Whatever was she thinking???

I just wonder why this woman would go out looking like this. Do you think she looked in the mirror before she shashayed out in public looking like this and went, "damn I look hot."

Just had to post this for your viewing pleasure this Friday evening. I'm sitting here just shaking my head. I may be getting old, and I'm far from a prude, but this is just WRONG!!!

Talk about drumsticks!!! Egads, woman, cover those up!

Healthy Grocery List

I just published a great healthy grocery list on Eating Right. You might want to give it a look.

My most memorable Valentine's Day....

It was not an ahhhhhhhhhhhh, it was an OH, NO!!!! Hubby and I had been married for about 12 years or so, and he comes home with a Valentine's Day present. I open it up, and it's an exercise suit! Today, I would think it was a great gift, but when you're in your mid 30's, it's not exactly romantic, know what I mean, Vern.

I was NOT a happy camper, and I let him know about it. Poor feller, he thought he was being such a good boy, and I acted like a total shrew about it.

Oh well, live and learn. Here we are on our 35th+ Valentines Day. It isn't exactly romantic this year, either, but I'm older and wiser and totally content just to be here and have him with me.

Egads, I'm getting SO old....

I so enjoy a good bowl of oatmeal in the morning... Oatmeal... OATMEAL??? I wouldn't have eaten oatmeal in my younger years for anything, now I think it's sublime. LC, too. Not the instant stuff, not the 3 minutes quick cook stuff, or the steel cut oats, but regular, old fashioned oatmeal. Actually, the best I've found, except for Trader Joe's, which I don't have access to is Wal-Mart's store brand of Great Value Oven Toasted Oats. They come in this huge box, are dirt cheap, and they have a wonderful flavor.

Cooked til it's creamy, I add Splenda, lots of Saigon Cinnamon (buy it at your local grocer, Saigon Cinnamon is far and away the most fragrant cinnamon you've tasted) and a healthy splash of Fat-Free Half and Half. Sublime, I'm telling ya, sublime...

Old age is rolling right in, ladies, but not to worry until I switch to Cream of Wheat (no teeth, no chewing) and start eating the stuff for dinner!

How true this is...

This was on a Yorkie message board this morning. This is so me....

Grow Old With Dogs
When I am old... I will wear soft gray sweatshirts... and a bandana over
my silver hair..... and I will spend my social security checks on wine
and my dogs. I will sit in my house on my well-worn chair and listen to
my dogs' breathing. I will sneak out in the middle of a warm summer
night and take my dogs for a run, if my old bones will allow... When
people come to call, I will smile and nod as I show them my dogs... and
talk of them and about them... ...the ones so beloved of the past and
the ones so beloved of today.... I will still work hard cleaning after
them, mopping and feeding them and whispering their names in a soft
loving way. I will wear the gleaming sweat on my throat, like a jewel
and I will be an embarrassment to all... especially my family... who
have not yet found the peace in being free to have dogs as your best
friends.... These friends who always wait, at any hour, for your
footfall... and eagerly jump to their feet out of a sound sleep, to
greet you as if you are a God. With warm eyes full of adoring love and
hope that you will always stay, I'll hug their big strong necks... I'll
kiss their dear sweet heads... and whisper in their very special
company.... I look in the Mirror... and see I am getting old.... this is
the kind of person I am... and have always been. Loving dogs is easy,
they are part of me. Please accept me for who I am. My dogs appreciate
my presence in their lives... they love my presence in their lives......
When I am old this will be important to me... you will understand when
you are old.... if you have dogs to love too. ~Author Unknown

There is life out there at 8am...

I've pretty much been in hibernation, but I dragged my lazy butt outta bed, and met Ang at Starbucks this morning for coffee. Dunno if it was seeing Ang, the caffeine, or being out amongst the living, but I feel mahvelous, dahling..... Probably a little bit of all three.

Nothing like a little jazz in a coffee house, a good friend and a cuppa java early in the AM.

Now ain't this a crock???

I just got a newsletter from Oprah titled - How to Age Brilliantly and Love Yourself from the Inside Out...

Ya right... Nobody ages brilliantly that I've ever seen. We all look like we're heading to Cuba things are sinking so far south. I'll think of loving myself from the inside out the next time I'm sitting at my 6X magnifying mirror looking for errant chin hairs.

