Bea Arthur died today….

Was she really eighty-six years old? Time stands still with Golden Girl reruns, I still think of her as as the bossy, opinionated, vibrant Maude, she was so good in that role.

Mother was such a fan of Golden Girls, I would call her on the phone, and she would often say to me, “What’s new, pussycat?”  She loved to parody Estelle Geddy.

My favorite part of the show was the clothes.  Those ladies really dressed, they were always perfectly coordinated in bright colors, and oh my, did they wear shoulder pads.  And who didn’t love Betty White, and Rue McClanahan was such a hoot.  It was a wonderful show, but not my favorite.

My show has always been  Designing Women.  It ranks right up there with Lucy and Andy.  I adore southern women, I always have, and Dixie Carter in her day was an amazing lady.

It’s sad that we don’t have shows like this anymore.  They were so much fun.  One of my faves was the Elvis episode, if you have time for a peek, it’s a goodie, ladies… Enjoy…

 

 

munchiebusiness.com has a brand new look…

I did take time to build a new look for my webpage yesterday.  Easter is gone, my rabbits needed to hop away, so this is what I came up.  It’s not my normal look, but I think I like it, I really, really like it…

 

Chores…

I’m the world’s worst at putting things off, or as I so aptly put it, “Scarlett will do it tomorrow…” And since I don’t “work,” it’s even easier to postpone to tomorrow what I should do today.

It’s so easy to bury myself in a computer, and be totally oblivious  to everything around me, but sometimes, you just have to do what you have to do.

My closet beckoned me, it was time to change from winter to spring.  My refrigerator looked like tornado passed thru it, the laundry bins were filling up, you get the drift here.

And so, I sadly got up from this stupid machine and did manual labor.   Do I have that sense of fulfillment people talk about when I’m finished?  Heck, no!  I’m fifty-nine years old, do you have any idea how many times in my life I’ve changed out my closets, and done loads of laundry?  How many times I’ve cleaned that darned fridge?  You know, you’re all here with me.  Some of my friends find housework  rewarding, Veronica Jeanne to be exact, she finds cleaning fulfilling and atually enjoys it.   But me, I do it resentfully, all the while longing for rides on Milly, or typing blog entries, or building a new slideshow for this page,  or playing with the fur kidz.

I’m weary of what needs to be done, and long to do exactly what I want to do.  But, unless I want my little world to go to hell in a hand basket, I have to do chores.  So that’ what I’ve been doing this week, chores…..

Spring has arrived in Heavensville…

Henny, just what every girl needs, another geegaw…

Secret dreams…

My mother has been gone for three years now.  I don’t have a lot of regrets about the past, but there are a few, things that have been on my mind lately, and last night as I was watching Dancing With the Stars, and remembering how much she enjoyed ballroom dancing, that little nagging voice in my head was asking me….

Why didn’t I ask her more about her dreams?  What did she enjoy about her childhood the most, who was her first love, what did she always want to do with her life when she was a young woman?  Did she envision herself as a dancer twirling around the floor as she watched those programs? It’s those questions that I have regrets about.  Why didn’t I ask?  Mother was a private person, she didn’t talk much about her life, but why didn’t I probe her a bit, to find out her stories? Maybe it wasn’t as important to me as I was younger, and now that I want to know, it’s too late.

Mother’s Day is approaching, if you still have your mother, take the time to spend a day with her, walk in the sunshine, encourage her to talk about the secret dreams in her life.  We all have them, and even if they aren’t important to you now, someday they will be, trust me.

I’m much more open than my mother, I talk about my past.  My family knows that I always aspired to be a lawyer as a young girl, in later life, as ridiculously silly as it sounds, I would have loved being a P.I., probably from watching too much Perry Mason as a child.  I always wanted to dance, not ballroom, but tap and jazz, I always wanted that horse I didn’t get. 

I’ve always dreamed of living on the water, with a sailboat nearby to take for daily jaunts.  I wanted the gifts of music and art, the natural talented that is rooted deep in your soul. I wanted siblings, and more contact with my cousins.  But these things were not to be, and I’m grateful for what I do have in my life, a wonderful family, great friends, the country life, my sweet little dogs, but we all have secret dreams, maybe this post will make you remember some of yours.

~ jan

Bonnie Hunt’s reaction to Susan Boyle…

You tell em’ Bonnie!  This is one celebrity that has her head on straight.  Bonnie you’re awesome!!!

Guess who went to Rural King today…

Octomom on Radaronline. This is better than any reality show ever made…

Has there ever been a good reality show, really??? And I’ll be the first to admit that I was hooked on Denise Richard’s lame attempt at one  last season, and it was total garbage.  Most of them just bore me…

But now, Octomom is having regular updates on RadarOnline, and I’m totally hooked.  It beats any reality show I’ve seen.  Yesterday, they had all of those petite bebes in strollers, and they were just precious. 

Today she’s riding in a race car thingie with one of her other  children after explaining how she never worked in a gentlemen’s club, but admitting to entering a lingerie contest in a bar, which she won.

It’s really entertaining, or I’ve totally lost it, or probably both…

Here’s the link, if any of you want to catch the latest installment… 

And here’s the link for those sweet little bebes…

Shhhh, it will be our little secret, I won’t tell anyone you watched it.  Pinkie swear…

Is the cow in my header just fat or is she pregnant?

Every time I pull up this page my eyes go right to the cow’s belly.  Boy, is it sticking out there.  Are there any bovine knowledgeable people out there that can tell me if she is indeed with child calf, or has she just been scarfing down the hay…

Why can’t i remember to take my camera????

My poor, sick camera, with the broken door, that I have to hold together with a rubber band?  Actually, it’s not as bad as it sounds, the camera works fine, if I can remember to take it with me.

The girls and I were on Milly, they were playing in a field, the wild mustard was in bloom, the sun was at my back, it would have made a great picture.  surprise, no camera!  And now the clouds have rolled in, so I can’t recreate the photo op….

Oh , wouldn’t it be wonderful to have an organized mind.   Some people just have it together.  They remember where they put things, they don’t have to search for their car keys, their cell phone is always within their reach, their checkbook is always balanced, their appointments are always scheduled months in advance.

I don’t envy much, but I do envy people who have it together.  I will, too, in my next lifetime…

Now where did I put that damned camera???

Snoozin’ their day away…..

Now I’m taking pictures of what I eat….

All of these things I’m doing are my newest approach at healthy eating and staying on track. I’ll be posting pictures of my meals on my Eating Right Blog, at least the ones that are worth a picture. :0)

There will be a random slideshow of these in the right sidebar, you can click on the picture and it will take you to Picasa Web Albums and you can get more details.

Only a few pictures, so far, I just started doing this. But it’s not a bad idea, be kind, some of my food will not be exactly gourmet.

Here's the quick link...

Want a peek into Octomom’s life?

I find it absolutely fascinating, and either she’s a really good actress or she’s doing a really good job with her family.  As RadarOnline says, you be the judge.

I’m also totally amazed at how good she looks.  Her body is tiny.  How did she do that?  Duh, she doesn’t eat much, obviously.

And what do I think?  I do believe I’m in awe of the woman.  She seems to be a sweet and gentle soul, she really does…

Here’s the link to the video…

Are we really better off following the women’s movement…

Gloria Steinem is turning seventy-five .  She was a forerunner in the women’s movement, a feminist I never really got onboard with.

