I have a new grandpuppy…

 

Meet the newest addition to our growing family, Isabel Lucille, born Christmas day.  And let me tell you, ladies, she’s an eight-week old, four pound bundle of dy-NO-mite!

John and Deanna have been looking for cocker pup for quite awhile now.  Oreo’s breeder found Izzie in Connecticut, and flew last week to pick her up, along with her sister, Hannah, which she kept for herself.

John and Deanna came here for the weekend to pick her up, and it was quite the experience having a pup in the house again.  I was sure Maggie would love to romp and play with her, but oh no, she would have no part of this puppy, and Mollie just totally ignored her.  Poor little pooch, she was practically standing on her head trying to get their attention, but nothing she did enticed them to play.

Maybe when she gets a bit older, it will change, so for now she has to be content to play with the humans.  She knows how to sit and lay down already, something the M&M’s have yet to master.  She’s a real cutey-pie, little Miss Izzie Lou, and oh do her new parents have some exciting months ahead of them.

There is nothing sweeter than a little girl…

This is Alevia, she’s two and a half years old, and the most precocious, adorable little girl.  We had company yesterday, Margie and Jerry, forever friends and neighbors from thirty-five years ago.  Alevia is their granddaughter, and she enchanted us all.  Just had to share a picture of this special little child…

Static Guard, did you know it lasts for-ever?

Our youngest son, Ryan, spent the night with us last night.  He was in the area on a business trip, and was able to visit.  I made his favorite dinner, meatloaf, potatoes and carrots, corn and coleslaw, with brownies and ice cream for dessert, and we laughed and talked and the years melted away and he was a young boy again.  Well, not quite, because Lindsay and Abby crept into his conversation constantly.  It was so nice to have him for a visit, yet it was odd, because the rest of his family wasn’t with him and I missed them.

But that’s not my story.  Ryan is a pharmacist, so he regularly goes through my medicine cabinet, checking all the bottles, throwing away anything that is either expired, or going to be expiring, he’s passionate about it.  And he’s also passionate about food, so he’s constantly checking my refrigerator for expired dates, throwing away food that is past it’s prime, because neither hubby or I are diligent about whether or not the salad dressing expired last week, last month, or heaven forbid last year.

So this morning, after he bribed me to iron his shirt, reminding me of what a good job his grandma always did, he announced that he needed some static guard for his pants, and asked if I had any. “Of course I have some, it’s in the cupboard in the utility room,” I told him.  So he retrieves the can and starts laughing, practically doubling over he’s laughing so hard.  “Look at this label,” he says.  And sure enough the girl on the label looked really dated, with an apron and beehive hairdo.  He checks the can, and sure enough, it’s dated 1983.  1983, how in the world did that happen?  How could I have possibly had a can of that since 1983?

Well, to be honest, I haven’t used Static Guard in years, but 1983, that was twenty-eight years ago.  But it still worked, it did the job for him, despite it’s age.  Geezy Pete, doesn’t time fly…

Ginger Rogers dances Salsa at 92 yrs old, it’s Sarah Paddy Jones

This lady, Sarah Paddy Jones,  is actually seventy-five, not ninety-two,  but isn’t she amazing?  Thanks for sending this Marti, just wait ‘til she rocks out and strips out of her gown.  She will blow you away.  ~ jan

When I'm good, I'm very, very good....

And when I'm bad, I'm horrid!!!

Last night LC ran by the grocery store, and in a weak moment I told him to bring home a package of Little Debbie Nutty Bars, a delightful concoction filled no doubt with unpronouncable chemicals and lots of nasty trans fats.  I haven't indulged in this sinful treat since the boys were children, but sometimes a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do, and I have been craving Nutty Bars for about as long as I craved that raisin pie.

He came in the front door, threw me the box, I tore into them like a rabid dog that hadn't eaten in days, and oh my, they were just as wonderful as I remembered.  Crisp, sickening sweet, peanut butter, cookie wafer, what's not to love.

And this morning, I woke up totally refreshed, after a great night's sleep.  I swear it was the Nutty Bars.  But no, I'm not going to start buying these things, there are 350 calories in two little wafers.

But oh my, were they ever good!  Miz Scarlett went to bed with a full tummy and a smile on her face.  And today, I'm baking brownies, a recipe from long ago when I was a teenager.  Ryan will be nearby on a business trip and he's spending the night.  So Mom's in the kitchen today, baking brownies and sending some home for Lindsay and Abby to try.  Life is good in Heavensville this morning....

 

I wish I could blame this on being old(er)

I am such a dork!  Hubby took me out to breakfast, then we did a little shopping, we were on our way home and I looked down at my windbreaker.  It was on wrong side out.

I wore that in the restaurant, in the stores, you would have thought that he would have noticed.  You would have thought that I would have put it on and checked to see that it was right side out.  But oh, no…  I had to go around looking like a doofus.

It’s not like this is anything new, I’ve done this kind of things for years.  Oh, if I only had a brain….

Oldie but a goodie, Cybil Shepherd singing “The Menopause Blues”

The McGhee Sextuplets

 

This family was on Oprah today.  What a wonderful couple, and what sweet little children.  These parents are simply outstanding!  Go to Oprah's site or YouTube and see if you can watch a clip from the show.  This mom is cool, calm, collected, organized and Dad is right in there, helping her.  

