let the good times roll…

Families are a wonderful thing….

Uncle John and Abby are best buddies.  Ryan and Lindsay are in Nashville this week, John sent me this picture tonight, I just had to share…

It’s cold, it’s warm, it’s March…

We’ve had a tease for the past few days.  I planted onions and chives, then today it was 40 degrees.

So I just switched gears, went out and picked up goodies for Miss Abby’s easter basket.  Oh how much fun this is, I remember last year, wondering what this grandchild was going to be. 

It’s so much fun having a little one again.  I’ve never experienced buying girl stuff, so I’m really enjoying this.  Okay, I’ll share, one of the things I bought her were flip-flops.  I did, pink flip-flops.  Can you imagine that,  for a six month old.   She may never wear them for more than a picture, but won’t she be the cutest thing with them on her feet.

Spring Cleaning

My mother was big on spring cleaning.  Turn the mattresses, drag the braided area rugs out to the clothesline and beat them with some kind of ancient wire rug beater contraption, air the feather pillows, wash windows with vinegar, dry with crumpled newspapers, wash the curtains, starch and iron them, to name just a few things.  The woman would get wound up and there was no stopping her.  No wonder I’ve never been a fan.

Hubby has built several homes over the years, so that was always a great solution to spring cleaning, just move to a new house.  But now that we’ve settled into the condo, it’s been seven years now, and it’s pretty easy breezy to take care of, except for the grout in my stone floors.  There’s always “something” to make life a bitch, isn’t there?  And those floors that I just had to have because they were made of tumbled limestone with uneven edges and wide grout that looked so wonderful when they were installed have turned into a nightmare.  Not everywhere, just in the kitchen and the utility room where they get a lot of traffic.  Oh, and under my computer desk in the sunroom.  You can imagine how they look underneath where I live my life most days.

The grout is almond color, so that makes the upkeep harder, and it was sealed a couple of times when it was installed, but over the years those areas have turned darker, and because the edges are uneven, we have much wider grout lines than regular installed tile, and it’s a royal pain in the patootie.  The solution has been for poor LC to get down on his hands and knees with some nasty smelling caustic cleaner and scrub it with a brush.  Not a fun job, trust me.

We’ve been watching infomercials about steam cleaners, my cleaning lady, Krista, bought one to try, but it was flimsy, and didn’t work that well, so she returned it.  So I started Googling, found out a lot about them, people prefer the canister cleaners to the mop ones, and say that the hand held ones don’t work that well, so we bought a highly rated, McCulloch MC-1275 from Amazon last week.  And that’s another story, that Amazon, aren’t they they awesome?  I buy things from them, and have them in two days, free shipping, no schlepping through the stores, and the best prices anywhere! I’m a bonified Amazon groupie, as I imagine many of you are, too.

But back to my story.  The cleaner arrives, hubby fires it up this morning, it has a long handle, no stooping over, a scrub brush on the end, it runs for up to 30 minutes before you have to refill the tank, and let me tell you, this thing will rock your world!  OMG, the dark tile turned immediately back to almond, with practically no effort.  None!!!  All you do is stand there and hold the thing and it does the work.  Wow, the possibilities are endless.  It will blast dirt from the corners of your woodwork that you can’t get to, I’m going to clean my stainless faucet with it, I’m absolutely estatic.  Of course he’s the one using the thing, so that makes me even happier! ;0)

Sad, isn’t it, that at this age all you get worked up about is a steam cleaner…. 

But if you want to part with $100, give it a try, you will be so impressed.  It’s not that expensive, and it’s is a goodie!  Definitely money well spent, pinkie swear.

~ Jan

I’ve got a great recipe for you….

My mother loved anything sweet, and she was always baking a cake, angel food, german chocolate, coconut, banana, there was always a cake in her big white tupperware container.  And in the 60’s when bundt pans came along, she took it to a new level.  Oh, she loved that bundt pan.  It was harvest gold, teflon coated, and she thought that thing was awesome.

And one of the best recipes to come out of her kitchen using that bundt pan was her Lemon Supreme Pound Cake.  It was so good, and the longer it aged, the better it was.  Lindsay loves anything lemon, so I decided to make one for her to see if she liked it, too.  I Googled recipes for it online to compare with the one she always used, found an updated version, using more lemon juice, powdered milk, more eggs, and I gave it a try.  It was even better than mom’s. *GASP*  It really was, the extra lemon juice and the powdered milk gave it great texture and taste, and I grated lemon zest on top of the icing, so it was really puckery with lemon infused flavor.  Linds loved it, of course I loved it, LC thought it was good, but just a bit too much lemon for his taste.

I posted the recipe on Jan CAN Cook.  Check it out, and if you want a great spring cake, this is the recipe for you.  Make it a day ahead, it’s better when it ages.  And that Tupperware cake container, well I used a covered glass cake stand for mine, after all, it isn’t just mom’s cake anymore, and that cake stand was so much prettier than the Tupperware….

Doesn’t this make you smile???

Yeah, I bought her the hat.  No, she would never actually wear it, but it sure is cute for a picture…. Nothing like playing dress-up with your sweet little grandchild…

Abby is five months old now, isn’t she just precious…

Grandpa and Grammie are enjoying her so much, and oh, how she's changed in a month. She's curious about everything, watches the M&M's, sits really still and watches you intently when you read her a book, and wants to stand on those little legs all the time. We were watching cartoons on YouTube earlier today, oh she liked that a lot, too!  I know, all of you grandmother's are nodding and understanding.

I'm new at this, and I try not to gush, but she's just SO adorable!

Guess who's coming to dinner?

Just another night in paradise in Heavensville…

Me:  “I’ seem to be doing a lot better with my hot flashes.”

Hubby:  “Really?”

Me:  ‘Yeah, I don’t rip off my nightgown and throw it across the room anymore in the middle of the night, haven’t you noticed?”

