Do you wash your hair, or do you shampoo?

I had a flashback tonight, I was thinking about washing my hair and I  could just hear mother say, “I’m going to shampoo in the morning.”

I would call her on the phone, a lot of times she would say to me, “what’s new, pussycat,” probably due to her ongoing fascination with all things Golden Girl, I would ask her what she was going to do that day, and she would reply that she was going to “shampoo.”  Her signature shampoo was Prell, I can still remember exactly how it smells, and will always associate it with her.

I never say that I’m going to shampoo, I always wash my hair, but it made me smile tonight thinking of her “shampooing” in the kitchen sink, then rolling her hair on those wire rollers from the 60’s, securing them with clips and wrapping a scarf around her head until it dried.  Toto has come a long way from Kansas, simply blowing it dry and using a flat iron, but I remember the days of the curlers, sleeping with them stuck in my hair every single night of my teenage life.  I never got a good night’s sleep with those wire rollers digging into my scalp, but oh the things that teenage girls do for vanity.

What is it with me and all these blasts from the past this week?  First the Tangee, now the rollers.  Good memories, though.  Maybe I’ll get up and “shampoo” in the morning.  Yeah, ma, I think I will…

What is this obsession with trotting out the girls?

  I may be old(er) but I’m a pretty liberal thinker, however, for the life of me I just don’t “get” why all these under 40 something’s have this compulsion to show as much of their cleavage as is humanly possible. 

Over and over again, all these women are showcasing the girls, and it’s not always pretty, ladies.  I think most of the time it just makes them look desperate.  It’s like they have to flash their boobs to get attention.  And I’m not talking a “little” bit of cleavage, I’m talking about just a wisp of fabric away from totally baring it all.  It’s not an uncommon occurrence these days, but I have a hard time wrapping my head around it.

We just didn’t show cleavage back in the day, we made a conscientious effort not to.  Instead we showcased the legs with high heels, a look that I still makes a woman look amazingly feminine. I love really high heels, they can look so classy with the right outfit. Nobody does stilettos better than Sarah Jessica Parker, she always looks spectacular in them.

But now, in this day of “”anything goes,” it’s the more you can show, the better.   And if they happen to not have “more,” they simply buy implants, and then, coupled with push-up bras, they have these silly looking melons sitting on their chest.  I actually think a little “sag” is better than rock hard “melons that stick straight out.”

I see older women with extremely low cut tops, too with their crepey skin and sagging tata’s,  it certainly is “eye catching” to say the least, oh, and let’s not forget the sleeveless dresses.  What’s that all that about, it’s frickin’ freezing outside, and all these women are going around with sleeveless tops.

What happened to the “rules,” you know, like no white before Memorial Day or after Labor Day, or patent leather in the fall, not the summer.  Maybe people were just smarter back in the day, they didn’t wear sleeveless tops in the winter because it was cold, and they didn’t hang the girls out to dry because it was trashy.

Oh, is my age ever showing.  Me, who bemoans the fact that I can no longer wear ripped jeans, which I like to think is a “cute” not “trashy” look.  I just was never into the cleavage thing, and even if I had arms without an ounce of swing, I still wouldn’t wear sleeveless in the winter.  Just isn’t right, and let’s not even get started on tattoo’s, that’s a whole other rant…

Taco Bell - Where's The Beef? What's the big deal..

Okay, so I'm a Taco Bell junkie. My whole family loves it, my boys fondly nicknamed it "The Hell" when they were in college.  I think it was their primary food source during those years.  My mother was a huge fan in the day, we still laugh about how she used to go to Taco Bell for the senior special, a hard shell taco and a coke for not a lot of cash.  And so what if it isn't 100% pure ground beef, they're a reputable company, if they add soy, it's less calories, and it tastes good, works for me.

All the hoopla reminds me of my very favorite commercial of all time - Clara Peller in Wendy's "Where's The Beef."

Give it a watch, I bet you will love seeing it again, too. The woman was a treasure!

A Dog's Welcome home...

Oh, do I have a big smile for you this evening. For all of those who have been loved by a dog, you will so totally get this. A big thanks to my buddy, Gowdy, for posting this on her FB wall. This is exactly what the M&M's do when I come home. Is it no wonder I love them??

Tangee Original Lipstick and Rouge, talk about a blast from the past!!!!

Look what I found at The Vermont Country Store!  Oh, Tangee, you seductive orange devil you.  I wore you as a teenager, your color was bright, your taste was unforgettable.

