The Big Benford Show

Here we are on a Sunday again and I have another to do list. But today’s is a little more simple because today will be my day to get myself ready to go to TMEA. I’m more excited this year than before because I have an All Stater (he’s THE Jazz Guitarist in the All State Jazz Ensemble). I’m a little worried for him because he had some amp problems at the Hill Country Jazz Festival yesterday - and by amp problems, I mean his amp started smoking - so hopefully he can get that all worked out before we leave on Wednesday.

I’m also excited because my friend Ron McCurdy will be conducting the All State Jazz Ensemble and he’s flying into Austin on Tuesday evening and will be driving into San Antonio with me on Wednesday. He lives in LA so we talk in short bursts on the phone but I haven’t seen him since the last time he was in Texas which was a few years ago, I think.

I’ve also been invited to the Westin La Cantera for a spa treatment and some wining/dining by a group courting both TJEA and JEN to use their services for event & hotel planning. I’m excited to see what their services offer as well as time in the spa. From the website, you can see that it’s a beautiful place. I maybe looking forward to this most of all!

So, today includes laundry, putting away laundry, packing and just general house cleaning so I can come home to a semi-clean house. I want to get a “hot little pair of black heels”, as I’ve been saying for 3 weeks now, as well today so hopefully a shoe shopping trip will be made *ahem - Mrs. Klenzendorf*. I’m going to my Bollywood dance class with the girls tonight, too so I guess I better get moving. Happy Sunday!

While walking through my local HEB on Sunday, I figured I should get something to make for dinner and decided on beef stew. I’ve made a roast before but I don’t know that I’ve ever made a beef stew so I took a moment to add some key ingredients I knew I didn’t have at home to my list. Here’s what I did when I got home:

1. I coated the dried beef chunks (pre-cut) in flour and sautéed in the pot I was making the stew in (yes, this is a one pot dish!!).

2. I chopped up my veggies.
Carrots (I used 3)

Potatoes (I used 3)

Onion (I used 1)

Celery (I used 1, including leaves)

Leeks (I used 1 - cut open and wash each piece very carefully. It holds a lot of dirt.)

3. I turned the heat back on and deglazed the pan with some red wine and beef stock (I thawed leftover stock from a previous meal). I added salt, pepper, two bay leaves, basil (dried) & rosemary (dried) at this point as well.

4. All the veggies and meat go in the pot.

5. Cover and cook on medium high heat.

6. The veggies are tender so it’s ready to eat!

7. Final product:

I’m reading a lot of information from the Dog Whisperer and he says that there should only be one Pack Leader in the house and if you want your dog to behave, it shouldn’t be the dog. Here is a good representation of how it is in my household:

Even the dog knows this one is in charge:

Heard tonight on the Grammy’s by their President:

Let’s all pledge that 10 years from now, when we look back, we can say that this was the decade when every child received the benefit of music and the arts education in our public schools.

I might just say that every night before I got to bed. AMEN!!