Hubby: (after a lengthy pause) “Congratulations, you’re officially an old woman, now.”

I then whacked the old fart over the head with a pillow as hard as I could. 

Men Schmen!!!

Spring is coming…

The winter wheat is greening in the fields, the birds are singing, I’ve got my spring flowers in the living room, the Easter decorations are out, the M&M’s are sporting pink and purple bows in their ponies, and my cold is slowly getting better.

If you don’t frequent my Jan CAN Cook blog, I’ve posted quite a few new recipes to that site.  You might want to check it out, see if there is something that interests you. I just bet there is.

Think green. ladies!!!
~ jan

The good, the bad and a rant about Food Network

I’ve got a head cold.  LC came home from work sick, and I didn’t dodge the bullet this time.  I’ve been pretty miserable, but there is something positive that’s come from it all, so I’ve got to share it with you.

Earlier in the week I started having sinus headaches, really bad ones, nonstop and the further into the week I got, the more they intensified.  I was taking all kinds of OTC meds, trying to make it better, and all it was accomplishing was giving me a cotton mouth and making my skin crawl. 

By Wednesday I was getting desperate, and decided to put on my big girl panties and use the sinus irrigation that I’ve been talking about.  Hubby was using it, yeah, he bellyached about it at first, sputtered and coughed, but if he could do it, surely I could.

So I sucked it up, literally, and took the plunge.  And you know what, hubby must be a real wuss, because I didn’t think it was bad at all.  If you hold your head over the sink, open your mouth, and exhale when you squirt the solution in your nose, it’s not a biggie at all.  I used it Wednesday morning, it helped a little bit, but not much, but I tried it again Wednesday night.

I woke up Thursday morning, feeling gawdawful and thinking “well this is obviously a bunch of hooey, this isn’t working at all.”  So I dragged myself out of bed, went online and started reading about sinus irrigation.  I read several posts that told me that you had to use it repeatedly for it to work, if you were having severe symptoms, use it 4-6 times a day.  It’s not addictive, it doesn’t irritate your membranes, people have done this for a thousand years, and people swear by it.

Okay, I could do this, I decided to do it every two hours.  I started using it at 9am, and my headache at that point was a solid 10, it hurt that bad, but by 3pm, using that NeilMad bottle of saline solution every two hours, the headache was down to a 6, and I was starting to drain.  I know, it’s a lot of info, but necessary.

By the time I went to bed Thursday night, I had no headache, and was able to sleep.  The only medicine I had taken was two Excedrin early in the morning, too.  I continue to use it, probably about 4 times a day now, and even though I feel horrible, I have no headache and my head isn’t congested, it’s sore, but I can breathe and I’m pain free.  So bottom line is this – if you’re sick, this isn’t going to cure you, but it sure does make your symptoms much better, and you don’t have to fill your body full of synthetic medicine in an attempt to breathe normally and decongest.

Will I use it again?  You betcha I will, I’ll use it daily.  Especially with spring coming, this will flush all the pollen out of my nose.  So, if you have problems with sinus, run, don’t walk to your nearest drugstore and buy this!  It’s awesome, pinky swear… ~ jan

Okay, enough of that, now I’m gonna bitch about the Food Network.  Ryan and I discuss this all the time, how good it used to be, and how bad it is now.  I was watching Paula Deen just now, O-M-G, they’ve tried to turn her into a sex siren, and it just doesn’t work.  She’s got on the big wigs, she’s throwing all kinds of sexual innuendoes to her younger male guests, and she looks absolutely silly.  And then they trot out her long suffering hubby, Michael, who looks like he would rather be having a tooth pulled than be on that show, and she’s coming on to him, and he’s so uncomfortable he can barely talk.  Sheesh!!!!  I saw a rerun this week of one of her earlier shows, she was still annoying as hell, but she was at least acting her age…

And then there is Rachel Ray, who is also annoying beyond belief, and ever since the tabloids were full of her husband’s infidelities, they’re doing major damage contorl and have  had her talk about him nonstop, like he was the greatest thing since sliced bread, trying to convince all of us what a great husband he is.  She used to talk about her pitbull, Izzy, too, but ever since he bit off another dog’s ear in the dog park, she hasn’t mentioned him.

And The Neelys.  Oh, baby, baby, baby, they make me just want to barf!  That man is no more of a cook than any other ordinary guy, he’s just trotting around in that kitchen, kissing up to her and thinking about all the money they’re raking in.  Well, they better save what they make, because I just don’t see them going on to greater things.

Oh, I can’t leave out Giada De Laurentis out of this either.  The way she rolls her tongue around all the italian phrases just annoys the beejusus out of me.  That girl is such a pain, and I’ve seen her talk down to her mother and her aunt on that show, too.  She is so full of herself, I can’t stand to watch her.

Sandra Lee, meh, she’s cute, she’s entertaining, colorful, I can handle her. Not my favorite, but she’s done a lot with what she has to work with.

But I saved the best to last, and it’s not even a rant.  I love the Barefoot Contessa, I adore this woman, she’s the only one on that is a true cook, in my opinion.  Sure, she talks about her husband, too, but they’ve been married for forty years, so I think she’s entitled.  Ina Garten, you’re a rock star, keep up the good work…

And that’s it from here today. I’m going to take my blankie and go back to bed now.  Later ‘gators…

Spring???

I told hubby yesterday that I might get some radish seeds and plant on the patio in my stone planters.  His reply was, “Isn’t it too early?”

And I told him that Mother used to throw radish seeds in the garden on top of the snow.  Well, guess what, it snowed last night!