Okay, so it made my teeth look yellow, orange lipstick always does, but I bet a lot of you are taking your own trips down memory lane right now...

Why am I ALWAYS hungrier than usual this time of the year...

When I remember past Valentine's Days, all my recollections are of being on a diet.  I think I have been dieting every February for the past 40+ years!  

I think this obsession with what I'm not eating is a seasonal thing, Oh sure, dieting is never fun, but I never struggle with eating healthy like I do this time of the year. I'm restless, I walk the floor, I have coffee, I make tea, I eat yogurt, nothing satisfies me, I think it's boredom, plain and simple.  I was so desperate yesterday I bundled up and went for a long ride on Milly.  Hubby put her winter cover on, but even covered, a golf cart is not warm ride on a sunless raw January day with temps in the 20's.

We're supposed to have a "thaw" this weekend, followed by more snow next week.  I just don't know when I've had a worse winter than this one.  I think if the sun would shine, my mood would be so much better.  And so on I go, struggling against the demons that want me to make Mother's recipe for  old fashioned raisin pie, or a batch of gooey chocolate chip cookies studded with pecans, or warm apple pie with a wedge of sharp cheddar, and I wonder how long it will be before I cave.  It's just a matter of time...

But you know what, this Valentine's Day, I'm going to enjoy my day.  I'm going to eat and drink and be totally merry and refuse to feel guilt-ridden.  I'll update you on the 15th to let you know what treats I indulged in. I think I will spend some time just planning the menu.  Maybe that will give me a new focus, ya think?

It's time for my annual post about the orange peeler...

This is for the new kids on the block who haven't read my blog until lately.  Every year I blog about Tupperware's nifty orange peeler.  My buddy, Nish told me about this a few years ago, and it's the greatest little gadget.  You all know I'm the Gadget Queen, if it makes life simple in the kitchen, I'm all over it.  This won't break the bank, it's totally inexpensive.

You can always find them on eBay, here is a link to what they are currently offering.   They are often sold in packages, give them to your friends, they will love them!

 

And since I'm on a roll here, I might as well throw in the grapefruit knife.  This thing is awesome, too!  It has a curved handle to go around the edges, double blades to cut the sections.  These little tools just make life a bit simpler.

Bet you can't wait to see what I come up with for strawberry season, huh?  Yeah, I just bet you can't... ;o)

Cyndi’s Catalog of Garden Catalogs

It’s a typical winter day in Heavensville.  Snow on the ground, grey skies, the temperature below freezing, and here I sit, dreaming of springtime.  I’m tucked in by the fire with a cup of coffee, dogs by my side, ordering gardening catalogs.

Is it really still January?  Two more months until the greening even begins?  Jan, quit yer b*tchin’ and get on with it!!!  Egads, wishing away the winter months is a silly thing to do.

Anyhoo, I found this really comprehensive list from a lady named Cyndi, who must have had a lot of time on her hands ;o)  If you’re so inclined, browse her site, link to the catalogs that interest you and order up a batch.  She did a great job getting this all together.

And my personal favorites?  The first is Shepherd’s Seed Catalog, I ordered from them back in the 80’s when I tried, unsuccessfully I might add, to grow some heirloom veggies from seed.  These days I just look for the Heirloom tags on the plants at my produce stand, much easier.  Renee Shepherd is a fascinating woman, I’m always impressed with women who work with their hands and are passionate about what they do.

My other favorite is The Cooks Garden.  It’s a wonderful site, I think you will enjoy it a lot. 

Here’s Cindi’s site and her complete list of all of the online catalogs, if you like to garden, you will enjoy this, pinkie swear you will.

~ jan

5 tips for using for aluminum foil

Carlene sent me this earlier today, it's totally fascinating. Okay, fascinating is a bit much, but I'm so bored, this gawdawful winter is driving me to be interested in some really strange things, like this...

The only problem is after I watch it I can't remember what I saw. Which gives further meaning to one of my favorite sayings, "of everything I've lost, I miss my brain the most."

When your husband retires, learning the dance...

My friend, Mary, told me before LC retired that it's like learning to dance when they're suddenly home all the time, you have to learn the steps.  I've thought about this so often, it was good advice that Mary gave me.  It's been almost three months now, and I can safely say that we've learned to jitterbug, but we're a long way from the waltz.

