My Life As A Super Model

I AM alive.

Barely.

Okay. That's exaggerating. A bit.

Okay. A lot.

But really - recovering from sinus surgery has been a tad bit more difficult than I had anticipated. I think one of the biggest obstacles has been 'brain fatigue' - where I just don't feel like being creative or smart or funny...hence, my lack of writing.

Seriously - even posting a simple Facebook status has been a huge undertaking, and that's just not like me.

I then had a bit of a setback on Tuesday when some other medical issues cropped up, which landed me in the emergency room for several hours...hooked up to an IV full of pain meds, fluids, and anti-nausea medicine. Fun times. Not. (And let me just insert here that Hubby is a saint and has earned his angel wings. That's all we say about that.)

Anyhoo, I'm here now, and doing a little bit better. Not SUPER better, but I'm back on my feet today, which is better than before.

And really...another reason I haven't been blogging, is because - who really wants to read nothing but medical rants and complaints from someone? I want to be funny...I want to be inspirational...I want to be entertaining...and yet...I feel like crap. Literally.

Okay - enough of that. Let me ATTEMPT to be funny and inspirational and entertaining...by bringing you a quick review of my one day last week when I got to live the life of a super model...complete with hair, make-up, booze, and hanging with celebrities. Yup - everything but the drugs, unless you count Tylenol as a drug.

Yes. I was a super model.

Okay. Not "super" perhaps, but still...I was a model.

My Day as a SuperModel began on Thursday morning, when I reported to our local clubhouse for hair and make-up...as I had been asked to model in a Ladies Fashion Show for our neighborhood. I was a bit nervous, as I had not yet seen the clothes I would be modeling, let alone tried them on, and the fashion show would be that same afternoon. What if the clothes were too tight? Or too big? What if they made my butt look big? (Hey - it's a common thought.)

The hairdresser decided that my normal straight hair was too boring, so she went with a bunch of waves and curls...I'm not sure if I liked it, as evidenced by this photo:


Disregard the five chins...not a good angle for a picture, obviously!


The good news is that all of the outfits fit - amazingly well. Whew. And my butt didn't look too big. The bad news is that NO ONE took a picture of me walking the runway. Yes, my friends at the fashion show didn't think to snap a photo until it was too late. Oh well. It was fun. And I didn't fall. Or stumble. Yay, me!

So that evening, Hubby and I decided to attend a dinner here in town...what with my super-cute curly hair and all.

Let me preface this by saying that Hubby and I are HUGE fans of the Food Network...and especially the show, "Chopped." This is the show where four chefs are presented with mystery baskets - and they have to create amazing gastronomical delights using the weird ingredients in a very short period of time. In the process, they are judged - and then "chopped" if they don't measure up. One of the judges on the show is Aaron Sanchez, who just happens to have a restaurant close to our home.

His restaurant, Mestizo, was offering a "private" tequila dinner with Aaron Sanchez last week...and I say 'private', because it was open for 50 people. Yowza. However, I will say that I was impressed with the layout when we arrived - they had set us up in five tables of 10 people - so it didn't seem TOO overwhelming.

What came next? A five course meal...each paired with a delicious cocktail...and it was divine.

We started off with a trio of tostadas - grilled ramps with Guajillo Chile Romesco, Crispy Fiddlehead Ferns with Chipotle Aioli, and Fava Bean Puree with Mint and Queso Fresco:


Absolutely delicious!!!


The cocktail paired with this was a "Mestizo Margarita" - and I have to honestly say, it was the BEST margarita I've ever had in my life. Unfortunately, I had ordered a glass of Sangria before dinner ever started, so I now had TWO cocktails to finish...but perhaps that isn't such a bad thing, right?



The second course was called "Rabbit Terrine" - which was served with Chicharones and Fig-Pasilla Jam:



This was probably my least favorite course, as I had never eaten rabbit before - and I will probably never eat it again. I kept thinking of Bugs Bunny - honestly - so I had a hard time with the rabbit. I DID like the jam, though...as well as the cocktail pairing, which was officially "Corzo Reposado," but should just be called "Fire Water":


Oh my God, it burned as it went down...!


The third course was the fish course, "Chorizo-Stuffed Spot Prawns" - with chayote and jicama salad. Oh sweet Heavens, this was fantastic...


Just pull of the heads and take a bite...SO flavorful!

The cocktail for this was "Fire Water 2", or officially, "Herradura Anejo" - another shot of tequila that burned...but was so, so good.

Our main course consisted of "Bisteak Tampicana" - butterflied filet mignon with short rib and beef marrow enchiladas, served with shaved mushroom salad:



I thought the filet was perfectly cooked and seasoned; however, I didn't care much for the enchiladas. Not completely having my sense of taste back, they were a bit bland for me, but everyone else at the table seemed to love them. Our cocktail pairing was a tequila called "Delirio Mezcal" - which had a bit of a smoky flavor - but still tasted like fire water, of course.

Dessert was a trio of ice creams: mango-chile, avocado-lime and dulce de leche-banana. Unfortunately, NONE of my sweet taste buds are working yet, so I could taste nothing of any of these:



Our final cocktail was a shot of Agavero Dessert Tequila - which tasted like Fire Water yet again. Notice a pattern here?

By now, I've had one margarita, one HUGE glass of Sangria, and four shots of tequila in the course of 90 minutes...and I am feeling no pain. I don't think I made TOO big of a fool of myself when I posed with a picture of Aaron Sanchez himself:


He's so cute. Even more so in "real" life. Hee.

Of course, it would have been too much to ask to have Hubby use the flash when he took the picture. Sigh.

Anyway - a VERY delightful and fun dinner...the food was delicious, the company was a lot of fun, and the snowy evening just added to the atmosphere.

I had needed something to break me out of my post-surgery funk, and this was a great start. Needless to say, after all that food and drink, I pretty much CRASHED when I got home. Just like a real Super Model. Hee.

Peace.