And as I look back at our lives following the sixties and the seventies, are we really better off, are we really?  If we are, at what expense?  Our children perhaps, whose lives are left to day care providers because the majority of their mothers work?  I’ve often heard working women talk of taking their children to daycare on their days off so they can have time to catch up on work, or have time to themselves.  I cringe every single time I hear a woman say this.  Like their children are a hindrance, they would rather shuffle them to the sitter than spend time with them.  I’ve also heard women say that their children get on their nerves and they could never stay home with them.  That’s a horrible way to feel.  I feel sorry for them, but more so for their families.  It’s sad what they miss, and what they can never recapture because they aren’t there for their children.

Are marriages better since the women’s movement?  Oh no, women won’t put up with the crap men hand them these days, they divorce them and move on,  most of them with children, where they try to have a single life and be mom, and who loses in this scenario, the children, of course.  It’s good that they do stand up to the men, of course I agree with that, but if they made better life choices in the first place they wouldn’t be dealing with the problems they have with the men they chose to marry.

I was there when they burned the bras, I was a young woman during the women’s movement, I lived it. Of course I think it would be great if we could really be equal.  But it can’t, and we  never will.  Women, in my opinion, have absolutely no business working in heavy industrial jobs.  They don’t have the muscle, the stamina that men do to do these jobs.  But they try, they are out there in their hard hats, trying to keep up as best they can, trying to show that they can do the same work as the men to earn that equal pay.   And women in law enforcement, and fighting in the military, don’t even get me started on that.   Oh, I sound hopelessly old-fashioned, don’t I?  You all know that I’m a  pretty liberal thinker, but I’m an old(er) woman now, I see life differently than I did even a few years ago.

And when these women’s day  jobs are finished and they return home, their men will “help”  and occasionally a man will really step up to the plate and do his share, but from what I’ve observed it’s the exception, not the rule.  The woman is the one who is responsible for most of the housework and raising the children.  I’m sure a lot of younger women would argue with me, but if they take off the rose colored glasses and really look at their lives, I imagine a lot of them are the ones that are doing the majority of the work at home, as well as working a full-time job.

Are women more fulfilled because they are working outside the home?  Is it really that important to have a bigger house, a better car, better clothes?  That’s not what is important, it’s the family unit that matters, but society has evolved to the point that the woman must work to maintain that lifestyle.  Also,  this generation doesn’t know any better, it’s what they are conditioned to do, and it’s normal to them, but it isn’t really normal and are all these “things” that important, are they really?

Children are exposed so much at an early age, there is no innocence.  It’s an immoral world that these little souls are being raised in.  Is it worth it, what this generation is doing to their children, is it really?

Home, it’s a beautiful thing….

I’m really lucky that my boys both live in such interesting cities.  John in Franklin, Tennessee, and Ryan in Versailles, Kentucky.  When we visit I’m always impressed by the trendy shops, the perfectly manicured beautiful home, the plethora of wonderful restaurants.  I feel like I’m on holiday every time we visit both cities.

My guys have long outgrown Heavensville.  They jokingly laugh about how hokey it is when they visit, and I understand what they mean.  It’s an old river city, we aren’t as trendy as where they live, we don’t have the awesome grocery stores, the upscale strip malls, or the selection of restaurants, but it’s home….

As we arrived back in town today, it was wonderful seeing the old brick buildings, the familiar landscape, and peeking at the river as we passed by.  Heavensville is a wonderful city to live in.  It has what I need, I feel safe when I’m out alone, and if I want more I can always visit the family!  It was so much fun visiting John, but it’s so good to be back in Heavensville…

Happy Birthday Maggie Moo!!!!

 

Sleeping with the window open…

Is there anything better in the spring of the year than sleeping with your bedroom window open.

We’re visiting John in Nashville, and our bedroom is always hot.  It was raining last night, hubby cracked the window for me and it was absolutely blissful.  The cool breeze, the fresh air, the gentle rain, and then awakening this morning to singing birds.  It doesn’t get better than this….

Do I have a great site for you all to see…

This picture brings back memories of my  country childhood.  It really was a time when mothers wore aprons, little boys wore bib overalls, pies were freshly baked for dad coming home from the field and dogs ran free in the country, protecting the property. This picture is so similar to the way I remember my childhood in the 50’s.

I found this great picture on a blogsite I’ve recently found.  I link to it in my sidebar, but in case some of you haven’t seen it and are feeling a bit nostalgic, it’s one of the best sites I’ve ever found online.  The name of it is Sugar Pie Farmhouse, and it has the most wonderful vintage graphics, scenes that depict the simple life, the way it used to be, when life was wholesome, and mother’s could stay home and raise their children, and the dogs could run free.  Was it a better life?  Now that I’m older and see the way the world is today, in my opinion, it definitely was.

I’m just a bit nostalgic this Easter evening. The family is gone, the house is quiet now, and I’m looking forward to spring planting.  Maybe I’ll bake hubby a pie,and I'll dream of a little child to share it with, and of course there are my sweet dogs to brighten my days.  I have a lot to look forward to this spring, life is good in Heavensville this Easter…

And the link to Sugar Pie Farmhouse is here, you simply have to check this out, it’s a visual delight… Pinkie swear…

 

Deviled Eggs….

These deviled eggs are just the cutest thing I’ve seen in a long time.  They don’t look hard to make at all, either.

Carlene sent me the link from Savoring Time in The Kitchen.

Cut a slice out of the bottom of the egg so they stand up, then another slice down a bit from the top, scoop out the yolks, overfill them when you put  the yolk/mayo mixture back in, slice olives for the eyes, and carrots for the webbed feet.  Pretty cute, huh?

Here’s the click if you want to check them out further.

Savoring Time in the Kitchen is a great read!

Auntie Em’s Cupcakes, worthy of Jan’s Hall of Fame….

OMG, MAKE THESE!!!!!  They are absolutely, fantastically delicious.  It’s the combination of the vanilla and the almond that makes them so special, the oil makes them moist. We heaped coconut on the frosting, they are decadent!!!  Seriously, one of the best recipes, ever!  Trust me, you’ll love these.

We also made Carrot Cake Cupcakes from Simply Elise.  They aren’t frosted yet. They are filled with cinnamon, cardamon and orange zest.

You can find the carrot cake recipe here.

I’ll post pictures later….

Just for fun I called Auntie Em’s in LA, the cupcakes sell for $3.50 apiece, the recipe made 22, that’s $77 dollars worth of cupcakes we have sitting in our kitchen.  Amazing, huh…

The lyrics to the Easter Parade, just in case you want to hum along…

Never saw you look quite so pretty before
Never saw you dress quite so handsome - what's more

I could hardly wait to keep our date
This lovely Easter morning
And my heart beat fast as I came through the door
For...

In your Easter bonnet, with all the frills upon it
You'll be the grandest fella in the Easter parade.
I'll be all in clover, and when they look us over
We'll be the proudest couple in the Easter parade.

On the avenue, Fifth Avenue,
The photographers will snap us
And you'll find that you're in the rotogravure.
Oh, I could write a sonnet, about your Easter bonnet
And of the guy I'm taking to the Easter Parade.

On the avenue, Fifth Avenue,
The photographers will snap us
And you'll find that you're in the rotogravure.

Oh, I could write a sonnet
About your Easter bonnet
And of the girl I'm taking to the Easter Parade.

