Still adorable, after all these years. Oh I did love that show.....

Well, this was interesting...

Okay, gang, I did this, got a 44 on it - I did, for real I did. I only told all of you what I got cause it was a good score. *grin*

After you take the test, take a moment, post your score in the comments. ENQUIRING MINDS WANT TO KNOW!!!!!!!!!!

~ Jan

Dr. Phil's Test: Here you go. Try this!

Below is Dr . Phil's test. (Dr. Phil scored 55; he did this test on
Oprah - she got a 38.) Some folks pay a lot of money to find this
stuff out!

Read on, this is very interesting!

Don't be overly sensitive! The following is pretty accurate and it
only takes 2 minutes. Take this test for yourself and send it to
your friends.

The person who sent it placed their
score in the e-mail subject box.
Please do the same before forwarding to your friends (send it back to
the person who sent it to you.) Don't peek, but begin the test as you
scroll down and answer.

Answers are for who you are now --- not who you were in the past.
Have paper and a pen or pencil ready.

This is a real test given by the Human Relations Dept. at many of the
major corporations today.

It helps them get better insight concerning their employees and
prospective employees.

It's only 10 Simple questions , so get ready!
Keep track of your letter answers to teach question.

Make sure to change the subject of the
e-mail to read YOUR total
score. When you are finished, forward this to friends / family, and
also send it to the person who sent this to you. Make sure to put YOUR
score in the subject box.

Ready??

Begin.

1. When do you feel your best?

a) in the morning
b) during the afternoon &and early evening
c) late at night
2. You usually walk...

a) fairly fast, with long steps
b) fairly fast, with little steps
c) less fast head up, looking the world in the face
d) less fast, head down
e) very slowly
3.
When talking to people you. . .
a) stand with your arms folded
b) have your hands clasped
c) have one or both your hands on your hips
d) touch or push the person to whom you are talking
e) play with your ear, touch your chin, or smooth your hair
4. When relaxing, you sit with.

a) your knees bent with your legs neatly side by side
b) your legs crossed
c) your legs stretched out or straight
d) one leg curled under you

5. When something really amuses you, you react with...

a) big appreciated laugh
b) a laugh, but not a loud one
c) a quiet chuckle
d) a sheepish
smile

6. When you go to a party or social gathering you .. .

a) make a loud entrance so everyone notices you
b) make a quiet entrance, looking around for someone you know
c) make the quietest entrance, trying to stay unnoticed
7. You're working ve ry hard, concentrating hard, and you're
interrupted..

a) welcome the break
b) feel extremely irritated
c) vary between these two extremes

8. Which of the following colors do you like most?

a) Red or orange
b) black
c) yellow or light blue
d) green
e) dark blue or purple
f)
white
g) brown or gray

9. When you are in bed at night, in those last few moments before
going to sleep you are. .

a) stretched out on your back
b) stretched out face down on your stomach
c) on your side, slightly curled
d) with your head on one arm
e) with your head under the covers

10. You often dream that you are...

a) falling
b) fighting or struggling
c) searching for something or somebody
>d) flying or floating
e) you usually have dreamless sleep
f) your dreams are always pleasant

POINTS:

1.
(a) 2 (b) 4 (c) 6
2. (a) 6 (b) 4 (c) 7 (d) 2 (e) 1
3. (a) 4 (b) 2 (c) 5 (d) 7 (e) 6
4. (a) 4 (b) 6 (c) 2 (d) 1
5. (a) 6 (b) 4 (c) 3 (d) 5 (e) 2
6. (a) 6 (b) 4 (c) 2
7 (a) 6 (b) 2 (c) 4
8. (a) 6 (b) 7 (c) 5 (d) 4 (e) 3 (f) 2 (g) 1
9. (a) 7 (b) 6 (c) 4 (d) 2 (e) 1
10. (a) 4 (b) 2 ( c) 3 (d) 5 (e) 6 (f) 1
Now add up the total number of points.

