Monday, February 19, 2024

The New Normal

Hello folks.  It's Monday.  I would be dangerous if I could get my head out of my ass.  I've had plenty of coffee.  I ate.  I've drank water.  I don't know what my problem is.  I'm just going to blame it on Monday and the wind.  It's very windy today.  I do not do well in or with the wind.  I hear everything and it's just so unsettling. I'm glad the sun is out and that it's a nice day, but I would be a lot happier if the wind would just die down.  Please.

Talked to our child today and they sent a pic in the Fam text of their over easy eggs and toast they made for breakfast.  Pretty proud of the kiddo these days.  They are working, living with their partner and some friends and just kicking ass in this game of life! There was an emergency phone call from them Saturday while they were at Ulta about eye cream.  I loved it.  If there's one thing I've taught my child it's take care of your damn skin!!! I sent them some Estee Lauder eye gel that irritated my under eyes and it doesn't bother their skin so hell yeah! They've been complaining of under eye bags since starting their job which requires them to wake up at 5am every day.  The horror...LOL.  I shouldn't be an ass....I think waking up at 5am is inhumane unless I'm getting on a plane somewhere I want to go (like NOLA) or in line for concert tickets for Radiohead or The Smile or Twenty One Pilots.  That's different.

So it's a little different without the kiddo here at the house anymore.  For one thing, Lord B and I have GOT to learn how to cook for two people.  My gods! I still cook like we have a houseful of people and we are not the best about eating leftovers.  Tonight we are having hot roast beef sandwiches using the leftover roast from last night.  I don't know why we have an aversion to leftovers but we are kind of weird about them.  Now if it's fried chicken I will eat that cold the next day for breakfast.  And lunch!  Same with fried catfish.  And we will eatr leftover pizza.  And meatloaf.  So I guess there are some things that we will eat the next day.  Maybe part of the reason is I like to cook and I feel like I'm missing out or not doing my "job" if I'm not cooking.  I may need to bring that up with my therapist LOL.

If you've watched any of the recent Shitshows you've heard me talk about Intro to Contemporary Logic.  Well I dropped that class.  And intro class my ass.  It had an upper level course number.  It was not an intro class like Philosophy 1301 that I signed up for next Fall.  I don't have to have a logic class for my minor, which is Philosophy, nor do I have to have it for my major, so I dropped it and took a W since it was after the drop date.  After I did it there was a Q out to the side of the course name and I told Gary it was Q for QUITTER!!!! Fuck it I don't care.  There class was just too much.  I watched my professor's videos, read the material, looked at the examples, watched videos on youtube and still had a hard time turning sequents into well formed formulae.  But enough about that.  I don't have to worry about it anymore.  I'm taking a light load this semester and I think I needed it.  I was having panic attacks ALL THE TIME and my therapist and psychiatrist both kept telling me maybe I should back off school and take less classes.  I kept telling them NO!!!  I must carry twelve hours - summer included!  Well the universe finally had enough of me not listening and I'm taking six hours now and I'm much happier for it.  I LOVE both of the professors I have for Critical Thinking and Psychology and the Law.  I'm glad I took a few steps back.  I've planned my summer and fall schedules and I'll be back on track.  I think.  I hope.  Fingers crossed!

If you're at Texas Open this weekend, come find me and say hi! I'll be there probably cooking chili but definitely cheering on all of our fabulous customers! And if you're at the Houston Rodea BBQ Cook Off, look for the Navarro Co BBQ team.  Lord B will be there smoking meat.  They always have a great time and it looks like decent weather in both San Antonio and Houston this weekend.

I don't know how often I'll be blogging but my goal is to keep in touch once a week.  This is linked to my website so it's not going to be as free flowing as it was in the past if you get my meaning LOL!! I will be adding recipes here (there's a new one on the recipe page now) and trying to communicate about cook offs and Mild Bill's Spices info.  I hope everyone has a great week.

Keep it Spicy!

Kelly

Monday, February 12, 2024

Greetings and Salutations

Welcome to a new week! I had forgotten that I linked my blog to my website.  Imagine my horror when I started reading some of my past entries.  In my defense, those are like five years old and I was a much different person.  I know a lot of you reading this don't know me personally but I can assure you I am not as forthcoming with my personal life and struggles as I used to be.  Chalk it up to getting older.

