The name dilemma

*EDIT: Thanks for all of the feedback! Keep it coming! I should have also said I'm not really a fan of the 4 names thing. That's just way too much for me to write :) For those who might be curious, my dad also votes for Tia Neely Kauffman. I also should have mentioned that Lorraine was my paternal grandmother's middle name, in case that influences any comments.*

Unless you live under a rock, you know that I'm getting married next week (NEXT WEEK!!!).

I'm debating with to do with my name when I get married. Bryan is fine with me keeping my name or taking his, although last week when I said I was keeping my own, he wanted to know why and said it made him sad. I really was just testing him out though, and I found out that he would really like it if I changed it.

So here's the debate. Many women I know have turned their maiden name into their middle name. My best friend didn't, but "only because I hated my maiden name."

My current name: Tia Lorraine Neely
Fiance's last name: Kauffman
Should I be: Tia Lorraine Kauffman or Tia Neely Kauffman

For the record, I hate dual last names or hyphenating, so there will be no Neely-Kauffman going on. If I keep Neely, it will be strictly my middle name, and I won't walk around like Catherine Zeta Jones telling everyone to call me by 3 names.

Too true

Setting the scene:
Bryan is standing in the dining room eating a grapefruit, pouting because he just spilled grapefruit juice on his shirt.

Tia: "So I'm supposed to feel bad for you because you're surprised that when you stand up, right next to the table, and eat a grapefruit you get grapefruit juice on your shirt?"

Bryan: "You're supposed to empathize not because you think we [men] are less smart, but because we are less smart."

Ah yes, he's a keeper :)

Too true

Setting the scene:
Bryan is standing in the dining room eating a grapefruit, pouting because he just spilled grapefruit juice on his shirt.

Tia: "So I'm supposed to feel bad for you because you're surprised that when you stand up, right next to the table, and eat a grapefruit you get grapefruit juice on your shirt?"

Bryan: "You're supposed to empathize not because you think we [men] are less smart, but because we are less smart."

Ah yes, he's a keeper :)

By the numbers

2 - days my work server has been down, making me virtually unable to work
3 - more pounds I would like to lose
4 - new pairs of shorts purchased for upcoming cruise (2 for each of us)
9 - days until the braces come off
10 - number of glorious days of vacation coming up soon
16 - days until we get married
17 - days until we go on the cruise
70 - amount spent on wedding dress
78 - amount spent on new 2 piece bathing suit for the cruise
500 - discount Nissan is offering new grads (Versa?)
1,000 - discount Toyota is offering new grads (Prius?)
2,713 - miles we have to drive to get back to Portland in 6 weeks

Atkins

We're on day 4 (or is it day 5? the lack of carbs has slowed my brain) of our quasi-Aktins pre-wedding (18 days, holy lord!) slim down. And as I type this, I'm eating a burrito.

Here's what we've learned so far - we like carbs and sugar. They make us happy. When we don't have them, we spend 99.99% of our time together talking about carbs and sugar and how much we miss them. Last night on our way home from the outlet mall, we were discussing that we could not bear to eat yet another meal of eggs and meat. So we thought we'd stop at the grocery store and see how we could spice things up. The parking lot had 5,347,856 cars, and we DO NOT do crowded grocery stores.

Nearby was food heaven/hell row (depending on your outlook). Pizza Hut, Arby's, Wendy's, McDonalds. Bryan drove into the Wendy's parking lot so we could think about what to do. We sat there, like 2 drug addicts trying to score their next fix, debating what to do. In the end, we ate at Wendy's...after driving out, then making a u-turn at the bank to come back! Some genius at Wendy's headquarters decided to put the nutritional info of everyone on the menu posted right inside the door. That allowed us to make better choices, which we felt good about (and about the few carbs we were able to get....YUM! Bryan immediately wanted something with a bun, I wanted something with SUGAR). I allowed myself the child's size frosty (which is about the size of a thimble) and then PUT IT DOWN WITH HALF OF IT STILL LEFT. I know, I almost hurt my arm patting myself on the back.