OVER 60 POINTS : Others see you as someone they should " handle with
care." You're seen as vain, self-centered, and who is extremely
dominant. Others may admire you, wishing they could be more like you,
but don't always trust you, hesitating to become too deeply involved
with you.

51 TO 60 POINTS : Others see you as an exciting, highly volatile,
rather impulsive personality; a natural leader, who's quick to make
decisions, though not always the right ones. They see you as bold and
adventuresome, someone who will try anything once; someone who takes
chances and enjoys an adventure. They enjoy being in your company
because of the excitement you radiate.

41 TO 50 POINTS : Others see you as fresh, lively, charming, amusing,
practical, and always interesting; someone who's constantly in the
center of attention, but sufficiently well-balanced not to let it go
to their head. They also see you as kind, considerate, and
understanding; someone who'll always cheer them up and help them
out.

31 TO 40 POINTS : Others see you as sensible, cautious, careful &
practical. They see you as clever, gifted, or talented, but modest.
Not a person who makes friends too quickly or easily, but someone
who's extremely loyal to friends you do make and who expect the same
loyalty in re turn. Those who really get to know you realize it takes
a lot to shake your trust in your friends, but equally that it takes
you a long time to get over if that trust is ever broken.

21 TO 30 POINTS: Your friends see you as painstaking and fussy. They
see you as very cautious, extremely careful, a slow and steady
plodder. It would really surprise them if you ever did something
impulsively or on the spur of the
moment, expecting you to examine
everything carefully from every angle and then , usually decide
against it. They think this reaction is caused partly by your careful
nature.

UNDER 21 POINTS: People think you are shy, nervous, and indecisive,
someone who needs looking after, who always wants someone else to make
the decisions & who doesn't want to get involved with anyone or
anything! They see you as a worrier who always sees problems that
you well know that you aren't.

The best part of waking up....

Is having somebody bring me coffee from Thortons..... LC does it a lot, Ryan and Lindsay are here today, Ryan came in a 7:30 with us both a steaming cuppa. Oh, pure bliss....

I totally spaced out wishing John a Happy Birthday on the 8th on the blog - then I spaced out blogging about Ryan's birthday yesterday. Sorry guys, I'm old now. Ah, but I called them both bright and early and sang to them - I always sing happy birthday to family and a few friends who don't mind my off key screeching...

John and Tonia were home last weekend and Mom did the big birthday dinner, it was a great weekend, we spent the afternoon at the park

We did Ry's birthday dinner last night, life is good. My guys are growing up, John was 35, and Ry was 32. How can that be??? Am I that old, now??

Just had to post....

The new Sex and the City movie is now in production and this is their first released picture.

Oh, I loved that show for years, and you can bet this old girly-girl will be front row center on opening day!!!!

Can't wait, it's coming, Spring of '08...

Planning Ahead...

Ya know, after I blogged last week about Daisy Joy, it got me to thinking. Since my ENTIRE family hates the idea of me being Nana Sugar when I have grandchildren someday, even though I just adore the sound of Nana Sugar, they are giving me wayyy too much grief about it, and there are lots of Mimi's, Gigi's, and Nana's around, not to mention the timeless Grandma *yawn* - so when the kids were here last weekend I asked them why I couldn't be called Daisy when I'm a Grandma. Oh, you should see the eyes roll on that one... But why not, think about it, it's my very favorite name, it's quirky, it's different, easy to pronounce, doesn't sound like an old fuddy-duddy name, yeah, I like the sound of it. They say Nana Sugar is totally redneck, but Daisy isn't.

Why can't I be Daisy???? It would definitely work for me....

Can't ya just see some little kid asking my grandchild why they call me Daisy???? It's a happy name, Daisy... I could draw a single stemmed Daisy next to my signature on their birthday cards, preferably a pale pink one with a butter yellow center, how distinctive would THAT be??? Thinking, always thinking.....