So do I, or don’t I plant those seeds?  Somehow I’m just not quite in the mood was much today as I was yesterday.    I think  I’m just rushing the season.  Will it really be warm in just a few weeks?  It seems so unlikely this morning, with snow on the ground, but it is almost March.  So here’s to hopin’…

Now let’s see, what kind of radishes do I want to plant?  French?  Icicle?  So many decisions on such a winter’s day…

It’s Deanna’s birthday…

She’s a ruffles girl, loves everything girly, so I got her this funky apron.  She loved it, took a picture right away and sent it to me.  She had a great day, John made her Perfectly Perfect Chocolate Cake from Jan Can Cook archives.  Ohhhh, lucky girl, that cake is killer!!!

Happy Birthday, sweet girl.  You’re positively adorable!!!

Some medical info this morning…

I watched Dr. Rosenthal this morning on FOX.  A couple of interesting things he said that I want to share.

Chamomile tea, a great mood enhancer, and muscle relaxer.  Drink 3 cups a day instead of taking anxiety drugs.

Breast cancer – if you have had breast cancer, take an aspirin a day, it will greatly diminish your chance of getting it again.  If you’ve never had breast cancer, take an aspirin every day, it will reduce your chances of getting it by 50%.

And, I owe my buddy V’s husband, Rich a big favor for this one.  Hubby has a cold, he’s really congested, can’t sleep, taking all kinds of OTC meds, trying to get “unplugged” and nothing was working.  I remembered Veronica telling me that Rich’s doctor told him to use nasal irrigation, that it works really well to flush out your nasal cavity and reduce congestion.  I remembered the term “neti pot” so I went to Walgreen’s yesterday and picked one up.  I had just pulled in the drive when V called, and I told her what I bought.  Rich was in the background, saying, “no, you bought the wrong thing.”  “A neti pot just flushes it out, but if you buy a NeliMed bottle, it forcefully pushes the saline solution through your nostrils and blasts everything out.”  So I trek back to the drugstore, pick up the NeilMed, hubby comes home at 9pm from work, totally congested and miserable.  He used the NeiMed, all 8 ounces of it, blew his nose a badzillion times, and by the time he went to bed, he was totally clear, slept all night, wasn’t congested this morning either.  He used it again and went off to work. 

I know this is a lot of detailed information, but the point is, this thing is pretty awesome and you might not know about it either.  I always share the good stuff with you, and this is really great!  Oh, one other thing, don’t tip your head backwards, the solution will go down your throat, you just hold your head straight, and the solution goes in one nostril and comes out the other.  Weird, huh…  Quit wrinkling your nose and going, ewwwww, just suck it up, (no pun intended) and do it twice a day!  Hey, if you’re congested, you’re miserable, and this will really help, pinkie swear it will…

  Buy it, totally inexpensive, just $12, put it in your medicine cabinet, and you’ll have it the next time you get a cold.  It comes with a box of the saline solution packets, and you can buy refills of these.  And they tell you to use distilled water with it, pick up a jug of it to store, also.

~ jan

NeilMed

Tiger Woods speech, I just have to comment on this…

Before I listen to all of the opinions about his speech this morning, I’m going to jump on the soapbox and give you my take on it. 

Like everybody, I have strong feelings about what he did, but I don’t think that it’s anybody’s business.  We shouldn’t be privy to his personal life, we shouldn’t watch him grovel, explaining his transgressions.  It’s a personal issue, that was made into a business issue by him giving this speech.

Was he remorseful? Sure he was, wouldn’t you be if you got your hand caught in the nookie jar(s)?  Can you imagine how humiliating that had to be for him to get up and read that carefully scripted speech this morning.  That wasn’t him talking, that was a team of professionals writing what would give him sympathy, and hopefully start the process of reinstating him into his sponsor’s graces.

This man is a paid golf pro, not an elected official.  I’m sure his highly paid damage control team deemed this necessary for future sponsorship, but I thought the whole speech was just highly uncomfortable and totally not appropriate. He’s a private citizen who works for a living, period.

I DO applaud his wife for not being like all of the women who “stand by their man” on the podium, while they weepily confess their transgressions.  Mama was there, that’s her boy she should have been, but kudos to Elin for staying away!  This was all about money, and it’s a sad reality that even the most arrogant bow to greed.  He has enough money to last him ten lifetimes, he can still play golf, why didn’t he just lie low, wait for the next big scandal to take the heat off him, and go on with his life?  It might take awhile, but eventually the furor will die down, as we peer into yet somebody else’s sordid personal life.

It’s just none of our business, folks, in my opinion.  ‘Nuff said!

Can you hear me scream??????

Heavensville’s Weather Forecast

Thursday Night
Partly cloudy. Lows in the lower 20s. West winds 5 to 10 mph.
cloudy    
Friday
Mostly cloudy. Highs in the mid 30s. West winds 5 mph in the morning shifting to the south in the afternoon.
Mostly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of rain and snow. Lows in the upper 20s.
snow    
Saturday
Mostly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of rain and snow. Highs in the upper 30s. 
Saturday Night
Mostly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of rain and snow. Lows in the mid 20s.
Sunday and Sunday Night
Mostly cloudy with a 30 percent chance of rain or snow. Highs in the upper 30s. Lows in the mid 20s

How many weeks 'til spring????

Things are so boring here, that hubby and I are playing Farmville.  So that’s why I haven’t been around much, I’ve been down on the farm.  Time to build a new header for the dish, though, gotta get out of the country and back to blogging.

Yeehaw ya’all!!!!

Happy Valentines Day……

 

Valentine courtesy of mojackson

Sometimes you just have to let husbands know what you want….

Another Valentines Day is upon us.  Hubby and I have been married thirty-eight years now, and since I’m always on a diet in February, it’s been years since I’ve gotten candy, and the older I get, the more I love chocolate.  So this year, I just told him, “I want a box of chocolates from Libs, our local choclatier, for Valentines Day.”  Oh, Libs has the good stuff, they’ve been around for a gadzillion years, they’re wildly popular with the townies, and they have to die for caramels and turtles.  I’m a nut girl, yep, love those nuts!

