peas and I was unaware that they smell kind of funky at first. I thought I had bad ham, so I threw it out and rinsed the peas off. I put them in another pot with a new piece of ham and the weird smell wasn't as strong. I normally cook black eyed or cream peas, so this kind of freaked me out. My cornbread came out good, my okra was okay, and I managed to dump more macaroni on the cook top than back in the pot....it just kept getting worse :) Alls well that ends well and no one got sick from food poisoning!

I'm completely pissed off, though. Gary bought me a turquoise cuff bracelet in Terlingua last year and I wear it constantly. It has disappeared and I'm furious...and sad. I love that bracelet!!! It's beautiful and I'm so mad because I can't find it. I know I had it on Friday and I always put it in one of two places in my bedroom. It's not in either place and I've torn the house upside down looking for it. I can't imagine what I've done with it. I hope it didn't get thrown in the trash while I was cleaning on Saturday. That would completely suck.

I met Paige's first grade teacher yesterday. I always get nervous when Paige starts talking to adults when I'm out of earshot. It never fails that they look over at me and smile while she's talking. I just kind of smile back and nod my head while I cringe inside wondering what the hell she's saying. She'll finally walk back over to me and she'll tell me what she was telling them. Things like, "I was telling Mrs. Reyna about the aliens in our attic." Or, "I was telling Mrs. Jodi about Waylon and Eddie lovin each other all the time." Things like that, you know...just little Pageisms that I love so much :)

I wanted to post some recipes today but I don't dare share the catastrophes that I prepared last night! Mark and Vicki came over for dinner Saturday night and brought some of the tuna he caught a few weeks ago in Matagorda Bay while deep sea fishing. It turned out really well. I marinated it in a Honey Jalapeno glaze for about an hour and then seared it for about 3 minutes on each side. I served it with a mango pico de gallo and avocado relish, salad and roasted potatoes. The potatoes were easy. I quartered about 8 large red potatoes and drizzled them with olive oil, salt and pepper. I roasted them for 25 minutes at 425 degrees, turning them once. Those are the easiest potatoes to make and they always come out crunchy on the outside and tender on the inside.

We're having wood flooring put down in the dining and living rooms this week. I finally gave up on carpet in any room other than the bedrooms. Our dogs have not been kind to the carpet, so it's going bye-bye. All of my dining and living room furniture is in the kitchen, so I won't be doing any cooking for a few days. Paige starts school tomorrow, so we'll be eating out for a few nights this week. She's so excited to go back to school and I'm looking forward to getting back into a routine. I know I'll start cooking in earnest next week and I'll have lots of recipes to share.

Have a great Monday!

Kelly

Anniversary Thursday

Today, I've been married for eight years. It seems like a long time; but at the same time, just like yesterday that we got married. Gary and I got married in Las Vegas at the Little White Wedding Chapel on The Strip. Many people have been married there....Sinatra, Elvis, Judy Garland, Michael Jordan...just to name a few. We had a really cool wedding. The pews were covered in crushed red velvet. The columns were gold. It was totally Vegas. A homeless man got butt naked and took a bath in the fountain next to where we got our pictures made. Our family and friends were there with us and it was kind of symbolic of the family we still have - not all blood related, but close friends that have become family. We both wrote our own vows. Gary cried and snot ran out of his nose. Actually, it just sort of hung there and the light coming through the stained glass window caught it and it glistened. We have these fine moments on tape :) We were so broke. He and I couldn't even afford to pay for the wedding - my mom and dad paid for it. I think it was $55 or something like that...but we were soooooo unbelievably broke when we first got married. They even paid for the video....LOL!!! Still, we've come a long way from our electric being turned off because we spent all of our money in Las Vegas after we got married. I have a life that I would have never had if I had not married Gary. Sure, we've had some really rough times and there have been times when it might have been easier to leave. I stayed and I'm glad I did. Marriage is tough - I don't care what anyone says. Love is important, yes; but it's not everything. If you don't have trust, respect, honesty, and a sense of humor, then it's never going to work. You have to accept the fact that you are in it for the long haul - warts and all. You're not always going to like one another, but you had better be enough in love that you can get through all of the shitstorms. Gary is my closest friend. He knows me inside and out and he accepts me exactly as I am. I don't have to apologize for who I am (or who I'm not) with him. He knows all of my faults, all of my quirks. He knows the lines to cross and the ones to stay far, far away from. And I know those things about him as well. Our relationship didn't start out under the most ideal of circumstances, but we knew the minute we met that this was it. I knew I had found the love of my life and regardless of the situation we were in, I was not letting that man go under any circumstances. I guess that's what has kept us together. We clicked from the start and the spark has never left.

