If This Is An Average Thursday, Sign Me Up

Well, I didn't give us food poisoning last night from Operation: Portable Mini Breakfast Burrito Quiche Thingie, so there's that... I'd give the half-cocked recipe I threw together about a C- on the success scale though - back to the drawing board. I did get a big A+ reaction from the Mr. when he started smelling ham in the oven, so I know that it wasn't a total wash. Please keep the recipe suggestion/ideas coming, my husband and my stomach will thank you for them!

Today was one of those days where I felt like being back in Arizona was truly like being back "home". My boss was cool enough to let me take a long lunch, which allowed me to go visit a close college friend/sorority sister Carla who gave birth last month to a *gorgeous* baby boy last month. The first baby in our rag-tag group of sorority friends- such a milestone! It was really a quadruple bonus of a visit though- not only was I able to meet the sweet babe (I'm already convinced he's going to be the hippest kid in school) and see his mama, but my other friend Iva was in town visiting for a work event, and we all had In-N-Out. Boom. Just doesn't get better than that.

I remember sitting on the floor of a sorority dorm room with these gals 8 or 9 years ago, eating cereal out of boxes and watching things like Felicity and the first season of American Idol on the TV. Driving to Costco before chapter meeting to grab the screamin' hot dog and soda deal at the food window. Talking about long-distance relationships. It really struck me as I looked back at the 3 of us around the dining room table today- we have all grown up now, have taken varied paths in life. We have so much more life experience under our belts since those days as earnest little Kappa Kappa Gammas.

It dawned on me today- we weren't 3 sorority girls anymore. We were three adult women. Wives, entrepreneurs, homeowners, mothers. And yet we were still laughing and chatting and eating {delicious} crap food, casually referencing events from 5 or 10 years ago just as easily as we referenced tomorrow's plans. And you know what? I felt so PROUD to be right there, among 2 of the many amazing women I'm proud to call my friends.

And it only gets better from here.

And that makes this 'average' Thursday absofreakin'lutely fantastic.

xoxo,
Lulu

Breakfast On The Run... Or A Catastrophe?

One of the things I found surprising about my hour + long commute to work is that I actually really enjoy having so much 'free' time between my house and the office to wake up each morning. Granted, I can't do it without a 14 oz. roadie coffee, (not including the additional 1o oz. I drink while getting ready) but still. Relatively enjoyable.

A small taste of the view on the daily commute... Pretty, no?

After 3 years of life commuting on New York City's ca-raaaazy subways (with the crazy stories to match- just wait 'till I get to the one about my hand being held hostage inside a 350 lb. man's stomach), I quite like having a 4,ooo lb. rolling bubble of travel space all to myself. I get to check out the beautiful scenery, catch up on all the latest happs via my homies at NPR, and most importantly just sit with my thoughts. Minus a little bumper-to-bumper traffic, all is sunny and shiny and right with the world. Sadly, there is 1 recurring thought that springs into my peaceful mind like clockwork about 3/4 of the way through the commute, taking me from zen to nearly frantic in about 3 seconds.

BREAKFAST BURRITOS.

I know. Pathetic.

(and at this point I would like to say NO, Mom, I am not 'with child', thankyouverymuch.)

The one thing that I haven't been able to master about said hour-long commute is the whole breakfast thing. As it stands, I have to fight the alarm at around 5:30, snooze it until at least 6, shower, make 2 gallons of coffee, beautify, drink coffee, dress, drink coffee, wake up the Mr. (who at 7am resembles more a petulant child than an MBA candidate), grab keys, finish drinking ''getting ready" mug of coffee, purse, packed lunch? (yah right), OMG FILL TRAVEL COFFEE MUG! (sensing a pattern here?), and go.

I have yet to make room for a 'big kid' breakfast in the routine. Inevitably, I get to the whole brain-consumed-by-breakfast-burritos mile marker on the Loop 101, and then start frantically gaming out the scenario of hitting up McDonalds on the way to the office (probability factor: zero). In reality, the breakfast of champions in my little area of the office is a bag of salty, carb-loaded goodness from the vending machine. Or, what I lovingly refer to as my "breakfast pretzels".

I've been on a mission for the last 3 weeks to find a breakfast food that fulfills the following criteria:

1) Portable

2) Make-ahead

3) Can be made in 2 options- meat-friendly for the Mr., vegetarian for me
and most importantly 4) tastes like a breakfast burritos

Baking away in my oven *this very minute* is the beginnings of a long kitchen experiment, which shall henceforth be named Operation: Portable Mini Breakfast Burrito Quiche Thingie. I've combined bits and pieces from a few inspiration points (tonight's prelim recipe to come), and have a muffin tin full of half vegetarian/half meat-hearty brekkie bites, similar to the photo below, just waiting to be sampled.

Photo Courtesy of Our Best Bites - Mini Ham and Egg Cup Recipe, my first inspiration

My house currently smells like the Honeybaked Ham store, but I'm cautiously hopeful that these puppies will be the answer to all my breakfast woes.

I'll let you know how they turn out... And if you don't hear from me on Twitter before tomorrow night, just know that I've probably killed us both from food poisioning.

xoxo,

Lulu

... Let's Just Jump Right Back Into Things, Shall We?

The view from our back patio- April 2oth, 2010:

The view from our back patio - April 23rd, 2010:

The last 2 months have been a whirlwind of transition for me, going from the fast-paced hustle and bustle of New York City to life as a grad school spouse in suburban Phoenix. I'm a little bummed that I haven't been better about journaling our big transition on the 'ol blog here, The Dirty Martini Diaries obviously hasn't been much of a diary as of late. I guess that's what a vacation/cross-country move/road trip/busy new job/2 hour daily commute will do to a gal's blogging free time.

C'est la vie.

The one thing that has stuck out to me over the last few weeks is that I really do LOVE participating in this blogosphere, journaling my life and getting to know each one of you along the way. I've really missed spending time here on my little blog, and look forward to sharing a bit more of the Life of Lulu.

Here's hoping that my new life in Arizona, while different, will have just as many fun adventures to capture as life in New York City did.

And hey- even if it doesn't quite stack up.... At least there's a Walmart here.

xoxo,
Lulu