That good ole summer brewski

While Steven and I were shopping at the HEB in Hewitt a few weeks ago we saw they had this promotion thingy on summer beers where you could make your own 6 pack.  I was so excited because I have always wanted to branch out from my staple ale (Shiner Bock = heaven) and try some new brews but was always hesitant to buy a 6 pack incase I hated it...so this was the perfect opportunity!

Our selection. Mine are the three on the left, Steven's are on the right.  

This was such a fun way for us to try new beers!  Although I must admit, I picked mine based on how pretty the labels were...Steven was a bit embarrassed.  In the end I only liked the one on the far left Samuel Adams Summer Ale, but it was a fun experience none the less!

Preggers

No, not me, but we did have a pregnant visitor in our house when we came back from the fourth of July in College Station.  Along with the 16 (yes that's right...16) crickets we caught on sticky traps within a little over 24 hours we also found a pregnant cockroach...oh. my. gosh...

This thing was HUGE and we can only assume it was pregnant because it had a little sack on it's backside, and after doing some research on wikipedia we discovered that cockroaches do indeed carry a little sack of eggs on their backside...ack

Our little intruder with her egg sack.  Sorry that this is the second time I have posted a picture of a dead cockroach on my blog...I really hope to not make this a habit.  Just realize I could daily post pictures of the crickets I am killing, but choose to spare you all.  Also now you will all know what the picture of a pregnant cockroach looks like.  

And yes Rachel King, I do know that right now you are saying "Katie, there is never never NEVER a good reason to post a picture of a bug on your blog", and Rachel King, I must admit, thinking of you saying that was the sole reason I decided to post it :)

A completely unrelated picture except that it was taken on the same night.  I figured I should end a post with our precious pup Dutch.  

Cayenne Pepper = Dangerous...noted

So I've decided to finally buckle down and post some of the meals I made this past month of July.  The first will be familiar as it continues on my quest to figure out how many different Tilapia meals I can make...

Blackened Tilapia with Secret Hobo Spices  (from allrecipes.com of course)

I mean with a name like that who wouldn't try it? Little did i know that these "hobo spices" would cause Steven and I to almost die from the Cayenne Pepper swimming through the air for the next hour...any hints on how to fix this?  It was really delicious but I'm hesitant to make it again because we were coughing the entire evening...

Delicious Fillets

Our yummy meal

Gaga + Glee = pure bliss

I love Lady Gaga...so does my husband.  I kid you not.  We don't really listen to the "hippest" music all the time, opting for ESPN radio or more "mix" type of stations on our XM radio.  But Steven has started listening to "20 on 20" on the radio just so he can listen to a GaGa song every hour or so.  In fact there was one point this summer when we were driving to College Station to see his extended family that his brother called and Steven told me to keep listening to the radio and to let him know immediately if Gaga came on. To which I replied, "what are you going to do if you are still on the phone?"...he looked at me like I was crazy and said "hang up of course."  haha!  Oh Steven Murray, this is why I love you.


Now we realize that Lady Gaga does not sing the most wholesome lyrics and her outfits are a bit bizarre, but the woman writes some catchy songs!  (Although she is definitely not for everyone...perhaps an aquired taste?)  The lyrics are creative, the beat is addicting, and once you hear a song you can't get it out of your head for the rest of the day. (Be wary of her song "Disco Stick"...I made that mistake once without knowing what the song was about.  Most disturbing annoying lyrics to have stuck in your head all day...)

Now this summer I have also fallen in love with Glee...this show is beyond amazing.  When I was younger I wanted nothing more than to be a singer, and I always wanted to perform in a musical.  Thus Glee with all it's show tunes and pop tunes is just happiness for my soul.  So when Glee did a Gaga show I almost died with excitement.  Of course this was weeks and weeks after it aired on TV, b/c I didn't start watching this show until this summer on Hulu and another creepy website that always gives me a pop-up asking if I want to date a Russian girl with big breasts...