I know how lucky I am to have a husband that is not only good to me, but good to our kids and is a great son and son in law. I'm spoiled rotten by him and I know it. Don't think that I don't appreciate him, or my life, because I do. If I had never met him, and if I hadn't asked him to have drinks with me at the Wild Turkey 10 years ago, who knows where I'd be today. I do know that I wouldn't be here - happy, in love, taken care of, and with a wonderful family. Thank you Gary for eight years of happiness :) I hope that I have made you happy as well.

Kelly

Conversations with Paige

Last night we were at Chilis eating dinner. We managed to be the best rednecks ever by pulling Paige's tooth in the restaurant. Paige didn't disappoint, either!

Paige: Ow!
Me and Gary: What's wrong?
Paige: (exasperated) It's my back.
Me and Gary: Your back?
Paige: Yes, my back. (even more exasperated at her stupid parents) I've told you. I have back problems. My back is really bothering me tonight. I think it's this booth. And I really need a new mattress. It's not supporting me when I sleep.

Gary and I just sat there speechless.

And then this morning, this gem:

Paige: Mommy, I dressed myself.
Me: Yes, I see you. You look beautiful.
Paige: I prefer "hot".
Me: Excuse me?
Paige: I look hot. And I like to look hot instead of beautiful. So when you want to tell me I look good, tell me I look hot.

This coming from someone with no top teef.



Have a great day!!

Kelly

Greetings and Salutations!!!

Good Afternoon!

How was everyone's weekend? Mine was eventful to say the least. We got up Saturday morning and drove to Gruene and floated the Guadalupe for about 3 hours Saturday afternoon. Then we drove back to Austin for Bubba's birthday dinner at Ruth's Chris. The boys were too funny! One of Tyler's friends absolutely refused to let the server remove his lobster bisque from his sight. I thought he was going to slap her hand at one point! We had such a fantastic dinner and discovered a new wine. It's called The Prisoner and it's from Napa Valley. It's a blend of several different grapes: Cab, Zin, Merlot ("I'm not drinking any f*cking Merlot." Best line ever), Malbec and Pinot. Gary and I really enjoyed it. I'll be looking for it next time I buy wine. I also bought Becker Vineyard's Malbec this weekend and it's also a fantastic wine. Man, I sound like such a wino.

Anyways, let me get back to our float and my near death experience. Saturday was an easy float. The Guadalupe was running very, very slow and it was very manageable. We all had a really good time and it was pretty relaxing. It was P's first time on the river this year and she tends to have a ton of pent up excitement and has a hard time containing herself the first few trips. She's sort of all over the place trying to jump out of her tube, swim in the river, stand up in her tube, etc. She normally calms down after about the 3rd trip. Still, we had a great time. Until Sunday. That's an entirely different story. The boys decided they would forego the river trip to the Comal. Paige loves the Comal, so we headed to New Braunfels. She was also on us about going down the tube shoot. I am not a fan of the tube shoot. I go down it, but I don't like it. I've never flipped, but I've had a few close calls and it just isn't my idea of a fun time. So, off we went, the four of us, down the tube shoot. Everyone made it down just fine. That wasn't the problem. The problem was when I got caught back up in the tube shoot current and flipped. I lost my tube, my beer, my Charlie Robison koozie, and my awesome Miller Lite hat. And I almost drowned. There is a fabulous undercurrent that runs under the tube shoot. So there I am, in the middle of where people are being shot out into the Comal trying to get out of the way, out into the middle of the river, and I keep getting pulled back under. It's not deep, but there are a ton of rocks and there are people and tubes hauling ass out of that shoot - so you run the risk of getting kicked in the head. Luckily a nice lifeguard saw me and helped me out. The best was yet to come, though. I get back over to the other side where Gary and the girls are waiting on me and mind you, have been WATCHING the whole time, and my husband asks me, "Where is your tube?" A little pissed, and a lot out of breath, I yell at him, "Probably at the bottom of the F*cking Comal along with my hat, beer, and sunglasses, Gary." I mean, really???? I almost drown, he watches me almost drown, and then asks about my tube. Not me, my tube. Have I mentioned we're happily married? That's okay...he flipped five minutes later and ruined his cigarettes :)

