The RODEO!!

Hello everyone!

After living in Houston for almost 2 years, I finally went to the Rodeo!  I know, how could I have missed it last year, right?  and I call myself a Houstonian...  well, actually, I don't really call myself a Houstonian,, I mean, have I lived here long enough to deserve the title?  probably not  haha

Anyway, David and I caught this year's rodeo on the last day, and it was so. much. fun!

We took the train there, and it was super easy to get there.  Thankfully, I live right by the metro station, and once we got on, it dropped us right in front of the rodeo!  Couldn't be easier.  I heard that if you try to drive there, parking is atrocious, so I highly recommend just taking the train in.

Even though it was the last day, there were still a lot of people, and we got to see so many cute little cowoys and cowgirls!  ahh so cute!  =D

The first thing that greeted us was a tunnel of food.  A very long tunnel (Well, more like a long tent) full of amazing food, so much meat, and lots and lots of people!

yup, this was at like,,, 10 in the morning and already full of people!  Go early in the day if you want to avoid being too crowded.

We also had to get in on the action, so we got some etouffee, which was like a,,, seafood/rice/stew ish thing.  It was the first time I've ever tried it, and it was actually really good!  Quite spicy though, so be warned  ;)

Then, we needed some meat, of course!  It's the rodeo after all!  and really, where else would get see a giant turkey leg, right? so we got a gigantic turkey leg.  Feeling soooo carnivorous!  haha

hmm... a Lady and Tramp moment...?  does the presence of turkey leg make it less romantic,,?  

aahaa.. haaa..  anyway, movin' on from that picture..

the Before and after photo of the turkey leg!  yup, we did good work!  XD

Next to the food lane, there are some indoor exhibitions, so we went to check it out!

It wouldn't be a rodeo without some cowboy hats!

some photo ops  =)

bahaha  David's photo is the funniest!

There were also some educational sections, and we got to see little chicks hatch!
I have never seen a chick actually hatching, so it was pretty cool to see.  Can you believe that the chick goes from that egg to that fluffy cute little thing we know as a chick in just a day?!

hatching from the egg                ::::         right after the chicks hatched     ::::                       a day later            

And there were other animals/baby animals present at the rodeo as well!

How cute is that baby calf?!  only about 2 days old!

I used to ride horses when I was younger, so I enjoyed getting to know this handsome stallion!  he was super friendly, and quite the magnificent beast!  =)

Then, we went out to enjoy the carnival!!

and even before I got to Houston, I had heard about fried Oreos, fried butter, etc, and when I saw that it was actually being sold, I HAD to try it!

the first bite!

there it is.  Fried Oreos.  In all its glory!   I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it was actually pretty good!  and we didn't have a heart attack afterwards  =p

There were also other animals outside in the carnival as well, and we got to see some.  I heard there are usually more rodeo things happening (like actual riding of the horses, bulls, etc) but for some reason they weren't happening on that day..  So make sure you check the event calendar before you go!

camels!  in Houston!

and I think this was a possum?

Then, because I loooove me some amusement rides, but because David hates them, we just went on one ride  =)  see, compromises is what it's all about  haha  =p

I'm not sure what ride we went on, but it was one of those swing looking things that spin you really really fast and really high, and we attempted to take some selfies while we were at it.

I also snapped some while we were spinning around.  I couldn't actually see, but the camera actually did a pretty good job capturing the scenery that flew by us!

We got off the ride, wiped some tears off of our eyes (not because it was too scary, but because it was uber windy!  mmhmm) and walked around looking for some carnival games to try.  As we were walking around, we noticed this giant wall of smoke, and went to find that it was because of all of the BBQ that was happening!  I mean, look at all of these turkey legs!

Finally, we found two different games to try!

unfortunately, we didn't win anything  =(  those games are tricky...  but that's ok because it was still really fun, and we got to laugh a lot (mostly at one another  haha)

It was such a fun morning, and we would highly recommend going to experience it next year if you can!  I believe it will happen during March again probably?

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you have a wonderful week!

--Janny

Hot...

Hello everyone,

I walked into our apartment earlier today and thought, "man! it's chilly in here!"  The thermometer told me it was 78 degrees inside.  Just a little perspective on exactly how hot it is outside right now in Houston...  I'm sure I'm going to miss this 90 degree weather when we get to Seattle and it's like 60 degrees, but for now, I'm really looking forward to Seattle weather!

Anyway, you may be noticing a pattern here; Houston summer heat = BBQ pool parties!!

There's really no way around it folks.  It's just waaay too hot here.  You can check out the last pool party here.

This one was held at Chris's apartment complex, and per usual, there were many munchies, beer, lounging around the pool and the hot tub (only for a little bit because it was too hot...), and of course, Houdini!!

Sai and Emily brought him this gigantic biscuit that was about half as big as Houdini  haha  and of course the little guy was in heaven--I've never seen a happier dog at a BBQ  ;)

 We always try so hard to get a photo with this one, but never seem to succeed in getting that shot that you would see in a pet magazine with the little dude.  It's really a shame because Houdini is SO adorable in person!!  if only we could get him to sit still long enough to snap a decent photo...   

After we've had our fill, we spent the rest of the day lounging about in this amazing pool.  Amulet was fully into the whole swimming thing so she was diving and swimming around like a little red haired mermaid while Emily and I lounged around in the shallow end making sure to not get our hair wet (we were going to an opera later that night, and we didn't feel like messing with washing our hair and the whole bit).  Emily's hair escaped unscathed, but I'm afraid pretty soon after this photo was taken, I was picked up bodily and thrown into the pool by David... so much for keeping my hair dry...  love you too dear.  You can totally see the mischief in his face right there in the last photo!  haha

I hope you're all enjoying your weekend, and that you're staying cool!!