Auntie Em’s Cupcakes

Lindsay and I are going to make these tomorrow.  Auntie Em’s Kitchen is a popular restaurant/bakery in Los Angeles, I got their cupcake recipe from the LA Food Times.

You might want to check out the recipe for them, it’s archived in Jan Can Cook.  We’re doing half with coconut, half with sprinkles, I’ll update you on how they turn out…

Here’s the quick click to the recipe -

My annual Easter story, aka how I got personally escorted out of the market by the store manager

I’ve blogged about this before, so if you’re an oldtimer, just skim past it.  This is for all the new kids on the block that read my blog and haven’t heard this.

Some of you may not realize that I’m a double amputee, following a bout with meningitis when I was forty-four, and you also may not realize that I have a healthy sense of humor about the whole thing.  Oh my, there are a million stories in the naked city, this is one…

The year was 1995, I was slowly getting my life back and determined to prove to myself that I was “normal” which of course I wasn’t, but I wasn’t ready to admit that quite yet.  The boys were in college, coming home for spring break and I decided to go to the grocery store alone, my first mistake.

I was going to make them sloppy joes for lunch, and being really cocky, I decided that I didn’t need a cart, I could just carry the burger and the buns.  I didn’t have a good sense of balance yet, and I staggered when I walked, but I didn’t need a cart, of course not, sure I didn’t.

So I get a package of buns, trudge on to the meat counter where I pick up the burger, but I decided that I didn’t really want to make them from scratch, so I also picked up a can of Manwich.  Oh, I needed a 2 liter container of soda, I forgot the soda.  So I’m staggering thru the store with all of this in my arms, trying to decide if I could also carry a bag of chips, and by this time I’m starting to get really fatigued, as my energy level wasn’t good yet.

So I’m carrying all of this stuff in my arms, bobbing and weaving and it starts to slip thru my arms.  I know I’m in trouble, I’m trying to keep my balance, and I totally lose it and crash into a display of jelly beans. 

The store had made this huge pyramid of jelly beans, they had repackaged bulk jellies into deli containers, and it was high to the sky on a table.

Well, I fell into the damned thing,  and those containers spilled to the ground, and literally thousands of jelly beans poured out of them onto the floor….

OMG, I was horrified.  There were jelly beans everywhere!  The clerks all came running, with the most gawdawful expressions on their faces, so I quickly went into my poor pitiful pearl routine about how I didn’t have any feet, and I was so sorry and I would pay for all those jelly beans.  Heaven forbid they think I was a drunk with all that weaving going on…

The store manager came up, I was trying to explain to him what happened, while he was hurriedly trying to get me thru the checkout lane. He just wanted me gone!  We cut in front of the other customers, I paid for my groceries (no, he didn’t make me pay for the jelly beans) and then he  escorted me out to and put me in my car!  I remember sitting  in that parking lot, laughing hysterically and  thinking that if I ever got home, I would never go anywhere again in my entire life.

Of course I did, but I must admit it was a couple of years before I had the courage to go back into that market…

And that’s my annual Easter story, I hope it gave you all a smile today….

What a great way to start your day…

Carlene sent me this story. It just made my morning, I bet it will yours, too.

A mom was concerned about her kindergarten son walking to school. He didn't want his mother to walk with him. She wanted to give him the feeling that he had some independence but yet know that he was safe.

So she had an idea of how to handle it. She asked a neighbor if she would please follow him to school in the mornings, staying at a distance, so he probably wouldn't notice her.

She said that since she was up early with her toddler anyway, it would be a good way for them to get some exercise as well, so she agreed.

The next school day, the neighbor and her little girl set out following behind Timmy as he walked to school with another neighbor girl he knew. She did this for the whole week.

As the two walked and chatted, kicking stones and twigs, Timmy's little friend noticed the same lady was following them as she seemed to do every day all week. Finally she said to Timmy, 'Have you noticed that lady following us to school all week?

Do you know her?'

Timmy nonchalantly replied, 'Yeah, I know who she is.'

The little girl said, 'Well, who is she?'

'That's just Shirley Goodnest,' Timmy replied, 'and her daughter Marcy.'

'Shirley Goodnest? Who the heck is she and why is she following us?"

'Well,' Timmy explained, 'every night my Mom makes me say the 23rd Psalm with my prayers, 'cuz she worries about me so much. And in the Psalm, it says, 'Shirley Goodnest and Marcy shall follow me all the days of my life', so I guess I'll just have to get used to it!'

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face to shine upon you, and be gracious unto you; the Lord lift His countenance upon you,and give you peace.

May Shirley Goodnest and Marcy be with you today and always.

I know you smiled!

I sure did, Pass this on and brighten someone's day!

Eating out, what a BUST!!!!

Why is it that if you go to lunch with a man, you pick the restaurant and if the food is bad it’s the end of the world, but, if they pick the restaurant and the food is bad, they won’t admit it for anything…..

I’m eating healthy so we went to Salad World for lunch.  Some guy at work told hubby that they had the best salad in town, so he wanted to try it.

BEST SALAD IN TOWN, OMG, OMG, it was absolutely, positively HORRID!!!

No atmosphere, no comfy booths, a stupid little overpriced menu, the salads all had a badzillion calories in them, so I opted for a plain baked potato with steamed veggies on top.  He got a philly cheesesteak, he didn’t even order a salad!

They had vegetarian chili on the menu, so I asked the waitress, some poor  woman on the wrong side of sixty who, I’m sure, would much rather be home with her feet up on an ottoman watching As The World Turns instead of taking our order, if it was healthy.  She said she didn’t know, it came from a container from GFS (wholesale food distributer).  Egads, why did she tell me that?  Total turn off before we even ordered.  

But order we did, then waited forever for our food and our waitress finally came back to our table and said they had screwed up my potato and put cheese all over it, and they had to “microwave” me another one.  Arughhhhh, why did she have to confirm what I already knew, that the potato was microwaved…  

Hubby declared that his cheesesteak was good.  It looked awful, on an icky dry roll, no grilled onions or peppers, just some shredded beef with a squirt of cheese on that sad looking bun.  And mine, well, it was a microwaved poato with steamed veggies on top.  *sigh*

I had iced tea, he had water – it was  almost $20 for lunch, and it was awful!  But he said didn’t think it was bad.  HE DIDN’T THINK IT WAS BAD???????  FOR TWENTY DOLLARS???? 

We shopped all day, and tonight I had to run back to yet another store, so he said “we’ll just get something out.”  Okay, great, I was tired and didn’t really want to cook, but there isn’t a lot of restaurants to choose from close to our house that aren’t totally calorie laden,  but we do have Long John Silvers, which I’m not a fan of, but they have 350 calorie meals now.   That worked, it was quick, and I ordered the tilipia with rice and steamed veggies.  It sounded good and looked great in the picture on the menu board.  They brought our order and sat it on our table, hubby had this HUGE pile of food on his plate,I looked down at mine and there was a tablespoon of veggies, maybe a couple of tablespoons of rice and a sad little piece of fish.  Apparently you don’t get much for 350 calories.  I looked at his and I’m thinking if mine is grilled and 350 calories, and his is fried and is a huge amount of food, he must have 3500 calories in his dinner!  No wonder America is a fat nation, it’s those damned restaurants! 

