The other night I thought it would be fun to make a little surprise dinner for dear James. What is a surprise dinner? although some people who know me may think that means that I finally made him a real dinner, it actually does NOT. I make him dinner most nights a week - give me some credit! And if I don't make something, I at least buy something and try to pawn it off as my own. hehe. Not every meal I make (or serve) is extremely healthy, however I make a decent effort to serve mostly healthy foods and prepare everything in the healthiest way I know how. One of James favorite foods happens to be one of my arch nemesis: FRIED chicken. EWWWW. first of all, FRIED. Yes I like FRIED onion rings and french FRIES, even the occasional fried buffalo chicken (very, very rare), but that's different to me… why? because I said so. THAT is why.
back to friggin fried chicken… the bones are still in the chicken! GROSS! I hate eating meat off the bones and having those leftovers on your plate. gross. No offense, but its definitely not my favorite thing. And I don't know if all fried chicken is this way, but some friend chicken still has the skin on. that's another WHAMMY of unhealthy raunchiness. Unnecessary! I mean, listen to those words - the SKIN is still ON the meat. If meat doesn't gross you out as is (sometimes it does for me, the recovering vegetarian), then doesn't the fact that you're CHEWING on SKIN make you wanna HURL!? blah.
ok, shutting down the rant…. Deary James loves fried chicken (thats how much i love him I guess… i tolerate this nastiness!) and I've never had it for him for din din…until last week. I didn't tell him that was what dinner would be, but i did tell him that I made him (aka BOUGHT and warmed up) a surprise for dinner. Along with the meat I also made brussel sprouts and yukon gold potatoes tossed in lemon and rosemary and pumpkin brownies. I was definitely most looking forward to the sprouts & taters, and was so happy with the lovely aroma of rosemary left in my kitchen! I baked the brownies first so the smell was eliminated because of the rosemary, so my kitchen, in my opinion, smelled fresh and lovely all night. Picturing this? take a deep breath!
now let me set the scene: Brownies are done and cooling on the stove. the rosemary sprouts and potatoes are just warming (done baking) in the oven and the fried chicken is also just warming in the oven… I am enjoying the house smelling of fresh rosemary, and in walks james. After being anxiously and lovingly attacked (greeted) by Nash, James came over to me in the living room to say hello. But instead of hello, all i got was "FRIED CHICKEN! Is that the surprise!?"
WHAT THE FRAGGLEROCK! I didn't know what to say! How could his snout pick out the FRIED CHICKEN, from all those other scents in the kitchen? I could NOT smell it! heck, I don't even think Nash could smell it! But James picked it up in a nanosecond!!! Am I marrying a redneck? Should I be worried? It was pretty hilarious - maybe you had to be there. I was simply amazed at his ability to smell the friend chicken over everything else!! BINGO, he nailed it! And I think he liked it too, which counts as a small victory for me! I wish i had a pic to post, but obviously the entree went pretty quickly and all that was left were a pile of bones - and I don't have room for those pics on my phone, thankyouverymuch.
We have been staying quite busy lately both at work and at home, which is why i haven't posted. i know, i always have an excuse… but who really cares what I do anyway?
James has been coaching the Carleton Knights to a 2-1 season thus far, and i have been staying busy with work and trying to stay on top of home chores. yippee skippy for me. Oh, I guess I've been going overboard lately with pampering myself, too. I have been getting pedicures every 2 or 3 weeks (ok ok, more like every 2 weeks!) and i have gel polish on my fingernails again, which i love (until i have to take them off, for good). I also have gotten 2 massages in the last 6 weeks, which is pretty unheard of for me. The last one, I must admit, felt nice, however the nice massage girl wouldn't stop talking and having conversation. that was a disappointment. I felt like it really took away from the relaxation aspect of the massage, but at least she was really sweet and whatever her hands were doing, I couldn't complain.
I am looking forward to another weekend of college football (James' team and NCAA) and maybe even raking the yard. IF i am feeling really ambitious. BIG fat IF on that one. :)
OK, and i must comment on these... I don't typically find candy that I don't like or speak poorly about, however this candy, my precious M&M's, has set a new precedent. These Pumpkin Spice M&M's were terrible! :( I know Autumn is the season of pumpkin flavored EVERYTHING, but just not M&M's please!! yukky! I ate 4 I think, and couldn't get the nasty taste out of my mouth ALL day long! seriously, please save your money.
Now if you want a surprisingly tasty fall-themed treat, I DO recommend Starburst brand and flavor Candy Corn! Yes it's true! I know it sounds really weird and nearly gross, but trust me, they are delicious! They are very fruity like regular Starbursts, but are just disguised as candy corn. I thought they'd be too thick and almost creamy, but they were pretty light and fresh tasting. Definitely recommend!
Happy Hump Day (so goes the trend these days!)!!