No closeups, not til I grow out....

My poor little Maggie Moo has the haircut from hell, girlfriends. I took her to the groomer, Auntie Chris, last week, told her EXPLICITLY how to cut her, to leave her topknot, not trim her bangs and to trim her like Trish's London, who she also grooms, and has a skirted tummy and feathers on her legs - and did she, NO, NO, NO, she did NOT, she just sheared her all off!!!! This woman has trimmed Mags a couple of times before and did a great job, I just don't know what happened this time, unless she was busy and her sister, who works for her, trimmed Maggie instead of Chris.

When I picked her up I was actually speechless, which is a stretch for me for sure. The boys and their spouses were here for the weekend, they all had instructions to not razz me too much about it, and they didn't. They were very "sensitive" to the "situation."

You can click on the picture and it will enlarge if you really want to see how she looks. Actually, she looks adorable because Mags is SO cute no way she would ever look bad, even if she was bald. Yeah, yeah, I know, I'm prejudiced! And the little pink knot is unfortunately NOT holding her hair in a topknot because there is no hair to hold, it's actually her tshirt tied in a knot because now that she has no hair, it's too big! It just looks like it's on her head in the picture.

So, Maggie is wearing clothes, to help camouflage her scrawny little body, and no doubt I'll be purchasing a "few" items for her this fall to try and keep her warm until her fur grows back...

I snapped this pix this afternoon, note the fleurs in the background. My buddy, V, brought me some fresh hydrangeas a few weeks ago to add to my diminishing basket, since my little imp is proned to grab a stem as she whizzes by the basket and play with it. If you look closely next to her right side, you will see one kind of drooping down. Yep, she "thought" she was going to snatch it out of the basket, but got stopped, instead she's guarding her chewie from the big bad Munchkin.

Ahhhhh, dogs, even with bad haircuts, are adorable. Poor Munchie ALWAYS has a bad haircut because I'm the one trimming her. And to think that it cost me $45 for them to absolutely wreck Maggie's hair. Ohhhhhh, such frustration!!!!!!! OMG, this was actually more traumatic than ME getting a bad haircut!!!!!

How much more of this insuferable pig are we going to be submitted to????

Just the thought of O.J. in the media spotlight once again, makes me want to gag. Another arrest, more headlines, more of non-stop relentless CNN, MSNBC, Fox News coverage. I'm going to be doing a lot of channel surfing to try my darndest to avoid this sociopath. Nuff said, not even worth my blogging space....

I wear a lot of different hats...

That's the great thing about the internet, you can be anybody you want to be. I'm seldom Jan, I'm often Milly or Nana Sugar Someday or The M&M's Mom, but mostly I'm Daisy Joy. I even have a gmail account - daisyjoysemail@gmail.com. I couldn't get just "daisyjoy" so apparently I'm not the only one...

And why Daisy Joy? Doesn't it have a happy sound to it, wouldn't I love, love, love to have a little granddaughter named Daisy, which I will never have because nobody likes the name but me. I was going to name my Maggie Moo, Daisy, but met with such family opposition that I had to give up on it. *sigh*

Okay, let me tell you about Daisy Joy. She was a real person. She was the sweetest old lady, who was a friend of my Mothers. I loved to visit her, she was in her 70's when I was a teenager, and she had a yard full of flowers, and she was interesting, and funny, and just the dearest soul.

I heard from her Granddaughter, Lana, just recently, it was a nice trip down memory lane. And so I've taken her identiy, online that is, I think she would smile to know that I am using her name.

Daisy Joy, she was quite the "dish", I wish I had a picture of her to share with all of you...

My girlfriend sent me these 21 words of wisdom, and that they are, girlfriends... we could ALL benefit from these...

ONE. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.

TWO. Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.

THREE. Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.

FOUR. When you say, "I love you," mean it.

FIVE. When you say, "I'm sorry," look the person in the eye.

SIX. Be engaged at least six months before you get married.