And since he works Sunday, there is already a box of assorted chocolates, with nuts, from Libs sitting in the kitchen.  I know, I know, how does that fit into my healthy eating plan?  Well, the way I see it, one chocolate a night, with a cup of tea, is just perfect. We’ll see how that works out, just eating one. 

So, if there is something special you want this year, just ask for it.  That way you will get what you want.

Wow, I’m getting smart in my old(er) age…

~ jan

A little gift for you if you go to Jan Can Cook

I posted a fantastic desktop wallpaper over on Jan Can Cook.  It’s one of my favorites, I even have it as my cellphone wallpaper.  If you’re a lemon lover, this one’s for you.  Check it out here>>>

A snow day project

When we moved to the condo, I bought this rooster upholstery fabric.  It’s been sitting on a spool in the closet for six years now.  Yesterday it was snowing and cold, so we dragged the fabric out of the closet and reupholstered the dining room chairs.

I sat in the floor to cut the fabric, LC grabbed the scissors, and he was going to just whack it.  All of a sudden, everything my mother ever taught me about sewing came roaring to life, and I grabbed those scisssors and said, nooooooooo you can’t do it that way!

I snatched those scissors out of his hands,  centered the rooster, checked the repeat on the pattern, used a straight edge to cut the fabric, it was like ma was right there, guiding me every step of the way.  Mother was a wonderful seamstress, she taught me to sew as a child, but I’ve never enjoyed it.

So that was our morning, snowy weather, classical music playing, the dogs, watching, I cut, he stapled, and now I have a new look in the dining room.  He did a great job, it was a nice way to spend our time, since we were housebound.

The french pig is new, and wonderful. I love french pigs, have several of them, but this is by far the best. Just had to show you how cute he looks up close and personal.  And yeah, the valentines theme is gone  , I was weary of it…

Google Buzz Social Networking, is this the new Facebook???

Google has done it again.  If you have a Gmail account, you will automatically have Buzz.  Hooterville tipped me off about it.  They’re rolling it out now, and it will show up when you open your inbox.  Watch for it….

You won’t believe the recipes I found for you…

You all need to hotfoot it over to Jan Can Cook just as fast as your little mouse will point you there.

I posted two cookie recipes, the first one is Copykat Momofuku’s Compost Cookies.  You won’t believe this one, girlfriends, dried coffee grounds, yes, dried coffee grounds, I know it sounds weird, but people are loving this recipe.  Also Fritos, crushed potato chips, pretzels, peanut butter chips and chocolate chips,  just to name a few of the ingredients.  It’s a wannabe recipe from Momofuku Bakery and Milk Bar, a  trendy New York City bakery,  where these cookies just fly out the door. 

And the second one is Lucy’s Salty Chocolate  Peanut Butter Cookies.  These have a chunk of bittersweet chocolate on top and a dusting of kosher salt.  Somebody please make these and report back.

Both of them sound wildly, fabulously different.

I know you are all thinking, has she totally lost it.  I’m just sayin’….

Here’s the quick click, you know you have to see what I’m talking about>>>

Sweet little naked baby…

Diner coffee mugs

If you’re of a certain age, you remember these diner coffee mugs.  I have several in my cabinet, I’ve gotten them on eBay thru the years, some of them have a Steak ‘n Shake logo on them, others are from the Original Pantry Cafe in Los Angeles, always a must go to hole-in-the-wall when we visited California.
I never used them that much, instead using my oversized Starbucks Mugs, or my favorite Rain Forest Cafe mug for my morning cuppa, because they were bigger and held more coffee.  I’m such a greedy be-otch, always going for the quantity instead of the quality.

But a few weeks ago, on a whim, I pulled one of these old mugs out of the cabinet, and fell in love.  I had forgotten the substance of them, they are heavy, and so thick that the coffee stays hot til’ the bottom of the mug.  It’s not that much of a hassle to refill them, I wish I would have discovered this long ago.

The older I get, the more nostalgic I am, I seem to be on a quest, going back in time, rediscovering things from my childhood.  Next I guess I’ll be playing with my Terri Lee doll. NO, remember, that’s the only thing my mother ever got rid of was that doll!!!

Maybe I’ll cough up the big bucks and buy one for Abby someday.  Then I can play with hers, and we can have a tea party, and drink tea out of these mugs, instead of china cups, and I’ll tell her boring stories of what life was like when Grammie was a little girl…

I’m trying to eat healthy, I’m trying…

I made hubby an apple pie this afternoon, yeah, I had a really little piece of it.  It’s now 9pm, I’m still hungry, so I go to the fridge, get out the unflavored yogurt, get out the applesauce, spoon about a cup of yogurt in a dessert dish, add a packet of Splenda to the yogurt, stir it up, and there sat that damn pie on the counter, just begging me to eat it, so instead of adding the applesauce, I added a tablespoon, yeah, it was a big tablespoon, okay, it was two tablespoons of apple pie, crust and all, to the yogurt. 

Lord have mercy, I’ve never tasted anything so good in my entire adult life!  It really wasn’t that many calories, honest, it wasn’t!

Oh my goodness, gracious, I’m doin’ the happy dance, here!!!

Here we go again sports fans......

Pepsi Throwback vs. Diet Dr. Pepper Cherry

Lawdee, was I ever a Pepsi drinker back in the day.   In the 50’s, you either drank Pepsi, or you drank Coke, both was not an option.  Kinda like you either drove a Ford or a Chevy.

I loved Pepsi, detested Coke, thought it was too syrupy and sweet, so a few months ago when Nisha told me that they are now recreating the original Pepsi, using sugar instead of corn syrup, and calling it Pepsi Throwback, I knew it was something I just had to try.  I even told Cousin Phyllis about it, because she too, even to this day, is a diehard Pepsi fiend.