Find of the week - Micro Tweeze

 

I'm running a bit late with Sunday's Find of the Week, but this is a great product if you want to wax your eyebrows at home.  There is a video on YouTube, a young girl is using this product, but seriously, I do a much better job than she does, and I'm going to share what I've learned.

When I first bought this, I would put it under my eyebrows in a thin coating with an orange stick,  it wouldn't come off, just little chunks would peel off, it hurt, it was messy, it was totally useless.  But instead of giving up, I kept working with it, and finally got it right.

Here's what you do:

Warm the container in the microwave.  You don't have to make the entire pot liquid, just warm it enough that there is a melted hole in the middle, this will take between 1-2 minutes, depending on the wattage of your microwave.

The instructions say to use an orange stick, but that was a disaster, because to make this as painless as possible you have to put a big blob of the stuff under your eyebrow and you can't load an orange stick up with product.  I take a q-tip, twirl it around in the wax, it strings when you take it out, so don't get it on your eyelashes, and yes, I did that once, too.  Anyway, now you have a big wad of the stuff on your q-tip, just dot a thick blob under your eyebrow, move over a bit toward your ear, and make another connecting blob.  Of course you can't get right up to the brow line, but who is brave enough to do that anyway, that's just asking for disaster, and yes I've done that before, too.  Just get the majority of the stray hairs and you can easily clean the rest of it up with tweezers.

You let it cool for a minute, no need to use a cloth strip, you just pull up the edge, and quickly rip it off, tearing it off against the hairs,  toward your nose.  That's all there is to it, it works great, is relatively painless and almost every bit of wax comes off.  You can use a bit of Vaseline to get the rest of the residue off.  This is a super product, the jar lasts forever, and you don't have the hassle or the expense of going to a salon.  It works equally well on moustache and those nasty post-menopausal chin hairs, too.

I bought mine locally in a beauty supply house, but you can order it here from Amazon.  It's really inexpensive, $13.99 and it lasts for years.  Look at how much money you are saving, the price of this is no more than one salon visit. The reviewers say to use a popsicle stick to put this on, that would probably work well, but who has popsicle sticks laying around?  

Give yourself a few attempts to perfect this, but you have any problems, just give me an email.  The secret is to put it on really, really thick, but it works great!  Pinky swear it does.  ~ Jan

This really is amazing, seriously....

Grammie's brag, that's that what we do, so here goes.  

Lindsay put Abby's puzzle in front of her this morning, and started to help her fit the pieces in the right slots, she swatted mama's hand away and proceeded to put the entire puzzle together with no help.  

That's pretty good for a sixteen month old.  

Sally Hansen Salon Effects

I saw these on Denise Richard's twitter feed.  She says they are amazing.  Hmmmm, can't imagine...

I went to YouTube - here are a couple of videos if you want to check them out -

Sally Hansen Bling Effect

Sally Hansen Promo Video

My take on these - if you're a 20 or 30 something, these would be fun.  At my age, the color choices would look silly.  Sooooo, another idea bites the dust.  Oh, getting old is such a pain in the patootie!!!!!  How do old(er) women have fun?

But back to the nails, I was just telling Lindsay last weekend that I can't wait until Abby is old enough to paint her toenails.  I love, love, love little girl's with different colored piggies.  A yellow one, a purple one, a pink one, maybe little polka dots on one of them, too.  Oh, won't that be cute peeking out of a pair of sandals, or even better flip flops.

I know, she has to grow up a bit, but oh, what fun we're going to have...

One of the finalists from Pioneer Woman's Love Photo Contest

This picture is so precious, it brought tears to my eyes.  I simply adore Pioneer Woman. She's just the BEST!!!!  Check out the rest of her photos, they're wonderful!

 

 

By Sara. Nel

The Dancing Goat

Jean sent me this early this morning. Aren't animals just a joy! This is so cute!!!!!

Houseplants, normally not my thing…

Despite my success with outdoor gardening, I have a bad reputation when it comes to houseplants.  I overwater, or ignore, they turn yellow, they turn brown, they die, you know the routine.

Well, the palm tree in the sunroom, I got it last year at Nashville Flea Market.  The vendor that was selling it said it was thirty years old.

Thirty years old, what an obligation I felt, to nourish this through the winter.  It had been alive for so many years, I couldn’t just couldn’t let it die at at the end of summer.  So into the sunroom it went last fall, and I’ve actually managed to keep it going, it actually looks pretty good considering who has been taking care of it. 

I’m looking forward to spring days when I can once again drag it out into my little front courtyard, but right now I’m feeling pretty pleased with myself that I didn’t kill it!  But not pleased enough to bring more live plants into the house, I’ll leave that to my friends that do a better job than me.

Oh the things I put that man through…

Today was the day,  I decided that I wanted to move the furniture in the sunroom.  Poor LC, he moved everything out, and rearranged it the way I wanted it.  He pushed and pulled and vacuumed, and then I stood back and looked at it and I hated it!

It looked terrible, everything  was lined up against the walls, a look that drives me nuts! Whatever was I thinking? So he took a nap, and then he pushed and pulled and moved everything back the way I had it in the first place.  Now the sofa is angled in the corner, the tree and plant are behind it, just the way it was before, the way it’s been for the last eight years.

