Texas Lou

Archive for the ‘Blogs’ Category

I like this article titled How to Host a Crappy Dinner (And See Your Friends More Often).  Its the kind of friend I want to be and have.  I’m mostly just posting this here because I don’t want to forget it.

These are possibly two of the most intriguing and interesting blog posts I’ve ever read (and I’ve read alot of blog posts)!

The AI Revolution: The Road to Superintelligence and The AI Revolution: Our Immortality or Extinction

I highly recommend these posts as well as most anything written by WaitButWhy.com.  They explore some really interesting and unique topics using a casual, informal, and entertaining manner.

If you are intrigued by the topic of Artificial Super Intelligence, as I am, I recommend these two free e-books about fictional rises of artificial super intelligence:

Manna and The Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect

Disclaimer:  If memory serves me correctly, these stories contain some adult subject matter that may be disturbing to some.

Have you ever heard of the Homesick Texan?  The other one, not me…haha!

The Homesick Texan is a blog written by fellow Texan, Lisa Fain, who now lives in New York.  Like me, I’m sure she had a hard time finding good Tex-Mex food outside of our beloved Texas, so she decided to make it herself and document it on her blog.  She even wrote a cookbook, The Homesick Texan Cookbook, that my Aunt Connie and Uncle Mike gave to me as a wedding gift!  It was such a surprise since I don’t think I’d mentioned to anyone that I read her blog.  However, I’m sure it wasn’t difficult for anyone who knows me to see that I would love and identify with the theme!  I mean I LOVE food, I LOVE  Texas, and I’m constantly homesick for the great state and all of the wonderful people in it!

So, why am I bringing up the Homesick Texan all of a sudden?  Well, besides the fact that she is awesome, right?  My friend Cara is having a birthday party/cookout tonight and she asked all of her guests to contribute something edible for the evening.  I  announced that I’d bring chicken for the grill, but I also wanted to make some sort of appetizer or dessert that was new, exciting, unique, and personal.  Well for me, what’s more personal than a Texas themed recipe?  I headed over to my Pinterest “Cooking and Food” board to get some ideas for recipes I’ve found on the interwebz in the past that I’ve been saving for a special occasion.  As soon as I saw the Homesick Texan’s Bacon-Jalapeño Cheese Ball, I knew I had to make it.

The recipe was really easy to make, the ingredients weren’t complicated at all, and it didn’t take me long to create the masterpiece.  The finished product also looks very pretty and festive.  I haven’t tasted it yet, as I’m saving it for the birthday party tonight, but I did lick the bowl when I was finished and it was quite tasty!

If you are looking for something AMAZING to make, head on over to the Homesick Texan’s blog and check out the recipe.  The main ingredients are jalapeños, bacon, pecans, and cheese so it can’t be anything but awesome!  If I remember, I’ll snap a picture of it before it’s all gobbled up tonight and post it here tomorrow.

I started this blog 3 years ago on August 31, 2009 with my very first post!  Since then, I’ve published 123 blog posts!

It’s funny how much can change in 3 years!  Since I started this blog, I got a new residence (moved in with Ben), got a husband, got a new car, got a new job, met alot of new and amazing people, seen alot of new and different places, and experienced some awesome adventures!  I’m hoping the next three years will bring even more wonderful surprises and I hope to document them all here on the blog.

Thanks to everyone who reads this and follows along with my life!  Happy blogoversary to TexasLou.com!

Cheers!

Celebrate!

***Update*** I just read one of the blogs that I follow, Kath Eats Real Food, and Kath, a fellow Cville resident, is celebrating her blog’s 5th anniversary today!  So excited to share my blog’s anniversary with such an amazing blog/blogger!

A couple of years ago, I started posting about the number of blogs I was subscribed too.  This was when I first started blogging myself and was discovering the wonderful world of blogging and Google Reader which suggests new blogs that you may be interested in based on the blogs you are already subscribed too.

Over the years, I have continued to update the number of blogs I am subscribed to which has become astronomical.  I am now subscribed to 759 blogs!

Here’s proof!

While I’m definitely not able to keep up with reading all of these blogs regularly, I certainly never run out of things to read and I have the ability to read them anywhere I have an internet connection: home, work, my cell phone, my kindle fire.  My blog topics range from weddings and cooking to professional development (programming) and companies and organizations that I want to keep up with.  I even have most of them organized within categories which helps when I’m in the mood to read about a specific topic.  I recommend checking out Google Reader if you haven’t already.  It’s definitely one of my favorite things on the interwebz!

Friday afternoon, I met up with my friend/sister-in-law Sarah and my friend Amy to hang out at Fridays After 5.  Sarah and Amy were downtown looking for some last minute items for Amy’s wedding which is in less than two weeks!  I’m so excited for Amy and Joel’s wedding…it’s going to be a blast!