SEVEN. Believe in love at first sight.

EIGHT. Never laugh at anyone's dreams. People who don't have dreams don't have much.

NINE. Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only way to live life completely.

TEN.. In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.

ELEVEN. Don't judge people by their relatives.

TWELVE. Talk slowly but think quickly.

THIRTEEN! .. When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask, "Why do you want to know?"

FOURTEEN. Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

FIFTEEN. Say "bless you" when you hear someone sneeze.

SIXTEEN. When you lose, don't lose the lesson.

SEVENTEEN. Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; and Responsibility for all your actions.

EIGHTEEN. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.

NINETEEN. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

TWENTY. Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.

TWENTY- ONE. Spend some time alone

This really frosts my cake...

Why can't fast food restaurants EVER introduce anything that is low calorie, EVER... Trisher was telling me last week how good the iced coffee's are at McDonald's. That sounded pretty good to me, so I went to DWLZ and looked up the points for these bad boys, bad boys for real. Mickey D's is using REAL sugared flavorings in these things, and they tally up to as much as 4.5 Weight Watcher points apiece.

I tried to get the Nutritional info from McDonalds, with no luck, but good old Hungry Girl had it - here's the breakdown, read it and weep -

The Iced Cream Coffee has 220 calories/11g fat for the 32 oz. and 160 calories/8g fat for the 24 oz., the Iced Hazelnut Cream Coffee has 200 calories/11g fat for the 32 oz. and 150 calories/8g fat for the 24 oz., and finally, the Iced Vanilla Cream Coffee has 220 calories/11g fat for the 32 oz. and 180 calories/8g fat for the 24 oz.

They could just have easily made these with Splenda and cut way down on the calories, but oh no, they have to give their already obese customers the full fat versions. so they can suck down even more calories....Just absolutely toasts my Rice Krispies.......

On a more positive note....

I tried out a Neutrogena At Home Microdebrasion System yesterday, don't even ask why, it's a really long story, but ya know what, it was really pretty great... Now there is nothing that is going to make this old skin look young again, but it did take away the dullness, the dryness, and left my skin soft and dewy. Would I recommend this??? You betcha I would, in a New Yawk minute...

You have this battery powered applicator with a foam tip and you just dip the foam into the sand like crystals, and dot your cheeks, forehead and chin, then you gently rub your face with it. It's pretty gritty, but you don't apply pressure, and it didn't irritate my skin at all.

You are supposed to do this for five evenings, then quit for a week for you skin to adjust. Adjust do what?? I don't quite get that part, but anyway, after that you just use it 3 evenings a week. Sounds pretty easy, doesn't it?

The reviews for this on Amazon were pretty good. Just don't expect it to make you look young again, just fresher....

It's a good thing, not a miracle worker but defnitely a good thing...

Oh my.....

Remember back to when we were in high school, and just the word "Senior" was SOOOO cool... Whatever were we thinking??? Now that I'm "ALMOST" a Senior Citizen, well, I am at the movies already, you are a Senior Citizen at 55 at the movies, it's not exciting at all. In fact, it's depressing. I don't even like that word, "Senior" - and "Senior Citizen," OMG, just the sound of it grates on my nerves... Are we doomed to "Senior Citizen" specials in the restaurants. Somehow "Early Bird" specials sounds so much better than "Senior Citizen" specials.

I'm even past the "55 and Alive" club age. Jeez Louise, I don't even know where I'm headed with this blog, or WHY, I'm just babbling, so just ignore me, in fact, ignore this whole post... And I was in such a good mood, too, until I started this silly nonsense...

I just don't believe this....

This old girl has seen a lot in her lifetime, but NEVER have I seen anything like Aretha Franklin's tata's, displayed like this at the VMA's. Whatever was this woman thinking? This is worse than obscene, it's totally nausating. And what's with the itty bitty spaghetti straps holding up these bad girls??? OMG, I hope there was a wire threaded thru that fabric. Can you imagine if a strap broke? Oh, this is so bad, I have never in my wildest dreams seen anything so BAD!!!! Is she in total denial that she's OLD and FAT and that her boobs look like the WATERMELONS FROM HELL????