I’m usually a creature of habit, once I get a room the way I want it, I don’t change it.  I must have had a touch of spring fever this afternoon.  Either that or dementia, probably the latter.  Whatever it was, it was not one of my better ideas.  But I am going to look for new toss cushions for the sofa, something with a summery feel. That should do it, a little change without a major redo…

What a difference a week makes…

A week ago, Trish and I were out on the golf cart, with the cover on.  It was twenty-five degrees, we were bundled in coats and hats, drinking mugs of coffee to keep warm.

Today, hubby put the flaps up on Milly, we took the M&M’s for a ride in our shirt sleeves, it’s 72 degrees in Heavensville.

It won’t be long now until spring.  Today is just a tease, I know.  But it’s glorious…

Happy Valentine’s Day….

Abby at 16 months...

She’s a little whirlwind, why walk when you can run.  We visited them this weekend, Lindsay warned me that she has discovered her screamer, and she’s right.  She runs through the house barefoot, squealing at the top of her lungs.  Then she stands on her tippy toes and walks across the floor.

Despite my repeated attempts to get her to call me “Grammie” she refused, opting instead to refer to her grandpa as “Bampa.”  I was so desperate I tried to get her to call me “Bammie” but it was hopeless.  She would just look at me and say “no.”

That’s her favorite word, “no.”  She says it for everything.  She shakes that little head and is very emphatic about it, too. 

She’s a busy little bee, doesn’t want to sit on your lap, only cuddles when she is tired, she has too much to do, exploring her world.  She is totally in love with Handy Manny, watches his cartoons intently, while clutching her Handy Manny doll.  She tries to use the screwdriver to screw things from her Handy Manny Toolbox, and of course hubby thinks that’s the cutest thing ever.

She has definite ideas about food.  She does not want anybody feeding her, she wants to do it herself.  She enjoyed dunking her french fries in yogurt at Cracker Barrel, and speared chicken with a fork and fed to anybody that would take it.  Did she eat it herself, of course not, she only likes Chick-fil-A.  I discovered quickly that she would much rather feed you her food than eat it, except for yesterday when she ate half a bag of my Baked Lay Chips.  She put those chubby little hands into the bag and crammed them in her mouth as fast as she could, not once offering to share with “Bammie.”  She’s just like her mama, she loves anything salty.

She’s crazy about her daddy, he’s the only one she will always give a cuddle to.  She lights up when he enters the room, yells, “Dada” and runs to him as fast as she can with those little arms in the air to pick her up.

Sixteen months is a precious age, I wish I could make time stand still, she’s changing so fast…

Waking Up is Hard to Do!

This is great, thanks for the send, Carlene!

Is this a hit, or a miss?

I need your opinions. This is a picture of the back wall of my kitchen, the prep area, I’ve reorganized things, put what I need to bake with in these cabinets, and changed out my mismatched canisters that I put my Splenda and Oat Bran in.

First I bought these standard issue glass canisters from Target (third picture), brought them home, and hubby told me that there were old square canisters stored in the garage.  So I sat the Target canisters in the utility room, ready to take back.  Then he brought the Seifert ones in the kitchen for me, washed them, and here’s the result.

Is this Seifer’s Pretzel’s on the front ugly?  It doesn’t work to turn them to the back, as you can still see the logo from the backside, and it looks even worse. *if you click on these pictures, they enlarge a bit*

I did a poll in the sidebar, what’s your take on this, should I ditch the Pretzel Canisters and use the Target ones, or none of the above?  Oh, the poll is completely anonymous, but I really want to know what you think, or I wouldn’t be asking…

~ jan

Men, don’t they just annoy the holy bejeezus out of you???

Today for lunch I made wilted lettuce, using this wonderful leaf lettuce in the picture, green onions, bacon drippings, red wine vinegar, put together in my favorite, mother’s big stainless steel mixing bowl, and I’m sitting at the bar, eating, and reminiscing, thinking about how I’ve loved wilted lettuce since I was a little girl and how nobody made it better than mother did.  I was dipping another serving of lettuce out of that bowl onto my plate, and hubby waltzes by.

He asked if he could have a bit, and I graciously shared with him, then asked if he liked it, because I have this irrational need for approval of the food I make.  He walks away, muttering that it tasted like what an old person would have for lunch!  WHAT????  He’s four year older than me, the old fart, what a stupid thing to say!!!  And what did Mr. Food Critic have for his lunch???  Cream of mushroom soup out of a can.  Talk about what an old person has for lunch!

Grrrrrrr, he better watch what he says, it might just show up on this blog!

Men Schmen!!!!

Are the snows really almost over?

Our local weatherman said this morning that he’s pretty certain we are 90% finished with snow this winter after one more snowfall today.

Oh, please let him know what he’s talking about.  He never gets it right, but maybe the weather is finally changing.

The girls have been little troopers, trudging thru the wet stuff on their little Yorkie legs.  You can just see the looks of resignation as I put them out in the cold.  They do their business and run for the door, instead of dawdling, and sniffing everything as they normally do.  No perimeter checks, no nose twitching, they just pee and run for the house.  I always have the fireplace on for them, they head right to it, to warm up.

Now if I can just get hubby to fill those bird feeders today and get some activity, I’ll feel like we might really have a shot at spring.  Darn, darn, why didn’t I plant those bulbs last fall! 