After meeting up with the girls, we stopped by Baggby’s Gourmet Sandwiches and then headed over to the Nook to join Sarah’s parents, Craig and Robin, for some drinks.

The girls and I downtown at Friday’s After Five.

After drinks at the Nook, we headed to the pavilion to watch Mingo Fishtrap play.  I’d never heard of them, but Sarah’s parents were raving about their music.  Plus they are from Austin, so any band from Texas deserves a listen from me.  I really enjoyed their music and they were great at playing several different styles and genres.

Mingo Fishtrap performing at the Charlottesville Pavilion

They even brought their own sign!

Amy and Sarah downtown

After taking the picture above, Sarah and Amy both asked if it was going on the blog.  Well here it is girls!

Ben and I were supposed to get dinner with our friends Cheryl and Dan who sadly moved to Tennessee on Saturday, but their movers came too late and they weren’t finished packing until well after dinner time.  We will miss them, but are planning on a visit soon!

After Fridays After 5, Ben and I randomly headed out to Sarah and Ian’s new house for a fun night with friends.  All in all, it was a perfect start to the weekend!  I hope everyone’s Friday was as fun as mine!

Last night, I joined my sister-in-law/best friend, brother-in-law, and a friend for dinner at their house.  I brought the wine (of course) and Sarah did the cooking.

When I first arrived, Sarah announced that she was making Tilapia for dinner.  Upon hearing that, I thought that I would just eat mostly sides as I’m not a fan of fish at all.  I really don’t like the smell or the texture of it despite how good I know it is for me.  But I said I would try the fish at the very least because Sarah and Ian have raved about how wonderful it is plus I didn’t want to me a rude dinner guest either.

After lots of laughter and good conversation, dinner was finally ready and Sarah, Ian, Collin, and I sat down to tilapia with a creamy dill sauce, baked asparagus, and baked potatoes.  It was a delicious dinner and I actually LOVED the fish.  I even came home telling Ben (who is always wanting me to cook more fish at home) how wonderful it was and that I was going to make it for dinner in the future.

It just goes to show that if you try new things, you might just be surprised and find a new favorite!

A picture of the tilapia from scissorsandspatulas.com

If you’re interested in the recipe, check out Scissorsandspatulas.com.

My posts have been few and far between this year, but that’s mostly because I’ve been out experiencing life!  Since one of my goals of writing this blog has been to document all of the new and wonderful experiences I have as I make my way through each day, I figured I should share some of those.

Well in no particular order, here they are:

• Got engaged!
• Test drove new cars
• Bought a new car!
• Bought a wedding dress
• Planned and threw 2 baby showers
• Introduced my dad to my future in-laws
• Became a landlord (i.e., invested in a rental property)
• Successfully competed in Warrior Dash
• Found the only Alamo Drafthouse outside of Texas and watched a double feature
• Drove to New Jersey and back in less than 48 hours
• Saw a production of Disney’s Newsies at the Papermill Playhouse and met the cast at a local diner afterward
• Created a wedding website and registered for wedding gifts
• Got a promotion to Software Engineer II
• Learned how to play the awesome game of Dominion
• Planned a wedding (partially)
• Threw a Silpada party
• Got second place in a Biggest Loser contest at work
• Made a fall wreath
• Became addicted to Pinterest
• Went to Smith Mountain Lake
• Watched an elementary school production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
• Attended the Top of the Hops Beer Festival, met up with an old college roommate, and met a famous blogger
• Had engagement photos taken by an awesome photographer
• Made my own t-shirts for Shamrockfest 2011, the 2011 Charlottesville Women’s Four Miler, and Breaking Dawn Part 1
• Went to a bridal show
• Participated in Office Olympics
• Got my concealed weapons permit
• Attended Scrum training by one of the inventors of Scrum
• Spent a wonderful long weekend in Disney World with my dad, step-mom, little brothers, and my fiance
• Had an AMAZING girls weekend in the Outer Banks
• Helped plan an engagement brunch for a friend
• Attended the 7th Annual Pink Ribbon Polo Classic at King Family Vineyards and met the owner who attended my alma mater
• Watched the Royal Wedding
• Crowd Surfed during the Dropkick Murphys performance at Shamrockfest
• Saw a real live bear
• Experienced my first earthquake…SCARY

I’m sure there are a ton of things that I’m leaving out and so many pictures and stories to go with all of these experiences, and one day I’ll hopefully get them all up here on the blog.

It’s been an AMAZING year so far and I’m hoping 2012 will be even better!

Hope your 2011 has been as great as mine!

I am now subscribed to 431 blogs!  That’s insane!  Someone put me in rehab before I drive myself crazy trying to keep up with them all!

I’m now subscribed to 298 blogs on Google Reader!

I must be crazy because there’s no way I’ll every keep up with that many!