So I came home, made myself a bowl of fresh strawberries, topped with a cup of vanilla fat free yogurt, and you know what?  It was the best thing I ate all day. 

Cupcakes with coconut and jelly beans...

I’ll bet your mom made these for you when you were a little kid, too!

I was talking about these cupcakes with my buddy V today.   Mother made them for me when I was a little girl 50+ years ago.  She would tint the coconut, make a little nest and fill the nest with jelly beans.  I would help her in the kitchen, and be so excited, because it was such a special occasion.  We always tinted our grass green, and the cupcakes were always homemade.

I carried the tradition on with my own boys, and when I asked Ryan today if he would like to have them again, he said, “No, I hate coconut!”  So much for that memory…  But I have to admit, I never really liked the jelly beans on them  either.  V suggested putting a Peep on top,  no surprise there, the woman has been obsessed with Peeps for years!  I think yours truly would much rather nest some miniature Cadbury eggs in the coconut.  Oh, I do love those eggs!  Especially the caramel ones….

Mother also had a lamb cake mold similar to this that she bought when I was a baby.  Money was scarce when I was little, so I’m sure buying this mold was an extravagance.  She was always so proud of it, and she would bake buttermilk cakes, with me standing on a chair while she unmolded it.  Then she would frost it with buttercream frosting , carefully cementing the two halves with icing, and when I was old enough, I got to cover it with freshly grated  coconut.

I still have the mold, but sometimes I worry that my family won’t know the old stories, and when I’m gone things will just be tossed, because they don’t realize the connection and how important they were to me.

I’ll make lamb cakes for my own grandchildren, that’s what I’ll do, and the tradition will continue.  Good memories….

Our 3 Little Amigos, BFF’S, London, Mollie and Maggie…

London is my friend, Trish's, Yorkie. She's the little half-pint on the left, all three pounds of her. Next is my Molasses Maybelline, and that's my Maggie Moo on the right. Oh yeah, they are just as cute as they look in these pictures. You have no idea how much fun we have with these little fur kidz!

Your daily dose of cuteness, today it’s a video…

 

source:  john4kc/flickr

Crazy Over Daisy….

This is absolutely, positively adorable.  Just the kind of thing we all need to remind us of how simple and fun life really can be.  Too cute for words!

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Eating Right has a brand new look….

Healthy food, recipes from my favorite sites, YummyTweet, The Cream of the Crop blogs, as well as a lot of archived recipes.

Give it a look, I’ll be updating it often, and if you scroll down in the right sidebar you will see an area to subscribe, so that you won’t miss updates.

You can always access Eating Right from Jans Daily Dish Index, but here’s a quick click for you today…

Looking ahead to Easter…

  The family is going to be home, I’m thinking a brunch, definitely going to be making Seana’s Lemon Pancakes with Raspberry Butter for the girls, malted Belgian waffles for the guys, some kind of breakfast casserole, fresh strawberries and pineapple, juices, coffee…  If anybody has other ideas, I would love to hear about them.  Or tell me your own thoughts for your Easter meal.  Just leave a comment, we would all enjoy the input.

The country smells of my childhood….

My world is full of memories for me today.  Freshly mown grass, clean, fresh air, and later this afternoon, burning leaves.  You never smell leaves burning anymore, but someone nearby was burning today and oh, it was wonderful!  One whiff and in my mind I was a little girl again, running  and playing in the fields of my childhood.

The renewal spring brings, hopes, dreams and plans.  It’s been this way forever, and I feel so lucky that I still get to experience all this.  The daffodils and the tulips, the baby animals, even Mr. Squirrel, shinnying up my bird feeder, to rob the redbirds of their food, made me smile.  It’s been a perfect spring day, and I took time to be thankful for what I have.  Peace, tranquility, sunshine, nature, my dogs by my side enjoying the sun.  It doesn’t get better than this…

How many times have I said to you all, it’s those simple things….

Yogurt, toilet paper, and sinus meds, random thoughts on a cloudy day…

Now that’s quite a combination, isn’t it? Let’s start with yogurt. I’ve had a love/hate affair with yogurt for years. I vow to eat healthy, buy it, it sits on the shelf far beyond expiration date, hubby throws it out and the cycle starts all over again. This has been going on for, oh, decades now. I really don’t like yogurt that much, and I didn’t realize why. I now know it was all of those artifical ingredients and flavors. I’ve discovered Stonyfield Farms Plain Yogurt in the past year, and I’m hooked. I add fresh fruit to it, strawberries, blueberries, pineapple, or if I don’t have fresh fruit I add applesauce. Then I add Splenda, and it’s wonderful. I’m even getting hubby to eat it. I must confess that I originally bought it for the M&M’s, and since they are spoiled little pooches, I bought them the good stuff instead of the lesser brands, so we all eat it now. We can’t get greek yogurt at our local grocers, but if you have access to it in your town, oh my, it’s thick, satiny smooth and absolutely to die for. I used to have a yogurt maker years ago, I only used it when fresh fruit was in season, I never added anything to it, just cooked it with milk, ate it with fresh picked blackberries and I remember really liking it. Now why didn’t I try plain from the store? Who knows, I guess it took my dogs to show me the way.

Now on to the sinus meds. I have horrid sinus problems, and wake up frequently with my infamous tri-state boomer headaches. So many of my friends suffer with sinus problems as well, and so does poor Dilly. Nisha had told me before that she takes Mucinex (plain Mucinex in the purple box) every single night and she never wakes up with a sinus headache. I meant to try it, kept forgetting, but a few days ago I was in Walgreens with a rockin’ headache, and I bought a box of it. I’ve taken it faithfully for four nights now, our weather has just been horrid, rain, fronts coming thru, and I’m waking up headache free. I feel pressure some mornings, but no headache. Amazing, huh? I found an article online about sinus and Mucinex, here’s the site if you want to read about it.

An finally toilette paper. The soft kind. It’s eluded me for years, and I’ve tried every brand that promises to be kind to your tushy. Well those companies lie, I never think it’s pillowy soft, I even Googled it, and Yahoo answers say Charmin Ultra and Cottonelle. Of course I’ve used both and don’t think either are that soft. So when I saw a commercial for Quilted Northern Ultra Plush, I picked it up in the grocery store. It’s pretty soft, I must admit. It has 3-layers with Plush Quilts. And heaven knows, we all need Plush Quilts… Here’s a click for a downloadable coupon if you want to give it a try.

And that’s it from Heavensville this Friday, random thoughts from cluttered mind…

Vin Diesel…

I saw this clip on GMA this morning.  I was never a fan of the guy, but omg, he is a total marshmallow talking about his baby girl.  This is so sweet, ladies.  First you have to get thru the silly car chase trailer, but trust me, it’s worth the wait…

Here’s the link ~

The deal of the day, and a free ship coupon…

A few years ago I bought a salad shaker from Avon.  It was sort of like the salad shaker container they used to have at Mickey D’s, except larger.  It was a large cup with a domed lid. You put the dressing in the lid, took it with you, and when you were ready to eat, you pushed on the lid, the dressing distributed on the salad, you shook it up, and wahlaa, it blended perfectly.  It also came with it’s own insulated bag, which kept it cool.  I’ve used it a lot over the years, and today I stumbled across the new and improved one from Avon.  Yeah, Avon, I don’t quite get why Avon sells this stuff either but anyhoo, here is the latest and the greatest. 