But I couldn’t find it, it wasn’t in the stores, I heard rumors of it being in convenience stores, but I kept forgetting about it.

Fast forward to last week in Lexington.  Hubby and Ryan were out and they came home with a case of it.  Well, yours truly couldn’t wait to rip open the carton and pop a can.

So out came the ice, I poured it, the fizz was like the original Pepsi, the smell was just

like I remembered, I took a drink, and then another, and it was exactly like the Pepsi of my childhood.  And I hated it, I did, I absolutely detested the taste of it.  It was so sweet that it actually  made me nauseous.  I’ve drank too many Diet Cokes and just can’t handle the real stuff anymore.   So Phyl, I have a case of this stuff in the garage, I’ll bring it to you when I visit, maybe you will like it better than I do.

But, I do have a new drink of choice to report.  Diet Dr. Pepper Cherry.  Oh my, this stuff is full of cherry flavor, it’s absolutely delightful. Don’t confuse this with the Dr. Pepper Vanilla Cherry, that stuff is nasty, but this is awesome~

Dr. Pepper also makes a a Cherry Chocolate, but I haven’t found it yet.  So that’s my new mission, to see if I can find it!

Too bad about that Pepsi Throwback.  Just another case of not being able to go home again.  A time and a place for everything.  Kinda sad, isn’t it?

More winter forecasted for Heavensville....

Like all the rest of you, I'm sick of winter.  I'm longing for fields of green as the spring wheat makes it's appearance, I'm berating myself for once again not planting those damn tulip bulbs last fall, I feel isolated, confined, restless, and more snow is forecasted for tonight.

I'm a soup/stew/chili girl when we have this kind of weather.  Hubby has wanted beef stew for a few weeks now, so I'm going to make it tomorrow.  I was out this morning, in the rain, running a few errands, and needed a bottle of red wine to put in the stew.  I ran into Aldi's, bought a bottle of cabernet sauvignon for $2.99.  Yes, that's right, $2.99.  Will it be good, who knows, all I know is it had a cork!  Imagine that, a bottle of wine with a cork, for $2.99.  No screw caps for me, nosiree, it may taste like rotgut, but it has a cork!

Guess who gave Abby this bib?????

I know, I know, I’m always talking about how cute she is, but she is totally, adorably precious!  We’ve been visiting her for the past three days, and she has changed so much in the last three weeks.

She’s all smiles now.  She laughs and wiggles, grabs her toys and blows bubbles and goos, oh the goos, they are the best!  And she stands on her little legs, and marches on your lap.  Oh my, what fun I had.

So now I have my Abby fix, it will last for another 3 weeks or so, then I will need another.  It’s really hard to stay away at this age…

Aren’t they adorable…

I snagged this picture from Lindsay’s Facebook page.  This was taken Friday  night when they were getting ready for Abby’s first dinner party.  And I get to see her tomorrow.  Life is good….

Bathroom Scales that plug into Google Health

Well, this definitely screams A MAN THOUGHT THIS UP!!!!  Now they have scales that are wi-fi, they connect to Google Health so that your weight is posted online.

Is that the stupidest thing you’ve ever heard?  What woman would ever want her weight posted anywhere.  Women never tell what they actually weigh unless they have not an ounce of extra fat on them.  Have you ever heard a woman step on the scale, and yell out, OMG, I WEIGH 185 LBS?  Of course you haven’t.

If you want to read the article, even though I don’t know why you would, here’s the click!

And how are things in your world today?  We had snow last night, a lovely, fluffy pile of 4-5 inches of white sparkly snow.  Well that will be fun for about a day until it gets all tracked and dirty.

Maybe I’ll post a picture if I can get my nose out of this stupid windows rebuild long enough to do it.  I haven’t come up for air in days!!!!

I'm still kickin...

I've had computer problems all week.  Windows had to be reinstalled, and it's never simple.  I've messed with this for days, trying to reconstruct everything.  What a pain in the patootie.

Nothing is going right, I just need to give it up today.  It started bad this morning when I burnt my one, lonely pancake and made weak coffee, and it's been pretty much downhill since then.  I'll get it together and be back soon, hopefully tomorrow.

Hang in there with me, it will get better.  In the meantime, if you're really bored, there is a lot of new content on Jan Can Cook, new stuff on Eating Right, too and a new Abby section in the family area of Milly Scraps.  Access in the right sidebar.

~ jan

If I knew you were coming I'd've baked a cake

Talk about a blast from the past!  Daddy always sang this to me when I was a little girl.  Oh, this is just the cutest song I've heard in a long time.  If you're under fifty-five, you might not want to click on this.  You will just roll your eyes.  ~ jan

message-in-a-cookie-cutters from williams-sonoma

Isn't this just the best idea ever?  This was in my Williams Sonoma Catalog for the month of February.  I looked at these online, and they show this picture, but they say,  New, Exclusive, but not available. If you are interested I would call them direct, maybe they are available only through the catalog or in the stores.  I know, you want the number, here it is - 877.812.6235

  The item number is #28-1401132, and they're $19.95. 

I love the idea that you can customize them to say anything you want.  Does this look like something that bebe Abby and Grammie needs?  That's what I'm thinkin'...
 
~ Jan

Create personalized cookies for Valentine’s Day, birthdays and other notable occasions using our cutters in scalloped-rectangle, heart and star shapes. Customize the cutters by sliding in letters or premade words to form a name or message. When you press the cutter into the dough, your lettering is imprinted on the cookie. The set includes three cutters, seven premade words (Welcome, Happy, Birthday, Holidays, Thank You, From, I Love You), three sets of alphabet letters (plus extras of vowels and other commonly used letters) and a dishwasher-safe mesh bag for easy cleaning and storing. Hand-wash. 3 3/4"–4 1/4" wide. A Williams-Sonoma exclusive.

Ivana Trump in her underwear....