In other news, the spice world continues to keep me busy and smelling like cumin, garlic, and Mexican oregano.  When I'm cremated that 's what will waft from the crematorium as I burn.  My ashes will probably smell like that concoction, too.  The wave of Super Bowl orders have come and gone and now we are just getting our daily onslaught of regular orders from chili cooks all over the world.  I received an order from Inverness, Scotland and it is taking everything I have not to book a flight and hand deliver it myself.  I'll try to refrain from writing anything cheesy on the order about standing stones and Outlander :)

I'll make this short and sweet.  Like I said, it's busy.  I clicked on the blog link from the website and was surprised to see the blog come up. I've got labels to print, orders to fill, and of course, school work.  School is kicking my ass this semester.  I'm not cut out for Contemporary Logic and I see myself dropping that class before my head gets any more fucked up over premises, conclusions, and well formed formulae.  I don't know what I was thinking dropping one of my psychology classes and keeping this one.  I actually wasn't thinking at the time.  I was sick, in the hospital, and not in control of my faculties.  I'm going to chalk it up to Crohn's and Sepsis.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Keep it Spicy,

Kelly

Friday, August 16, 2019

Vacay Notice

Happy Friday!  Just a quick post to let everyone know I'll be closed at the end of the month while I go on a birthday trip.  I doubt I need to tell ya'll where I'm going!  Have a Spicy Weekend!


****ICS COOKS – PLEASE READ****
I will be closed August 29th thru Sept 3rd.  I will reopen on Wednesday Sept 4th.  Any orders placed after 12pm CST on Wednesday August 28th WILL NOT BE PROCESSED AND SHIPPED UNTIL I REOPEN ON THE 4TH.  There will be a delay while I get caught up.  If you need spices for Worlds, DO NOT WAIT until I got out of town to place your order.  I cannot guarantee that I will be able to ship it in time when I reopen.  Choosing Express Shipping will get it to you faster once it ships, but it will not affect the processing time – orders will be processed in date order and shipped accordingly.  I want each and every one of you to kick ass in Iowa so place your orders ASAP so that I can get the freshest spices to you for Worlds!  Thank you for your continued business!


~SM

Tuesday, August 13, 2019

Bittersweet Bliss

I'm slinging spices uninterrupted today since my doctor appointment was canceled.  My GI doc's office called me at 9:45 am and told me - didn't ask - TOLD ME that I needed to come in at 12:45 instead of my original appointment time.  I was like sorry, no can do.  So then she TOLD ME to come in at 12:15.  Uh no...sorry.  I explained to her that I own a business, it's just me and I'm waiting on FedEx today.  I probably could have made it work but I didn't quite like being told what to do and I immediately rejected both of her offers.  So I'll work all day, go to yoga and then go home.  It'll be fabulous.  I've missed yoga as I've had to cut back because of my neck.  I have two pinched nerves and bone spurs.  Whether you care or not, I'm going to tell you WHY I have pinched nerves and bone spurs.

My boobs.

Yep, my boobs.  My boobs are so GD big that they've pulled my neck and spine forward and in the process caused bone spurs and pinched nerves.  Considering I woke up in the 3rd grade as a B cup, I don't have a lot of faith that these suckers are going to shrink much as I lose weight.  I saw a pain mgmt doc last week and got 5 shots in my neck and shoulder.  Unfortunately they didn't help and I had an MRI yesterday.  I'm kind of weird about someone cutting on my neck so I think I'm going to go the pill route for awhile and see if that helps.  If not then I will entertain the idea of getting a shot in my neck where the pinched nerves are located.  If you've ever hurt your neck you know how f*cking painful a "pain in the neck" can be.  Sorry...had to do it.  Did it to the doctor and he legit rolled his eyes at me :)  I'm also seeing a plastic surgeon about reducing these bad boys so that they don't cause any more damage to my neck and spine.  Fun times.

Yesterday was mine and Lord B's 17th wedding anniversary.  We got married in Vegas at the same chapel as Elvis and Priscilla, Frank Sinatra and Mia Farrow and others.  There was red crushed velvet covering the pews and a beautiful stained glass window that provided a fabulous backdrop the the snot that was hanging out of Gary's nose while he was crying.  It glistened.  And for those of us who witnessed it, it has continued to provide boisterous laughter among all of us.  And Lord B is such a good sport about it.  He laughs too...probably while plotting our deaths :)