This is how she rolls at my house…

I have issues with telephone handsets.  I lose them, frequently.  In fact, last summer hubby threw what was left of the old ones away and bought an entire new set of phones because I had lost most of the old ones.  He was smart this time, the base unit is corded, so I can’t lose it.  But the other three phones are cordless and we didn’t have the new phones a week until one of the cordless ones came up missing.  I really felt bad about it, and we never did find it, despite his turning the house upside down looking for it.  He couldn’t understand how I could lose so many phones, and of course, as usual, Ditzy Dora here was totally clueless.

Well, today he was digging around in the sofa in the den, who knows why, and he felt this hole kind of in the side of the couch, and lo and behold, not one, not two, but three handsets had fallen in the hole.  Two of them were from the previous phones, and he found the one I lost right after he bought the new ones.  He had gone through all the sofas many times, but didn’t realize that there was this empty pocket in the side where things could fall through.

I really feel sorry for the man sometimes, I seriously do.  I am just such a space cadet with telephones, with no forethought about putting them back where they belong after I finish talking.  I seldom lose my cellphone, and I never lose car keys, that’s his thing, losing the car keys, but for the life of me, I can’t remember to put those stupid phones back on their chargers. And, even though we have a little finder button on the main unit, the handsets have to be charged for them to beep, and if they are lost, of course they aren’t going to beep, their batteries are dead.

But life is good in Heavensville this afternoon, all the phones have been restored to their rightful places, and I was even motivated enough to finally set up the phonebook on the main unit, even put in my speed dials. 

Now what else can I do while I wait out this weather.  I need to redo the index page of munchiebusiness.com, maybe I’ll work on that later in the week, or maybe I’ll just talk on the phone, or maybe I’ll do none of the above, but I won’t be making another pie for a long, long time, that’s for damn sure.  Weaning myself off sugar today is not a good time!

Here’s what’s making me happy today….

A fresh rose fleur from the grocery store, a Diet Coke, a pot of Carmex and a game of Farmville on the computer.  I’m into cheap thrills ;o)

Okay, already….

I shared my pie with hubby, even though he graciously said I could have it all.  I was starting to feel like Miss Piggy. *blush*

61 year old woman goes on a binge….

Like the nursery rhyme, The Little Girl with the Curl, when I’m good, I’m very, very good, and when I’m bad I am horrid!

Remember last week, and how I said I would eventually cave and make a raisin pie?  Well, yesterday was the day, I not only made the damn pie, I ate half of it.  Yes, sport fans, half!  But, oh, I’m not finished yet.  This piece is in the kitchen, the last piece, and hubby isn’t feeling so great this morning, he thinks maybe he is getting a bug, and he said he doesn’t feel like eating any more pie.

And yes, I feel really bad for him, well I do, I was going to share, well I was. But since he’s not feeling well it means that I get to eat this other piece of pie, this big piece, all by myself.  And yes, that’s real pie crust you’re seeing, no Pillsbury Pie Crust for this pie, nope, it was the real meal deal…

I’m really bad, and really stupid to tell it on myself, but I have no filter, remember?  Tomorrow back to healthy eating, today, over the mouth and past the gums, look out tummy, here that pie comes!!!!

I posted the recipe on Jan CAN Cook, if any of you are so inclined to make a raisin pie for yourself.  I highly recommend it.  And one of these days, I’m going to make another favorite, sour cream raisin cream pie.  But not for awhile, I’ve done enough damage with this one! But sometimes a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do.  Know what I mean, Vern?

~ jan

Jan’s Find of the Week – Hooked on Houses

This is the cottage in the movie, Bewitched. Bad movie, lovely house…

I’m running a little late today, but oh, do I have a goodie for you.  This blogsite is called “Hooked on Houses” and it has something for everybody, peek into celebrity homes, movie sets, you name it, it’s on here.  This is so much fun, ladies, oh you’re gonna love it.  Pinkie swear  you will ;o)

In fact, I love it so much that  I’m adding it to my Google Reader and The Dish sidebar.

If you go into the archives, you can spend hours here. Enjoy…

~ Jan

Here’s the click>>>

Down Comforters, they’re not your grandma’s featherbeds…

I think that Grandma’s featherbed is why I resisted using a down comforter all these years.  If you’ve never tried to smooth out feathers and fit a sheet over a featherbed, you have no clue as to how daunting that can be.  Every time we spent the night at Grandma’s, I would have to wrestle that darned featherbed, trying to make it of a morning.  But sleeping on top of feathers is totally different than sleeping under them.

Our kids had down comforters and we would sleep under them when we visited them, and talk about how nice it was, then come home and totally forget about it.  But a couple of years ago they had a down comforter marked down, wayyyy down, at Tuesday Morning.  We have a king size bed, and soft goods for it can be really spendy, but this comforter was just such a good deal that I bought it.  I brought it home, stuffed it in a closet and there it stayed until last summer.

I finally got around to buying a duvet, stuffed it with the down comforter and put it on the bed.  I quickly realized that it was indeed, light as a feather and worked great as a light blanket all summer long.  Then autumn rolled around, I was still just using the duvet and a sheet, no need for a blanket.  Then this gawdawful winter started, the temps were frigid, I keep the bedroom cool, and still no need for a blanket.  It’s simply the most awesome thing, it keeps you cool in the summer, toasty warm in the winter, not to mention the fact that the M&M’s love it, they dive on top of it, and sink into the down, almost disappearing, and are instantly asleep.

