thatonegirl [dot] net

I served this dish with asparagus risotto (out of a box…don’t judge me).

Pecan Crusted Pork Chops.

2 (1 inch thick) pork chops
2/3 cup pecans
dash of salt and pepper
1 tbsp brown sugar
enough flour to coat the porkchops
1 egg

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the pecans on a baking sheet, and bake until lightly toasted, about 5 minutes. Set pecans aside to cool. Raise the oven temperature to 375 degrees.

2. Chop pecans finely, and then combine in a shallow bowl with the salt, pepper and brown sugar. Place the flour in another shallow bowl. In a third bowl, whisk the egg until well blended. First dip each pork chop into the flour, shaking off any excess. Then dip the chops into the egg, and finally into the finely chopped pecans.

3. Place the chops in a greased baking dish. Place the dish in the preheated oven, and bake until firm to the touch and pale pink when cut in the center, about 20 to 24 minutes. Do not allow the nut coating to burn. Serve immediately.

Recipe inspired by this one found on allrecipes.com. On a side note, allrecipes.com has this neat little tool that allows you to reduce or increase the amount of servings the recipe makes.

October 19, 2008

My roommate Valerie and I met a few of our mutual girlfriends at Sangria, a favorite tapas restaurant of ours for brunch on Sunday morning. The offer bottomless sangria as part of their brunch menu. We sat outside on the patio eating, drinking and chatting away for a few hours. After brunch we went to the Stoneleigh for a relaxing afternoon of massages and girl talk.

We had been gossiping a bit and I told them that I was suspicious since Adam has asked me to dinner that night. He doesn’t usually ask me on dates. When he had asked me earlier in the week, my first thought was “Yes! That means I don’t have to make dinner on Sunday night.” Then I started getting a bit suspicious.

After we had our massages, we sat in the lounge area sipping on our honey water and then enjoyed their hot tubs with a glass of wine. We had been relaxing together for about an hour when I got out to call Adam to get details about our date. I called him and asked him if we were still having dinner, what time dinner was and if there was anything he wanted me to wear. Later he said he “played coy” by being complacent about the whole thing and saying that we could still go to dinner, around 7ish and I could wear whatever I wanted.

I walked back to the girls and told them I didn’t think it was going to happen that night. They reassured me that he was just messing with my head.

We finished up at the spa and parted ways. I went home, packed up my stuff for the night and drove to Rockwall. When I got there, Adam’s truck wasn’t in the parking lot. I figured he had gone to Walmart to do his grocery shopping while he was waiting on me. I drove to Walmart and didn’t see his truck in the parking lot so I went back to his place. I walked in and could tell he hadn’t been there yet.

I grabbed my iPod and sat on the patio listening to my book for about 30 minutes while I was waiting for him to get home. He came outside on the patio to check on me and asked me if I still wanted to go to dinner, if so, when. I told him I was starving and ready to go now.

I came inside and stepped into the bathroom to freshen up. I washed my hands and came out of the bathroom and Adam was kneeling on the floor next to his desk. He was also close to the trashcan so I thought he was looking for something in there. He grabbed my hand, looked into my eyes and proposed.

I said yes. Then asked if I could call my mom. My brother and father were out playing golf, so mom was the first to know. Then we called his sister and parents. We made a few other phone calls separately- I called Heather and asked her to dinner the following night, called my mother’s parents, Chris and Valerie all before we went to dinner.

We went to Luigi’s across the street and Adam was amazed at how little of an appetite he had because he had been so nervous. I on the other hand was starving!

After dinner we came back home and Adam was on the phone until almost 10pm calling his family. Listening to him wore me out!

Or, “What I Did At Work Today!”

We’ve had a donkey piñata sitting in our kitchen for at least a month now, and today the decision was made to fill it with candy and bust it open. Jacqueline, our receptionist, was given the honors and a long stick to beat the paper animal to a pulp.

One of our art directors shot a video of it. If you look closely my very large water bottle and I make a brief appearance.

At around 2:15pm each day, as the longest part of the day is about to set it, I receive a present in my inbox: Today’s Big Thing. The concept is incredibly simple: they find the best video on the Internet every day and put it on the site. When you subscribe to their daily emails, you don’t even have to bother going to the site, they do all the work for you.

Although 4 out of 5 of the weekly emails are hilarious, here are a few of my favorites from the daily emails I’ve received:

• Scatmanson: Who would of thought, with a little clever editing Charles Manson looks just as crazy as a schizophrenic homeless guy. He looks like one without any editing, too.
• Crazy Sprinkler Lady: “Open your eyes, people. The government is putting rainbows in our water supply.” A crazy lady leaves her house, presumably for the first time in 20 years, only to discover a shocking conspiracy. What’s next? Clouds shaped like moo cows?
• Thirsty Kitty: Super cute cat drinks from a cup like a person. Afterward, his owner punished him for being too adorable. When he sticks his whole head in the glass… that’s dangerously cute. It’s almost too cute.
• Laser Kitten: There are so many cat videos on the Internet today, that a cat needs to something really ridiculous to get noticed. This kitten goes absolutely bonkers over a laser pointer. He wants nothing to more than to destroy the tiny red dot.
• Vertical Pizza: For years it seemed that pizza scientists had gotten lazy. New advancements in pizza technology had become few and far between. The pizza industry had become stale, like an old pizza, until now. Vertical pizza is the most exciting pizza innovation since stuffed crust.
• Dead Bird Freakout: It happens to even the best drivers. A suicidal animal jumps right in front of your car and is completely obliterated. You get a little sad, maybe, and move on with your life. Not this girl. The bird is taking it better than she is, and it’s the one dying. Warning: this video contains scenes of a dying bird that may be disturbing to some.