This totally overshadows (no pun intended) Brit-Brit's horrid lip synching, awkward, out of step opening act. What's the world coming to????

It was truly HELLISH, it really was....

Do ya all know about SPANX? If you do, you are shaking your head, saying "oh dear, you poor thing" but if you're not familiar with Spanx, girlfriends, let me enlighten you. They are truly, TRULY, the most torteous item of fat girdling spandex that you will EVER try to put on your body. For real they are. They are high waisted, mid-thigh length panties that you somehow try to squeeze your body into in an attempt to look less lumpy. That's pretty much it in a nutshell.

I've been reading about SPANX for some time now, celebrities are crazy about them, my friend Barb swears by them, my daughter-in-law, Lindsay, loves them. I tried them on, well actually I just took them out of the package and shuddered at the size of them this spring while on a trip to Nashville. Tonia tried them on, and she was shrieking in the dressing room that there was no way she was going to wear them (smart daughter-in-law of mine) and I just totally said fuggedabout it...

Well time passes, desperation sets in and last week while I was in Lexington at Chico's, I plopped down the $35 for a pair of SPANX, in a size 1... Lindsay said that it was going to be fine, that after you put them on 2 or 3 times they stretch to fit you. Right, Dilly, sure they do....

So I'm back home, getting ready to go out for dinner in a new pair of jeans a size smaller than I've been wearing 'cause all my wacky dieting efforts are finally paying off, and I'm thinking that the Spanx might just be what I need because my new jeans are not exactly loose, so I take them out of the wrapper, having flashbacks from last spring , but determined that I was going to put the damned things on. Now let me explain that when you unfold them, they look like they might possibly fit on one thigh they are so narrow. Actually they look like they might possibly fit a preteen anorexic body. Lindsay told me to just be patient, to put them on slowly and that it would be fine.

Well, she might be able to pull them on her cute little body, but OMG, let me tell you it was positively HELL trying to get them on my middle aged, donut ravaged body. I pulled and I tugged and I yanked, and I only had them up to the middle of my thighs. By this time I was breaking out in a sweat, but I had to keep going, so I dusted myself with baby powder and up they went. Inch by inch, standing on one leg, then the other, pulling and yanking until FINALLY, FINALLY I get them to my waist.

Whew, I had to take a rest before I attempted to pull them all the way up under my boobs. I'm seriously perspiring by now, sitting under the ceiling fan with it on high in an attempt to cool off a bit before I finished packing myself into them. I called Linds on the phone to tell her that I at least had them to my waist, and she's assuring me that they will stretch out. All I can think is why didn't I get them in a size 2, why did I have to believe the stupid sizing charts anyway. What do they know...

So I'm sitting on the side of the bed, positively gasping for air, because my stomach is absolutely squeezed so badly that I can barely breathe, and by now all the fat has pushed itself up all the way up to my chin cause it had to go somewhere and I'm thinking there is no way in HELL that these things are going to be comfortable. I'm sitting there waiting for them to stretch like Lindsay said they would, and I have to leave the house in fifteen minutes.

So I yank on my jeans, yeah I guess I look a bit smoother, no actually I really look like a stuffed snausage packed in it's casing, and now I'm leaving in ten minutes. I CAN'T STAND IT, I CAN'T DO THIS, I'm thinking, what if I go out and they burst at the seams. Will all the fat just explode in my jeans???? So slowly, painfully, I pull them off, thank goodness it's easier going down than it was going up. I breathe a huge sigh of relief, the fat is gone from my chin now, settling back down into my middle aged midsection where it belongs. I throw the SPANX in a drawer, thinking maybe if I lose another 20 lbs. I MIGHT be able to wear them...