Mine doesn’t have channel stitching, like some do to keep the feathers in place, and I prefer it this way because it’s so fluffy.  I simply flip it end for end every few days and the feathers redistribute.  But the best part is not being weighed down by blankets, it really is like sleeping under a cloud.

So, if you are a late bloomer to the idea of a comforter like I was, or had always wondered about one but weren’t sure if you would like it, give it a try, they are a wonderful thing.  I think hubby likes it even more than I do, he thinks it’s the greatest thing, ever.

I still see them often at Tuesday Morning for great prices.  If you’re looking for one, it’s a good place to start.  I found all kinds of duvets at Bed Bath and Beyond.  Of course Pottery Barn has gorgeous ones, they are simply stunning, but I couldn’t justify the cost, considering I sleep with the dogs and wash mine often.

Butterfinger Snackerz Commercial *

This is the cutest commercial I've seen in a long time. Southern woman are just so "precious," bless their hearts. I just bet John Austin would like these, my oldest son has loved Butterfinger's since he was a little boy.

 

One of those simple things…

The sound of a bird outside my window made me positively giddy this morning.  And I’m bemoaning the fact that I didn’t plant those crocus bulbs last fall!

I think I’m going to go to the grocery store, browse the plants and pick up a bit of spring for my desk.  Bring a little sunshine home today

Let’s summer dream a bit this morning, with a little vintage Seals & Crofts…

Your daily dose of cuteness, ohhh, it’s a good one, too!

Hacienda Salsa

Ladies, do I have a recipe for you!  Well, actually I have two of them.  I'm a huge fan of a local restaurant, Hacienda, and have wanted their salsa recipe for years.  I'm talking years, like thirty years!  On a whim, I put Hacienda Salsa into Google and this recipe pops up, and it looks surprisingly similar.

The poster on the Group Recipe site also posted a recipe for Ranch Dip, which hubby loves with his chips.

 So, if you're looking for something new to try for Super Bowl Sunday, this might just be what you're looking for.

The recipes are on Jan CAN Cook, take a peek, and tell me what you think.  These are a couple of goodies.  I can't tell you how excited I am to find these recipes!!!!!

~ jan

The Mother Tucker Collection, body shapers

 

 

They were talking about these shapers on After Today, with Hoda and Kathie, Lee this week.  They were pretty impressive, totally smoothed the dreaded rolls on a hefty model.  Here's a link if you want to check them out.  I haven't tried these, I'm just sayin...

The Today Show, 1994, Bryant and Katie, What's the Internet?

 Flash back to 1994 and watch this clip of the Today hosts trying to figure out the internet, they're totally clueless.  Oh, how far we've come...

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

The Lost Valentine

For those of you who watched Betty White and Jennifer Love Hewitt in The Lost Valentine last night, wasn’t it wonderful?  And for those of you who didn’t, you missed a good one.

One thing that just irritated the bejeesus outta me, though,false eyelashes! They had a full set of Jennifer Love Hewitt, extremely long and thick, extremely black, so unnatural, it was detracting.  And if that wasn’t bad enough, they had a half set on Betty that just looked stupid!

But that was a minor thing, the movie was just charming and the actor who played her husband when she was young,Billy Magnussen,  was SO handsome. How refreshing it was to see a young actor cleanly shaven and groomed, he was just yummy!

Here’s a little behind the scenes video for you…

Jan’s Finds of the week…

It’s Sunday, time for some more of my finds of the week.  I have a couple for you today, the first I can’t take credit for, I owe this one to Linda, Lindsay’s mom, who gave one to Linds. It’s a counter mat and since I have a one bowl sink, I'm always putting a dishtowel on the counter to dry things, but this works so much better.  It’s foam lined, absorbent, cushions your dishes, easy to fold and put away, isn’t bulky like a dish drainer, it's a great product.  They come in grey and beige, and are available at Bed Bath and Beyond.  They’re only $7.99, not a chunka change, it’s a lot of bang for your buck.

And speaking of one bowl sinks, it’s the most wonderful thing I’ve ever owned, this deep one bowl sink.  I remember when I told the guy building our countertops that I was putting one in, he told me that it was a huge mistake for resale value, and I told him that I could care less because I plan on living here until they cart me out of here to the nursing home.  Well, that was eight years ago, now the trend has shifted and a one bowl sinks are really popular.  My guys love mine, both of them wish they had them in their kitchens.  And some of you are probably thinking that if I had a two-bowl sink I wouldn’t have to put this mat on my countertop.  Umhmmm, I hear ya, but if you have never tried them, you don’t know what you’re missing. They’re big and roomy, easy to clean, so much more user friendly than a two bowler, pinkie swear they are…

And this is my second find.  Hubby has the big stainless grill on the patio, this huge contraption that men seem to feel the need to own, you know the kind that will grill a dozen burgers, plus twelve ears of corn, plus whatever else you want to throw on it, and every time we grill we have to traipse all the way thru the house out to the patio and fire this big thing up. 

It’s way too big for a couple of burgers, it’s so big it takes forever to heat up, not to mention guzzling the gas.  It’s great for when we have company, but just not for the two of us.

