Screen Actor's Guild Event - Conversations with the Cast of "Breaking Bad"

Today I was able to attend an event sponsored by the Screen Actors' Guild featuring the cast of "Breaking Bad." It was similar to the show "Inside the Actor's Studio" and was a q/a format with all of the cast. Even though I'm not an actor, it was really cool to see the group talk about how they do what they do. Plus, I've always like Brian Cranston (he was the dad on "Malcolm in the Middle").

You may be saying "that's cool, but why did they have that event in Albuquerque?" Well, it's because the show is filmed and set here.

My husband - the newspaper photographer

Brian saw the aftermath of a police chase and car crash this morning, and he captured a few pics. Being the good PR person that I am, I encouraged him to send them to the news.



It's pretty cool! You can see the whole story here - KOB news

Fall is here - almost

Typically it's much colder by this time of year. But the signs of fall are her. I took this earlier in our backyard.

We have some really cute dogs

Brian decided to try and take Oliver for a walk earlier. He has really only ever seen the back yard, so walking him is a challenge because he is seeing all sorts of new stuff. Usually, it ends up that you are taking him for a drag instead.

At this point, it's just too hard for one person to take more than Oliver (I was working on my cupcakes for class). Max and Roxanne were less than thrilled that Oliver got to go and they didn't.

So they sat by the front door waiting.



"Is that dad?"




"No it wasn't."



Eventually Brian got back, and the could move away from the door. I got this shot from the kitchen, and I love it. It's a small square of sun that was shining through the window in our stairs.



And of course as soon as Oliver was back, he was right there wondering what was going on in the kitchen.

Our little guy is getting bigger

It's hard to believe that Oliver is getting so big. He was so tiny when we got him about 8 weeks ago. He is still extremely hyper, but he and Max get along really well.

I voted today

For the first time ever, I voted early. I also researched all of the bonds, judges, PRC and even water board candidates. I printed a sample ballot before I went in, made my selections and then voting only took about 10 minutes. Early voting is definitely the way to go!

Fall fun at the pumpkin patch

On October 4th we made our annual trip to the McCall's Pumpkin Patch and Corn Maze. Unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate and we didn't get to do the maze, but we at least made it to the pumpkin patch. We took Brian's nephew Kyle with us.

Another New Mexico expedition

Brian and I made our way north to Santa Fe yesterday and did some whitewater rafting. We used this company : Santa Fe Rafting and did the half-day rapids tour.

We had a really nice time. These pics are from the pro photography company that goes out there to take rafting pics. I almost fell out of the boat a few times and then ended up falling in the river while trying to get out at the end of the trip.







In hindsight, if we ever do this again, we won't choose the middle seats. They were far from comfortable and there was nowhere to secure our feet. But it was fun regardless!

While we were gone, this was going on in our neighborhood. Our house is fine, but we aren't quite sure where in our community this happened.
Destructive flood

A New 'Do

I had a hair appointment today, so I made some big changes. I'm still adjusting, but I am liking the difference. I was ready for new color, and I think the bangs frame my face nicely.

What do you guys think?

My new favorite blog

Cake Wrecker

This site had me in tears.We've all probably seen this gem of a cake:


Well cake wrecker is an entire blog dedicated to ridiculous sugar creations. The fireman story was particularly funny.

I love the Olympics

Last night's 400m relay was amazing to watch. I found myself jumping as the US team edged closer and closer. Their victory was amazing, especially considering how obnoxious the French team had been earlier in the week.


When I came across the image earlier, I had to share it because it made me giggle:


I also love this new Visa spot. Of course, I love my dogs but still one day would love to have an English Bulldog, so that may be why I like the spot so much:

Having fun at the natural history museum

Brian and I had planned on going to Tent Rocks yesterday, but we're having a rather warm summer and decided to do something indoors instead. So we made our way to the Natural History Museum. I had not been there before, and he hadn't been there in quite a while. As the pictures will show, we had a really fun time. I think these are some of my new favorite pics of us.



















Next weekend we're gonna maybe go camping here.

We're planning to go do this in a few weeks

More Oliver video

So cute. Sorry for also including part of the phone call with mom in the video.

We added to our family

We brought little Oliver home last night. He is so cute it's just unreal.





This is our next-door neighbor Caden who had so much fun with Oliver. His giggle was so amazing.

Birthday weekend

My birthday was Friday the 6th (yesterday) and Brian's is today, June 7th. He took me to dinner last night and bought me a fantastic new purse. And today I cooked him dinner. I also got him so new clothes for our upcoming cruise.

I decided to try a new recipe I got from a friend - chicken cordon bleu. It did not disappoint. It was soooo yummy. I also decided that since it's a special occasion, I'd put stuff on serving dishes instead of just serving ourselves out of the pans. Here's the spread before we dug in:

Here's the recipe in case anyone wants to try it. It's not exactly diet-friendly and it's sinfully rich, but I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

Chicken Cordon Blue
Ingredients-
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
4 slices Swiss cheese
4 slices ham
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon paprika
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions-

1. Pound chicken breasts if they are too thick. Place a cheese and ham slice on each breast within 1/2 inch of the edges. Fold the edges of the chicken over the filling, and secure with toothpicks. Mix the flour and paprika in a small bowl, and coat the chicken pieces.
2. Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat, and cook the chicken until browned on all sides. Add the wine and bouillon. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes, until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear.
3. Remove the toothpicks, and transfer the breasts to a warm platter. Blend the cornstarch with the cream in a small bowl, and whisk slowly into the skillet. Cook, stirring until thickened, and pour over the chicken. Serve warm.

I also made two cakes. I used my new Martha Stewart Stencils on one of them. It was a little messy and it's not quite perfect, but I think it's pretty good for my first time using them. I am also not that skilled an icer, which I didn't realize until I saw the picture. Oh well - still tasted quite good.

Wow

This leaves me speechless.

A special dinner guest

Tonight Brian and I had my friend Melissa over for dinner. Melissa lives in Dallas, and her family lives here in Albuquerque. It was so wonderful to have her over for dinner in our home. She is the second of my Dallas friends that have been able to see our house, and she was the first one to see our new cabinets we had installed in the dining room. Plus she was a really good sport and let me drag out all my wedding crafts to show off a little.

Thanks for making the drive to the west side Melissa!

I love this!

As the wedding draws closer, I am going to try and post some of the things I've come across that have made me smile. This is at the top of the list. I think what I love most is that they did something that they clearly enjoyed, and the guests obviously got a kick out of it too.

While we won't be shaking our butts during our first dance, we have tried to incorporate subtle things throughout the day that people will see and go "that makes me think of them."

Enjoy:

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A cake is eggs, flower and sugar

And this video defines my confusion as I tried to get quotes.

FYI - it has a few words that are not necessarily work- or child-safe.

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Another thing I love

This is truly one of my favorite scenes of one of my favorite movies:

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