12 Days of Halloween
Day 11

Day 11 Feature: el esqueleto
el Dia de los Muertos

Last Thursday night I met some old college friends at Aparicio's Restaurant and Sports Bar in downtown McKinney. I got a BIG chuckle when I saw el esqueleto bellied (or maybe I should say "boned") up to the bar. He's even wearing a sombrero. How festive!

Not only is the Mexican food fabulous, Chris Aparicio, the owner and one of my dear friends from college, is quite the host. He'll make you feel very at home and is always appreciative of your business.

Amy @ Living Locurto is having a Halloween Blog Party and I have decided to submit these pictures. They're not crafty or homemade, and I'm not sure they fit into any of her contest categories, but they're such a hoot! I hope others will chuckle like I did! Check out her party by clicking here or by clicking the image on my blog's sidebar.

Who knows, by the time I count down the 12 Days of Halloween on my blog, I might submit another entry in her contest! This is fun!

12 Days of Halloween

Day 12

Well if there are 12 Days of Christmas, who says there can't be 12 Days of Halloween?

Join me from now until October 31st to count down the 12 Days of Halloween.

Day 12 Feature: Derek the Clown - 1974 - age 4 - my brother

A happy 4 year old proudly wearing the costume our mom made for him; this was a trial-run of his new homemade costume

Also during our trial-run KV age 6 featured as a witch; I think my costume was homemade too (mom, please comment); the anticipation builds each day leading up to trick-or-treating; the talk is big and the chocolate is calling

October 31, 1974: Going from the happy clown to the pathetic crying clown, Derek got chicken pox (look closely at the red sores on his face) the day before Halloween and couldn't go trick-or-treating; I remember this as being one of the most tragic days of my childhood due to his reaction; as a 4 year old, it was hard for him to understand why he couldn't participate in the neighborhood fun; I shared my candy with him when I got home from trick-or-treating; the next week I got chicken pox; I was in the first grade and I loved school so I was very disappointed that I had to miss an entire week

Luckily now our family considers this HILARIOUS! We still talk about it and laugh.

New York City





















My friend Coleen & I made a Fall trip to New York last week and we had a blast. Take a glimpse into the fun we had:























The primary reasons we made a visit to the city were to go to the Madonna concert and to celebrate Coleen's birthday.

We packed A LOT into 4 days - shopping on 5th Avenue, walking thru Central Park, seeing the Broadway musical "In the Heights", spending time in Times Square, bargaining on Canal Street in Chinatown, eating at fabulous restaurants, visiting Rockefeller Center, and WALKING all over the city until our feet gave out! An all-time high was hit on my pedometer. Over 21,000 steps in 1 day. Wow! No wonder you never see an overweight person in NYC.















FALL
The weather couldn't have been better - sunny, fall-like, cool crisp air, low humidity. What a great time of the year to be in NY!


















HAPPY BIRTHDAY
We celebrated Coleen's 37th birthday at a restaurant called Thalia. It is in the theatre district and I highly recommend it! All 4 courses were to die for - carrot & ginger soup, tomato & mozzarella salad, salmon & chicken main entree, and quite possibly the best desserts we've ever had - cheesecake for Coleen and carrot cake for KV.



















Coleen's sister blogged about Coleen's last childless birthday. Click here to read the story.

HOTEL
We stayed at the Marriott Marquis and had an overall fabulous experience. For NY standards, the rooms were sizeable. Each had new flatscreen tv's and very comfortable beds. One never knows what to expect in an elevator experience from a high rise hotel but they were programmed with such efficiency that we never had to wait more than 1 minute for the speedy ride. If you have ever traveled with me, you know that I'm all about getting in good with the concierge. This service was top-notch and didn't let us down. We got great restaurant recommendations & reservations. The Atrium Lounge was a lively but peaceful place to hang out with its decor a sight in itself. Moving over to the Broadway Lounge, the floor to ceiling windows overlooked the busy Times Square.