Silly old broad, whatever was I thinking anyway..... You don't believe me? Well, you just go out and buy yourself a pair and see how they work out for you.... I'm not kidding, these things are just seriously WRONG!!!!

My first day of school...

The year was 1955, Tennessee Ernie Ford had a hit record, Sixteen Tons, as did The Platters, You've Got the Magic Touch, and me, I was five years old, and ready for first grade.

Money was really hard to come by, and I remember my Great Aunt Annie and Uncle Rex coming to visit and buying me school shoes at Marlin's Department Store. They were little brown rounded toe t-straps with perforations in the top and I wore them with white socks with lacy tops. Egads, how do I remember THAT when I can't even remember what I had for dinner tonight??? Mother had made me a brown plaid dress, with a full short skirt, and I had sausage curls and ribbons in my hair, and of course I was beyond excited to be such a big girl and getting to go to first grade. There was no kindergarden in those days and our grade school, Booth Memorial, was being built and not finished yet, so for a few weeks, until we were able to move to the new building, school for me was in the Home Ec Building at the high school.

I still remember that day vividly, and most importantly, I remember that Donna Jones had her hair cut in a short bob, and the top of it was pulled to the side and anchored with a wide, white bow and she had this BIG lollipop, and she gave us all a lick. Oh, I thought she was just beautiful, and she had a RED lollipop, too.

Of course my Mother was mortified to think that I had licked that sucker, along with all the other first graders, but I was SO impressed. I'm sure I had butterflies, and in later years, I always tossed my cookies the first day of school, as did Ryan, and as still does Ang's Sam, but I can't remember that happening that day.

I didn't ride the bus, oh no, Mother wouldn't let me ride on that nasty old bus, she drove me to school. Overprotective??? Just a bit... a trait, I unfortunately inherited with my own children, and that even filters down to this day to the M&M's. Yeah, I won't let poor Maggie Moo play outside because I'm afraid a hawk will get her. And I'm always afraid the Munchkin will get heat stroke when she's outside, so I stand at the front door screeching like a banshee for them both to come back inside.

It was SUCH a big deal to be old enough to go to school, Daddy had already taught me to read, I knew my numbers, could write my name, but I was really bad at coloring, I had a devil of a time staying in the lines.

I also remember that room having lots of desks in it, and an upright piano and big fans to keep us cool. Hmmmm, must have been a hot fall in 1955... We had to carry our lunch, too, because there was no cafeteria in the high school. I would love to remember what Mother packed for me. We didn't eat a lot of peanut butter in those days, and knowing her, she probably got up and fried chicken for me since it was always my favorite thing.

Good memories, my early childhood. Life was so simple, then...

Why am I so tired?

Probably because we took a flying trip to Lexington for a couple of days to visit Ryan and Lindsay, shopped til we dropped, came home yesterday evening, showered and went to Deerhead for dinner. Then up early this morning, running errands, grocery shopping, yadayadayada - I'm too old for all this hubub, girlfriends...

And I might add we came home to mid 80 degree temps with low humidity. I actually took a ride on Milly this morning with my sweatshirt on. It was a wonderful thing...

Hubby is working, and my goal in life this weekend is to make authentic Cuban black beans, using a recipe from my friend Janet's no-good Cuban ex-husband, who she says made wonderful beans. And you all know how much I do adore any kind of the musical fruit...

We ate not Cuban but Cajun food in Lexington, and it was so good, and I'm thinking I should be able to make authentic ethnic food at home. I know what my problem is, I'm not brave enough with the spices. It's all about those darned spices, and sauces, especially hot sauces which I happen to adore. I had one Thursday night called, and appropriately so, "No Tears In Heaven." Wow, now that cleared the sinuses and had me gulping water. I would have loved to given some of this to Uncle Rich (my buddy V's hubby) as he also shares my love of all things so flaming hot that it must surely char our throats as we swallow it.