But, if you've a mind to check out this info, plus makeup tips for the "mature" woman, hey have a go at it.... Good luck and I'll check back in a couple of years to see how it's all working out for you....

Here's the click!

It's me, it's REALLY me!!!!!

pro·cras·ti·nate

To put off doing something, especially out of habitual carelessness or laziness

That's me!!! I know better, I realize that doing whatever needs to be done doesn't require as much effort as putting it off for DAYS and DAYS and DAYS!!!! I'm lots better than when I was younger, but I still do it.

I'm so boring today, I haven't read anything interesting online, no funny news to tell, I trimmed the fur on Mags ears this morning, that's about the extent of my excitement. I did make the grilled bananas that I posted on Eating Right last week for breakfast. And they were just as good as HungryGirl said they were. Even hubby gave them a thumbs up.

Just had to post the following so you can all go around all day with this song in your head!!! And me, I'm going to go put something off, but I'm going to be singing while I'm doing it... nononono, bad girl, Jan, bad girl....

Garden Party

- Artist: Rick Nelson
- peak Billboard position # 6 in 1972
- inspired by Rick's experience at a Madison Square Garden concert
- Words and Music by Rick Nelson


I went to a garden party to reminisce with my old friends
A chance to share old memories and play our songs again
When I got to the garden party, they all knew my name
No one recognized me, I didn't look the same

CHORUS
But it's all right now, I learned my lesson well.
You see, ya can't please everyone, so ya got to please yourself


People came from miles around, everyone was there
Yoko brought her walrus, there was magic in the air
'n' over in the corner, much to my surprise
Mr. Hughes hid in Dylan's shoes wearing his disguise

CHORUS

lott-in-dah-dah-dah, lot-in-dah-dah-dah

Played them all the old songs, thought that's why they came
No one heard the music, we didn't look the same
I said hello to "Mary Lou", she belongs to me
When I sang a song about a honky-tonk, it was time to leave

CHORUS

lot-dah-dah-dah (lot-dah-dah-dah)
lot-in-dah-dah-dah

Someone opened up a closet door and out stepped Johnny B. Goode
Playing guitar like a-ringin' a bell and lookin' like he should
If you gotta play at garden parties, I wish you a lotta luck
But if memories were all I sang, I rather drive a truck

CHORUS

lot-dah-dah-dah (lot-dah-dah-dah)
lot-in-dah-dah-dah

'n' it's all right now, learned my lesson well
You see, ya can't please everyone, so you got to please yourself

And what did I do this blustery day???

Sat here all day, built a new Eating Right page. It's definitely different, definitely green PISTACHIO!!! Hey, I went outside my box for a change...

I have soup simmering on the stove, the fire is blazing in the fireplace, the M&M's are snoring beside me. Yeah, it's a good thing....

Maggie doesn't like football...

Ryan and Lindsay are Superbowling in the living room with Munchie sleeping close by, Mags and I are in the sunroom, she alternates between woofing at the speakers and shaking. She just doesn't care for the sport... Neither do I. Just doesn't ring my chimes...

Ry is making the Williams Sonoma recipe for stuffed meatballs that I posted back in January on Jan Can Cook. Hubby is on his way home from work, and it's colder than a well digger's butt in Heavensville...

John and Tonia were here yesterday, we had a great day, just a family weekend.... Works for me.....

Bananarama

I just posted yummy sounding, HEALTHY, banana recipes on my Eating Right blog. Check them out....

For ANYONE out there who is trying to let their hair grow...

I feel your pain. I'm determined to let my layers grow, let my hair grow to a below the chin something or other. I've tried doing this for a year now, and everytime I cave and get it cut. I've been short and spiky since I was fifty. That was seven years ago. Time for a change. I want a softer look, to go with my softer body. arughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

And not only am I letting my layers grow, for the first time since high school I'm letting my BANGS grow. It's quite the ordeal...

And just when I am all settled in with my complaining for the day, something happens that makes me realize that I need to just live in the moment and enjoy the day for what it is. And it happened while I was..... making my bed. Making my bed??? Yep.

I happened to be "trying" to make my bed with a three pound bundle of energy on top of the sheets. Ms. Maggie Moo was a doggie dynamo this morning. She was barking and growling, and tugging on my covers. It's hard to be in a bad mood when you have this adorable little furball just giving it everything she's got.