CHANGES
It has been almost 3 years since my last trip to NY and that is too long. Since my first visit in the early 90's, not a full year passed without me going back. This city makes me too happy to be away for so long. Here are some of the things that have changed (this is mostly for Paula):
* taxis now take credit cards; they are all equipped with card swipe machines and touch screen gps-type devices
* Chinatown has turned in to thug land; it has always been a somewhat shady area but now there are hoodlooms lining the sidewalks with big open suitcases full of loot; it makes you appreciate & feel for the asian store owners who have to compete













WINDOW DISPLAYS
One of my favorite things to do is to stroll down 5th Ave and look at the fabulous window displays. You just don't find the artful, creative talent displayed at the malls in Texas. In NY, it doesn't have to be the holiday season to get an eyeful. The window displays are great anytime of the year! Bergdorf Goodman had some of the best displays for fall but unfortunately I could not get any good pictures because of the reflections & glare.
























Coleen & I each took >300 pictures. Here is a sample:

Make a Smilebox slideshow

THE MADONNA CONCERT
STICKY & SWEET TOUR
OCTOBER 6, 2008
MADISON SQUARE GARDEN - NEW YORK CITY

Well, if you aren't entertained yet by this blog post, you will be after you read about our Madonna experience. It was everything I wanted it to be - a spectacle, entertaining, edgy, controversial, sexy, overstimulating, electric, bold and AN EVENT.






Coleen is the co-author. As we flew back to Dallas, her creative juices were flowing (while mine were asleep) so she jotted some notes and provided them to me for this post. Our story is just that - a combination of her words and mine.

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As we came down Broadway and approached 31st Street, we knew were going to be part of something special. The energy was palpable and excitement we felt all day accelerated.

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The ticket had a start time of 8 o'clock but after reaching our seats, we knew it would be well after that. In the time before she entered the stage, something magical happened. The attendees realized that her delayed appearance was intentional. It was a time to get the party started! We mingled, interacted and came to know our co-concert friends. The 4 bartenders (that were gay as christmas) sitting behind us became our buddies. We laughed, took pictures, toasted Madonna, and one of them even decided he needed to "fix" my hair.

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Coleen & I mingled separately with the crowd around us and realized very quickly that we were surrounded by girls and gays. The scene was that of feather boas, impostures, transvestites, fingerless lace gloves and marilyn monroe-esque hair. We loved it!

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Madison Square Garden is an old place. I don't know how old, but older than what we are used to in Texas (remember, when something reaches about the age of 20, people abandon it). It was nice that my necklace and scarf blended nicely with the aqua blue Little Mermaid colored seats of the arena.

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Suddenly the lights lowered and we scrambled back to our seats. Emerging on stage on an "M" shaped throne was the one and only MADONNA. The crowd went wild and didn't slow down during her 2+ hour show. We were in awe of her perfectly chiseled body, the immense talent, her aerobic stamina, and techno dance club scene that ensued.

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The show had 4 different acts and her costumes perfectly fit the scene and era of the songs in which she performed. (1) gansta pimp (2) old school (3) gypsy (4) rave

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During the song "She's Not Me", 4 impostures appeared on stage dressed in one of the former looks of Madonna. She sung for all to hear that anyone besides "me" is simply an imposture. No one can epitomize the fullness and ever-changing being of Madonna. By the time you try to capture her essence, her core image has once again changed and better yet, evolved. She illustrated this by forcefully knocking down, metaphorically resisting those attempting to copy her.

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As one must expect, the show can't go on unless political controversy is involved. Madonna taught us that Sarah Palin's middle name starts with an "F" and that she isn't invited to her party. The big video screens showed her adoration for Obama and dislike for McCain.

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During songs that included another artist, such as Justin Timerlake in "4 Minutes", they made onscreen appearances on the towering video screens. The choreography was such that they could have been present in the arena. Very well executed!

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During a rare unscripted & unchoregraphed part of the show, she asked an audience member for a request. "Lucky Star," he said. Madonna quickly admitted that she doesn't remember the words to her old songs. The audience didn't miss a word of the song and it went off without a hitch. I guess Madonna doesn't listen to Madonna CDs.

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"Thank you for coming to my party." Whether it was perfectly orchestrated or an impulsive environmental response, Madanna knew she was the host of one of the year's biggest parties. The only song when the crowd sat down was during "You Must Love Me" from Evita. At one point, Madonna yelled out to an individual to "get up and dance".