Enter the Weber Q120 Gas Grill. We’ve debated on buying one of these since last summer.  It’s cast iron, portable, easy to pick up, put in the car to tailgate with, and you can buy a cart to roll it around on when you’re at home.  LC found a great deal on one of these on eBay last month, we bought a cart for it at Lowe’s, and we’re off to the races.  It’s so easy to roll outside the garage and grill. It’s close to the kitchen, and it heats up really fast since the surface is small.  As you can see from the picture, it’s plenty big enough for 4 burgers and a couple of ears of corn on the side.  It’s a good thing…

Do you wash your hair, or do you shampoo?

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

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

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

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

What is this obsession with trotting out the girls?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A Dog's Welcome home...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

Cyndi’s Catalog of Garden Catalogs

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

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

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

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

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

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

~ jan

5 tips for using for aluminum foil

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

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

When your husband retires, learning the dance...

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

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

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

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

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

Another daily giggle...

Your daily giggle...

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

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

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

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

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

Jan's finds of the week....

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

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

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

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

 

Organize your life with Mint.com

Hubby has been looking for a monthly expense tracker, and I found this top rated one on Google. I researched it before I created an account, because you do have to give your bank user ID and password so that this program can pull your information and create your profile. That can be really scary, but in the following videos you will see that this is a secure site. It will show you pie charts and graphs, you will know exactly where your money is going each month.  It will even alert you when bills are due and if your bank account falls below a specified level.

After I installed the program, in minutes we could start to see where our money was going, what our big expenses are. It's very clear that we are spending a lot of money on food. No surprise, there. It updates automatically daily, so once you set up the categories you don’t have to manually input anything.

This is an amazin' raisin, girlfriends. If you really want to know where your money is going, this program is all you'll ever need, and the best part is that's it totally free. Interested, umhmmmm, I bet a lot of you are. Just go to mint.com and get started. Here are some videos that should reassure you that this is safe and give you a bit of insight into the software. What a great Sunday project I have for you. ;o)

~ jan

 

 

 

We're not alone, look who's aging right along with us...

My morning coffee and newspaper just isn't the same anymore...

Recently, hubby and I subscribed to our local paper online.  The e-edition costs us $9 a month, so it's less expensive than the paper version, no more traipsing out to the mailbox, no papers to dispose of, we just click and read.  It's a bit of an adjustment, getting used to it, but it works wonderfully.  So now I sit at the computer and read the paper with my morning cuppa joe.  I like it, I really like it...

 

 

 

My thoughts about more snow

Snow is moving in once again tonight, the forecasters are predicting 2-4 inches, but they never get it right.  When I saw the forecast, this is exactly what I thought!!!  Porky says it better than I ever could ;o)

Do you know this old cartoon dates back to 1938.  I bet I got a grin out of you, and I bet a lot of you feel the same way about this gawdawful winter we're all having...

Betty White on Letterman last night

Okay, only one more Betty White post.  We have to enjoy this National Treasure while we can, after all she turned eighty-nine yesterday.  This clip from her on Letterman is so good, oh ladies, you're going to laugh so hard when they bring out the vodka!

Five things I love about McDonald's

I'm serious here, Mickey D is always getting bad press, but there are healthy options, and they're good, too!

1. Their new oatmeal offering - it's amazing, full of great fruit, creamy, hot and it's only $2.00
2. Fruit and Yogurt Parfait, great for an afternoon snack
3. Senior coffee, yes, senior coffee - 55 cents and it tastes awesome.
4. Grilled chicken sandwich, real chicken breast, not processed
5. Fish Sandwich, okay, so it's not healthy, and it's probably made of parts of fish you don't want to know about, but I love it, Deanna does, too!

See, I did it, five things that are good and only one that is unhealthy.  Don't even think about going there with the coffee, I think of caffeine as a food group, it gets this old girl up and running, and anything that gets me going I consider healthy.   And I didn't even mention the fresh apple slices with caramel dip

Mary Tyler Moore is going to be on Hot in Cleveland tonight

Season premiere tonight, 9pm, TV Land - this is a must see for yours truly...

A smile for you this morning, just for my buddy V ;o)

Anne of Green Gables, where have you been all of my life?

Why did I never read this wonderful old classic before?  It's taken all of these years for me to discover Anne and her wonderful story.  I'm having a wonderful time, spending evenings by the fire with the dogs, reading.
I can't wait to go to the next books, Anne of Avolea, then Anne of the Island, Anne of Windy Poplars, Anne's House of Dreams, Rainbow Valley and Rilla of Ingleside.
Okay, so I'll burn out, but hoping to at least get to Anne of Windy Poplars before that happens.
And when I'm not reading this, I'm reading the latest Robyn Carr novel, Promise Canyon.  It's the last in a series of her Virgin River books, which are wonderful reads if you're looking for interesting contemporary fiction.  I love series, you get to know the characters, the town, it's just so much fun, you are drawn right into these stories.
Here's the entire Virgin River list, if you are looking for something interesting this winter, start with book one and read forward.  If you enjoy romance novels with a good story line, you won't be bored, pinky swear you won't.  ~ jan

Must See TV.... Betty White in The Lost Valentine, Sunday January 30th, on the Hallmark Channel

What goes around, comes around...