This one is a pint container, instead of a cup, it comes with an ice pack that you freeze and snap under the lid, then pour the dressing in the little holder in the lid before you travel, and the salad and dressing stays cold for several hours.  Be sure and remove the ice pack before you distribute the dressing or you will have dressing all over the ice pack. This one also comes with a knife and a fork stored in the lid.  It’s $12.99, but I found it for $7.99.  Apparently it was a promotion with Curves, I don’t know if they are closing it out or what, but these things are great for people that work, picnics, eating healthy on the go, etc.  The shipping on this is $5.99, , but, I Googled Avon coupon codes and found that if your order is $10.00 you get free shipping.  The code is SPRING 910.

So did I order it, of course, you all know what a sucker I am for anything in the kitchen.  And what else did I buy to get the free ship???

I got these ergonomic tweezers for $5.00.  They got really good reviews, and I can’t find my Tweezerman pair that cost $20+ anywhere, so I’ll give these a try. My grand total, shipped to my door, including tax, was $13.90.  It’s  a good thing….

Are you interested in either one of these?  Here are the links if you are:

Curves Salad Shaker

Ergonomic Tweezers

And again, the free shipping code is SPRING 910.  This code is valid thru April 9.

Reba’s See Thru Red Dress Story, an oldie, but a goodie…

Reba's Red Dress Story - watch more funny videos

A special daily dose of cuteness…

At a zoo in California , a mother tiger gave birth to a rare set of triplet tiger  cubs..

Unfortunately, Due to complications in the pregnancy,  the cubs were born prematurely and due to their tiny size,  they died shortly after birth.

The mother tiger after recovering from the delivery, suddenly started to decline in health,  Although physically she was fine.  The veterinarians felt that the loss of her litter had caused the tigress to fall into a depression. The doctors decided that if the tigress could surrogate another mother's cubs, perhaps she would improve.

After checking with many other zoos across the country, the depressing news was that there were no tiger cubs of the right age to introduce to the mourning mother.  The veterinarians decided to try something that had never been tried in a zoo environment.  Sometimes a mother of one species will take on the care of a different species.  The only orphans' that could be found quickly,  were a litter of weanling pigs.  The zoo keepers and vets wrapped the piglets in tiger skin and placed the babies around the mother tiger...  Would they become cubs or pork chops?

Take a look...you won't believe your eyes…

 

I’m on a roll…

Now that I’ve revamped Jan Can Cook, it’s time to give Eating Right a new look, even though the old one is great, it doesn’t flow with the new magazine theme.  Don’t rush over there, nothing done yet, but it’s next on my to-do list.

I also had plans to put a live webcam on the birdfeeder, yes I know, bor-ing, but hey, I have heavy bird traffic in Heavensville, some people might like it.  But unless I come up with a workaround it isn’t going to happen, as the screens are in the window permanently, and who wants to look at the birdfeeder thru a screen.

The girls look pretty spiffy in their new haircuts, but I don’t like the way she didn’t trim their faces, not at all, so I’m going to take the scissors to them myselves.  What do I expect for $80 anyway.  Eighty dollars, that’s a lot of money for two little dogs.  Same price for an english sheep dog, go figure.  Obviously, they don’t groom by the pound…

Black Fores Muffin Cakes…

New recipes and a Sauteed Chicken with Mushroom Sauce video on Jan Can Cook tonight…

I used to make a wonderful cake when the boys were growing up with a cake mix and cherry pie filling, topped with a chocolate chip frosting.  This recipe is very similar, without the frosting.

Oh, those were the days, when I baked with abandon without being guilt ridden… 

The Brassage, what next!!!

I was watching GMA this morning, they were interviewing the inventor of the Brassage, Christina Erteszek.

A Brassage is a bra that massages the girls…. It has these little bumps built into  it, and these little lumps “supposedly” give a constant massage to your lymph nodes all day long, and in return it is supposed to promote breast health.  What they aren’t saying, but strongly hinting at is that it somehow will keep breasts healthy, read between the lines, ladies, are they trying to imply that it will help control breast cancer.  The woman was really cagey when they tried to drill her down on exactly what this does.

I watched part of the interview, got bored and turned it off, drats, I guess I should have watched the whole thing because apparently it got heated and this Ms. Erteszek person walked out of the interview.  Now, the Chicago Sun Times is reporting that they’ve pulled the Brassage from the market.

Oops, looks like somebody screwed up royally… 

Well, Geezy Pete, who would want to spend $59 for a bra that had little bumps in it that rotated against your boobs all day anyway.    Bras are uncomfortable enough as it is without having to deal with a bunch of little lumps in the sides of them, pressing nonstop against your tender skin.….

I also read that someone else is marketing the Doodle Bra.  This baby comes complete with stencils, idea booklets and special Doodle Bra markers, so that you can decorate your bras.

Well, this is stupid, too.  It must have been designed by a man.  Both of these ideas are totally lame. 

Actually, I’ve been thinking for some time about designing a sequined studded bra with motorized twirling tassels.  We all know that sex sells, and men are so stupid they would probably buy these.  And think about it,  in the heat of the summer, you could turn those tassels on, rip off your shirt, and cool off the person sitting across from you with the breeze from the whirling tassels.  I could market them as  “The Tease With a Breeze!” Whaddya think?  It’s a winner, huh….. And if I could sign on  Pamela Anderson to do the commercials for it, preferably twirling them for Jack Nicholson, omg, the money would just pour  in…..

UPDATE:  I found the video from GMA, you watch it and be the judge…

Do you Skype?

Well, I didn’t, until today.  Hooterville decided we need to give it a try, since that’s all you hear about lately, so we downloaded it, turned on the web cams, and called each other.

Whoopdeedoo, NOT!  We’ve been doing this for years on Yahoo chat, the quality of Skype was not good, but maybe it’s because I’m on a Mac and she’s on a PC.  We’ll give this a try again, once I get my laptop back from Dell, I’ll try to Skype on it.  Just not cutting edge for us, not yet anyway.

Oh, if you don’t know what Skype is, it’s just the ability to talk and see each other.  Maybe we don’t like it because we’re looking at each other.  We don’t look so great at 6pm, twenty years ago we would have been much more interesting Skypers….  But I did put on my Carmex for her…

It’s back to Twitter for me, I’m hooked on Twitter…  It’s a real challenge to see how big of a fool you can make out of yourself in 140 characters, but so far I’m having no problems at all…

It’s a fresh new look for Jan Can Cook

Jan Can Cook has a new look for spring, and YummyTweets is in the right sidebar, quick little twitters about food.  I’ve also posted some new recipes, including this one, the currently featured recipe. I’ll be updating this site on a regular basis, you might want to bookmark it…

At the advise of my buddy, Carlene, my-own in house foodie expert, she really is, you should see what this woman cooks, you would be in awe, ladies! Anyway, at her suggestion, I added FoodGawker and Tastespotting to the list of favorite food blogs in the sidebar of Jan Can Cook.  You will want to check both of these sites, the recipes are all shown by their pictures, it’s a visual delight…  Be sure and click on the name (Tastespotting or FoodGawker) instead of the recipe shown directly below the name, so that you can see the entire site.

Here’s the quick click for you, I like the way it looks now, it’s bright and fresh, hope you enjoy it, also.

~ jan

Well, this has been a fun weekend….