That is why I HATE the tube shoot and why I will never, ever allow my child to go down it again. That could have been her. Or Zoe. Every time I think about it, I get sick to my stomach. I think we'll just get in past the tube shoot from now on, thank you very much!!

Sunday was Tyler's actual 16th birthday and just when he thought all he was getting for his birthday was dinner and some lame ass vacation to the river with his parents and sisters, he came home to this:


Happy Birthday Bubba!!!! He was so excited and so surprised. He had no idea he was getting a car. It's a 1968 VW Beetle with green flames painted on the the sides. I can't wait to show him how to drive it - it's a standard!!

Good day to all....I'm going to catch up on some work. I'll be back tomorrow to spread my own special brand of kindness and joy....and some recipes!

Kelly

On the Road Again......

We're leaving early in the morning for Gruene - Woo Hoo!!! Two full days of toobing, relaxing, good eatin...what more can you ask for? Bubba's birthday is Sunday and we're going down there to celebrate. It's sort of a combo bday celebration/family vacation...that we will be repeating in a month when we go down for mine and Zoe's bday and family vacay! We like to practice :)

Sooo...Bubba turns 16 on Sunday. I feel so old!!! I remember when he was just this quiet little boy. Now he's a tall smart ass just like his daddy (except his daddy is short..hahahaha)!!! But we love him that way! He's such a good kid and a good Bubba to the girls. We're taking him to Ruth's Chris in Austin Saturday night for dinner. I could totally see him living in Austin. He's so laid back all the time. He would like the atmosphere down there.

Not a whole lot going on in the land of Kelly right now. Work's been steady/busy...which is great. Our lawn mower broke - again - so it looks like we live in a forest. Don't buy Cub Cadet - piece o'shit. Paige lost another tooth and looks like a little snaggletoof and school starts in a week and a half. I forgot to go to school this week to pay fees, tuition, etc and I told my mom, "Great. I'm beginning this school year as inept as I ended last year." I'll get up there in a few days and I've also got to pick up her uniforms. At least I ordered them in a timely manner. As much as I love St. Joseph and the education and the people, I've really struggled this summer with whether or not I want to keep her there. There are school districts nearby that are small and she would still be in the same size class and would have access to FFA, school sports, etc. I'm just not sold on public schools now and there are a lot of things Paige gets at St. Joseph that I'm not sure she'd get in a public school. Something I love about St. Joseph is the religion she gets each day. Paige loves Jesus and has such a sweet heart. I know I could take her to church every Sunday and she'd get it there, but I really do love that it's a part of her day. I know she likes it, too. She's been going to her bedroom in the evenings and praying for Sister Lucy before she goes to bed. She's such a sweet, precious child.

I finally registered Gary and I for the GP Meeting. I sent in our paperwork last week and made our hotel reservations. I had forgotten to register, though, so I did that today. I've got a lot of questions to ask those running for the Board. I'm looking forward to voting on the proposals that Jim Ezell presented to the BOD and I really hope the GP's vote to pass them.

Other than that, same ol, same ol around here. It's quiet tonight - the puppies went to the puppy hotel. It's kind of boring without them around wrestling with each other, stealing the girls' panties and just getting into all kinds of mischief!!

Have a great weekend everyone. I'm looking forward to relaxing and having a great time with Gary and the kids. The girls are super excited and I know we're all going to have a great time.

I'll be back Tuesday spreading my brand of kindness and joy. Good night :o)

Kelly

Recipe Correction - Tostadas and Beans

I left out the jalapeno peppers that I float in the liquid for the roast and in the beans. I prick and float one for the roast and two for the beans. I don't squeeze them - I just use them for a little kick and flavor. I'm going to edit the original recipes to include them now.