Lord have mercy, why would this woman do this at sixty years old?  OMG, is that Spanx high rise panties we're seeing.  And panty hose?  And I'm not even going to talk about the camel toe.  OMG, is anybody else as appalled as me?

Cast Iron Cookware

I was on another blogsite yesterday, they were talking about the Lodge 5 quart cast iron dutch oven.  You can buy it on Amazon for $26.99 with free shipping.  Great reviews on it, except it's preseasoned, and some people think they didn't do it well, but that's no biggie, you can always reseason it.  Here's the link, if anybody is interested.

I'm a huge fan of anything cast iron, and Lodge products are really good...

It’s a narsty day, and I’m in a narsty mood….

And how is your day going????  It’s raining in Heavensville, more rain predicted through the weekend, so that’s not helping Miss Merry Sunshine here.

I was making breakfast, reached up in the pantry for my sugar free syrup, dropped a bottle of dark Karo Syrup, splat on the stone floor.  Yep, they still make the bottles out of glass, did you know that?  Hell yes, it broke.  And it was a full bottle, too.  There was gooey syrup everywhere.

Thank goodness for hubby.  It took him forever to get that sticky mess up.  And just now, I’m drinking my morning coffee, yep, spilled it on my desktop.

And Mollie had to be dried with a towel after her morning foray into the wilds of the soggy yard, she was one wet little pooch!

And it’s only 11am.  Oh joy, can’t wait for the rest of the day to unfold…

Let’s take a little vacation today…

Thanks to Seana for this adorable video….

Sunday Dinners….

In our family we have breakfast, lunch and dinner, except  on Sunday when the noon meal becomes dinner.  I’ve always loved it, too.  Just something about Sunday morning in the kitchen.  But now hubby works on Sunday, there is no family at home, so my “dinner”  is a soup and a salad “lunch.”  And even that is scaled back because I took a walk on the wild side and had a sesame seed bagel at with my coffee at Donut Bank this morning. Grrrr!  And all the time I was eating that damn bagel, I was watching all the other people scarfing down donuts, cinnamon rolls, long johns, muffins, all the good stuff. ROARRRRRRRR

But I remember when Sunday dinner was a big production, fried chicken, meat loaf,  roast beef, wonderful veggies in butter sauce, hot bread, killer desserts.  Oh, those were the days.  We just ate and enjoyed it.  Didn’t really think about the fat or the cholesterol, just enjoyed the meal.

Now that my brain is always conscious of what I’m eating, even when it’s bad, I don’t have that freedom that I once did, and I miss it. 

So tonight, I’m having Sunday “supper.”  I got some scallops at the store for hubby, salmon for me, a little garlic whole wheat pasta, a big salad, and voila, Sunday supper.  Not quite the same as pork chops, mashed potatoes, gravy and biscuits, along with a warm piece of pie. :o(

Is it worth it?  All this healthy eating?  Sometimes, I wonder, girlfriends, sometimes I seriously do. 

~ jan, feeling deprived ~

Here’s what I did today….

Time to get back to scrapbooking, now that I’ve got this adorable little granddaughter.  This was so much fun to do…  If you want to see details, click on it, it enlarges…

Elements  used to build this page by Lori Davison

I was watching Today this morning…

Bobbi Brown was  doing makeovers and she had a little trick that I thought I would share.  But before I do, I want you all to know that there is a fine line between dewy and greasy.

So here’s the trick.  After all your makeup is on, including blush, you put on lip gloss, then take your finger and put a “dab” of lip gloss on your cheeks to give them a dewy look.

“Dab” is the keyword here, girlfriends.  A little dab will do ya… I tried it, of course, I got too much, and it was, well, shall we say, “a wee bit greasy.”

It’s a great trick though, once you get the hang of it.

Give it a try, and yep, it’s okay to laugh at the thought of me with greasy cheeks.  And if I run into some of you with “dewy” cheeks, I won’t say a word.

~ jan 

A girl can dream….

I’ve always been a fan of Currier & Ives.  Another lifetime ago,  I had their seasonal prints hanging in my library.  They’re long gone now, and it’s a shame, because I would hang them again. 

You’re probably wondering why I didn’t show a winter scene, it’s because I’m sick of cold and snow and ice underfoot.  I’m longing for budding trees, rides on Milly with the dogs, sipping my morning coffee by the babbling creek.  So this is my little treat for you all today, a look at summer’s long past, the way life used to be…

January

Carlene sent me this today.  It’s perfect…

Every year I embrace the stillness that follows the holidays with open arms and mittened hands.  The reflective calm is therapy for my soul.  It’s almost as though nature casts a spell upon crystallized days; white snow seems to absorb all sound and lays an immaculate blanket upon the earth’s imperfections.  The smoky aroma of charred logs is married with the fragrance of candle wax and pine.  Jack Frost dabs intricate masterpieces upon our windowpanes.

This a time to savor the fruits of our fall labors when those nesting instincts overtook us last October, a time for rest – to wallow in cashmere throws with a good book, to sip raspberry cocoa and languor in a steamy tub  of rejuvenating bath salts.  Rather than a “holiday let down”, January should be perceived as a pampering respite.

So as you wrap your chilled fingers around a piping hot mug of mocha, ponder the curly steam that arises from it and breathe deeply.  This is a time for you.

I wish for you only good things this upcoming year.  May you find many winter comforts.

Your daily dose of cuteness, with sound…

Isn't our our Abby  just about the cutest little baby, ever?  Well, except for all of your grandchildren, of course…

 

 

The song is “My Wish” by Rascal Flatts

Oh, is this good, ladies…

The family was coming this weekend. I wanted to make chocolate cake, but didn’t have a great recipe, and Veronica told me the Hershey Chocolate Cake was really good.

So I went online, found the recipe for Hershey’s Perfectly Perfect Chocolate cake, made it and it was hands down, the best chocolate cake I’ve ever made, ever!  Everybody loved it, Deanna so much that she wants it for her birthday next month!