The update is, me down 1 pound, Bryan down 3 pounds. I have decided that this miserable "diet" isn't worth 1 pound in 4 days. I think Bryan has slightly given in too, since he had a tuna melt for lunch. However, we can definitely continue some of the long-term positive changes we've made: more fruits and veggies, no more white carbs, avoiding carbs at every single meal, fewer desserts, no more fruit juices or non-diet soda. We go to the gym at least 3 times a week, and the other days we try and do something active. All in preparation for the gluttony of the cruise :)

Thanks for saying hi!

For those of you that have been brave enough to say hi, welcome! I have to admit, I was most curious about my loyal Canadian reader, and she was the first to "out" herself. Hi Sarah, glad you think I'm different in a good way :) I like your picture.

Jenn - Nice to meet you. I'm now a regular reader of your blog too. I'm still wishing I was in Chicago for that Cupcake Crawl, whenever it happens. I'll be passing through around May 30th on my way to Portland, but that's as close as I'll get.

Tanya - I've heard a lot about you. It's funny to me that I think all of Bryan's "significant" exes read my blog! Sorry that it looks like we won't get to connect while we're out east. Time just flew by. I hear you're quite the talented pianist. My ex graduated from Eastman in Piano Performance, so I know all about how much work goes into being a pianist! If you're ever out west for a gig we'd be happy to show you around.

I know there are others of you out there! Fess up, and make a new blog friend today :)

Food porn (or Rachel Ray you are not)

I'm not sure if it was Bryan or Krista I first heard it from, but "food porn" is a common occurance in our household. Food porn can consist of looking at restaurant menus online, watching cooking shows on the Food Network, talking about where to go out to dinner, discussing what you'd LOVE to be eating right that moment, etc.

So a couple of weeks ago Bryan and Krista were engaging in some food porn Rachel Ray style. I guess that day she was making Cubano Hash. The next day, they decided that they wanted to make it. Now it was maybe 11am, and NO preparation had been made to create this. Here is the recipe as Rachel Ray made it.

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 pound ground pork
3/4 pound, packaged chorizo, peeled and chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin, 1/3 palm full
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 bottle beer
4 Portuguese rolls or 2 sandwich sized English muffins, split and toasted
4 deli-cut slices Swiss cheese
4 dill pickles, chopped
2 tablespoons yellow mustard
2 tablespoons butter
4 large eggs

So as they read the recipe together, this is how it went...me listening in hysterical laughter as this unfolded:
olive oil
- K: "We have that"
ground pork
- T: "We don't have that. All we have is frozen pork pieces"
- B: "That will be fine!"
Chorizo
- K: "We don't have chorizo, but I have some sausages and some strange hot sauce from Costa Rica, so that will be perfect."
Medium onion
- B: "We don't have a fresh onion, but we have frozen chopped onion with celery and red pepper in it. That should be fine."
3 cloves garlic
-K: "I have some in a jar, that will be fine."
Ground cumin
-T: "Yes, we have that in the cupboard"
Ground allspice
-K: "What's allspice?"
-B: "Beat's me!"
-T: "I think it's in the same family as cinnamon and nutmeg, but we don't have any."
-K: "Ooh, but we do have cinnamon and nutmeg. Good enough!"
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Yes, we have salt and pepper
2 tablespoons tomato paste
-K: "I don't have any."
-B: "Neither do we, let's just use ketchup."
1/2 bottle beer
-B: "Oh, I have one beer left! How's a pale ale?"
4 Portuguese rolls or 2 sandwich sized English muffins
-B: "We've got wheat bread, how's that?"
4 deli-cut slices Swiss cheese
-T: "I just bought some swiss cheese yesterday, lucky for you guys. This might be the only thing you'll actually do right!"
Dill pickles
-B: "I think there is a jar in the fridge that isn't too old."
Yellow mustard
-K: "We don't have yellow mustard."
-B: "I have some brown mustard. Brown isn't that far from yellow, right?"
Butter
-Margarine will have to do.
Large eggs
-B: "I think we just have 4 eggs left."

And yes, after this discussion where they had less than half of what they needed, they decided to forge ahead. If only I could explain the HORRIBLE smell this recipe made. It looked even worse (I wish I had pictures). But the verdict from the college kids....................

IT'S DELICIOUS!!!!!

Much to their dismay, I refused to try it.