Top 10 reasons why I am not a suburbanite

Every so often my DH brings moving to Atlanta because in his mind it is the perfect place to live. He loves to go on about how we can get a bigger house for half of what we paid for our current house. I counter his argument with my refusal to move to the suburbs. While I appreciate visiting the suburbs, I currently do not see it as the place for me and I always give him my top 10 reasons why I am not moving to the suburbs:

10. I have never driven through any suburb and said to myself: “self, I can’t wait to live here!”
9. No homeless, hippies, bohemian, prostitutes, drag queens, winos, etc….just not enough diversity period!
8. It’s creepy quiet and dark at night.
7. This may be ATL specific but all the houses look the same…it’s like Stepford!
6. People are at the grocery store on a Saturday night
5. No cool Bars!
4. Too many women in track suits and clothing from Eileen Fisher or Chicos.
3. Trains stop running at 2am-I like knowing that I have a ride home no matter how much I party.
2. Career woman is spoken like a dirty word.
1. Too many people drive minivans-Nobody looks sexy in a minivan, nobody!

Slow Cooker Chili Recipe

This weekend I had a post cinco de Mayo get together and everyone seemed to like my slow cooker chili. I cannot take credit for the recipe because I got it from my friend and former neighbor who is a much better cook that I. I made a few modifications of my own, so here you go:

Ingredients

2 lb ground beef

2 cans of kidney beans

2 cans of diced tomatoes (1 with mild Chile peppers)

½ onion chopped

3 garlic cloves crushed

2 tablespoons chili powder

2 teaspoons of pepper

2 teaspoons of salt

1 cup of pasta sauce (I use barillas marinara with roasted garlic)

Salsa Lizano

Spray oil

Mrs. Dash (any flavor will do)

Preparation:

Spray a large heavy skillet/pot with oil and heat on high heat. Sauté ground beef and onion stirring with a fork to break up clumps. Season beef with Mrs. Dash and salsa lizano (once across the pot will do). When all the pinkness and clumps are gone from the beef, turn off fire and set aside. Plug in slow cooker and set on low. Add beans, tomatoes, garlic, pasta sauce and ground beef. Season with chili powder, salt and pepper. Mix up ingredients really well and let it cook on low for 6 to 7 hours depending on your pot.

Is broke the new black?

It seems that lately spending money on anything or giving the semblance of being able to pay your bills is totally out of vogue. Every newspaper and magazine has articles on counting your pennies and how to discuss the b-word with your spouse, friends and family...and don't get me started on those articles about Freegans! I feel like I have died and went to the 18th century where "a pennie save is a penny earned" is all the rage. I like everyone in America know at least one person who has been affected by the latest downturn; however, I am not prepared to go around complaining about being broke cause its fashionable. All the constant chatter of brokeness makes me nostalgic for the days when everyone bragged about how rich they were on paper.

Furtunately my life hasn't changes much; that is, I pay all my bills at the beginning of the month, try to make a dent in my debt and spend what's left. In my case, by the middle of the month all what is left is gone...no different than in 2007. I am also one of the last people to buy a house before the bubble burst; i know, nobody owns up to that but I will. If we loose our jobs, my parents have assured me that we can have the basement and that is better than money in the bank. So no point booring anyone with my brokeness, in fact I prefer to talk about my highly anticipated 3 weeks of summer vacation which given the destinations (Spain, Turks & Caicos, bermuda, oh my!) will require its own post. Sure it isn't paid for yet, in fact I am financing a portion of it but hey somebody has to step up and pick up the slack for our sagging economy!