THE PHOTO SHOOT

okay, so many of you (maybe two or three?) are wondering “whatever happened to this ‘supposed’ photo shoot you did that you lost all this weight for?” well, i can be honest when i say, it was TOTALLY worth the wait, because these shots came out pretty frickin’ amazing for a first-timer!!!

the backstory is that i’m a rich “well-to-do” about the town, type gentlemen with a pretty hot maid. she gets a little too snappy and things get crazy. i had sooooo much fun doing this shoot (will post the next once it is ready for viewing)!!!

so without further ado (or adon’t) i present My Nicole Marie:

CREATIVE MISCHIEF AND MAYHAM WITH A TWIST OF FILM NOIR

the reappearance of Phalkon

hello hello everyone! it’s been FAAAAAAAAR too long since my last update, but i’m determined to make things right. i’ve been INCREDIBLY busy with life lately, and i shall do my best to give you all updates.

i know it’s been way longer than i care to admit, but i will promise to attempt at least one blog a week FROM NOW ON!

so to keep things organized, let’s start with an outline:

1. i’m single.
2. my “new” band is becoming very successful.
3. i finally got back to taking college classes.
4. i’ve lost weight (a lot), and it’s opening up some new doors for me.

1. “i’m single”
yes, sadly, it’s true. after a very long fight, and a lot of heartbreak, i broke things off with my fiancee a few months ago. we were together for a little over two years, and although were very much in love, had too many problems that we just could not overcome by our selves. i won’t lie, it really sucks, still hurts sometimes, but the bittersweet side of that is that lately, i’ve been able to focus more on *ME* and have been busting my butt to make my life better…. which leads me to part two:

2. my “new” band is becoming quite successful.

i believe the last time i blogged, i talked about joining these guys, and i’m happy to say that although we’ve gone through a few personnel changes in the past few months, we are still enjoying a lot of success! we’ve averaged about 3 shows a month (or more) for the past year, and still have multiple shows scheduled throughout the rest of the year. additionally, we are looking at sitting down in the studio near the end of February to record our first singles. AMAZING!

NEXT!

3. getting back in school.

yes, i finally got my head on straight again, and decided to get my booty back in school. i am now 3 classes away from my associates in business management, and will then move on to a bachelor’s in pysch. SUPER EXCITED, BUT NOT NEARLY AS MUCH AS:

4. losing weight, and opening new doors because of it.

so, as i had blogged last year, i was trying out those “weight loss drops”, and they were absolutely a waste of time and money. i’ve now been on Herbalife and have been working out much more and staying active, and have lost *20LBS IN LESS THAN 2 MONTHS*.

sweet baby jesus on a pogo stick! i’m finally below 150lbs (which i haven’t been in about 4 years), and part of this was motivation from A SHOT AT MODELING.

Backstory: when i lived in oklahoma, i met a lot of people, many of whom i still keep in contact with. one of those people is a lovely little lady who is a makeup artist. the photographer she works for was looking into getting some male models to expand her portfolio. my friend asked me, and i quickly said yes. this is what spurred me to lose the weight so quickly (and safely).

my first shoot was last weekend, and i already have another tentatively scheduled for the end of November.

*whew*

that’s a lot of stuff to happen in a year, and it’s not over yet! i’ve been immensely blessed with so many amazing things going on in my life right now, and will try my hardest to keep you all updated as well!

stay tuned…

Avocado and English Muffin Omelet Cup

yes, you read that right. i was hungry and somewhat hungover this morning, but still felt the urge to make something semi-fancy for breakfast.

i thought, simple, nutritious, and delicious.

now, to preface this, i love avocados. like, REALLY love avocados, which is surprising, because as a child, i had a strange aversion to guacamole, but now i absolutely love the stuff (that’s another post!)

so without further ado, here’s how i created this delicious and easy morning feast:

PREP TIME: 10min

BAKE TIME: 20min

step 1: preheat over and gather ingredients!

the base!

obviously, for an omelet you need eggs. here i have taken 3 large eggs. also, with this being an omelet, you can change up the ingredients how you like them. i choose onions and shredded cheese for my bits. the avocado i insert later (you will see). also, i preheated the over to about 275. but you can give or take the temp regarding time and altitude. i’m not really sure how eggs normally cook in an oven, i’m just hungry and know how to not burn some things.

egg stew?

as you can see, i’ve stirred together the onions, eggs, and shredded cheese before moving on to the next step.