So we played. We played peek-a-boo with the blanket, we played tug-of-war with the sheets. She barked, she growled, she jumped on the pillows, then she ran laps on the mattress. It was so funny, I just laid back on the bed and cracked up. And then she covered my face with doggie kisses.

It's still cold, my hair is still funky, but Munchie is asleep by my side, and Mags, tired now, is asleep in my lap... and life is good....

Whatever was I thinking???

Remember a couple of months ago, when I was embracing the seasons, telling you that I accept winter. What was I thinking? I'm SICK of winter, now. It's cold, really cold, and snow is forecasted for this week, and all I want to do is tool around in Milly with the M&M's...

I'm watching weather now, sleet is headed our way tonight. How fun is that?

So the next time I'm on my soapbox about something or other, email me and yank my chain... Jeez, Louise, it's cold....

Just in time for Valentine's Day...

The post office has issued a new stamp and it's just about the cutest thing I've ever seen.

Just wanted to give you all a heads up on this one. Now run right down to your local P.O. and
stand in line for an hour and get yourself some of these!

I'll be looking for my "stamped" valentine in the mail from you.... *giggle*

~ Jan

Such sad news...

The Associated Press reports Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro was euthanized this morning, according to one of the horse's co-owners.

I just saw this beautiful speciman on the news yesterday. His foot was abscessed and they had to do additional surgery. They were walking him, he was throwing his hind foot badly, but oh the magnificance of the animal. His face was beautiful.


So sad...... Soar with the angels, great beast...

Laugh and the world laughs with you, cry and you cry alone.....

Okay, this is how I now look. My hair pretty much looks like Arnie's, and he has a BAD dye job.

Actually, I'm a bit lighter than him, but similar...

On the positive side, my eyebrows look great!!!

So what's my solution... the same solution I always have.. MAKEUP!!!!! Lots of eye makeup, and I'm thinking my blush color is just not right, so I dig out an old Clinique Berry Stain color, put it on my cheeks, put on all that eyemakeup, shiny lipstick....

Now, I look like a bad imitation of an OLD Kewpie doll. All I need is hoop earrings and false eyelashes. Is that next??? I think NOT!!!!

It isn't really all that bad, not really. Really it isn't. But I'm on my way to the store to buy Tide, just in case. Oh what a day, what a day, what a DAY!!!!

What have I done now???

When I sent LC to the store this morning, I told him to get me hair color. So he's calling me from the color aisle in WallyWorld, I told him I wanted medium golden blonde, which I have been using for about a year now. My hair was just way too blonde, and I've been slowly going darker, but I'm thinking I might like to go a bit darker even still, so I told him to also pick me up a dark golden blonde and I would decide later which one I would use. Well, it's later... He got some new natural product from Loreal' and it has no peroxide in it. So I thought, what the heck, I'll try it.

And so here I sit, with it on my hair, and it's getting darker, and darker, and I'm just kinda watching it turn this funky color. But I can't wash it out yet, it isn't time...

Oh, I know tomorrow I'll be sitting around with Tide in it, trying to get it lighter. Lordy, lordy, whatever was I thinking? I'm thinking the problem is not the HAIRCOLOR, it's the WEIGHT. I should be "dieting" instead of "dying," know what I mean Vern...

Oh, but that's not all. In the meantime, I decided to wash my pillows. Well the washer was all lopsided, it was walking on me, I readjusted the pillows again and again, I had put two different types of pillows in there, one was polyfilled the other was, omg, it was FEATHERS.... Now why did I do that? So the polyfill one is relatively spun out, the feather one is totally water laden, I take out the polyfill, put it in the dryer, try and spin out the feather one again, but OH NO, it will NOT spin - kerthunk, kerthunk goes the washer, so I'm thinkin' where is that damned LC when I need him.... Arughhhhhhhhh.... So I lean in, mind you I'm still in my nightshirt with this crap all over my hair, I pull out the pillow, and I'm leaning into it, trying to squish out the water so I can dry it. I'm leaning on it with all my might, pushing on the darned thing, and by now my nightshirt is totally watersoaked, but I manage to get a reasonable amount of water out of it, hopefully enough that I can put it in the dryer without it short circuiting and electrocuting me. But now I have this "gunk" on my hair, and I'm wet, so I yank off the nightshirt, no way can I put another one over the hairdye, so now I'm sitting here, totally naked, totally pissed, blogging this. If the doorbell rings I'll just DIE!!!! Meanwhile, my hair is starting to look this awful mousy brown color, oh yeah, and I put the stuff on my eyebrows, too... oh what a day, WHAT- A- DAY!!!!!

