Kitty Deschanel | Food, Wine, and Travel Adventures in an Airstream Basecamp

*For part 2 of this repost, please click here . This morning, I awoke to the sound of something hitting the tile floor in the bathroom, followed by "OH NO!" When I went to investigate, I found Sexy Nerd with his arm underneath the vanity, attempting to retrieve whatever it was he had dropped. It was his tungsten carbide wedding band. Now, who here knows what happens when you drop your tungsten carbide ring on your porcelain tile floor at just the right angle? Oh no, indeed, Sexy Nerd! *Update* I just noticed that Google has put an ad for "Tungsten Forever" wedding bands at the bottom of my blog. Oops! If only they knew... *For part 2 of this repost, please Click Here . It will make you say 'AWWWW!' Unless your heart is as cold as tungsten carbide, I suppose.

Building a house is tough work, especially when you're too cheap frugally minded, like us. Sure, we could pay the construction crew a little extra to build a greenhouse. Sexy Nerd, however, insisted there's nothing to it. A few windows and some wood and we'd be set. It was never disclosed that building a greenhouse would require my help. My devious husband never mentioned the 84 bags of concrete (80 pounds per bag!) we would need to drag steeply uphill along the unpaved, cactus-covered , scortchingly hot, snake-infested ground. A semi truck pulled up to our empty lot with a forklift and more than two pallets of concrete. Whose idea was it anyway to build the greenhouse so far back? (Mine? Bah!) Oh, and lucky, lucky us. Lowes mistakenly delivered an extra 80 pound bag of concrete and said we could keep it for free. Even the bargain hunter in me (which is like 97% of who I am) wanted to cry. So mighty? Don't be fooled. Grumbling aside, I tried to be as help...

Summer has officially arrived, marked by 100+ degree weather here in New Mexico, a haircut for Biscuit (she looks so tiny now!), and homemade burgers on our patio. I arrived home from work recently to find a buffet of topping options on our kitchen island, courtesy of Sexy Nerd, and we quickly got to work building the perfect burgers. I can never resist a unique sauce/dressing/topping/condiment/anything food whatsoever when it's on clearance, so we've accumulated quite a few unique burger topping options. Mango Habanero Ketchup? Check. Parsley Garlic Sauce? Of course. Mojo Picon? Obviously. Truffle Oil? You know it. Wasabi Sauce? Duh. Tabouli? Burger-topping extraordinaire. Cranberry Horseradish Mustard? It actually tastes identical to everyday brown mustard. I may have been scammed on this one. Pickled Beets? Is it even a burger without this? Olive Paste? Olive you, olive paste. The list goes on, and I had to find a way to include ...

"You whippersnappers turn off that racket. In my day, pups respected their elders. Back then, we didn't have a bed in a sunbeam. We didn't even have a sunbeam. We had to make do with the reflection of the sun off the moon for warmth and you didn't hear us complaining." Dogs are known to greet their owner with excitement and a wagging tail. Biscuit is here to tell you that is foolish nonsense. When Kitty Deschanel returns home from work, Biscuit does not bother to get out of bed, where she has lounged the entire day. Pit bulls, Olive and Bernadette, stay clear of the alpha of their pack, lest they be attacked by 4 pounds of chihuahua/yorkie (probably mixed with some sort of rodent) fury. Her 5 remaining teeth will get you. You may see Kitty Deschanel carrying Biscuit down the street, her having refused to budge after insisting on taking a walk. Dinnertime requires patience. Biscuit demands to guard her bowl, letting out her version of a bark - a ferocious "ME...