The year was 1975, the month was September.  How do I know? Oh, this is monumental, ladies.  Let's see, the exact date would have been September 23rd.  I had just brought Ryan home from the hospital, and these were my pre-pregnancy jeans.  Yes, these jeans, these exact same jeans, are the ones I had in 1975. complete with the stitching down the front and the hem.

It's monumental because the day after I brought him home, I was actually able to put these on and zip them.  Unreal huh?  I only gained sixteen pounds with that pregnancy, but before you go getting all impressed, you have to remember that I never got back into my pre-pregnancy jeans after I had John and when I got "preggo" with Ry, I knew I had better watch it or I would be "el lardo" after he was born.

And the size on these bad boys - a 12, I was never a skinny minnie, but let me tell you when these jeans fit me three days post delivery, I was soooooo thrilled! And even though I tell myself I still wear size 12 jeans, we all know better.  Yeah, the tag says a 12, but those low rider jeans are very forgiving.  If I had to put on a pair with a high waist, no telling what size I would wear with this thick thru the middle post-menopausal body.  I would probably run screaming from the dressing room, yelling "nooooooooooooooooo wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy" at the top of my lungs.

And now they're popular again.  These are from the Gap, $79 - now if I were Nisha, I would still have my old ones in the closet, but of course mine have been gone for years.

And no, I have no desire to buy them again.  Well, maybe if I lost twenty pounds, just for old times sake. ;o)

What is it about The Barefoot Contessa

Why does this woman intrigue me?  I think it's believability.  She's not a twig, she's a real person with a real body, and a lifelong love, Jeffrey.  I just like her, period.  I tape her and watch her while I'm sitting at the computer.

Just look at that face.  Wouldn't you love to sit at her table and eat her food.

I seldom make any of her recipes, however.  It's a shame, but I guess when it comes to cooking I'm more of a Paula Deen type.  Did I just say that?  Surely that didn't come outta my mouth.  Ask me about it, and I'll deny, deny, deny. ;o)

I know, I know, at least it's not snow.

Does fleece last forever?

It’s chilly today, I pulled on a fleece vest from my closet, and I started thinking about how long I’ve had it.  I’ve got several pieces of fleece, and some of it I must have had for ten years, and it looks the same now as it did when I bought it.

Are all of you aware that fleece is made from plastic bottles?  I guess that’s why it lasts so long, but I’m getting really tired of a lot of this, I’m not sure I like the idea that it lasts for-ever.

It’s a gray, damp day in Heavensville.  I’m dreaming of spring bulbs, the ones that my friend Trish and I vowed to plant in November and promptly forgot about.  No crocus peeking their head thru the snow for me this spring, no daffy’s to brighten my walk and no bright colored  tulips either. Drats, how did we forget?  Cause we’re older than dirt, that’s why.  Grrrrr

Where’s Maggie…

This picture quality is so bad, I took it with my cellphone and it was dark.  Maggie Moo buries her little body amongst her toys and naps, you can barely tell where she is.  Drats, I wish this were a better image!

 

A young John Wayne

Now he never did float my boat, but I was in the minority.

Just thought the picture was fascinating..

That damn microwave!

Okay ladies, you’ve heard me complain for a couple of months now about my new microwave from hell.  Excuse the profanity, but you have no idea of the grief this thing has given me.  It is not touch sensitive, I have to push and push to get it to even work. 

Well a couple of nights ago, I noticed that the touch pad area where the start button is had bubbled up.  Oh, I threw a hissy, stupid microwave, inferior product, it’s already starting to look worn.  Then I started looking closer.  Holy crap, I had forgotten to take off the protective film.  Well, it was hard to detect, even hubby, who normally catches everything, didn’t realize it was still on there.

So I peeled it off, and viola, it is now touch sensitive, works much better.  But I still hate it!  It’s not fast enough and I think it’s uglier than dirt, sitting there front row and center, above my stove. Grrrrr

And is my face red?  Heck no, you all know I’m a ditz!  But Geezy Pete, I should have realized the protective film was still on there.  Go figure…

Heart Shaped Measuring Spoons

Cute, aren’t they, I smile every time I look at them. V thought they would be fun for me when I start baking with Abby. Can’t wait! ;o)

And yep, I always leave a bowl filled with measuring cups and spoons on the counter.  It’s so handy.  I’m all about convenience these days, I have all kinds of appliances sitting out.  Back in the day I was all about “decorating” my counters, now I’m about convenience.  And I have found I like the way my kitchen looks with appliances sitting out.  But then I have spiffy appliances.  Well, I do!  I’m a foodie, remember?

The Wovel, Popular Mechanics best new product of the year…

Okay, ladies, one more thing Carlene told me about.  The Wovel.  She bought one, since she lives in a snowy part of the country.  Some of you might be interested, as it makes shoveling a lot easier and relieves pressure on your back.  Here’s a video, and here’s a link to the site>>

YakTrax

My friend, Carlene, sent me this information about YakTrax.  She has bought them for gifts, everybody say's they're great.  I'm thinking a lot of us could use these on our shoes in this winter snow.  It's only January, people, I hate to think what is ahead of us before spring!

 

Note:  Carlene bought the $20 version, not the pro version, and they work fine.

Here's a direct link to their site>>>

The Kennedy’s, what we’re not going to see on the History Channel

Have you been reading this week about the eight-part mini series, The Kennedy’s, starring Greg Kinnear and Katie Holmes? 