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Game Over. Reminiscent of the video game era that started at the same time of Madonna's success, those words illuminated on the enormous video screens and told us that all good things must come to an end. No one was ready for the show to be over, but she had done all she set out to do. With her fishnets, red heeled thigh high black boots, electric guitar playing, natural born dancing, sexy costumes, story telling, singing songs of present and past, she achieved another milestone in the career of Madonna. I was so glad to be a part of it.

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But wait! Was the party really over? Not a chance. Even after Madonna left the stage and the lights came on, a final song "Holiday" played through the Madison Square Garden speakers. With the crowd still on their feet, the dancing ensued and the partying continued. We danced our hearts out with our newly found friends and had our own finale.

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Enjoy our view of the show. 90% of these pics came from our cameras but a few (the close-ups) came from the internet. They HAD to be included to capture the essence of this icon.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Food Feature on College Game Day

Two recipes will be featured today and both are soups:

Chicken Noodle and Split Pea w/ Carrot

Since I love everything Fall, I like to serve soups in my pumpkin bowls this time of the year. Originally meant to be candy dishes, they are now my Fall soup bowls.

Chicken Noodle Soup














This recipe came from my friend Stacie's mom, Pam Stubbs. She served it to us after touring her home in Missouri City, TX for the annual Christmas in July Tree Exhibit in 2007. Not only is this a great soup, but each time I make it I have fond memories of Stacie and her mom and all the fun times we've shared - mostly shopping! I also like this recipe because it is a simple, no frills soup. It can be dressed up to your liking.

ingredients:
1-1.5 lb chicken (I use either boneless breasts or tenderloins)
8 oz pkg egg noodles
1 pkg chicken flavored Ramon noodles (have you bought these since college?!?)
32 oz. box chicken broth
salt & pepper to taste














Oh, I forgot to mention that this is a crockpot dish which always makes me think the recipe will be easy.

Turn crockpot on high and pour in 1/2 the chicken broth. Place all the chicken in the broth and close lid to cook chicken. Cook times always vary depending on the type of crockpot you have. This usually takes about 45 minutes.

Once cooked, remove chicken and cut up on to small pieces. You can use a food processor here if you'd like. A knife & fork always work well and it's faster & easier for me.

Put the chicken pieces back in the crockpot and add the egg noodles, ramon noodles with its flavor packet, remaining broth and a cup or 2 of water.

Let it cook until the noodles are tender. In my crockpot, this usually takes about 20 minutes on high. At this point, you can add more water if needed and this is when I add the salt & pepper. Usually not much salt is needed due to the chicken broth & the flavor packet. Most every time I make this soup, the egg noodles disintegrate. That doesn't bother me because the flavor and the ramon noodles are still there.


Split Pea with Carrot Soup














This recipe doesn't have an interesting story. I found it in the Cypress-Woodlands Junior Forum Cookbook several years ago. Junior Leagues have the best cookbooks!!

ingredients:
1 16-oz pkg split peas
1 cup chopped carrots
1 chopped onion
1 Tbsp paprika
2 chicken bullion cubes
salt & pepper to taste














Rinse then soak the peas overnight.
Boil peas on high for 1 hour.
Turn heat down to simmer and add carrots, onion, paprika and bullion cubes.
Cover and continue to simmer for approximately 2 hours.
Soup is ready when the peas are mushy and the carrots are very tender (can easily be cut w/ a fork). Add salt & pepper to taste.


Both of these soups freeze well. I freeze individual serving-size containers. It's so nice to come home after a long day at work, open the freezer and see a yummy homemade meal waiting!

# 5 Texas defeats # 1 Oklahoma

The biggest college football game in the country was played today at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, TX with the Longhorns coming out on top. ESPN's College Game Day was broadcast live from the Texas State Fair surrounded by the 92,000 lucky fans who were able to get a ticket, and other fair goers who wanted to be in the excitement of it all.



