Thanks for stopping by!

--Janny

BBQ take II!

Hello everyone!

Last night, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, Texas style, at the best BBQ party ever.
Rick and Berk threw another one of their crazy BBQ parties (you can see the last one here) and once again, they did not disappoint!
It was the perfect day to have a BBQ too!  Perks of being in Texas -- while my friends up north are dealing with snow in May, we can frolic about in summer dresses!  Please let us enjoy this moment of 'haha! we have better weather than you!' as this will not last for very long. we'll be having 100 degree weather with 100% humidity soon enough...

As it was last time, the BBQ was full of meat--complete with Rick going around offering a plate of bacon to everyone--, lots of beer, lots of food in general, and of course, lots of chillin.
Sorry for the lack of photos... When the first thing you get offered when you get there is a jello shot, some things get forgotten along the way  haha

Jello shot!

the deceptively spicy and amazing pulled pork

haha  my goof  ;)

 One thing that was quite different from last time was the fact that there were so many puppies there this time around!  And of course, that just makes everything so much more enjoyable!
 And where do you find happiest puppies?  At the BBQ of course!  with lots of people willing to feed them scraps of meat!
Poor-lucky- Houdini's belly was so big by the end  haha

And though Houdini was not too interested in these 9 and 10 month old puppies, they were quite interested in one another, much to everyone's amusement.  =)

AHHH I can't wait to see my puppy soon!!!!   Only 2 more weeks or so until I get to hold my McKinley man again!!

Anyway, there were a couple of us who attended Interlochen together during our high school years, so we decided to take the 'Inty love' photo.  Only when I got home, did I realize that every single time I've been involved in the 'Inty love' photo, it's always been the same four people!!
so I thought I'd group the three photos together:  first taken during the first week or so of school, second taken sometime in the middle of the school year, and the last one taken last night  =)
Totally not planned, we promise.  but we make a pretty cute Inty group, don't you think?  haha

The Interlocheners!  and Toby in the last photo  =)

My favorite part of this may be the fact that it shows all sorts of different stages of Conrad's beard growth  haha   ;)  I can't remember how many times I've walked by Conrad this year without realizing it was him because he had gone from the second photo stage to completely clean-shaven!! 

We came home having thoroughly enjoyed and stuffed ourselves, and then passed out on the bed pretty much right away.  Why is it so tiring being outdoors even when you do nothing but stand around, eat, and chill?  I don't understand...

Anyway, it was such a great evening; thanks Rick and Berk for hosting another incredible BBQ!  ;)
Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you are all having a fantastic week!
--Janny

BBQ RIBS!!

Hello everyone,

The 'detox' I was doing has slowly been ending for the past couple of days,

but two nights ago, with the consumption of BBQ Ribs for dinner,

the detox has officially ended for good.

Though I rather enjoyed being a vegetarian/sort-of-vegan for the past 2 or 3 weeks,

the fact that I enjoyed eating these ribs so, incredibly, much has confirmed that I could never become fully vegetarian.  I mean, seriously, these ribs were SOOO good!!

So, this is the Meadowlark Trio's signature ribs.

The Meadowlark Trio Signature Ribs

Ingredients

Aluminum foil

1 rack of ribs

1 bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce

(or, if you want to feel really fancy, buy 2 different ones and mix them together!  we always do this  haha)

Dry Rub

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 to 2 tsps of many different kinds of spices.

(the spices change for us every time, depending on what we have in our pantry,

but this time they were,

garlic pepper, lemon pepper, black pepper, onion powder, cumin, paprika, red pepper powder, Italian seasoning, and turmeric.)

Directions

1. Mix together all of the ingredients for the dry rub, and set aside.

2. Cut the rack of ribs into four similarly sized sections.

3. Tear 4 large pieces of aluminum foil (enough to wrap around one quartered section of the ribs) and place the ribs on the foil.

4. Apply dry rub to both sides of the ribs and pat /rub them in.

5. Apply the BBQ sauce generously to both sides of the ribs.

6. Wrap the ribs completely in foil, and wrap it again in a different piece of foil.

7. Refrigerate for a couple of hours, or over night.

8. Preheat the oven to 250, and put the ribs in for 3.5 hours, flipping them after 2 hours.

9. Take the ribs out of the foil (be very careful, they're really hot!) and apply more BBQ sauce.

10. Broil the ribs for 15-20 minutes until the BBQ sauce becomes a little crusty.

11. ENJOY!!!  Perhaps with some roasted veggies,,, just to feel a bit better about eating a balanced meal ;)

Hope you enjoy this as much as we do!

--Janny

My First Real Texas Style BBQ

Hello everyone!

Yesterday, I got to experience my first Texas style BBQ!

BBQ isn't really a part of the culture in Seattle,

so when I got invited to Rick and Berk's house for a BBQ, 

I had no idea what to expect.

Now I know.

If you are invited to a Texas style BBQ, my friends, this is what you may find;

30 pounds of pork (incredibly delicious!),

a yard full of people chilling, each with a bottle of beer in his/her hand,

a mini game of ultimate frisbee,

a whole lot of cornbread (3 different types, no less),

blaring music,

meat,

some watermelon if you have people like me and Amulet coming to the party and bringing fruit along with them  lol,

did I mention meat?

and a whole lot of chilled out socializing!

so many grills!  and 1 of 3 different types of cornbread.  Also, frisbee in action.

Meat that's been cooking since 7 am.
so. good.

more grills and beer

This skillet over the grill with bacon boiling in its grease really captures the essence of the party lol

this picture = epic.  it's all in the details, people. lol

Thanks Rick and Berk for such an epic evening!  =)

Couldn't have asked for a better first Texas style BBQ experience!

Happy Sunday!

--Janny