Enjoy!

Kelly

I'm Probably Going To Piss Off A Few People....

I just have to get this off of my chest (OMG - no pun intended). My child is not inferior because she was not breastfed. If I see one more Lactation Nazi sponsored billboard that states "breastfed babies are smarter", I'm going to vandalize the sign. That is a crock of shit! Paige was not breastfed, she couldn't be. Not only was she born 2 1/2 months premature with brain bleeds and undeveloped lungs, she had a hole in her heart that was repaired medicinally and she couldn't be fed breast milk or formula for the first two weeks. Besides that, I was taking medication that would have been extremely harmful to her if passed through my milk to her. I explained that to the Lactation Nazi, but she really didn't care. She was too busy telling me how f*cked up my kid would be if I DIDN'T breastfeed her. She wouldn't be as intelligent, she'd be prone to asthma and allergies, we wouldn't bond properly. WHATEVER! I can't stand those people. Then that stupid Gisele Bundchen said that breastfeeding should be a law...and then backtracked when she pissed off a bunch of moms. I know plenty of kids who were breastfed and they have had tubes put in their ears from all of the ear infections, multiple cases of strep throat, bronchitis, pneumonia - oh and they still didn't talk at age two. Let's talk about my non breastfed, no functioning lungs, no eyebrows, no fingernails kid at birth for a minute:

Was walking and talking by 11 months
Has been sick with an Upper Respiratory Infection only three times
Has never had strep, an ear infection, pneumonia or bronchitis
Has bonded to her mommy very well, thank you very much
Is extremely intelligent, sensitive, inquisitive and was reading in Pre K

I'm not here to debate the pros/cons of breastfeeding vs. formula. What I don't like is being told that kids will be/or are somehow less developed, intelligent and bonded to their mommies because they weren't breastfed. Had the circumstances been different, I probably would have breastfed her, or maybe I wouldn't have - I didn't have a choice. But I do know that there are plenty of kids out there who aren't breastfed and they're perfectly fine just like there are breastfed kids out there who are sick all the time and developmentally slow...so you can't paint a black and white picture about breastfeeding. All of us make the best decisions we can for our kids and no one has the right to judge or tell us how intelligent our kids will or won't be if they aren't breastfed.

Okay, I'm off of my soapbox for now. Thank you for allowing me to vent!!!

The Evil Side of Tuesday......

Today sucked for some reason. I don't think it meant to...and I certainly didn't want it to, but it did. I know the weather isn't making things easier...it was extremely hot here today. I woke up at 5 am this morning with the most horrible headache. I took some Advil and went back to bed for a little bit. But I never seemed to shake it and I felt like crap all day. I hardly ever have a headache. I figure it was heat and ozone related. It's not like the air quality is top notch right now, either :)

I made progress in my office from hell and that seemed to make me feel a little bit better. My pile o'shit is getting smaller and more manageable. I feel like I'm accomplishing something. It's amazing what you can do when you aren't on Facebook....LOL!!!

Exciting news!! Blackberry is introducing a new phone August 12th. Yes, Yes, Yes!!!! I can't wait!!! I've been eligible for an upgrade but my PC inner child can't fathom the thought of having a Mac-like iPhone...haha!! That would be an AWESOME anniversary present, too. Gary....are you reading this??? Anyways, I can't wait until I can order the new CrackBerry. It made my day.

Here's what absolutely did not make my day and COMPLETELY SUCKS. A while back, I asked for everyone to keep someone close to Paige in your prayers. Today I received a note that our beloved Sister Lucy's cancer has spread and she will be returning to her Convent in Houston to receive radiation and any additional therapy that might slow the progress of her cancer. I've worried about this day because I knew that I couldn't let Paige go to school in two weeks expecting to see Sister Lucy and then not tell her why she wasn't there. Nor did I want to wait until the end to explain what had happened. So today, we had "the talk" and it was horrible and awful and everything you don't want to have to share with your child. Sister Lucy is the lifeblood of St. Joseph and I don't know how they will cope with this. I know that prayers and faith and love for her and one another will be their comfort, but it will still be so hard for all of them - especially the "little darlings". Until you've experienced Sister Lucy, you just can't understand what she brings to your child's life - or yours. I don't understand why this is happening to her and it was hard to explain to Paige. Paige loves Sister Lucy and I love her for what she's given to Paige. All we can do is pray for Sister and for God to take care of her the best way he can. With that said, it still doesn't make this any easier and it certainly doesn't guarantee the outcome we have all hoped for. I just want to do what I can for Paige and to help her deal with this the best way possible. Sister has been very private and has asked us to pray, but not to burden ourselves with worry....I don't believe I could ever be that gracious and that strong knowing what a battle I had ahead of me. She's a hell of a lady - and she loves her red wine. I know that there are a lot of parents right now who would do anything in their power to make this go away for her. I guess this is when you just have to rely on God and faith.