So I titled this post Bittersweet Bliss because I believe that is a more accurate portrayal of any long term relationship.  To people who don't know us very well, we seem to have an idyllic marriage that has been rainbows and unicorns.  I can assure everyone it hasn't been.  And, no, this is not a slam against Lord B.  I know he feels the same way and will agree when I say it's taken 17 years for us to figure this shit out.  There have been times when we had no business being married to each other and probably should have left one another.  There have been times when those closest to us probably thought we should split up before we killed each other.  Seriously.  Marriage (or any partnership) is not easy.  There is nothing simple about merging two strong willed, stubborn personalities into something that should be a reflection of both people involved.  The worst thing you can do when you get married (I'm going to use that term since that's the relationship I'm in) is lose yourself.  Alternately, the hardest thing to do in a marriage is stay true to who you are and preserve your individuality without making your partner feel like they're on the outside looking in.  It's a balancing act and it can be fucking maddening.  Counseling has been a game changer for us over the past few years.  We've been able to work on ourselves so that we can be true friends and partners to one another.  I think the past 2 1/2 years of our marriage have been the best.  I know now that we are in such a good place that our marriage will continue to strengthen and we will keep doing the work and making the choice to be with one another because we've finally started to figure this shit out and you know what, it's pretty fucking awesome. 

So to me, that's why I believe our bliss is bittersweet.  We've had to deal with some pretty heavy shit in the past 17 years - the hardest of which has been in the past year.  If we hadn't started working on ourselves and our marriage a few years ago, we wouldn't have survived the past year.  We wouldn't have had the tools to be there for each other, for our kiddo and not self destruct.  I'm proud of us.  And I'm proud of anyone who sticks together and does the work to make it a partnership worthy of their love and time.  I'm not talking about standing by your man/woman when your man/woman is a piece of shit.  Nor am I advocating for everyone to stay married when it's clear that they have no business being together.  Everyone is different and every relationship has it's issues - some of them can be dealt with and sometimes the issues are just too much to get past.  I get that.  I've been there.

We narrowly survived not going to NOLA for our anniversary.  We had a birthday dinner for Bubba Sunday night, an anniversary dinner for us last night and reservations are made for Pappas Bros. Steakhouse for Friday night.  I already know what I'm going to order and I'm crossing my fingers that they have a bottle of our favorite wine on hand.  It will be glorious!

Check out the recipe page of the blog.  I'm going to add a few of the recipes I cooked for Bubba's birthday and our anniversary.  I'll post pics as well. If you make any of the dishes PLEASE send me an email or comment on the blog with your feedback.  I'm testing out recipes and would love to hear from anyone who tries out a recipe I've posted. 

I hope everyone has a fabulous day.  I'm going to snort a few lines of cayenne and get after it.  Keep it real.

SM


Thursday, August 8, 2019

Adulting Can Kiss My Ass

Good evening. I hoped to be blogging from my co-pilot chair on the way to our spirit home.  Instead I’m at home because responsibilities suck and Lord B and I decided to cancel our trip.  Yep...no Red Dress Run for us this year. Our tutus and my devil horns are still packed away in the closet crying silent tears of sadness. This is the sucky part of owning a business and being the HMFIC. When it’s busy, it’s all on you and you can’t just take off....even though I REALLY NEED to GTF out of town for a few days. I’m super thankful for all of the orders and I wouldn’t dare complain about all the business coming my way right now.  But still, I am human and a bit of a brat so you know I’m going to complain just a little bit!  But it’s all good! We have a trip planned for my birthday weekend which also happens to be Southern Decadence so I can’t wait!  I’ll still get my NOLA fix 😀

The Tolbert business meeting was held last weekend and the music this year at the cook off is going to be amazing!!! I can’t wait! And....we have such a killer camping spot so that we can sit up at camp and still hear the music perfectly. I’m really looking forward to going this year. 

Speaking of Tolbert. I organized a North Texas Tolbert Chili Group in an effort to organize more Tolbert and Verde CCOs in the N. Texas area as well as make chili cooks more aware of the existing Tolbert cook offs in this area. The response has been fabulous and I think everyone is really excited to have an organized group in this area to bounce questions off of, post cook offs and help organize more cook offs. You can find us on FB by searching for the North Texas Tolbert Chili Group. The group is public so anyone can see cook off posts, results, etc. 

I’m going to sneak in some Yoga tomorrow and Saturday morning but expect to be slinging spices all weekend. Marching practice is in full swing so I’m back to being TJoL&D’s car service. I don't feel like we had much of a summer break. She was either at the band hall helping out or at band camp. And if she wasn’t at either of those places, she and I were sleeping in a parking lot to get barricade for Twenty One Pilots. I bought floor seats and that was her Christmas present. But 2nd row (where we were the last time she saw them) wasn’t enough and this time she wanted on the barricade. Well, the little shit talked me into sleeping in a tent for two nights and guess what - she got barricade. And really, y’all know how much I love my kid so I’m not really bitching about her. But damn! It took me a week to recover from that shit. And I’m not exaggerating when I say I ended up in the hospital for two days after that experience! I’m serious! That messed me up. But anyways. Twenty One Pilots fans are not like Radiohead fans. I may have pulled a girl's hair for pushing in between me and my kid 😇

I’m off to bed. Poor substitute for co-pilot seat while Lord B drives like a bat out of hell to get us to Ruby Slipper for breakfast. But I’ll manage 😛

Spreading my own special brand of kindness and joy!

