I was going to call this post going down Raegans Rabbit Hole but then I decided that could mean too many other things, so I decided to leave it as just getting lost in the rabbit hole.

Merriam Webster defines the “Rabbit Hole” as:

One in which the pursuit of something (such as an answer or solution) leads to other questions, problems, or pursuits.

It’s almost like Merriam lives in my brain.  I am going to just blame this on my MS although I am quite certain that MS isn’t the culprit but that’s my story and I’m sticking to it!

We have a “safety meeting” every morning at our house.  Granted, we don’t talk about anything safety related but since we (the 4 of us who live here) are all retired now, it’s just the morning meet up corner outside on the deck where we chat about whatever we feel like, and it’s usually me that does the chatting.  It’s a great way to start the morning (weather permitting) and this is when I talk about where the rabbit hole took me the night before.

This is how a few of the conversations have gone this week, but you can be assured that there have been HUNDREDS of these conversations over the past 4 years.

Back Story: Since my husband is having his 1935 Chevy Standard restored, he is soaking up every single show on the Velocity Channel which means I am also watching and soaking up every single show on Velocity.  Did I mention EVERY SINGLE EPISODE of EVERY SINGLE SHOW? Anyway, we’ve been watching a lot of the show called “Bitchin Rides” with Dave Kindig (Kindig It Designs), who is extremely talented even to someone as untrained as little ole me.  Dave has a guy named Kevin Schiele who is the shop manager or something like that (ok, maybe I don’t soak up quite as much stuff as my husband does).  Anyway, Kevin and Dave have a cool dynamic, you know, the ones that are usually reserved for family or really good friends (definitely more than an employer / employee relationship) so I set my sights on finding out the real deal with these two. This is pretty close to verbatim:

Me: “I wanted to find out about Dave and Kevin’s relationship.  Don’t you guys wonder about their relationship?”

Everyone: “NO”

Me: “Well, this is what I found out, because I just feel like if all of us would talk to our boss like he sometimes does, we would likely be looking for another job by the end of the day.  Anyway, did you know that they met while attending the car show circuits because Kevin was rebuilding mini trucks at the time and Dave was still working on VW’s? Dave was the regional rep for some company at the time, so he was able to help Kevin get a job there as well after a while which is when they became good friends. Anyway at some point Dave left to branch out on his own and one morning Kevin had been out at Dave’s trying to put something together before he went to work so he ended up being 15 minutes late and they fired poor Kev Dog on the spot.  Can you believe that?  What a crock, I sure bet they are regretting that decision now aren’t they?”   

Everyone: “Hmmmmm”

Me: “When Kevin told Dave that he got fired for being 15 minutes late, Dave just said oh well, we have a lot to do at my shop anyway and Kevin has worked for him ever since – like since 2004. And another funny fact, Kevin was actually born in Wyoming. Wyoming’s not that big, I may have even bumped into him, stranger things have happened you know.  Oh ya, Kevins fiancé is a hairdresser.  That’s kind of a funny job for the fiancé of some famous guy don’t you think?  I mean Kevin says you will never find a more down to earth guy than Dave Kindig and I have to say that I believe him.  He doesn’t drive a Bentley, he doesn’t live in a mansion, he puts all his money into his employees and his shop. Kevin’s fiancé (maybe they are married now, I don’t really know), but she is like best friends with Dave’s wife. Oh ya, did you know Dave’s been married for over 26 years?  And another fun fact is that his family works for him as well?  It’s true, his wife is like his office manager and his daughter does something else in the shop and he has another kid who’s involved somehow too”.

Everyone: “Hmmmmm, you do know we didn’t really want to know right?”

Me: “See how much you’ve learned this morning?

Everyone: “Meeting adjourned”

Another conversation: We’ve been watching American Idol

Me: Did you know that Katy Perry just had a baby with Orlando Bloom?  You know who that is right? I guess her name is really Katheryn Hudson, it was probably too much like Kate Hudson so she wanted to change it. I wonder if she’s able to nurse while filming Idol? You know that she has more Twitter followers than the Biebs. She was the first person to gain 100 million followers on the site in June 2017, I don’t even now 100 people, let alone 100 million, I know that’s hard to believe.  I guess her and Taylor Swift had quite a feud going on, I guess they used to be friends, then they had a falling out and apparently, they are friends again. Do you know what Katy’s net worth is?”