step 2: greasing the pan and pouring!

muffin pans are fantastic for many things!

these ingredients were enough for 6 cups, but of course you can alternate the ingredients (eggs, and other stuff), to make more or less depending on how many you want. at this step, i also added a little bit of shredded cheese in each cup and added a little salt and pepper to taste.

step 3: add avocado and english muffins!

mmmmmmmmmmmm…. needs no caption, really

here, i sliced avocado and an english muffin (very lightly buttered) into strips to fit into each cup.

just look at that!!

and then you shove it in the oven…

step 4: bake, remove, and serve!

i played around the temp while i was doing this. i started out at 250 for 15 min, then boosted to 300 for another 5 min… so i just thought maybe 275 for 20min *may* be a healthy medium, again try it for yourself and find a happy medium.

but as you can see, mine turned out fine (i used a silicon spatula thing (i guess for mixing stuff) to get these out).

FANCY AND DELICIOUS!!

and i know a lot of people are probably wondering why i didn’t put bacon in this (since i put it in almost everything else), but that was because i was actually OUT (gasp) of bacon, since i made bacon stir-fry the night before (and used over a half pound of bacon in it (but that’s another post)!).

so i hope you enjoyed this healthy (for once!) and easy breakfast item!

just stepping in to wipe my shoes…

so i’m officially the worst/least consistent blogger ever? probably, but with good reason. i have a small laptop that i normally take to work with me, and recently (about a week and a half ago), the owners of the building i work in decided to lock the wi-fi (because apparently there were over 100 people using it). so i unfortunately, have not been able to goof off as much at work. shucks.

but during that time i have been incredibly busy! my new band had it’s first gig! check us out on Facebook, Twitter, Reverbnation, etc…. we’re called Twice On Tuesday. really cool, and i play keyboards and sing.

speaking of singing, i recently went on a trip to Dallas, TX to sing for the Army’s 237th birthday (video will be posted soon). so that was a pretty neat adventure (although i long, boring drive).

what else? ummmm… i bought a new synthesizer. the MicroKorg XL synthesizer/vocoder. it’s pretty sweet, and i love being able to use my double tier stand for my synths (i look pro!).

my girlfriend and i also went through some stuff last weekend. we’ve been having a lot of strange feelings and weird energy going on, so we had a native american friend come over and cleanse us and the house. things are now going better, but after the cleansing i had a doctor’s appt the next day, and my blood pressure was FREAKING through the roof! (175/110… how was i alive??). so i was under watch for a few days, and by wednesday, my blood pressure was completely back to normal (120/80), so the doctor said to just chill out, eat healthy, and no meds were prescribed, YAY!

bought a kiddie pool for the backyard to enjoy the nice hot summer, as well.

oh! and friday, some dude knocked on the door with a puppy (super cute, i’ll also post pics later) and said he was sniffing around the area behind our house. he didn’t know what to do with it, so we took it in. looked healthy, no collar or anything. felt really bad for it. after the weekend was over, we didn’t see any posters or anything go up, so we ended up giving it to a friend of mine who recently moved into a new house with a nice, fenced backyard. named the little pup Haggard (like Merle Haggard, lol).

so that’s just a quick run-through of what i’ve been up to. i promise my next post will blow you all away. it will be another cooking post, and believe me, you WON’T want to miss it!

The Frito-Pie Hot Pocket

i will not even try to make an excuse for why i haven’t posted sooner than today. ugh… same old, same old…. just busy with EVERYTHING (which i’ll post about later).

so without further ado, i will go ahead an post a quick, fun, easy recipe that is great for parties, or gorging yourself like a beast.

THE FRITO-PIE HOT POCKET

Step 1: get yer chili ready!

omg… so cheesy and delicious!

you can pretty much have free reign with this step. canned chili, homemade, whatever. as you can see i also added a LOT of cheese to it, because you can never have too much cheese! you don’t have to worry about getting it super hot, just hot enough that all the cheese melts. i also added onions and peppers to the chili.

NEXT!

Step 2: roll out the dough!

doughy goodness!

here, i used a roll of store-bought pizza dough. whichever you prefer should work. if i were to go back and do this again, i probably would’ve made this smaller, and more SINGLE-SERVING SIZED.

Step 3: load ’em up!

such a feast for the senses!

pretty simple. build your frito-pie on the dough. instead of a bowl, just load it up here! as you can see, i also added another layer of shredded cheese between the fritos and the chili. this is to help keep the fritos crispy, since you’re about to bake this bad boy.