The entire tower on the University of Texas campus will be lit burnt orange tonight in recognition of the team's victory today.



















































































I love the mid-season shake-ups in college football. Other notable games I watched:

(7) Texas Tech defeats Nebraska
(16) Kansas defeats Colorado - Coleen had a great time at the game!
(17) Oklahoma State defeats (3) Missouri - I know Leigh Ann is happy!
(11) Florida defeats (4) LSU - sorry Cousin John....looks like TX will be ranked higher than LSU

Football greatness today!!

"Fight Like A Girl"

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and I want to dedicate this blog post to Kim Kresta who lost her battle with breast cancer 5 years ago.

Kim was a member of our 1986 graduating class at Brazoswood High School and the 2 of us attended Sunday School together. Having never met a stranger and never at a loss for words, she easily makes the top 5 list of friendliest people I have ever met.

The last time we spent a significant amount of time together was on an airplane. Kim had been in Dallas visiting friends, and I was taking a weekend trip to Lake Jackson. Much to our surprise, we spotted each other in the boarding area at Dallas Love Airport. We chatted a good while before boarding the plane. She was pregnant with her youngest child, Kenzie, so she got to pre-board. She told me she would save me a seat and she did. We got to continuing talking and laughing on the hour long flight to Houston. When we exited the jet way, my parents and her husband and children were anxiously waiting our arrival. That was before 9/11 so we were literally greeted the second we entered the terminal. We hugged good-bye and exchanged sentiments. Sadly, I think it was the last time I spoke to or saw Kim, but I am forever grateful for the time we got to spend together flying the friendly skies.

Kim's family is determined to keep her memory alive and to do everything they can to fight this disease. I was fortunate enough to attend the Bunco fundraiser the first year after her death, and have participated in the t-shirt campaign for the past three years. My hope is this will continue and that someday I will proudly have a closet full of Kim Kresta t-shirts!

t-shirt front

Read her story and be inspired by the impact she is still having today.......

At the height of her battle with breast cancer, Kim Kresta, a 32-year-old school teacher and mother of three, received a small pair of pink boxing gloves from a friend. She hung them from her car’s rearview mirror, a personal reminder that every day was a fight for her life.

As the third generation of women in her family to battle the disease, it was a fight she was all too familiar with. And one she would ultimately lose.

In October 2003, Kim Kresta lost her two-and-a-half-year battle with breast cancer when the disease spread to her brain. She was 35. She left behind her husband Greg, two sons, ages 10 (Clint) and 7 (Cody), a 5-year-old daughter (Kenzie), and a family determined to carry on the fight in her memory.

Since Kim’s death, her sisters and her mother, Lowana, a breast cancer survivor herself, have dedicated themselves to raising funds for breast cancer research at the Lester and Sue Smith Breast Center at Baylor College of Medicine, where Kim was a patient.

“She always said she was given this disease for a reason,” says Kim’s sister Dawn. “She wanted to make a difference. She’s not here so we’re doing that in her memory, raising every little bit of money we can to support the research that will one day bring an end to this disease.”

The first year after Kim’s death they held a bunco fundraiser, a game Kim loved. While the event was hugely successful, with over 350 members of the community attending, “it was really hard on the children,” says Dawn.

The next year they decided to sell breast cancer t-shirts, an endeavor that has also proven remarkably successful, thanks to the memory of a woman who was loved dearly by all who knew her.

This year’s “Fight like a Girl” t-shirt, featuring pink boxing gloves on the back, is particularly popular. The front of the shirt bears an image of three girls and the message “Together we can make a difference.”

“The three girls represent Kim and her two sisters, Dawn and Julie” says Lowana. “They also symbolize the three generations of women in our family who have battled breast cancer.”

The Kresta’s t-shirts are currently sold by word of mouth. “We’ve mailed these shirts as far as Canada,” says Dawn. “They’ve been spotted in Dallas, New York City and Michigan. There’s a shop in Georgia that’s featuring them and two in Lake Jackson. All the teachers in Brazoria County are wearing them in honor of Kim, and now even the students are asking about them.” Banks, insurance offices and local industry, and others who have lost loved ones are ordering the shirts as well.

