Cracker Jack Surprises

We've all heard the song by Jack Norworth that goes like this,

Take me out to the ball game,
Take me out with the crowd.
Buy me some peanuts and cracker jack,
I don't care if I never get back,
Let me root, root, root for the home team,
If they don't win it's a shame.
For it's one, two, three strikes, you're out,
At the old ball game.

M and I had the pleasure of joining Gina and Jarrett (you should check out his awesome writing) at the Texas Rangers game on Monday night.  M decided to buy some cracker jacks and we all KNOW what comes inside, right?  Of course!  The surprise!

So I eagerly waited while M opened his bag of cracker jacks.  Yes I would have preferred a box but hey, it's what they had.  Anyway he dug out the "surprise" and this is what it looked like.

It was small but hey - it still could be awesome, right?  It's not like I was seriously expecting a diamond ring or the key to a brand new car.  Well okay maybe I was hoping but I wasn't expecting.  So I folded and tore as instructed...

and opened it up to find this...

Not one to take an underwhelming moment lightly I tried to look at the bright side.  After not finding that I just tried to be positive.  There was a craft project involved and I was just the person to take on the task. 

Now if you are nerdy and already know the answer please don't ruin the "surprise" for the rest of us.  If you can't take the suspense scroll down a bit and you'll see the finished product.

Here's a handsome fellow...

At this point I still have most of you guessing...

I am pretty sure this next pic will clear things up for you...

Wait for it....wait for it.....

TaaaDaaaa!!  Anticipation is over!  Feel free to be underwhelmed! 

In case you can't figure out who this is...

I would like to point out that Abe Lincoln was the 16th President.  :::not so obvious 5 alert!  1 from 6 = 5!:::  He can also be found on what piece of currency?  Yes folks!!  The $5 bill!  WoooHoooo!  So all in all it turned out to be a fantastic surprise!  Well not really but hey - it did allow me to reference the number 5.  :)

And P.S.  It's okay to comment and it's even considered fantastic in some circles to share this blog with others.  In my quest for fame and stardom I promise not to forget you!  <3  :::giggle:::

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I am a "collector"

Not in the tv show Hoarders sense of the word.  I just have a few things that I have a fondness for and I like to buy. 

For example, you know that my husband is a mailman.  Well it always catches my eye when I see mailman figurines or ornaments.  I love my Texas Longhorns and we've always been Dallas Cowboys fans and of course Nick is in the Air Force so that's near and dear to my heart.  During Christmastime I have sort of a "snowman" theme going on so I'm always looking for new ornaments. 

Over the past few months I've added to my collection and wanted to share it with y'all.

I just bought these socks earlier today and I'm going to rock them each and every game day....and maybe some other days too!  I mean seriously, why limit myself?

Yes they are youth sized.  I have small feet.  What can I say.

This next cute little bear is one I purchased while at Depoe Bay, Oregon.  This one (and more of his cute military friends) can be found at The Boyds Collection, Ltd. website.

On the same trip to Depoe Bay I spotted these two little ornaments.  First up is the mailman one. 

Next up is an Airman ornament.

As you can probably see both of these can be personalized.  I'll be getting to that nearer to Christmas.

At my local Hobby Lobby I happened upon these two Santa's. 

The first one is a Santa mailman figurine.

Not too far away was a snowman mailman figurine.

On a recent trip to Ellsworth AFB in South Dakota I picked up two cute things.

A mailman bobblehead. 

We also found this totally cute salt-n-pepper shaker.

We went to brunch today at Blue Mesa Grill near Northpark Mall and just a couple of stores away is the University of Texas Co-op store.  I showed you the socks I purchased but I also saw two cute Longhorn snowman ornaments. 

We stopped by the Academy store to pick up some Texas Rangers AL West Champs shirts and found a cute Dallas Cowboys snowman very similar to the Longhorn snowman we had purchased earlier.

I love the new additions to my "collections".  What things do you collect?

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A Pot of Beans

On Sundays I like to make a pot of beans.  It's so easy and simple to make and tastes so good when they're finished cooking.

The way I do it is I start off with a bag of pinto beans.  I usually use the store brand.  I empty the bag onto my awesomely big kitchen island and search for small pieces of dirt and beans that "just don't look right". 

See the pieces of dirt and stuff?  Here's a close-up.

I then put the beans in a pot and add enough water to cover them. 