Yesterday it was tornadoes, today it’s winter…  I did realize something last night after listening to Maggie bark nonstop for thirty minutes.  Nothing would shut her up, she barked at the sirens going off, she barked at the hail, and the wind, and all the time she was doing that, Mollie was chewing on her Texas Toothpick (dried cow tail, yes I realize it’s gross).

But I already knew that Miss Maggie was vocal, what I now realize is that Mollie is a nervous eater, she is. She was chewing on that cow tail like it was her last supper.  She would cut those little eyes at me every time there was a noise, all the while  just chewing as hard as she could.  I finally took it away from her, poor little dog, I was afraid her jaw would get sore.

I understand, too, because I’m a nervous eater, I’m also a stress eater, and a social eater, and let’s not forget, a sick eater.  While other people can’t tolerate food when they don’t feel well, not me, nope, i still eat.  There is no hope for me, apparently not  for poor Mollie, either…

Another Nora Roberts movie tonight, Midnight Bayou

In the Nora Roberts movie "Midnight Bayou," Harvard-educated lawyer Declan Fitzpatrick (Jerry O'Connell) impulsively gives up his settled life to buy Manet Hall, a newly restored plantation manor near New Orleans to which he has always found himself drawn. Legend has it that the house is haunted, and shortly after Declan moves in he starts hearing voices and seeing things. Declan is also distracted by an undeniable attraction to Cajun local Lena Simone (Lauren Stamile), who grew up on the bayou with her grandmother Odette (Faye Dunaway) and has her own deep connection to the manor.

Why am I tweeting so much?

I haven’t a clue.  Maybe it’s my age, when a thought pops in my head, I have to act fast or I forget it.  It’s so easy to just click on my little Twitter shortcut and since I can only type 140 characters, I can do it before I forget what I’m talking about.

I’m so enamored with it that I’ll be putting up a link on Jan Can Cook this weekend for YummyTweets.  I’ll Twitter about food.  I know, it’s really pathetic.  But it does alleviate boredom…

In defense of Octomom, for a change…

Like everybody else, I’m shocked at what has transpired with this woman.  The subject has been talked to death, why she did it, the sperm donor, the spendy shopping trip to MAC, the relationship with her mother, and the physical impossibility of being able to take care of and nurture fourteen children.  And what about that Jacuzzi she purchased?  Could it be that the woman has back problems from carrying all those babies?  Sure, it sounds extravagant, but can we not give her the benefit of the doubt here, just once, maybe it was legitimate?

You can’t turn back time, these children are here now, they have to be taken care of, and the media is ruthlessly exploiting this woman because it’s monetarily lucrative for them to do so.  Every single thing she does is under the microscope, there will be no normal life. Even before any of these children were released from the hospital the media was talking about taking them away from her.  Give the woman a chance, people, just back off!

It is a circus, no doubt about it, but I can’t really fault her for promoting herself.  She has a lot of mouths to feed, and she needs a lot of money to do it.  I don’t think we should play the blame game, because she is promoting her family for money.  It’s better than the taxpayers having to pick up the tab.  which is the alternative.  I actually feel sorry for her.  We all judge her, myself included, but there seems to be absolutely no compassion for her.  Yeah, I get it, it was wrong what she did, horribly wrong, and mental issues might be involved, who knows, but she should at least have a chance to prove us wrong, and only time will tell how that works out.  But it was also horribly wrong for the doctor to impregnate her with all of those embryos, yet you hear little about him, he’s going on with his life, practicing medicine with few repercussions that we know about.

I do agree with her for getting rid of the nannies that Gloria Allred put in her home.  Gloria Allred, in my opinion,  is a conniving, self-serving bitch who will do anything to further her own personal gain.  And now one of the nurses is speaking out, saying that Naydia  is more interested in the media than the children and only looks after them when cameras are rolling.  I somehow doubt that, I really do.   I saw a recent clip of her cradling one of the babies, holding it’s tiny head in her hand and kissing it over and over again.  It looked totally normal, like something a caring mother would do.  She was very natural and loving with the infant, not “posed” for the camera as the media suggests. The woman also said there were “unacceptable conditions” in the home.  That part  is probably true, it must be utter chaos until they get all of the babies home, trying to get a routine going and finding a daily schedule that works. 

And why is  the nurse talking to the media in the first place?   Why is Gloria Allred talking to the media?  Could it be for *gasp* publicity for Ms. Allred, or maybe the nurse will get money for talking.  Will she write a book?  It makes me ill, just thinking about these women. Shame on them!

And now I’ll shut up about all of this, I’ll leave it to Nancy Grace to dissect over and over and over again.  And yes, it will be interesting to watch this all unfold, it is the ultimate reality show, you have to admit….  And the babies are precious, let’s not forget that, those sweet little faces peering out of their blankets would melt any woman’s heart.  We can only hope that she gets all the help she needs and that all of her children are loved. 

As women and mothers ourselves, I hope we can find compassion for this young mother who has this enormously insurmountable task ahead of her, and wish her well instead of  bashing her relentlessly and prejudging her when we really don’t know the true facts. All we know is what the media is force  feeding us, and sensationalism sells, that is one fact we do know for certain….

I’m saving major money on my grocery bill at Aldi’s….

And I’m totally red faced about it.  Okay. I admit it, I’m a food snob.  I’m not a coupon clipper either… I’ve never liked store brands, detest cereal in those plastic bags, and avoid discount food stores such as  Sav-a-Lot like the plague.  So when Aldi’s came to town last month, I smugly went there and bought my produce, feeling sorry for the poor souls who piled their carts high with groceries, while I trotted off to the “grocery store” to buy my familiar brands.

Aldi’s isn’t new to me, we’ve had it in surrounding towns for years.  Mother was always a huge fan, and the boys and I would laugh about all of the strange brands in her pantry.

But, because of the great prices in their produce section, I started shopping there.  I was buying the same size package of fresh strawberries that sold at my local Schnucks for $3.99 for $1.00 at Aldi’s.  And fresh pineapples were under $2.00.  Celery was $.79, and everything was great quality,  nothing dated, or bruised and shriveled, it was just like produce from my regular market.  I was really impressed.  On a whim, I Googled Aldi’s, and quickly found out that they owned Trader Joes.  Trader Joes, my very favorite, cheap health food store.  Imagine that, no wonder Trader Joes had such good prices!  And their stuff is wonderful!  Reading further, people were absolutely gushing about the quality of the food from Aldi’s, how the quality equaled name brands, so Jan, the food snob, sucked it up and started buying their frozen green beans,.  That was my first purchase from the freezer case, tiny, whole green beans, haricot vertes, for $1.39 a pound.  You can’t even buy haricot vertes, except in gourmet food stores in this part of the country and they are really pricey… Oh my, they were wonderful, young tender, just delicious.  So I started filling my cart with other items.  $1.39 for a block of colby jack cheese.  Oh, it tastes just like Kraft, amazing.  Eggs for $.89, milk for $2.85 a gallon.  Even their tiny peas for $.69 a can tasted like Le Seur’s which are $1.39 a can at the grocers.  Shocking… I went totally Aldi’s crazy.

I’m no longer buying food from the grocery store, except for meat at the meat market, and a few items that I can’t find at Aldi’s.  It’s like a treasure hunt every time I go there.  This week I bought cream of chicken soup for $.45 a can, Campbell’s is $1.26 at the grocery store, it tastes the same.  All of the stuff tastes great, I can’t tell any difference in quality at all!