Everyone: “Nope, don’t really care”

Me: “It’s $330 million at 36 years of age. Boy, what I could do with $330 million. And her boy toy Orlando Bloom’s net worth is $ 40 million.  You go girl! But Taylor Swift’s net worth this year was at least $70 Million more than Katy’s and she’s only 31 years old. Pretty incredible, isn’t it? You know, they have both kept their head on their shoulders pretty good.  Well, except when Katy married Russell Brand, he’s a different duck isn’t he? Could be why his net worth is only $20 million.  So, I was just wondering which of the judges has the highest Net worth and turns out it’s Katy.  Luke Bryan’s is $160 million which is still pretty good considering he’s only been on the music scene since 2001.  Don’t you think?  He makes $12 Million just as an American Idol judge.  Bet he’s glad he’ got that to fall back on since Covid is here and live shows haven’t been happening.   You know, he’s on my bucket list to go see.  Well, actually, him Garth Brooks, Blake Shelton and Eric Church.”

Everyone: “Uh huh”

Me: “And Lionel Richie’s net worth is $200 million.  Not bad for an old guy eh? Well, he was married twice but hasn’t been married since 2004.  I wonder if he’s hard to live with?  His first marriage was to his college sweetheart back in 1975, she was arrested though in the late 80’s for some kind of corporal injury to a spouse, battery, vandalism and some other stuff.  I’ve never even heard of corporal injury, have you? And then, I was wondering who made more money off American Idol, Kelly Clarkson or Carrie Underwood.  Which one do you think it is?

Everyone: “Crickets chirping…….”

Me: “It’s Carrie Underwood.  Kelly Clarkson $45 million, Carrie Underwood $200 million.  And I was wondering if any of Carrie Underwood’s net worth comes from her NHL Hockey player husband? But it doesn’t, it’s all her.  I’d say being an American Idol winner is pretty good for your career. It’s going to be interesting what happens to Blake Shelton and Kelly Clarkson’s friendship since Kelly is divorcing her husband who is Blake’s manager.  It looks like quarantining or isolating with her husband was too much for Kelly and she knew she had to pull the plug. Did you know that divorce rates are up by 30% since Covid hit? Well, actually it depends on what site you read.  Some say divorce rates are up and others say divorce rates are down.  We can’t even get a straight answer on this simple question. Remember that advisor on American Idol the other night? Gavin Rossdale?  Did you know that he’s Gwen Stefanie’s ex? They recently were able to get their marriage annulled so Gwen can marry Blake but, I guess they have a pretty good working relationship as far as the kids go, I really like to see that.  They have 3 boys.  I guess Blake is really taking on a role with her kids too which is great to hear.  It takes a village. Kids need a whole team around them to flourish don’t you think?  Hey, speaking of no answers, has anyone heard when the border is going to open? I read that we have to have 75% of people vaccinated before they will open them.  I wonder if that means 75% of people having their first dose or fully vaccinated?   I mean it’s not like it’s really closed anyway, we still have flights coming in from everywhere and you can still drive here if you lie and say your trip is essential”.  

Everyone: “Meeting adjourned”

And that people, is how Raegan’s Rabbit Hole Brain works and it’s exhausting.  Enlightening for everyone, but exhausting for me.  The next time you think about googling swimming suits, the rabbit hole will take you to a site for how to appear 30 lbs slimmer than you really are, which will take you to a page for really cute short hair styles for women over 50 and then you will look up the most flattering shoes to go with the pants you just bought off Zulilly and while you are there, if you are like me, you will remember you need a matching swim suit cover up which will then take you to the show Pool Kings. So, think very hard before embarking on a google journey (or as I say, GDS – Google Dat Shit) and I would suggest that you DON’T do it, unless you have time to follow the rabbit hole of google land, where you are sure to end up.

You’ve been warned.

And now, for an amazing recipe that I threw together last night!  Surely you deserve a reward for sifting through this post!

Cashew Pistachio Cabbage

Cooking in Cowboy Boots

Think of it as an egg roll without the meat - better yet, just think of it as Yummy!

Print Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 12 minutes mins

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Ingredients

  

• 2 Tbsp Cooking oil for high heat I used Avocado Oil
• 1 Small Onion Thinly sliced
• 3 Green Onions Chopped
• 2 Stalks Celery Thinly Sliced
• ½ Cup Shredded Carrots
• 1 Cup Mushrooms Sliced
• 1 Pepper Julienned
• ½ Cup Whole Cashews
• ½ Cup Pistachios
• ¼ Cup White Wine
• ¼ Cup Low Sodium Soy Sauce
• 1-2 Dashes Sesame Oil To taste
• 2 Tsp Garlic Salt
• Salt & Pepper To taste
• 1-2 Lbs Shredded Cabbage I used a mixture of coleslaw mix and a head of cabbage

Instructions

 

• In a large deep skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Stir-fry onion, celery, and carrot for about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms, pepper, cashews & pistachios, and stir-fry another 2-3 minutes. I like my veggies on the crunchier side.
• Add wine, soy sauce, and cabbage. Stir well, cover, and steam until cabbage wilts a bit, about 5 minutes. Stir in sesame oil and garlic powder.
• Continue stirring until cabbage is done to your liking. Season with salt & pepper if desired.
• Serve immediately.