I'm Back!!! And Better Than Ever....At Least I Hope So!

Well hello there! Whew!!!! The past month has been CRAZY!!! The last week has been CRAZY and BUSY! I'm sitting here with a glass of wine trying to wind down from today. I knew I'd have orders waiting on me upon my return from Terlingua - but I was completely unprepared for how many I actually had. Thank you, thank you to all of our customers - chili cooks, home cooks,restaurants and people cooking at cook offs at work (and extremely ultra competitive as well!!), you keep me busy and on my toes! Your business is greatly appreciated and I enjoyed meeting our customers at TICC as well as Behind the Store and I have the best time talking to people on the phone who call in for tips so that they can win their work cook offs. Those are the best conversations ever!

So, we sucked at TICC :( We made it past the first round, but that was it. I was sad. I was feeling lucky. I had a good number, my lucky owl ring....and gravy. I had gravy, bitches!!! When I have good gravy, I know I'm on. Sadly, that was not the case last Saturday! A HUGE congratulations to Larry Walton and all of the Top 10 winners! Tom Dozier, that rascal, he was points away from a back to back! Can you believe that shizz??? Seriously, though - way to go Larry! The shocked look on his face was priceless. He's a nice guy and will be a great champion!

And of course, all of the Top 10 are Mild Bill's customers. Hell Yeah!!

Gary and I had a really nice week in the desert. We were among friends and just had a great time. Our hearts go out to Robbie Swart and her family. Ken Swart passed away Monday, October 31st and everyone at the Ranch was affected by his death. We love you Robbie.

Vicki and I had a fantabulous trip home. I hit a doe at 7 am - 10 minutes from Alpine. Had the four gentlemen on motorcycles not stopped, who knows how long we would have been sitting out there watching everyone else speed by :) As soon as they got into Alpine and had a signal, they called Gary and called Progressive. Thank you to Joe Braden and Budda as well for stopping and checking on us. And the Border Control, of course. And the REALLY cute sheriff....haha.

So, my Expedition AND trailer were towed to Alpine. Tuesday, my Expedition was towed to Ft. Stockton where it will reside at Remie's Body Shop until sometime after Thanksgiving. Can you hear the sarcasm dripping from my fingers? No? Well, let me assure you, it is. Jesus!!! After Thanksgiving? Oh well....

There are no Ford dealerships with body shops within a 200 mile radius from Alpine. Nice. That's what you get for hitting a deer in the middle of nowhere. Seriously, though, Vicki and I are very lucky. Had that doe come through the windshield instead of across Hwy 118, I might be blogging from some scary hospital in West Texas. But alas, we survived. The doe, not so lucky. I've never hit an animal in my life and this was really disturbing. Yes, Gary hunts and I eat deer meat but I'm able to rationalize that as food supply. Hitting and killing an animal is upsetting. That poor doe. Still, it was daylight and she ran right out in front of me...like she wanted to get hit. Damnit.

We made it home, though. Vicki rode with Ron Baker and I rode with Gary and Tom. Yes. In the front seat. All three of us. I know. I'm still recovering.

BUT!!! BUT!!! I was sooooo happy to see my Juicy!! I missed her sooo much! Her Spooky party was a success and thanks to Zoe and Bailey for cleaning up Sunday morning. They put up all the decorations that we had outside on the canopy. Those girls were a HUGE help! Instead of the hay from hell this year, it was glitter from hell all over my wood floors. It looked like half of Baby Doll's dancers showed up. Guess I could have called a few of Gary's associates...they probably would have enjoyed the glitter. No topless babes in lucite heels, though. Bummer....

You know what I say about people in glass houses....be careful....I know you like glass heels, too.....and those can definitely be glass housewreckers :)

Did ya get that on your Android tablet, stalker????

Back to business. Hey - Sheriff Gary Underlings....don't report those last two tidbits...please??? Let me enjoy some passive aggression. It's been so long and I'm about to self destruct!!!!

I have slowly started cooking meals in my home again!! I made the most delicious pot of chili last night for dinner. HEB had REAL chili grind out and I bought some. It was sooo good. And SO much better than that tube stuff we all have to cook now. I miss chili grind :( We've got steaks and burgers planned for Sunday. I'll have to whip up something Cadillac Cowgirl-licious :)

Speaking of cooking - THANKSGIVING!!!!!! Yes - it's almost here. I can hardly contain myself! I'm going to go run the Turkey Trot and then come home and prepare Thanksgiving for my family. Yes, you heard right. I am going to go run the friggin Turkey Trot and then come home and fix a huge meal for my family while they sit and watch football. What the hell is wrong with this picture? I asked if we could go out to eat for Thanksgiving this year and you would have thought I told them there would be no Christmas.

"How will we watch football?"

"How will I take a nap after I eat?"

"What if we can't find a good place to go eat?"

Seriously!!!! It's about being together and giving thanks for what you have!

I guess I need to give thanks for a family that demands my cooking. Okay, I do. But still...that shit ain't right.

If you've used the Pinto Bean Seasoning that was in your goody bag, please give me some feedback. It's kind of a pain to make...I'm thinking I'm not going to put it in grocery stores. It's very time consuming. Hhhhmmm.....

Lover of Ft Worth Light? I now carry it - along with Rio Tejas. I also have breakfast sausage seasoning and pickling spices. Caraway seeds, coriander, and curing salt to follow :)

Gift Baskets are being assembled for the holidays - along with a chili powder sampler pack (thanks Pam!!). I'll have a red chili basket, a green chili basket, a bbq basket, etc. Perfect for Christmas gifts - and you can also pick your own items as well for gift baskets.

Speaking of Pam, THANKS to the Rose City camp for an awesome dinner last Thursday night! It was delicious - so was the friendship. Love you and Blu and it was great to see you two! Next year, I'll remember wine and appetizers. Oops!

I'm earning my Mother of the Year Badge one parenting situation at a time:

Me: Juicy, chili is almost ready. Are you going to eat?
Paige: No, I'm not hungry and I'm tired. I'm just going to go to bed.
Me: Okay. If you get up early, then I'll make eggs with cheese and toast in the morning.
Paige: Thank you, Mommy. I'll get up early.

10 hours later....I'm getting the skillet out...plate, etc.

Me: Hey Juicy, get the butter out.
Paige: Okay, and I'll get the eggs and cheese.
Me: Oh shit....uuuhhh....we have no eggs.
Paige: Mommy!! How am I going to have eggs for breakfast then?
Me: You're not. Get a piece of string cheese....

Damnit!!!

Okay, but before that, Paige came to me and needed help buttoning her shirt. She had the buttons on her Mass oxford jacked up. When I lifted her jumper to unbutton the ones at the bottom, my child was not wearing underwear. When I questioned her about her panty-less status, this was her response:

"Sometimes, I like to take a break from wearing panties. Today is one of those days."

Yes folks, I am paying for my raising. Over and over and over again.

I did make her wear underwear. Look, I may f*ck up on the breakfast, but I DO NOT send my kid to Catholic School sans panties. I'm not that bad of a parent :)

Juicy will be kicking ass at a Karate tournament on Saturday. Tomorrow is Friday. Have a fanfreakintastic weekend everyone!!!

The Cadillac Cowgirl

Last Minute Note - I have pictures of the TICC 2011 Fishnet Experience. Email me for copies :)