Supposedly, if you can believe what the tabloids are saying,  the History Channel succumbed to pressure from Maria Shriver and Caroline Kennedy who did not want it aired, and pulled the plug on it.  After all these years, does that family still have that much power?

Now it will only be seen overseas and in Canada unless someone else is willing to air it.

Here’s the trailer.  You be the judge…

I don’t hold back in my old(er) age…

We had a three inch snowfall overnight in Heavensville, but hubby and I were out and about early this morning,  the cleaning lady came, and we always leave the house.

So we’re going to breakfast, it’s about 9am, snowing like crazy, the wind is howling, the roads were gawdawful, it was really slick,  and on a busy four lane street, there stood this poor kid in a statue of liberty outfit with a card that read Liberty Tax Service, standing right next to the road in the midst of all that snow and ice.

OMG, it was totally, unbelievably dangerous for him to be there, someone could have easily slid into him.

So, being the in your face old broad that I am, I call up the tax service, all the while hubby is saying, “Jan, be nice.”

Some lady answers, and I say to her, “do you have a guy advertising your business standing by the side of the road?”  “Yes, she answers, somewhat apprehensively.”

Boy, did I let her have it, telling her that it it was totally irresponsible of her company to expect someone to stand next to an icy road, that he could be killed, and that furthermore,  that kind of recklessness certainly wouldn’t encourage people to file taxes with their company.  I said “you should be ashamed of yourself making him stand out there in that snowstorm.”  And then I promptly hung up the phone because I had no desire to listen to her rebuttal.

There was simply no excuse for that.  Hubby kind of rolled his eyes, not really surprised at my actions though, after all we’ve been married almost forty years now.  But I did my good deed for the day and felt better for it.  I wonder if they left him there in the snow?  I hope not.   People just don’t have a brain!!!

Congressman Giffords

As, with all of you, I  continue to watch the media coverage surrounding the shooting.  I find it sad that the focus is almost completely on Gabby Giffords.  The other people matter, too.  They have families, friends and loved ones, yet we only hear snippets of information about them.

Politics in this country are really pathetic.  You can just see the politicians posturing for position in this tragic time, putting themselves out there, making statements, bringing attention to themselves.

I find this really sad, I'm sure most of you do, as well...

What's going on with me, is this part of the aging process?

I've blogged many times about my struggles with television and not finding programs I enjoy, but I find lately that it's intensifying.  I  no longer enjoy The Young and The Restless, and I was a fan from day one.  I find Regis and Kelly silly and insipid, the ladies of The View are hideous, even my beloved Brothers and Sisters is falling short this season with their stupid storyline about Justin being a paramedic and Kitty and her boy toy relationship.  I have no interest in the "O" network, except for Cristina Ferrare, she is absolutely wonderful.   I long ago gave up my fascination with Oprah, who is so impressed with herself that I can barely tolerate her.

What's wrong with me?  I've always been a die hard television fan, eagerly anticipating my roster of shows.  And now, they just bore me.  Am I alone, are some of you struggling along with me?

What do I enjoy?  FoodTV - I love watching the Barefoot Contessa, even the annoying ones like Giarda DeLaurentis and Rachel Ray hold my attention.  Paula Deen is so over the top, but her campy style makes me laugh.  I also enjoy the last hour of Today with Kathie Lee Gifford, who I used to not like at all.  I like to watch developing news on FOX, and most of all I enjoy winding down my day with HGTV, especially International House Hunters.

Oh, how my tastes have changed.  I can't help but wonder if this is just a phase, or if it's a lifestyle change.  Time will tell, I guess, and in the meantime, I'll just keep on truckin'..,

You don’t rule dogs, they rule you…

Oh sure, they look innocent enough.  It’s why they get by with all they do.  They’re so darned cute that I give into them.

It’s cold outside, they go for a potty run really fast and then they’re back in the house.  And they both go to the fireplace, stand in front of it and stare me down until I turn it on.  Then they stretch out in front of it and go to sleep. 

And when they get hot, they move to the chair.  No, let me rephrase that, they take over the chair.  And I let them.

Maggie regularly stands on this chair in the living room, peering around at me in the sunroom on the computer and crying.  She keeps it up, whines and cries, and at first I didn’t know what was wrong with her.  But I got onto her little game really fast, she wants me to flip on the fireplace while she naps in the chair.  And heaven forbid I take this throw off, she scratches and makes her nest with it, now it’s full of pulls, and looks just awful, but I don’t throw it away, she enjoys it too much.  Maggie is always the instigator, she gets the ball rolling, especially letting me know when it’s time for their afternoon “snack,” then Mollie chimes in, barking along with her.

And yesterday was bath and haircut day, and let me tell you, Miss Molasses Maybelline was just a little shit!  She’s normally a trooper, actually enjoying getting her “hur did,” but not yesterday.

It’s too cold to groom them in the garage, and so the deed was done on my computer desk.  I’m halfway thru Mollie’s haircut and she decided she was done with it, and refused to stand up any longer.  She refused!  And so she has this crazy lopsided do, because there is no way you can scissor her tummy and legs when she’s laying down. Maggie was actually the little trooper, because even though she had tangles, she patiently stood there, letting me get it all combed thru.

And that’s life around here, I just never expected to be ruled by two five pound fur kids, but I am, and I wouldn’t change them for the world…