Here is the clip from Glee doing "Bad Romance" (Steven's favorite Gaga song)



I also loved the rendition of "Poker Face" they did on the show.  It's very different from Gaga's more upbeat version, but I love it!  Plus Lea Michelle and Idina Menzel are amazing, which adds to the fun.

The unwelcome roommates

dear faithful blog followers -

Sorry for the lack of posts lately.  I have been faithfully taking pictures of my cooking endeavors and random bits of my life but between working almost 40 hrs a week now at my internship, finishing up summer classes, being out of town, and the cricket war of 2010, i have not had a lot of time to actually post anything.  Tonight I will brave the cricket war single handedly as my dashing side kick is living the posh life at my aunt and uncle's place outside of Dallas...how is that at all fair?

My dad told me this evening that I shouldn't freak out so much about the crickets.  I get where he is coming from, I mean seriously why should i let the little things ruin my life.   He also said they are friendly...if so they should realize I don't do well with "over the top" beginnings to relationships.  Perhaps they could come in smaller numbers and not be all jumpy once they get into the apartment.

I duck taped the vent in my bathroom tonight.  I found this to be most crucial.  You see I have now twice been attacked by a cricket falling from this vent onto the countertop while brushing my teeth.  To be honest, one should try to avoid being startled while holding a pointy piece of plastic in their mouth...so the vent got sealed today.

I took my shower before the sun went down and used the least amount of hot water possible.  I have learned these past few nights that the crickets LOVE to come into the bathroom when there is moisture and warmth.  Thus the cold shower right after my workout this evening.

I have also started sticking a towel underneath our bedroom door at night and sleeping with a can of Raid on my night stand...is it ok that the smell of this stuff no longer bothers me?

Thus is my life right now.  Yes I do realize it could be worse (aka cockroaches or mice) and that this too shall pass (although let it be noted that the worst part of cricket season hasn't even begun yet...I might be sleeping in my car come August).  But to be honest I would like to be able to go into a room in my apartment without first peering around the corner with my can of raid, to be able to use the toilet without worrying that a bug will attack me while I'm sitting there defenseless, brush my teeth in peace, and be able to sleep without believing that every noise and movement is a cricket crawling on my bed...

Thanks for listening to me vent

Last night's total was 8 crickets
Today's (daytime) total was 4
Tonight's total is still to be determined...

I stand corrected

So apparently my pity party worked...Olson moved the deadline for the paper to Friday.

This is unheard of in my school life saga...

I'm still a bit in shock...

Hopefully I'll take advantage of these extra two days and get this paper done early so I'm not cramming on Thursday night.  Funny thing is my final is on Friday as well...so perhaps I should get this paper done by tomorrow night.

It would be quite an understatement to say how excited I am about the weekend.
-CELEBRATION of one less summer school class
-Spending the weekend with Steven's ridiculously large extended family (as in Steven often says "we're related but I'm not sure how")
-fireworks
-good food all weekend

Friday at 5, you can't get here soon enough

Because I know I'll laugh about this later...

I'm going to take a total of no more than 5 minutes to write this post because I need to vent so that I will get back to my research paper that is due Wednesday...that I haven't even started...

Except for Christmas breaks, the summer after graduating from undergrad, and a month after I was married I have been in school non-stop since my freshman year of college.  That's six years of higher education with only 9 months off combined...blah.

Needless to say I'm a bit burned out right about now and really need to have a pity party (again no more than 5 minutes long)

I know years from now when I'm knee high in a job, children, a mortgage etc. I'll look back fondly on the simpler times when Steven and I were merely knee high in text books and research papers...but for tonight that just isn't cutting it.

Instead I look at my computer screen like a crazed woman waiting for the motivation to come to just write this paper so it will be over with

Ok thanks for listening...being my overly-logical self I am completely convinced that throwing a pity-party is in no way productive, and in the grand scheme of things my life is pretty amazing...but nonetheless sometimes throwing a 5 minute self-centered pity-party makes me get over myself, buckle down, and hit the books...