Wade Bowen in Oklahoma City!!!

Well, today I want to let you in on a little something exciting that (imho as a die-hard music lover) may turn out to be the next "big thing"--think Seattle before the grunge explosion.
In case you've missed it, lately there has been ALOT of buzz in the music world about the new music coming out of Texas. Personally, I know i've been really excited over the past several years by its orginality and raw, unpolished quality--Reckless Kelly and Pat Green (who I got this website name from!) are two of my favorites . Now, everyone else seems to be catching on.

A great example of the incredibly talented, under-discovered singer-songwriter on the verge is Waco's Wade Bowen. Wade writes & plays what i'd describe as a gutsy & authentic blend of country, blues and rock. Except, that description sounds kind of cliche, & it's much, much cooler than that. I first heard his song Lay It All On You on the radio about 3 weeks ago, fell in love with it, & bought the Lost Hotel record off iTunes. I've been listening to it daily ever since. It's one of those records that sounds good at first, but then continues to grow on you the more you listen to it, until after awhile it gets under your skin & you don't want to listen to anything ELSE. You know the kind.

Well, last night I went to a show by Wade and his band at the Wormy Dog in OKC. They put on a great show! Besides Wade's songs, they did a heart-rending cover of Son Volt's "May the Wind Take Your Troubles Away", & a rendition of "Helter Skelter" that KICKED ASS. I love someone who can surprise me! The band was really tight, & it was obvious how much they enjoyed playing together. Check out my blurry cell-phone photo above!

Afterwards I got a chance to tell Wade how much i've been enjoying his record, & he was gracious enough to autograph my CD. You can hear his album Lost Hotel w/the media player on his website, & if he's playing anywhere near your town i'd definitely recommend going! It was a real treat to see someone so talented in such a intimate setting. I'll definitely be there when he comes back to play the Wormy Dog for New Year's.

Take care & happy belated Thanksgiving! Hope the tryptophan has worn off.

xoxo,
Layla

Hearty Autumn Chili

Nothing complements a cold, sunny autumn day like a hearty bowl of just right homemade chili. Today this really hit the spot, so I thought i'd share the recipe. I made some healthier substitutions in it, but the end result is still just as good. Perfect for tailgating parties or an easy slow-cooker dinner. I leave most of the spice on the side so the kids will eat it. I don't mind revealing that the secret ingredient is BEER!

AWESOME CHILI for 4-8
2 lbs ground turkey
1 large or 2 small cans seasoned chili beans, plus 1 small can water

2 cans Rotel zesty tomatoes w/chiles

1 large onion, chopped

1 can corn (vegetables are optional, of course)
1 zucchini, chopped
1 large potato, chopped
LOTS of chopped garlic(really, you can't have too much)
small handful chopped fresh cilantro
1-2 bottles of good beer, not too "hoppy"(I used Dundee's Honey Brown Lager)
Add to taste: chili powder, cumin powder, salt
1T sugar

Directions? Brown meat & drain excess. Throw in onions & garlic, & cook until soft. Throw the rest in, & simmer 'til it's done--preferably over an hour, & longer is better. Serve over brown rice w/shredded cheese & sour cream, or roll it all in a tortilla for killer burritos. Even the kids licked their bowls clean.

Now, back to the game! :)

Happy Election Day!

As depressing as the evening news can get, sometimes things happen that make me very hopeful about the state of our nation. Last night after work I hurried down to the polling station to get my vote in before 7 pm. I thought it would take 5 minutes to vote and I had to get home to make dinner, take the kids shopping, etc... You know the drill.

Anyways, to my shock there was a HUGE line--literally about a hundred people waiting in front of me. Like most Americans, I HATE waiting in lines, esp. when in a hurry. Add to that how busy MOST people are these days, and how impatient our national character is. :) I expected to hear alot of very unhappy people.

Well, being the interested observer of life that I am, I got in line and started watching what was going on around me. Immediately I noticed a radical thing: NO ONE was complaining! No one was cursing or giving up and leaving even though the line was so freakin' long. Some people looked anxious with the wait, but not a single person threw down their registered voter card & left in disgust. That's amazing considering how irate we can get when there's a 3-person line at the grocery checkout!

