Just thought I would post this here to see if we could get a few more fans for Sweet Wimberley on facebook.
Thank you to everyone that has joined the group, visited the shop and helped make this a reality.
It has been a boatload of work, but come July 2nd, it will begin to pay off. The entire crew has worked and sacrificed to make Sweet Wimberley’s new shop a reality. We have been blessed with some great friends here in Wimberley that have opened their hearts to help make this happen.
Maddie, Kenzie and Dallin survey the shop before we start
Kenzie and Maddie prime the ceiling (and themselves)
Momma joins in the fun after a shift up at the hospital
Daddy gets to use the power tools
Starting to take shape
YES! Finally got all these electrical outlets working!
A coat of chocolate paint is the final stage before decorating
I just finished the second coat of Polycrylic clear coating on the floor and it is looking downright amazing in the shop. The butter yellow and chocolate perfectly match our logo colors and do a great job of making customers feel warm and welcome.
We have picked the 4th of July weekend to open a) because the crowds in Wimberley are huge with the parade, fireworks, Market Days AND the VFW rodeo all scheduled and b) because we see it as an independence day of sorts in our goal of moving Dawn out of the day-to-day stress of working as a RN in the emergency room.
Make sure you come by and see us - and of course, try out some of her amazing creations.
Chris flips the Blackberry on for a quick video update on a beautiful drive through the Texas Hill Country.
I have a history of posting on foods I find interesting. No brand has done more (well, maybe Mt. Dew) to try new things than Cheetos. Here is one of the latest from the fine folks at Lays - Wild Habanero Cheetos!
Alright, I didn’t try them (I know I am letting you down there) but found them interesting enough to snap a quick pic. Although the original crunch treat is still going strong after its introduction in 1948, my favorite all-time Cheetos flavors were Crunchy Nachos Cheetos from back in the late 90’s and the Cool Ranch Cheetos that died out almost instantly in 2003. Want to see what they have created in the US over the years? Check out this Wikipedia link.
Okay, they didn’t solve hunger or do anything to promote world peace, but Dr. Pepper did their part today by doing the right thing - no matter how small it is.
I have been playing “Twist a Pepper” for years - you know the bottle of DP with “Sorry Try Again” or “Free 20 oz Dr Pepper” written on the underside of the caps. Advertisements on the bottles claim a 1 in 6 chance of winning. This promotion has been delighting prune juice fans for years.
Lately however, something has changed about the promotion - namely that retailers refuse to accept the bottle caps. Yes, the last dozen times I have tried to turn one in at a convenience store, the clerk has said something along the lines of, “oh we don’t accept those anymore.” These are the same stores with their shelves loaded down with the Twist a Pepper bottles!
I called Dr. Pepper’s customer service today and they first tried to stonewall me. “I’m sorry, but that is a local promotion, we don’t handle those.”
After a few minutes the rep was able to find out that Coca-Cola was the local bottler for Dr. Pepper in this part of Central Texas. Seriously? Okay. She was unable to provide any contact information for the Coca-Cola bottler running the Twist A Pepper promotion, but then offered, “I would like to send you out two coupons for a free 20 oz Dr. Pepper and apologize for the inconvenience.”
I am not sure what I learned from this other than, even if you won something, it doesn’t mean you can collect. Or maybe it is that the Cola Wars are as made up as the drama on reality TV shows. Coke bottling Dr. Pepper? Perhaps it is just that despite marketing once again promising great things and not delivering, you really can get people to do the right thing - if you’re willing to gripe a bit.
Why is it wrong for Camel cigarettes to use a cartoon character and not for junk food companies to do the same? Think about it. Obesity is a much larger (pun intended) threat to the lives of America’s children than cigarettes.
In 2008, an article reported by the BBC stated that of the 19 cartoon characters used to sell food to kids, not one of them promoted healthy food. All of these were junk food products. That doesn’t even touch on promotional marketing such as Spider-man, Shrek, and the numerous movie and television tie-in licensing. In fact, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, less than 3% of the total food ads are for healthy products.
Sure, kill Joe Camel - but how about a little protection against Ronald McDonald and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles while we are at it?
That is the exact question that Dawn and I pondered each time we took the small trip along Ranch Road 12 between San Marcos and Wimberley. Surely, THIS is just good marketing? What the heck makes a tamale ‘gourmet?’ Yes, this is Jean’s Antique Mall & Gourmet Tamales.
Well, after a few months of saying “hmmm… we should check that out sometime,” I stopped in on the way home from work today. At first blush - it looks like these are NOT just any old tamales.
When you take a look at normal tamales (which I love) you have a roll of masa with a portion of meat in the center. Rather than a thin line of meat surrounded by all that starch, THESE tamales are a huge wad of meat with a thin layer of masa spread around. That, in itself, seems to make these better tamales. I haven’t tasted them yet, but I picked up a half dozen chicken and another half dozen pork variety. Their menu lists more than a dozen varieties such as beef, chipotle, etc.
I will have to let you know how they taste after we get a chance to put them on the table - but my first impression is that they are going to be pretty good.
I am pleased to report that the weight loss continues. Just a few short weeks ago, I reported reaching 216lbs (my lowest since this effort began) and I am happy to report that I weighed in at 211 this morning. That’s 29 pounds lost since I made that a goal.
I still need some help coming up with a suitable self-reward for reaching 200 pounds. Originally, I was thinking of something like skydiving or similar, but I’m not sure. I had sorta narrowed to down finding something that was much easier at 200 pounds than 240 pounds, but hell - everything is.
I do have a pretty significant event coming up in about five weeks so if I pick up the pace a little, I could reach my goal around the same time. Maybe I could combine the two into some super celebration - who knows.
I celebrated today’s weigh in with finally being able to wear a shirt I bought when I first got to town.
They didn’t have it in my size (2XL) so I bought the XL figuring I would be able to fit in at some point.
Anyway, wish me luck and be sure to kick me in butt if you see pigging out or being lazy. Thanks for coming along on the journey.
Recently, after trips to the grocery store, I really don’t want to eat any of the stuff I just bought. It used to be such a task trying to figure out what to start with when you unload. (Usually, the junk food would win out.)
I don’t know if it’s because I am just not buying as much crap or what - but that mad dash to eat all the cool stuff I bought just doesn’t hit anymore.
Maybe ALL food is getting boring? I still try tons of new and interesting junk food, but nothing seems to stick.
The tag line on the new Cherry Dr. Pepper is “amazingly smooth.” I am here to say that this soft drink is so smooth that you can’t even taste it. I took a swig and swirled it around to get my reaction to the new drink and immediately came to a conclusion. I kept it to myself until Blake took a drink of his (not wanting to influence his opinion.) I simply asked him, “So what do think about it?”
He said almost to the word what my impression was, “It’s okay, it doesn’t really have much flavor.”
“Yes! Thank you,” I told him. The thing tastes like carbonated water with a distant hint of cherry in the aftertaste. There is absolutely no hint of Dr. Pepper in there. It is just carbonated water.
I wouldn’t waste your time with this one.