Step 4: egg wash and oven

mmmm… eggy!

now, for those of you who bake regularly, you know that the egg wash helps give the crust a nice golden-brown look. there’s also a little dough left over on the side that i filled with chili and ate later. when baking, just follow the instructions that come with whatever dough you’re using and your Frito-Pie Hot Pocket *should* come out looking like this:

golden perfection

due to the nature of this creation, i had to use a pizza cutter to get through it, but it was certainly worth it! the finalized product came out looking like this:

like a baked chunk of summer!

ENJOY!

Bacon Cinnamon Rolls

yes, you read that correctly. and why not? everyone knows i love bacon, so now i have an excuse to bake cinnamon rolls! instructions are relatively simple:

step 1: COOK BACON

it’s like edible porn…

the key to this step (and probably most important) is to NOT FULLY COOK THE BACON!! you’re going be putting it in the rolls, so it’s going to be COOKED MORE. simple?  okay. just make sure it’s cooked just enough to eat, but still plenty “wobbly”.

step 2: CUT ROLLS

cinnamony goodness

now, it really doesn’t matter what kind of rolls, but as you can see here, i have the normal sized ones (which are more like discs). these don’t come rolled, so i had to use a knife to cut them into rolls. the grands you can buy at the store normally come so you can more easily unroll them. but it’s your choice. if you use grands, i suggest doubling up the bacon.

step 3: ADD BACON!!

the merger

quite simple. unroll roll, re-roll with bacon.

voila! it’s magic

step 4: BAKE!!

in go goodies, out come AWESOME

for this step, follow normal baking instructions that come with the rolls. i did the minimum listed on the label (11 min at 400, and then turned down to 375 for the last couple of minutes), and they came out PERFECT!

which brings us to our final step:

step 5: FROST AND EAT!!!

drenched in lovely…

i’m too busy stuffing my face right now to add more commentary, this is delicious and you need to make some NOW.

BREAKFAST OF THE GODS!

The Outskirts (part 1)(+Historical Marker 5527 & 4871)

hello everyone, i hope this post comes not too far away from the previous. this one isn’t food related (although the next one probably will be). but this post is still somewhat interesting for those who enjoy bits of history.

now, my job requires me to move around the Texas panhandle quite a bit, and in doing so, i try to knock more items off of my 30 Before 30. i found a few more little gems over the past couple of days which i find to be quite interesting.

first off, for those of you who don’t know, i live in Amarillo, TX, which is pretty much the center of the panhandle, the other day i had to drive out to Bovina, TX, which doesn’t really have a lot of things going on, and it’s really not much of a ghost town either. however, i passed a few US Historical Markers on the way there (some near Friona, TX (known as the “cheeseburger capital of texas, and “the biggest small town in texas”), and some near Hereford, TX (known as the “beef capital of the world” and the city is actually named after the Hereford breed of cattle!)).

anyway! one of the historical markers i passed, was (to be honest) a little lame. Historical Marker 4871 (Parmerton):

Parmerton

like i was explaining to my coworker i was driving along with: “historical markers are like easter eggs. some have crappy candy in them, and some have two-dollar bills”

during our drive through Friona, we stopped at this mom-n-pop joint called Tasty Cream, and i ordered a delicious pistachio shake

pistachio shake, green goodness

very delicious. the rest of our trip out there was pretty boring, but on the way back, we stopped at another marker (only because i bought my coworker a dr. pepper float at Tasty Cream). This was an unnumbered marker, from what i can tell it’s just Texas Marker 1982? either way, it was pretty interesting, and certainly one of those “two-dollar bill easter eggs”:

seriously? a POW camp in the Texas Panhandle???

so this one completely blew my mind. i never knew there was a POW camp in the Panhandle. and from the information i gathered from this site, there is a monument there now dedicated to the 3 italians who died while they were held there. so that was pretty interesting for all you WWII buffs…

the next day i had to once again drive out to Hereford, so on the way back i swung through and caught US Historical Marker 5527 (which marks the site of Dawn, TX):

Dawn…. not much happens here

so that’s it for now, just a super quick update. i promise i will be posting something else this weekend, hope you all enjoyed my travels! nothing more excited than the open road, you never know what you’ll come across!

Super Stuffed Jalapenos

Jalapenos are a great snack, and i’m sure most of you have had jalapeno poppers at any restaurant or tailgating event. they’re great for toppings, dips, and anything in between. so i decided one day to kick these little bad boys up a notch.