Five years after her death, Kim’s mother, sister, oncologist and nurse sit together and reflect on Kim’s life and the legacy she left behind. It’s clear that time has done little to ease the pain of Kim’s passing.

“Kim’s death was a devastating loss to all of us,” says Dr. Powel Brown, her medical oncologist at the Smith Breast Center and the Center’s director of research. He specializes in extremely high-risk families and individuals, genetics and breast cancer prevention.

“Kim’s case was highly suggestive of a cancer gene alteration in the family,” explains Dr. Brown. “In addition, she had a very aggressive and hard-to-treat form of breast cancer known as HER2/neu positive breast cancer. At the time she was referred to me, we had a clinical trial underway testing some new drugs for this type of breast cancer. Kim enrolled and had a dramatic response to the medicine being tested, which was Herceptin.”

“In fact, that clinical trial led, in part, to the approval of Herceptin for use in early breast cancer,” he adds.

“The problem with Herceptin is that while it’s extremely effective in the treatment of breast cancer, it does not treat the breast cancer that spreads to the brain, which is ultimately what happened in Kim’s case,” continues Dr. Brown. “So clearly we need better drugs that can also treat the brain tumor that’s HER2/neu positive.”

“When the family came to me and said they wanted to do something in Kim’s memory to support our research efforts, we were extremely happy to help,” says Dr. Brown.

“It’s important to recognize that while much of the breast cancer research conducted today is funded by government sources, those sources don’t fund the very early studies,” he explains. “The money being raised by Kim’s family and friends helps fund new projects for the prevention and treatment of breast cancer, like better treatments for HER2/neu positive breast cancer that can cross over and treat the brain. Thanks to Kim’s family, physicians at the Smith Breast Center have today developed a clinical trial testing a new drug, Lapatinib for very early HER2/neu positive breast cancer.”

A picture of Kim and her children sits in Dr. Brown’s office, where he can see it daily. It’s the last really good picture she had taken before her death, notes her mother.

“While I was caring for Kim I saw her every week for a year,” says Dr. Brown. “Any time you see patients that frequently, you can’t help but develop close friendships. She was a remarkable woman with an incredible spirit and an incredible will to fight this disease. And she was always so pleasant – usually she would come in and cheer me up after a busy day. Over time I met her husband and her children and most of her family, all of whom I am very close with today.”

“It’s hard,” says Suzanne Perez through tears, an RN and clinical operations manager at the Smith Breast Center. “She wasn’t just a patient, she was a good friend. You get so attached when you see someone week after week. Kim would walk into the clinic and light up the whole infusion area with her smile. She got to know the other patients. She was so much fun, even while going through this horrible disease and treatment. We all loved her.”

“I applaud this family for taking such a tragic loss and bringing some good out of it,” says Dr. Brown. “The money being raised for research and the outreach taking place through the t-shirts is helping us make significant progressagainst breast cancer. I know Kim is watching and smiling down on your efforts.”

There has been another benefit to the work the family is doing in Kim’s memory, as Dr. Brown explains: “Through their efforts, Kim’s family is bridging the gap between the researchers and the patients who benefit from their work.

At the bunco party they held that first year after Kim’s passing, we invited all of the lab investigators to come and meet the patient’s family and their community – that’s a rare opportunity for our researchers to meet those whose lives they touch.”

“We’re all fighting for the same thing,” he concludes. “Kim’s family has set an example of an extremely productive partnership between patients and the medical community. We’re very excited and honored to continue thatrelationship and, together, eradicate this disease once and for all.”

To purchase a Kim Kresta Memorial Fund “Fight like a Girl” t-shirt, leave a comment on my blog and I will arrange to get one for you. All proceeds benefit breast cancer research at the Lester and Sue Smith Breast Center at Baylor College of Medicine.

t-shirt back

YAY!! It's Fun to be a Winner!!

In my 9/24/08 post, I blogged about the Big 80's Hair Contest I entered and today and I found out I am a winner!!

A big thanks to Amy @ Living Locurto for sponsoring the FUNNEST and MOST HILARIOUS contest I've seen in a while!

Click here to see the all the photos that were submitted including mine.

This contest completely sets the tone for the Madonna concert I'll be attending in NY City next week!