Update later....

It's a three ring circus in Heavensville this sunny Friday morning....

Usually I break up bathtime for the M&M's into two days. It's quite a job giving them both a bath in the same morning, but I it was up early today, so I decided to do them both and get it over with, it wouldn't be a biggie. Munchie was first, I gave her her bath in the kitchen sink, blew her dry at LC's desk in the garage. She's such a good girl, she just sits quietly and lets me do whatever.

And I must admit, Mags has turned into a trooper as well. She used to try and escape out of the sink, but since we do this weekly, she's into the groove, she just sits there and lets me stream water over her without a struggle. I usually dry her at my dressing table, but since I was already setup in the garage for Munchie, I scooped her up in a warm towel and took her out there for her blowdry.

Well, first of all, LC had just left for WallyWorld, so the normally 60+ degree garage had cooled down considerably since Munchie's bathtime. Linds had given Maggie her pricey Redken straightening serum to see it it would help with my constant struggle with tangles in her nappy hair, so I applied a dab of it, I started drying her, and she's off the desk in a shot, bounces off my lap and heads for the hills, she was this little soggy streak, heading for the kitchen.

Meanwhile, I'm making caramel corn for hubby and Ryan and Lindsay, who will be here tonight, and my timer is beeping because it's time to stir it in the oven. So I give it a quick stir, find Maggie in the den, laying on her back on the couch, wriggling for all she's worth in an attempt to get herself dry. I scoop her up, head back to the now frigid garage, put her on the desk, fire up the dryer and bam, she's off again. The phone is ringing, it's LC from the store, so I talk to him, find Maggie once again in the den, ON THE COUCH AGAIN, running back and forth as fast as she can trying to get dry.

Duh, the light dawns, it's the sound of the garage hairdryer she doesn't like. It has a high pitch whine, while mine has a lower sound to it. So we head to my dressing table, she sits on my lap like the little sweetheart she is and I get her dry, FINALLY...

And that's my little Friday tale from my speck o' the net.... Never a dull moment with the M&M's......

Sleepin in the sun.... what a life...

It's a bright , sunny day in Heavensville, this cold January morning. The girl's are sleeping on the sunroom sofa. Maggie is in the back, nested in behind Munchie.

Why do i ALWAYS think about food???

Hooterville says I think about food more than anybody she has ever known. That woman NEVER thinks about it. I swear she can go around on empty all day if she's busy shootin pix. I wish I could do that. Nish and I always say that we will both we eating on our deathbed. No matter how sick we are, we STILL eat. And no matter WHAT I'm doing, when it's mealtime, I have to stop and eat. I just can't run on empty.

Lately I've been thinking a lot about chicken potpie. Now Tonia makes a killer one, it's SOOOO wonderful. I seldom make them, but I've been known to throw back a few Swanson's in my day... No Banquets tho, they only give you a top crust. Miz Piggy, here, wants the bottom crust, too. But of course, the Mother of all Frozen Pot Pies has to be Marie Calendar. The crust is made with lard, and it has a gadzillion fat grams... It's good, not as good as T's, but the best "store bought" available.

I remember as a little girl, Mother would come home from work, bake us both Swanson Beef or Chicken Pot Pies and a fix a salad with Wishbone Italian dressing, the mix in the little packets that you pour in the bottle and shake. She would chop celery and onion into a really small dice, and put it in the salad, tossing it in her big stainless steel bowl, the one that I now use daily in my own kitchen. We would set up the tv trays in the living room, and eat "supper" watching Chet Huntley and David Brinkley on the NBC evening news. Oh, I loved that meal. Jeez, Louise, what made me think of that??? Talk about a trip down memory lane....

I Googled Marie Calendar, looking for nutritional information, and found the recipe for their Pot Pie. I'm posting it on Jan Can Cook.