SUPER STUFFED JALAPENOS.

Step 1: ingredients, ASSEMBLE!

that’s right. you see hotdogs…

i know what you’re thinking: “hot dogs? what the fluff is wrong with this guy?”

not only that, but we’re putting shredded cheese and JALAPENO cream cheese in it as well! holy god!!

the most important thing to consider is making sure your jalapenos are big enough. you gotta get those huge ones, not the dinky little pinky-sized punks. then you take a small knife and cut out that seeds and spiny thing in the middle.

next simple step?

Step 2: STUFF!

mmmmm…. cheese

i love cheese, you love cheese. ’nuff said. but we need MORE!

MOAR CHEESE!

after this step, you should be able to stuff a hotdog cut in half into it. of course, you’ll probably need to use toothpicks to keep the ‘dog in, but that’s fine because if you’re like me you’re going to finish things up with this next gorgeous step.

Step 3: MAKE MORE AWESOMER

zOMG, BACON!!

that’s right, wrap those meaty bad boys in some bacon, and top with cheese! i mean really? it’s fantastic, and there’s literally no reason you shouldn’t make this the next time you are watching your favorite team put the hurt on some whiny little punks. so just make sure your oven is set around 300 degrees, and cook for about 15min (or until bacon is cooked to your liking).

final step:

ENJOY!

have you seen a more delicious-looking snack anywhere? i need to cut this blog short, because i’m inches away from licking my screen. have fun out there!

The Unnecessary Burger

if you are working hard on a diet, vegan, or otherwise against foods that are bad for you, i implore you to STOP READING right now.

 

for those of you who don’t care, or find these things interesting, please continue.

okay, so around the office (and before i started trying to eat healthier) i’m known as our primary bacon-lover. all things bacon, i either find out about first, or try first.

(yes, i’ve even tried Jack-In-The-Box’s Bacon Shake (and it was pretty good))

anyway, in my quest to create and experiment with new foods, my gf and i decided to create The Unnecessary Burger.

why title this burger as such? well i has at least 3 unnecessary steps in it to achieve artery-clogging goodness.

Step 1: COOK BACON

BACON!!!

now honestly, this is possibly the most necessary step to achieve the Unnecessary Burger. i mean, bacon’s sweet savory deliciousness is beyond compare. i have literally had days where i’ve just cooked a whole pound of bacon and based the day’s entire meal plan around that. it’s meaty and fantastic! but most importantly, save the grease for the next few steps!

Step 2: cook meat patties in bacon grease.

like swimming in a vat of awesome

first unnecessary step here. the only reason man shouldn’t use a grill for making hamburgers is if they don’t have a grill, in which case they’re probably a woman in disguise (j/k). seriously, unless there is at least 4 feet of snow outside and you have a grill, GRILL YOUR DAMN HAMBURGERS!! in this case however, this step is completely unnecessary. except it’s awesome. ever had deep fried meats? of course you have! ever had that meat fried in bacon grease? i think not. two words: FLAVOR INFUSION.

now, on to the next unnecessary step:

Step 3: add more meat!

because a burger isn’t meaty enough on it’s own

holy god in heaven. does a hamburger NEED more meat? simple answer: no. but this is totally unnecessary, so that means it’s go time. i had pepperoni, and needed a reason to eat it with dinner (without the hassle of making a pizza). then i came to the next problem: how do you keep pepperoni from sliding off that sweet piece of heaven?

CHEESE.

CHEESE!!

most people want cheese on their burgers, and this burger is clearly no exception, also it’s important for proper food adhesion.

Step 4: ADDING THE BACON!

seriously, could this burger get any better?

time to put that delicious bacon to use. throw it on that cheesy goodness, and they will stay put! thankfully, we’re almost done here, so you don’t have to be putting yourself through the hell that is not being able to eat this yet… but then, once the burgers are done, what do you do with all that leftover grease? DO SOMETHING UNNECESSARY. get those buns, and soak up some of that grease while it’s still hot! who likes toasted buns? EVERYONE. who likes bacon? awesome people. so everyone awesome should enjoy a good toasted bacon grease-soaked bun!

its the only thing angels eat in heaven…

so there you have it. The Unnecessary Burger, now if you’re anything like me, you probably gained a pound (of cholesterol) just from reading this. but rest assured, this was a fantastically delicious creation, but i could honestly not eat one of these more than once a month without needing a stint put in.

enjoy.