So, yeah...that's how my day went once we arrived back at the Brignon Compound. Paige seems to be holding up okay and I've been checking on her and asking her if she needs to talk. I've also vacuumed and cleaned the house...fun times. I really want to take a hot shower and get in bed with my book, "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest". It's the last book in the Millenium Trilogy. And oh...Daniel Craig will be playing Mickael Blomvkist, the journalist in the book who gets really naked and has lots of sex. YES!!! NAKED DANIEL CRAIG LADIES. HELL YEAH!!!! OMG...speaking of HOT, HOT, HOT....Alcide, Alcide, Alcide. For those of you who watch True Blood, you know who I'm talking about. For those of you unfortunate ladies who don't, you need to Google "Alcide Herveaux" and feast your eyes upon all I can describe as "f*ckalicious". Gary, if you are reading this, please do not get mad. I love you, but the man is hot. It's kind of the same thing you've got going on with Anne Hathaway. And Jenna Jameson. And Megan Fox. So, we're even...okay??

I'm sure a lot of people have been checking in to see if I've gone off on a tangent over the recent CASI situation that involved emails to the GP's about a rules violation, etc. I'm not going to get into it today because I want to gather more information before I say my peace. I will say that I did vote for sanctioning and I'm not going to punish a cook trying to promote CASI because I don't agree with why we are being asked to vote or the logic behind it. I believe rules are in place for a reason and yet I absolutely understand extenuating circumstances. Aside from that, I'm still trying to understand everything that led up to the vote being presented to the GP's and until I do, I'm going to withhold my opinion. (And there was much rejoicing in the land...hahahaha)

One of the things that I appreciate about CASI is that we are a group of very different, colorful and opinionated people who all see things differently. What I don't necessarily care for is the feeling I got when reading some of the replies referencing the people who voiced concern over why or what we were voting on were somehow the "villains" in the group. I know that chili is a hobby and that there are a lot of us, including myself, who do, at times, take it very seriously. I don't think that should be something to criticize, but something to respect. We are all volunteering our time, money, and energy to support something we care about and believe in. Each of us is going to interpret, respond and see things differently from one another. What isn't a big deal to one person may be a big deal to the next. That's what I think we need to understand and respect about one another. I know it's just a bowl of chili. And yes it's for charity. What we have to remember is that CASI chose to become this organization of rules, members and hierarchy. With that structure comes discussion, conflict and difference of opinions. If we keep our eyes on the prize, which is helping those in less fortunate situations than ourselves, then I think we will all be able to happily "agree to disagree". We're all doing this for the same reasons; we enjoy our friends, the fun, the beer, the good times, the food, the competition - you name it! I just don't think we all have to feel the same way about the different situations and issues that arise from time to time. That's the beauty of being such a colorful bunch of people, right???

Have a great evening....here's to a Happy Hump Day tomorrow!!

Kelly

I Believe I'm a Mexican Trapped In a White Girl's Body.....

I LOVE Mexican food. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Mexican food....I must have been Mexican in my former life and it's carried over to this one :) Gary's just as bad...we aren't very good influences on one another when it comes to eating better. So anyways, we had breakfast at one of the Mexican restaurants in Ennis yesterday morning and it was delicious. Then I decided to make Mexican food last night for dinner. I made Carne Tostadas and Borracho Beans. The best part of all - I made both in my slow cookers! Now I have something else to add to my repertoire of slow cooker meals.