SM

Thursday, August 1, 2019

File Under: Anxiety About My Priorities

I'm thankful it's Thursday and at the same time not mentally prepared for it to be Friday Eve.  We go on vacation next week and I still have some important things to take care of before we leave.  Super important things.  I know you're dying to know....

I need to get started on our Spotify road trip playlist.

I'm the co-pilot so this is my responsibility.  Actually, I put myself in charge of the playlist because there is no way I can survive an 8 hour road trip listening to Lord B's music or worse yet, talk radio.  Both make me want to open a vein.  The thought of listening to him sing 80s and 90s Hair Metal is literally more than Xanax can handle.  And talk radio?  Fuck. That. Shit.  I hate WBAP.  No.  Just no.

So that's one thing I need to take care of before we leave.  The other?

Our Red Dress Run attire.  Yep - this may be just as important as the road trip playlist.  Each year we go to New Orleans to celebrate our anniversary by sweating our asses off at the Red Dress Run.  It's a most glorious event that takes place in NOLA usually the 2nd Saturday of the month and it involves booze, food and red dresses.  We are good except for shoes.  Lord B has requested a pair of red and white Vans for the occasion.  I'll probably stick with my trusty ASICS so that I can spend all day walking/standing on my feet/dodging vomit from drunk participants, etc and not complaining about my feet.  While fashion is important, I'm coming up on my 46th trip around the sun and my body could give a shit less if my shoes match my red tutu.  For once I'm in complete agreement.

I'm headed back to the 9th Circle of Spice Hell.  Thank you to all of my fabulous customers who keep me busy and somewhat out of trouble :)  I have been in and out of the hospital since the beginning of July so I've been getting caught up so as not to keep anyone from their ridiculously fresh spices!

Marching camp has started at the HS for the JoL&D.  For those of you not in the know, my kid is the nerdiest band nerd in the history of band nerds.  And for that (among other things!) we love her immensely.  She won the outstanding musician award at SFA summer band camp and received an ax as a trophy...you know, because they're Lumberjacks.  She is also one of only two underclassmen squad leaders for the clarinet section in the marching band.  Most of you reading this blog know P and know how unbelievably proud we are of our bad ass human <3

Spreading my own brand of kindess and joy!

~ The Spice Queen


Greetings & Salutations!

I'm back!  Yes, it's true...I've returned to the world of blogging.  I will say this will be a kinder, gentler version of my previous blog, but it'll still be fairly uncensored :)  I just won't be as obvious in my tirades as before...haha!!

No, seriously - this is intended to be a place where I can share info about spices and post recipes; give ya'll a peek into my life and of course, Conversations with Paige.

I love food and I absolutely love to cook - it is definitely a way for me to chill out and make sure my family enjoys a delicious meal  And, in my opinion, nothing makes a great meal better than a fantastic glass of wine!  Or a bottle...but hey, that doesn't make me (or you!) a bad person.  I love discovering new recipes and new wines.  Right now my home cooking obsession revolves around my Instant Pots (two and counting...I'm about to confiscate the one my mom is neglecting) and making Pho and Ramen (no, not Top Ramen - that's Paige's department!).

Cooking is also an avenue for creating new chili powder blends and seasoning mixes for Mild Bill's.  My friends and family are my go to guinea pigs when it comes to giving me feedback on new products before I add them to the website.  Making a pot of chili is a great way to play with new ground chili peppers or try the hot version of a pepper when I've always used mild; or trying out the powdered version of a fresh ingredient.  Be sure to follow me for lots of chili and spice info.

I'm looking forward to putting my blogging hat back on and engaging with friends and customers about chili, spices and life in general!  Please be patient with me as I get my blog up and running over the next few weeks.  Have a Spicy Day!

Spreading my own brand of kindness and joy!
P.S. ~ Rabbit, Rabbit!

~ The Spice Queen

The New Normal

Hello folks.  It's Monday.  I would be dangerous if I could get my head out of my ass.  I've had plenty of coffee.  I ate.  I've...