Next I "clean" the beans by grabbing a handful and rubbing them together in the water.  After grabbing and rubbing I drain the dirty water.  You're basically trying to get rid of any residual dirt etc.  Depending on the package of beans I sometimes have to repeat the cleaning process.

Once I've "washed" the beans now it's time to get to cooking.  I fill the pot again with water till it's nearly to the top.  I add a ham hock for flavor and some salt to taste.  Turn the burner on high to get them boiling then reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for about 4 hours.  Check on them periodically and add water as needed. 

Once the beans are tender they are finished cooking.  It's now time to serve them up!  I like my beans in a bowl with some cheese sprinkled on top.  Yummy for the tummy!

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Sunday FUNday ~ Brunch at La Duni

I've been wanting to try some new spots for breakfast/brunch and this morning was a great morning to do just that. 

La Duni was our choice and we waited eagerly for Reggie (a classmate from high school that I haven't seen in ages - we reconnected thru facebook) and her husband Kent to come and pick us up. 

La Duni was mentioned in the August 2010 and September 2010 issues of D Magazine as the best choice for brunch. 

As we pulled into the small parking lot I was a bit surprised that there wasn't clearer signage on the building.  It didn't matter because we had arrived and we strolled inside.

They've won many awards as you can see.  We were seated after pausing at the bar.  It was a table for 5 (you know how I love the number 5) as we were expecting Cami (Reggie's best friend) to join us. 

I promptly ordered my first mimosa and it was yummy.

They served water right away and I thought the glass was nice.  Not sure why it struck my fancy but it did.  It was all I could do to not tuck it in my purse and take it home.

M had coffee ~ taste love.

Cute little carafe of cream

Some delicious bread to enjoy before the meal

Me and M  <3

Reggie and Kent

I was at a Latin kitchen and bakery studio and I ordered the French scrambled eggs which seemed to be a nod to eggs Benedict.

My choice was good although I prefer my potatoes to be a little less crusty.

M chose the Amigas

All in all, despite cramped seating, the food was good.  I did not try the D Magazine recommended French toast but I hope to soon.

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Elongating Coins

Is it legal or illegal?  After some quick research (okay I googled it) I found the following information:

Title 18, Part 1, Chapter 17, Section 331

Whoever fraudulently alters, defaces, mutilates, impairs, diminishes, falsifies, scales, or lightens any of the coins coined at the mints of the United States, or any foreign coins which are by law made current or are in actual use or circulation as money within the United States; or

Whoever fraudulently possesses, passes, utters, publishes, or sells, or attempts to pass, utter, publish, or sell, or brings into the United States, any such coin, knowing the same to be altered, defaced, mutilated, impaired, diminished, falsified, scaled, or lightened—

Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.

So you've seen those machines at various tourist attractions that elongate a coin.  While at Mt. Rushmore I saw this notice sign on the penny machine.

I threw caution to the wind and decided to live life on the edge and elongate a coin.  Here are my results:

The reverse side:

Do any of you out there in blog-land collect these? 

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Heading Home

In comparison to DFW, RAP is a relatively small airport.  Nick drove us to the airport and walked with us inside.

He chatted with us for a bit inside the airport restaurant.  It's those last moments that you wish you could freeze or at least make them last longer but all too soon it was time to say goodbye.

You know I have a thing about bathrooms.  The doors on the bathrooms inside the airport are these super heavy metal doors that seem like they could be used to ward off some possible attack or something.

I'd also like to note that there are no paper towels in the bathroom.  There is a sign inside that says:

The sign says that they are "encouraging" me to go green but without the option of being able to choose it seems like I was being forced to go green.  That or I guess I could wipe my hands on my pants.  Okay, okay...I guess I did have an option. 

Once we made it on the plane and settled in our seats I reached into the seat pocket in front of me so that I could peruse the reading materials.  The usual items were there.  I'm not really sure who is in charge of the safety instruction illustrations but they crack me up.  This lady looks like she is about to either start a conga line or the bunny hop. 

During the announcements Charlotte (our lovely stewardess) mentioned that service members get free snacks.  I thought that was cool because if you wanted some snacks it was going to set you back about $4.  We were talking to her later and she explained that as a company the airlines provided snacks for those in uniform.  Charlotte takes that generosity a step further and provides snacks for anyone that can show a military ID and it's paid for by her.  Isn't that awesome?! 

Here are some views from inside the plane

We made it back to Dallas safe and sound.  Another wonderful weekend has come to a close.  My goodness we had fun. 

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