People were there from all walks of American life: many races and countries of birth, businessmen standing in line next to construction workers, soccer moms and businesswomen. Some looked barely old enough to drive, let alone vote, and some walked out with canes. A few parents had brought their kids with them to witness democracy in action, which I find incredibly cool. It was an amazing thing to witness: while standing there I realized that in some other countries "voting" or "campaigning" might mean these groups attacking each other with guns or pitchforks, or starting a coup if their candidate didn't win. Yet here we all were standing in line, peacefully, not complaning, even though we had other places we'd rather be and no guarantee of an outcome in our favor. Wow! We as a nation must be doing something right.

xoxo,
Layla

Adventures in Kansas City!

Well, this week I got to fly to Kansas City, Missouri to meet with a software vendor. Don't know exactly where that is? Me neither! I had to look it up. Turns out it's about a state and a half northwest of OKC, pretty much right smack in the middle of the country. If you were playing pin the tail on the donkey, and the US were the donkey's ass, this would be the bull's eye.

Having divided my time growing up between the West coast and Texas, i'll be the first to admit that i'm ignorant about the Midwest! Before moving to Oklahoma, I had a vague geographic understanding of this whole area as one giant cornfield. And please, don't send me nasty email about this! I'm just being honest about the perceptions of alot of coastal people about the heartland. Remember the "red" and "blue" states during the 2004 elections? The US looked like two different countries.

Since moving to Oklahoma last year though, i'm continually discovering new things about the Midwest. For example, we are CLOSE to everything! It reminds me of the joke from "Oh Brother Where Are Thou", about the geographical oddity of a place that's two weeks away from everywhere. We're literally within a day's drive of 2/3rds of the country. Now, in this first short visit to KC I found out some interesting new factoids: first of all, Missouri has an East and West coast (read Missouri River and Mississippi River--who knew?). The natives actually pronounced the state name as Mih-ZUHR-rah. They also pronounce the "s" in Illinois, like Illuh-NOISE. I'd heard someone from Kansas do that before & thought it was just brain damage. Oops! I guess it's a regional thing.

The landscape is much more rolling and wooded than OKC, and there was lots of beautiful autumn color. There was also the same predominance of brick buildings that are standard to everyone here but very striking to me. My impressions from my brief time there (and please, PLEASE correct me if you know better)? It seemed like there's just not much going on. I asked the shuttle driver for suggestions as we were coming in. Other than the Harry Truman Museum, he seemed to be at a loss. He mentioned there is BBQ, but I didn't have the heart to tell him that I'm from Texas and we are fundamentally BBQ snobs (if it ain't mesquite, we don't eat!). We view Midwest BBQ w/the same kind of fundamental disapproval and suspicion that Lutherans have for hippies.

As if the regional thing weren't enough, i'm still going some culture shock getting used to working for a bank! I went to this conference in my chinos and Land's End comfort mocs and walked into... a room of white-shirted and blue-suited corporate bankers. I felt way, WAY underdressed! Turns out, the banking industry is very status conscious. And, conservative--e.g. no bare legs, no brightly colored hair, & for the first time ever i've had to cover up the tattoo inside my wrist for work. Speaking for IT people in Seattle, it was always a symbol of status that we DIDN'T have to dress like salespeople--it's the Microsoft effect. I miss those good old days of NO dress code!

But, the bottom line is I had a great time seeing a new place--got away from the house for a few days, & had a four-star hotel room all to myself. I'm also enjoying the new job, and there are more business trips to come. Stay tuned! xoxo,

Layla

Our Sweet Girl Chloe

Well, in my last post I said there was more catching up to do. In addition to all the wonderful things going on lately, I have some sad news. We had a death in the family. The rabbit that we recently adopted from Heartland (after long and careful consideration and preparation) died unexpectedly. We got her on a Friday, & had her for a wonderful weekend before she died from an apparent heart condition on Monday. The funny thing is the kids have been pretty resilient, & taken it in stride, whereas Alan and I (who spent the whole weekend on the floor playing with her) were just crushed. Last week I got to be a guest blogger on the Heartland Rabbit Rescue blog, and I wrote a little bit in remembrance of the time we had with her on their website at http://heartlandbunnyblog.blogspot.com/. I won't ruin it for you!

Love,
Layla