Travels, Updates, and US Historical Marker 951 + Gould, OK

so, i will start off with an apology. i know its been far too long since i’ve done an update, but primarily that’s been because although i’ve been on vacation for the past week (and honestly meant, to blog more), i was on vacation the past week and was about ten times busier than i expected. had a big party at my house for Cinco de Mayo (FIESTAFEST!!!), and i’ll probably do a blog about that later. oh jeez….

also, did some traveling, and today’s blog will be more centered around that. as far as weightloss goes, i’m afraid to even weigh myself at this point, i’m probably close to 160 again, just because of parties, drinking, stuffing my face hole, and not working out as much (i know, shame on me).

but enough about that, let’s talk about my travels. as some of you know, on my 30 Before 30, i listed that i wanted to visit more historical markers and get a better grasp of local and national history. well, last weekend i drove to Lawton, OK. this is connected to Fort Sill, where i was previously stationed for 5 years. needless to say there’s a lot of friends and family we needed to visit. however, it’s about 3 1/2-4hr drive through a lot of open land, ghost towns, and various historical markers. due to time constraints on my trip, i only visited a couple, but i took good pictures, and found some interesting information.

now the route i take to get from Amarillo to Lawton takes me through I-40, US 83, and US62

http://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=Amarillo,+TX&daddr=35.14996,-100.25512+to:Lawton,+OK&hl=en&sll=34.913,-100.117245&sspn=3.035863,5.756836&geocode=Fe1xGQIdfy3u-SkDz0Wy1EgBhzGv0jZoHNHz0A%3BFYhYGAIdcDoG-ikD7x2m4D-qhzE378VyRxvawA%3BFS8CEAId55gi-ilFDSFZ4h6thzFSTnLyxvosYQ&oq=lawton&mra=dpe&mrsp=1&sz=8&via=1&t=m&z=8

some people take US 287, that’s cool, but this is the route i normally take.

ANYWAY, one of the historical markers i went through was US HM 951

me, in my roadtrip clothes.

now, i’m still learning about historical markers, but this one is pretty interesting, and if you can’t tell what’s in the left-hand side of the picture, i actually pulled a two-for-one on this marker, because apparently there’s some interesting information about the US highway i happened to also be on!

so anyway, US HM 951 states:

Collingsworth County

formed from Young and Bexar territories

created August 21, 1876
Organizaed November 4, 1890

Named in honor of James Collinsworth (1804-1838)

The first Chief Justice of the Republic of Texas. Signer of the Declaration of Independence at the Battle of San Jacinto. Secretary of State in Burnet’s Cabinet.

Wellington, the County Seat

so i thought that was pretty cool, but ALSO, the plaque next to me is a dedication from the state of Texas! turns out that US Highway 83 is the Texas Vietnam Memorial Highway!

Texas Vietnam Veterans Memorial Highway
US Highway 83

In gratitude to the thousand of men and women who served our country during the Vietnam War. The people of Texas dedicate this highway which runs across our state from the southernmost tip to the northernmost point. It is our hope that all those who travel US 83 will pause to remember those who gave up their lives or their youth or their hopes in that long and bitter conflict. We vow not to forget those who did not return to us and we pledge to remember the sacrifices of those who have come home.

US Highway 83

so that was pretty dang interesting, i thought. to add to this so-far-so-cool post, i’m going to tell you about this creepy little ghost town we always pass through called Gould, OK. for simple town stats, you can check out this link from wikipedia about it, but i’ll show you some pics we took and explain along the way. now wiki doesn’t go into too much detail, but from what i can tell you from visiting, there’s not a whole lot to see anymore. the local population is roughly 141, and nearly 500 at it’s peak in the mid 1930s. Gould was originally called Gibson, OK; but the postmaster general renamed the town because he thought it too closely resembled “Fort Gibson” (understandable). Gould was founded in the early 1900s (roughly between 1907-1909. The town’s school was founded in 1909 and was first conducted in the local Baptist church. an official building was erected in 1911, and the school was officially closed in 1990. at one point, the town’s school had an attendance of almost 500 students due to consolidation of other area towns and counties. but in 1990, the school was closed, and the area formerly covered by Gould’s school was taken over by the nearby Hollis, OK.

attached is a photo gallery of a small monument created in honor of the school and the local community.

US Highway 83

so those are my updates, and my travels that i’ve been doing thus far. i hope you all enjoyed this!