Cadillac Cowgirl Carne Tostadas

1 2 lb Chuck Tender Roast
1 Yellow Onion, quartered
6 Garlic Cloves
2 Tsp Cumin
1 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Pepper
2 1/2 Cups Beef Broth
1 Jalapeno (I prick holes in it and float, but don't squeeze it unless you want heat)
Corn Tostadas (Tia Rosa and Mission both make them - they're with the tortillas)
Shredded Lettuce
Chopped Roma Tomatoes (I used 4 medium sized Romas)
16 oz Can Refried Beans
Queso Fresco (With the Mexican Cheeses...usually by the sour cream and cream cheese)
Creama (same as above) or you can use regular sour cream
Diced Avocado

Place the first 8 ingredients in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on high 5 hours or until the roast is tender and can be easily shredded or chopped. Let the roast cool so that it can be easily handled and then chop or shred it into small pieces. Heat the refried beans with a little bit of butter to make them easier to spread on a tostada. Season the beans with salt and pepper. Once they're heated through, spread them on the tostadas. Top each tostada with the shredded lettuce, tomatoes, avocado and roast beef. Sprinkle the tostadas with the Queso Fresco - you can either crumble it by hand or use one of those cool hand held cheese graters. Drizzle the Creama over the top and viola - Carne Tostadas!!

This will make about 6 tostadas. If you want to make more, just increase the amount of beans, tomatoes, lettuce and avocados. A 2 lb roast should make at least 10 tostadas. You can use a larger roast if you want to make these for a large group. You could also do this with chicken as well. I love refried black beans and I think the chicken would be really good with black beans, too.

Cadillac Cowgirl Borracho Beans

1 lb Dried Pinto Beans
6 Roma Tomatoes, Chopped
1 Yellow Onion, Chopped
1 Handful Cilantro, Chopped
6 Pieces Bacon, Chopped and Browned (I compare this to browning chicken. The bacon will continue to cook with the beans.)
Salt, Pepper and Cumin to taste
7 Cups Water
1 Tbsp Bacon Drippings
2 Jalapeno Peppers (prick and float; don't squeeze unless you want extra heat)

In a 6 quart slow cooker, combine all of the ingredients. Cook on high for 6 1/2-7 hours or until the beans are tender. Adjust the seasonings to taste.

I have beans and roast left over from last night. I think I'll make tacos this evening to go with the beans. Have any of you ever had the tacos from Friendly's at the corner of NW Highway and Harry Hines. TO DIE FOR!!! They are soooo good. And for good tamales, go to Luna's on Harry Hines. They always have pork tamales, but will make chicken and cheese/green chile tamales with a few days notice. I'm also a fan of the gordita, but I haven't mastered those yet. Best Carne Guisada - El Taquito on Grand, right off of I30. HEB actually sells Carne Guisada that you can make and it's pretty damn good if I do say so myself. Gary loves it! And the best flautas can be found at Cuquitas - along with the best corn tortillas you will ever eat. They are sooooo gooooood!!!!!!

We had a very good trip to Canton. Gary and I decided to pull up the carpet in the dining room and living room and have it replaced with wood. Once that is done, the only carpet will be in the bedrooms. We already have wood in the kitchen, hall and entry. We also decided to redecorate the kitchen and dining room with Western decor. Our living room and bedroom already have a Texas/Western theme, so we're just going to carry it through the rest of the house. We bought calfskin rugs, pillows and placemats. We also picked up pictures for the walls and a few hanging signs. We really found some good deals. I also cleaned up on Scentsys. One woman out there was practically giving them away. It was a triumphant shopping trip!!

I hope everyone has a great day and a great week. It seems the Passiva Aggressive Fairy has been out sprinkling her fairy dust on people. Really??? I mean, c'mon...if you've got a problem - just come right out and say it instead of making vague remarks for people to interpret. That's my catty observation for the week. I am going to make a strong effort to not be influenced or sucked in by the bullshit of others!!! The Brignons have a big month ahead - Bubba turns 16, trip to the River, wedding anniversary, T & B River trip....and then the big bash in Gruene Labor Day weekend. August and September are full of fun this year!!!

Have a Happy Monday :o)

Kelly