Angi, who usually shops at Wal-Mart for her family, started going, also.  She figured her bill and she’s saving 50% over what she was spending at Wal-Mart.  And we all know that Wal-Mart is cheaper than a regular grocery store.

So, I’m once again a smug food snob, with a twist.  I now trot into Aldi’s weekly, armed with my canvas shopping bags.  I’m buying quality food,  and I’m doing it on the cheap.  I wouldn’t be doing this if the food tasted even a little bit inferior, but it doesn’t, at all.  Looks like Mother knew what she was doing after all…

Did you ever find a four-leafed clover???

Sadly, I never have, the four-leafed clover has eluded me my entire life.  I remember the lazy days of the summers of my girlhood, sitting barefoot, in shorts and a sleeveless shirt, with my friends in a patch of clover, combing thru every leaf, looking for the rare speciman, while we talked about our dreams and the sun warmed our backs and streaked our summer bleached hair.

Some were lucky enough to find them, and  they would save them to press in the yellowing celluloid picture holders in their wallets, often in front of a boyfriend, or a hope-to-be’s photograph…

But not me, I never found even one.  And this spring, as I take the M&M’s for their potty runs, and they frisk in the clover field just down the road, while I’m waiting for them to do their doggie doo’s, I find myself still picking thru the clover, hoping that someday I will finally get lucky.

Wouldn’t it be thrilling, if I could find just one, and maybe I will, someday.  Hope springs eternal, you know…

Ta tas and tattoos…. at 64!

When I get older, losing my hair,
Many years from now,
Will you still be sending me a Valentine
Birthday greetings, bottle of wine?

It’s a catchy little tune, we can all identify with, but I wonder if many of these thirty something year old women aren’t going to look  really silly when they’re sixty-four.

I saw a cute little thing today, putting groceries in her trunk, exposing her backside complete with tribal tattoos.  Those tattoos don’t look so great now, what in the hell will they look like when her skin starts to sag?

And implants?  OMG, can you imagine a sixty-four,  make that seventy-four year old, whose body has gone so far south it’s in Cuba with perky t*ts?  Will that be cute?  Will they want to show all that firm cleavage, sandwiched  between crepey skin and age spots? Oh, but they aren’t going to look old, ever.  They are going to eat right, smother their skin with exotic lotions and potions  and exercise themselves silly and age won’t happen to them.  They will always look as good as they do now.   Rightey-roo.  Umm, hmmmm, sure thing…

We all know what’s coming down the pike, I guess all these women are living in the moment, did we do that at their age???  I’m sure we did…

It’s a shame I won’t be around to see them in their golden years…  Of course when they are sixty, we’ll be approachig ninety.  Forget them, can you imagine what we will look like if we are still alive???  Well at least we don’t have implants and tattoos to deal with.  Well, most of us won’t anyway…

It was sweatshirt weather this morning…

I’ve loved sweatshirts my whole life.  From the time I was sixteen and Mother ordered two short sleeved ones for me in the spring, one lime green, one yellow, and a pair of khaki jeans from the Sears catalog, I’ve loved them.

I was out and about this morning, took Milly down to the creek, sat on her and ate breakfast, raisin toast and coffee, while wearing my favorite for years now, a gray, Ralph Lauren zip front hoodie sweatshirt.

It’s probably because it was a good brand that it has endured so many washings.  I’ve worn it so much, and it’s always what I grab first.  I don’t know how much life is still left in it, hopefully it will make it a few more years, because there is nothing like breakfast on the golf cart, on a crisp spring morning, with that sweatshirt keeping the chill away…

I think my inner child ran away…..

Why am I not more enthusiastic about spring?  I have my moments, but not feeling the joy.  I think it’s because I know that it will get cold again.  Even though I cruised the garden center, I didn’t buy anything,  experience has taught me not to plant until the last week of April, preferably the first week of May if I can wait that long.

I’m excited about planting knockout roses, but they won’t be arriving until the first of May, I’m told, so I wait…

Patience isn’t my strong point, that’s probably why the enthusiasm isn’t there.  Weather forecast isn’t good either, rain forecasted all week.

Maybe hubby and I will go to the movies, we haven’t been in such a long time, and I do want to see that new Julia Roberts flick, even though Trisher said it was a stinko…

Maybe, if I’m really lucky,  I’ll find my inner child, and take her to the movies….   Hmmmm, I wonder if that film is rated PG?

Your giggle of the day…

1st woman: Hi! My name is Jane.
2nd woman: Hi! I'm Sylvia. How'd you die?
1st woman: I froze to death.
2nd woman: How horrible!
1st woman: It wasn't so bad. After I quit shaking from the cold, I began to get warm & sleepy, & finally died a peaceful death. What about you?
2nd woman: I died of a massive heart attack. I suspected that my husband was cheating, so I came home early to catch him in the act. But instead, I found him all by himself in the den watching TV.
1st woman: So, what happened?
2nd woman: I was so sure there was another woman there somewhere that I started running all over the house looking. I ran up into the attic & searched, & down into the basement. Then I went through every closet & checked under all the beds. I kept this up until I had looked everywhere, & finally I became so exhausted that I just keeled over with a heart attack & died.
1st woman: Too bad you didn't look in the freezer---we'd both still be alive.
PRICELESS!

Small Town USA

I’m old enough to remember towns just like this.  Thanks cuz, for sending this, it’s spectacular…

White Trash Cooking….

I’ve been known as a White Trash cook. I have, just ask my family…  My love of Velveeta, Miracle Whip and Crisco Frosting have firmly ensconced me in the White Trash Hall of Fame. 

I actually bought this cookbook a few years back, and believe it or not, I can relate to a lot of it, right down to the pictures of a messy fridge.

Hey, there are some good recipes in here, honest. And some bad ones, things like Potato Chip Sandwich, which is potato chips and Miracle Whip between two slices of white gummy bread, mashed til the chips crush, best washed down with Pepsi Cola.  Other gems are Cooter Pie, Betty Sue’s Fried Cucumbers, and one of my personal favorites, Lucy’s Guaranteed Stewed Prunes.

And I must admit, things like Reba’s Rainbow Ice Box Cake, and Lady Divines Chicken-Asparagus Pie actually sound pretty darned good.

But I must share with your Laura Lee’s Fresh Summer Salad – you take 2 cucumbers, and cut off the ends.  Then with an end in one hand, the cucumber in the other, rub together real hard and fast.  When the liquid starts to foam, stop.  Now peel and slice them.

Meanwhile, slice 2 tomatoes in a long, low Pyrex baking dish, put in the cukes and cover with cider vinegar, salt and pepper to taste.  Chill  and serve with black-eyed peas.  Just don’t understand why you want the cucumbers to foam…  It’s a new one on me….  But I’m a huge fan of cucumbers and onions, so I might just have to give this a spin, foam and all…

Look for White Trash Cooking on eBay, you can get it on the cheap, and the pictures alone are worth the cost of the book.  It’s an experience for sure, everybody should have at least one white trash recipe for family gatherings – hey Easter is coming up, there has to be some kind of Jello salad in here to try….

Well, isn’t this the damndest thing….

Look in the right sidebar, in my blogher ads – they’re featuring one of my blogs, Personality vs. Functionality.  Cool, huh…

Electrolux Washer and Steam Dryer – GASP!!!!!!!