If you haven’t made this, it’s just amazing, 3/4 cup cocoa in the cake and in the frosting, so it’s really chocolaty, really moist, just like the recipe says, it’s PERFECT!  I owe you for this one, V!

I put it on Jan Can Cook so we’ll always have it – link to it here>>

How sweet is this?

My buddy, V came to see Abby.  That’s pure joy you’re seeing on her face. 

There is nothing quite like seeing your friends with your grandchild.  It’s pretty amazing…

Need a laugh?

This woman is absolutely hysterical! Deanna has seen her speak before, she’s a huge fan, me, too! Oh she’s funny…

 

Your daily dose of cuteness…

Why email was invented

Thanks for the giggle, C.  This is so funny!!!

 

Why do we want to eat so much when it’s cold????????????

Now that we’re in the deep freeze, all I can think about is food?  I’m starved all the time.  What is it about cold weather that makes you want to eat?  Even the M&M’s are extra hungry.  They have their little bodies parked in front of the fireplace all day long.  They just lay there, gnawing on their Texas Toothpicks.

I made lima beans tonight in the pressure cooker, and my version of healthy cornbread – a box of Jiffy mix, a can of cream style corn and an egg white, stir, put in a 9” skillet, sprayed with Pam and bake at 425 until golden.

It’s really yummy, really moist, not quite a spoonbread, just a moist cornbread.

My one and only New Years resolution was to start doing my Yoga workout every morning.  Have I started it yet, of course not!  But I will, I’m really gonna do this!  Well, I am!!!

This really wasn’t that hard, mindless, actually…

LAST NAME GAME…. It’s harder than it looks! Use the 1st letter OF YOUR LAST NAME to answer each of the following questions. They have to be real places, names, things, nothing made up. You can’t use your name for the boy/girl question.
ONE-WORD ANSWERS ONLY!

1. What is your last name?……………………………… C*****
2. A 4-Letter Word:………………………………………………Card
3. A Girl’s Name:…………………………………………………Caroline
4. A Boy’s name:…………………………………………………….. Curt
5. An occupation:…………………………………Chef
6. Color:…………………………………………………………Chartreuse
7. Something you wear:………………………………………Coat
8. A beverage:……………………………………………Coke (Diet)
9. A food:…………………………………………………………Corn
10. Something found in the bathroom:……………Comb
11. A Place:…………………………………………………Caracas
12. Animal:……………………………………………………… Cougar

Five favorite products of 2009

1. Caress Body Wash.  I’ve tried so many different kinds, this one smells so good, and is so moisturizing, I always come back to it.
2. Paul Mitchell’s Skinny Serum.  Deanna and I both love this.  It defrizzes your hair, gives it shine, only takes a drop and you’re good to go.
3. Lacura Skin Care Line from Aldi’s.  I told you all about this a few months ago, and how good it is.  It’s an awesome product, and so inexpensive, it’s crazy cheap.
4. Lip Smackers, thanks to Lori, I’m enjoying the big fat tubes.  I have them in Dr. Pepper, Strawberry, and Cotton Candy.  Love these!
5. Nice N’ Easy Natural Blonde #103 – best hair color I’ve found yet, no brassiness no green, just a nice blonde color…

Top five highlights of 2009

I’m not normally a fan of reflecting over back over the past year, but there were milestones this year worth mentioning again.

1. Well, the biggie of course was the birth of my Grandaughter.  Abby was born October 8th, and we are all gaga over her. She’s now eleven pounds of wiggling, smiling , sweet smelling baby.  What sunshine she has brought into our lives.
2. I had a lifestyle change, I really did change the way I eat this  year.  I follow the 80/20 rule, eat healthy almost all of the time, and it’s working.
3. I’ve dropped 26 lbs. since last April, and I’m keeping it off.  MAJOR MILESTONE…
4. I stepped back from the computer a bit.  I realized I was too immersed in it, and I’ve taken a break.  I spent more time outdoors this summer than I have in years, I read a lot, I’m focused on different things for a change.
5. I can’t let this year pass without mentioning my ongoing love affair with the fur kidz.  Maggie and Molly are always a highlight of my life.  They make me laugh every single day, and there is nothing I enjoy more than having their little furry Yorkie bodies cuddled up next to me.  If you don’t have a dog, you’re missing out on one of life’s greatest pleasures. 

Handbook for 2010

Jean sent me this today.  I usually don’t get into this kind of stuff, but this is right on the money.  Just skim over it if you don’t want to read it all, some good advice here…  It should be our goal in the coming year to live like this….

Happy New Year!!!!

~ jan

Health:
1.       Drink plenty of water.
2.       Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
3.       Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
4.       Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy
5.       Make time to pray.
6.       Play more games.
7.       Read more books than you did in 2009.
8.       Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.
9.       Sleep for 7 hours, 8 preferably.
10.    Take a 10-30 minutes walk daily. And while you walk, smile.

Personality:
11.    Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
12.    Don't have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
13.    Don't over do. Keep your limits.
14.    Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
15.    Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.
16.    Dream more while you are awake.
17.    Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
18.    Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with His/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
19.    Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.
20.    Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
21.    No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
22.    Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn.  Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
23.    Smile and laugh more.
24.    You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree...

Society:
25.    Call your friends often.
26.    Each day give something good to others.
27.    Forgive everyone for everything.
28.    Spend time with people over the age of 70 & under the age of  6.
29.    Try to make at least three people smile each day.
30.    What other people think of you is none of your business.
31.    Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

Life:
32.    Do the right thing!
33..    Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
34.    Nature is a healing force.
35.    However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
36.    No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
37.    The best is yet to come.
38.    When you awake alive in the morning, be grateful and live in the moment.
39.    Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.

I know, I know, she’s just the CUTEST baby….