Several of my girlfriends are watching what's going on with us, as their husbands will be retiring soon, as well.  But there really is no comparison, since all men are definitely not created equal.  I'm one of the lucky ones, LC is self-sufficient, thinks nothing of not only throwing in a load of laundry, but drying it, folding it and putting it away, as well.  He keeps my dishwasher emptied for me, he's cleaned closets and rearranged drawers, and you're all probably thinking, wow, she's really lucky, I wish my husband would do that.

Well.....  I am extremely lucky that he does all of this for me, but you have to remember, that all of a sudden you're sharing your territory, 24/7 with someone who doesn't do things like you do.  Not only does he do all of these things, he does them much better than I ever dreamed of doing.  I'm a butterfly, I flit thru life, getting easily bored, hopping from one project to the next, skimming everything, and he is painstaking thorough and a perfectionist.  So everything he does, shows my inadequacies.  I had quite a problem with it at first, but I've come to realize that he does it to help me, he's not doing it because I don't do things well enough, and so I'm relaxing with all of it.  And he's adjusting as well, he didn't say a word about me washing sheets at 7pm last night, when he would have much preferred me doing it at 7am yesterday morning.

We're developing a routine, often he makes breakfast, we each work side by side making our own lunch, simple lunches like soup and salads, then I make dinner.  Cooking is the one area that he defers to me.  He's always liked the way I cook, so other than manning the grill, he stays out of the way in the kitchen.  With both of us working together, daily chores are finished quickly and the house has never looked better.  He's enjoying having his own schedule, and says he's so busy he doesn't know how he had time to work.  I enjoy the fact that we can visit the kids whenever we want, and now that he's not working weekends and can have date night again on Friday night.  I'm a huge fan of date nights, Friday night is my favorite time of the week.  He spends time in his den, I spend time in the sunroom, so we're not on top of each other, that has probably saved both our sanities.

And so we're dancing, finding our rhythm, enjoying the process.  Life is good, this retirement thing might just be okay...

Another daily giggle...

Your daily giggle...

Jack LaLanne's passing made me realize I've been on a diet my entire life...

When I read this morning about Jack LaLanne dying at the age of ninety-six, I had a few flashbacks to my teenage years.  I can remember exercising in front of my black and white television, watching him do those dreaded jumping jacks, I also remember that I hated to exercise, even as a teenager.

And furthermore, I've been on some kind of wackadoo diet my entire life!  This is all due to my corn fed upbringing.  I know now that Mother's great food, biscuits, cornbread, noodles, cookies cakes and pies were the root of all evil.  I never had a serious weight issue, and I didn't have the bone structure to be thin and svelte, but my life would have certainly been different if I was as educated about food then, as I am now.  

And of course when LC and I married, I cooked like my mother did.  We fried everything, bought Criso oil by the gallons.  Oh, how times have changed.  I fry nothing, now, the vegetable oil just sits on a shelf and goes rancid, I use olive oil for almost everything.  And is it worth it, giving up all the wonderful food just to stay healthy and try and keep the weight gain to a dull roar?  Heck no, it isn't!  That Jack LaLanne existed his whole life on those damn juices and raw veggies and exercised until the bitter end.

Sure, he was still muscular, but it was old skin hanging on those muscles. You can only do so much.  I know, I know, he lived to be ninety-six eating like a rabbit.  It said in the paper that he died, with his family around him, watching football.  Watching football???  That's just not right.  Wonder if they were all munching on celery sticks and slurping green juice.  Oh, bad girl, Jan, bad girl, bad girl!!!

Jan's finds of the week....

I think it's time for something new on The Dish, every Sunday, new finds for all of you.  If anybody has anything they would like to share,  please let me know.  My friend Barb told me this week about a site called 1 Sale a Day, Daily Deal everything on the cheap.  Just click on the categories in the left side of the page - wireless, watches, family, jewelry - everything is drastically reduced.  She was watching Nate Berkus and he was talking about it.

My new food find of the week is Yoplait Boston Cream Pie, now with an added 20 daily value of calcium and vitamin D.  This flavor has been around for awhile, I just never got onboard with it until recently and it's yummy!   You just can't beat Yoplait Yogurts, and the flavors just keep getting better. These days yogurt tastes more like pudding than yogurt, the sour taste is gone, it's just wonderful.

I have it with a cup of Gloria Jean's Butter Toffee coffee in the afternoon and I'm satisfied for hours.

Yoplait Parfait Delights are my very favorites, but this Boston Cream Pie is a nice change.