I’ve been watching Kelly Ripa using  these beauties on commercials for several weeks now, so on a whim I Googled them to see how much they cost.

They showed up on eBay, of all places, for the bargain basement price of four thousand dollars.  FOUR THOUSAND DOLLARS….

JEEZ LOUISE!!!!!

And I remember when we thought Maytag was pricey!!!

Nora Roberts fans, Northern Lights is on Lifetime tonight…

Jean sent me a heads-up about this.  8pm tonight on Lifetime.  Click on the image to find out all about it…

Eye candy, a Firefox theme, Skitch and Jing…

This girly Firefox theme is perfect for spring, it’s called avante.gare.10011. 3. 1 -   here’s the link to download and install it to your Firefox browser.

And if you like the arrows and text, it’s a MAC program called Skitch.  But if you are a PC user, you can download Jing.  Hooterville uses it, and it’s similar to Skitch.  Word on the street that Skitch is now available for Windows, but so far I’ve not been able to find  download.  Here’s the link for the Jing download, though…

Fur kids…

Key Lime Coconut Angel Cake

I just posted this on Jan Can Cook.  Access it in from the right sidebar.

Thanks Barb, wow, does this look awesome!

~ jan

What is it about Twitter?

Let’s talk about Twitter this morning.  Apparently, I’m the only chirper in my group of friends.  I’ve yet to find anybody else that posts their random thoughts.  Wonder why that is? 

I was a Twitterer long before it became tres chic.  It seems like it’s the buzzword this spring.  Turn on your favorite talk show, or news show, local as well as national, and that’s all you hear.  What is it about this silly little application that only lets you post 140 characters that has such broad appeal?  It’s fun, it really is.  It’s like a tiny little peek into someone’s day.  Since my days are mostly uneventful, you would think I would have a difficult time tweeting.  But oh no, motor mouth here always has something stupid to say.

So I’ll go on typing out senseless 140 word entries, like the rest of the world.  But I’m a bit smug about it, I must admit, because for once in my life I was ahead of the pack.  By a long shot, too I might add.  I’ve had Twitter on The Dish several times over the past couple of years.  I would put it in the sidebar, then revamp the site, take it off for awhile, come back to it.  I’m sure I’ll grow tired of it again, you are all most assuredly tired of it already, but for now it’s working.  I’m a part of the Twitter herd, but I am starting to get really weary of people talking about it.  It will be old news soon, the “in” crowd will go onto something else, and who knows what 'I’ll come up with next, no doubt there will be something that will ring my chimes…

Art Linkletter – Kids Say the Darndest Thing…

Here’s your giggle of the day.  Wasn’t this a great show.  Oh, those were the days….  Children aren’t innocent like this anymore, it’s sad…

Is it possible to get spring fever at 59?

I do believe it is, and I think I have it!  Gawjus weather in Heavensville, I plopped some pansies in the ground, contemplated planting onions, but didn’t get around to it.  Lindsay leaves tomorrow, back to routine, back to more coherent blogging, well maybe….

Cya round a donut….  tomorrow…

It’s that time of year….

Plant peas by St. Paddy’s Day, that’s what Mother always told me.  Well, we didn’t plant peas yesterday but we did rake and sweep and take multiple trash bags full of debris from the patio. 

I, do however, have some onions to plant.  Not the same, but when spring is in the air I just want to dig in the dirt.

Old habits die hard…

I’m running a little late with my blog tonight…

Dilly is here for a couple of days.  We had a great day, hubby cleaned the patio, her friend Shawna visited this afternoon, they sat on the patio and girl talked, nothing cuter than two young women having quality time….

We had an awesome veggie, artichoke pizza at Deerhead.  Hubby took us to dinner, tomorrow we’re having a late lunch with Shawna, her little girl Bailey and Angie at Panera.  It’s a girl’s week all around….

So sweet…

Here I sit, feeding the M&M’s bites of green beans, which they love, by the way.  I feed Mollie a bite, then Maggie, always  giving each one their turn.  And they never try to eat each other’s food, even though their little heads are touching as they stand side by side, waiting for me to give them a morsel.  So many dogs would try and bully their way to getting more than their share, but not the girls.  People could learn a lot from them…

If I only had a brain, what would I do, what would I do???

I really thought today was St. Paddy’s Day.  I got my little Irish Yorkie on The Dish first thing this morning.  It wasn’t until early afternoon that I realized that the 17th is tomorrow.

Well you’ll just have to scroll down and look at the dog, I’m not going to be reposting him tomorrow!

  Geez Louise…

Your Daily Dose of Cuteness

I haven’t posted a picture of the girls lately.  Thought you might all like a smile this Monday morning…

The top o' the mornin’ to ya…

Purina Diet…it really works…

Yesterday I was buying 2  large bags of Purina Dog Chow at Wal Mart, for my dogs.  I was about to check out when a woman behind me asked if I had a dog. What did she think, that I had an elephant?  Since I had little else to do, on impulse, I told her that no, I didn’t have a dog, and that I was starting Purina Diet again, although I probably shouldn’t because I ended up in the hospital last time.  On the bright side though, I’d lost 50 pounds before I awakened in an intensive care ward with tubes coming out of every hole in my body and IVs in both arms. 

I told her that it was essentially a perfect diet and that the way that it works is to load your pockets with Purina nuggets and simple eat one or two every time you feel hungry and that the food is nutritionally complete so I was going to try it again. ( I have to mention here that practically everyone in the line was enthralled with my story by now.)

Horrified, she asked if I ended up in intensive care because the dog food had poisoned me. I told her no; I had stopped in the middle of the parking lot to lick my butt and a car hit me.

I thought the guy behind her was going to have a heart attack, he was laughing so hard!

WAL-MART won’t let me shop there anymore.

Personality vs. Functionality…

There is nothing I like more than a whimsical kitchen that just brims with personality.  I’m a huge fan of red appliances, french pigs, honey pots, all the fun things that make you smile when you walk into my kitchen.

But I’ve been transitioning toward functionality lately.  I’m tired of hauling out essential tools from underneath the counter to use that could easily be on top of my counter instead of all the things sitting there, just loaded with “personality,” that do nothing but bring me pleasure.

I walked to the garage earlier this week, and hubby had put a great cutting board on Milly, to haul to the trash.  I never used it, and it was just taking up space, so he was going to get rid of it.

It’s a really big cutting board, made of hardwood, that sets on stainless casters, it’s practically new and it’s wonderful, but it’s big so I wasn’t using it because I didn’t have the counter space.  So instead of letting him get rid of it, I went into the kitchen, cleaned off a whole area of personality and plopped down the functionality friendly cutting board, and ya know what.  I’m enjoying is so much more than I ever did that collection of vinegar bottles that I never used, and the hammered copper bowl, they were just taking up space and not used for anything.  They were there because they looked good, well to me at least they did.

I’m getting pretty smart in my old(er) age, a few years ago I wouldn’t have dreamt of giving up counter space for something so practical, when it could have been so “cute.”  Wisdom comes with age, huh…

I’m sure my family is proud of me, the boys complain every time they are home that there is no room to work!  Well, they have a nice space carved out right by the sink now, where they can prepare me meals, while I perch on a bar stool and supervise.  That’s another thing I’ve learned in my old(er) age, sit back and let them do it.  Works for me…

This bear pole dancing is so funny!

Source: Carlene