Butt Ruffles and Mary Jane Socks…. Soooo Sweet!!!

Here’s my girls, aren’t they sweet????

Our own little Christmas doll…

Merry Christmas from our house to yours...

Christmas Time’s A Comin’

A few of my favorite things

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things

My friend, Mary,  triggered memories today when she sent me an email  about black walnut divinity.  I started thinking about my favorite Christmas memories when I was a child.  Here are some of them.

• Big, fragrant oranges and grapefruits, a whole box full of them
• Nuts and an old fashioned nut cracker, watching tv,  and picking out my favorite ones, pecans and brazil nuts
• Snow ice cream
• Drinking steaming mugs of hot cocoa after playing outside in the cold
• Orange rinds and cinnamon sticks simmering on the stove
• Russian tea, Mother always made it with Tang, spices and instant iced tea, then we would spoon the mix into mugs of hot water to drink
• Lebkuchen, we made those wonderful, spicy cookies every November and then stored them in big tin containers until Christmas, they were so good, I have the recipe, handed down for generations, I need to make them again…
• Chex Mix, cousin Sue’s was always the best, chocked full of pecans and cashews, not only Chex cereal, but Cheerios and Kix, too,  and Bugles and pretzels, and seasoned with garlic, and spicy hot with lots of Tabasco
• Midnight mass on Christmas eve, the candles, the poinsettas, it was just magic when I was a child
• Opening gifts on Christmas eve, the anticipation of what doll I would get for Christmas. That was the best part, I always got a new doll, every year…
• Aunt Ruby’s Mexican Wedding Cookies, still a family tradition
• Homemade candy, my favorite was called bologna candy, it was a date nut roll, we made it every year.  And that wonderful black walnut divinity and homemade fudge, chocolate and my favorite, peanut butter

As I reread my list, it was all about food, wasn’t it? And it’s still all about the food…  That little girl never quite grew up, and this year I have a new doll to play with, a real, live one.  Baby Abby’s first Christmas.  What a wonderful Christmas this is for our family….

A Christmas present that won’t cost you anything….

I’ve gotten older, hopefully a bit wiser, and my life experiences have made me realize that this moment is all we have, seize it, live it, tomorrow may be too late.

One of the things that I do, and I’ve touched on this before, is that when I say goodbye, I always tell my family I love them, always.

I never leave them without hugging them and telling them “I love you,” and I never hang up the phone without saying it.  It comes as natural to me as saying “goodbye” does.  You may think, “my family doesn’t do this, I would feel awkward, or embarrassed.”  So, what if you do?  And so what if it’s awkward, or maybe even uncomfortable at first, you’re telling them what’s in your heart.

And you don’t do it once and quit, you keep doing it over and over again until it’s as natural for you to say it as it is to say goodbye.  And I’ll just bet you that they will start saying it back to you, and maybe even saying it first.

It’s a wonderful gift you can give the people you love, it doesn’t cost you anything, and the rewards are amazing.  And if, god forbid, it’s the last time you see or talk to them, they will always remember what your last words to them were. 

If you never try anything new, you will always get the same old results, but if you go out on a limb, and take a chance, a whole new world opens up. 

Just take a deep breath and say it, ”I love you,”  it’s a wonderful gift.

~ jan

Rub-a-dub-dub, look who just got out of the tub…

This Grammie stuff  just ROCKS!!!!!  Oh, Abby Leigh, what a sweet little soul, you are….

Thanks for the giggle this morning, Hooterville…

Twas the night of Thanksgiving and out of the house
Tiger Woods came a flyin', chased by his spouse.
She wielded a nine iron and wasn't too merry,
Cause a bimbo’s phone number was in his Blackberry.
He’d been cheatin' on Elin, and the story progressed.
Woman after woman stepped up and confessed.
He’d been cheatin’ with Holly, Jaimee, Linda and Cori,
With Joselyn, and Kalika. The world had the story.
From the top of the Tour to the basement of blues,
Tiger’s sad sordid tale was all over the news.
With hostesses, waitresses, he had lots of sex,
When not in their pants, he was sendin' them texts.
Despite all his cryin’ and beggin' and pleadin',
Tiger’s wife went investin' -- a new home in Sweden.
And I heard her exclaim from her white Escalade,
"If you’re gettin' laid then I’m gettin' paid." 
She’s not pouting, in fact, she is of jolly good cheer,
Her prenup made Christmas come early this year.

Robyn Carr’s Virgin River Series…

I’m a total trash reader, I always read women, too, I never read men as I don’t care for the way they write romance novels. I’m always looking for new authors, because when I find someone I like, I read everything they have ever written.

I’m hooked on Robyn Carr and her Virgin River Series.  There are seven books in this collection so far, and this woman weaves wonderful stories.  She incorporates several families into each book, instead of focusing on one relationship, and taking the whole book to establish it, she forms relationships early on and then moves on to other people.  It’s a great twist, the way she writes, and the town of Virgin River, population 600, and it’s cast of characters is totally entertaining.

If you haven’t read her, give her a read, or if you’re a fan already, tell us what your favorite books are.  If you’re looking for a stocking stuffer, the first book in her Virgin River series would be a great idea….

~ jan

This is spectacular, thanks Barb for sending it…

Amazing Grace Techno - Computer Controlled Christmas Lights from Richard Holdman on Vimeo.

Abby’s first playdate….

This is Abby on the left, with Julieanne.  Looks like she wore her little friend out.

Oh little girl babies are just too cute for words!!!!!

Hungry Girl Liquid S’Mores

I posted this on my Eating Right Blog, it looks absolutely to-die-for…

It’s a healthy version of Liquid S’Mores. Everything we love, hot chocolate, marshmallows, chocolate chips, graham crackers.

 

Here’s the click to them, you’re going to want to try this one…

~ jan

Thanks for the laugh, Seana…. oh this is a good one, girls….