And that's it from Heavensville. Life is good, kids are fine, John and Tonia are home now from their vacation in Spain. V and Rich are visiting her family in Michigan. I just got pix from Barb, she's back from her Alaskan cruise. Ang is going away for a couple of days, Marti has had a "guy" visiting this past week, and now her cousin is coming. Jeez, everybody has wanderlust.

Me, I'm all about this low-cal pumpkin pie and stews and those darned beans this weekend.... I'll update you on how it's all working out.

In fact, check out the following recipe I found on a Cuban site online. It's not the recipe I'm using, but I'm intrigued by the fact that you cook the beans and discard the liquid you cooked them in. Check this out. Looks pretty good..

Good Cuban Black Beans and Rice, known on the island as Moros y Christianos, is actually two recipes cooked separately and combined into this hearty one dish meal as it is served. This recipe serves one helping to 3 to 4 persons. We often recommend preparation of a double recipe.

First, the Black Beans..... sorting, rinsing thoroughly, covering with fresh water, soaking overnight, draining, rinsing once again, covering with water again and cooking. Believe me, it is worth all of the effort.
Open a 1 pound package of dry black beans (2 cups)
Into a large pot, pour the beans. Look for and discard STONES and other non-bean things.
Under fresh running water, then rinse the beans thoroughly.
Drain the beans and cover the large pot with 6 to 8 cups of clean water.
Bring the pot of beans and water to a rolling boil, stirring frequently.
Reduce the heat and simmer the black beans in the large pot with the lid slightly open for 1½ hours until the beans are very tender.
Drain the cooked black beans (do not rinse again) and set aside, warm, in a covered bowl.
In the pot that you used to cook the beans, heat the olive oil.
Add the bacon, onion, garlic, celery and green pepper into the hot oil.
Cook, stirring constantly until onion is translucent.
Add chicken stock or broth until these ingredients are completely covered.
Add bay leaf, vinegar, tomato.
Bring this mixture to a boil, stirring frequently. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
Add in the drained beans.
Add in more chicken stock or broth until bean and seasoning mixture is covered.
Simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Keep covered.
Remove the bay leaf and discard it.

Part two. . . . . the Rice..... prepare your favorite white rice per the package instructions.

Finally. . . . . in large individual soup bowls, place a mound of the hot cooked white rice.
Ladle the piping hot black bean soup into the bowls over the rice.
Serve very hot with warm buttered Cuban bread and Tabasco sauce on the side as garnish.

I guess you all realize...

The pix in my header is of John and I when he was just three months old. I was twenty-two, and yes, that's my real hair color, and yep, it was really long when I took it out of those pigtails.

I look back at those pictures and think, was I ever really that young? Wasn't he the cutest little baby? Oh, what I wouldn't give to go back for just one day.... *sigh* I'm really nostalgic lately....

Just had to share....

This adorable little Yorkie's pix was on a Yorkie Talk Forum.

I just had to post this. Did you EVER see a cuter little dog than this? She's a tiny thing, people say she's about 4-5 months old.

Oh what a face. She reminds me a lot of Maggie.

Just makes my hormones go WILD!!!!!

Samo with a twist...

Hot, hot, hot, 98 right now, AND the air conditioner went on the fritz late yesterday. Talk about a bad mood....

The heat/ac man was coming to work on it this afternoon, I had to leave this morning, and I figured as soon as I left he would show up, so I put a note on the front door that said in part.

Air Conditioning Man, if you come while I'm gone, don't you DARE leave!!!! I'll be right back, house is unlocked, just go for it!!!!!

Well, he didn't come, of course, not til this afternoon, but it was a simple fix (supposedly) and it's now cooled down in here from 85 to 79. Whoeee, cold front.....

The M&M's just laid on the stone floor, no doubt wondering what was up. Poor babies, they were in their fur coats, no way for them to chill out, except for the ice water I kept replenishing for them.

I'm tellin' ya if this heat doesn't abate soon, I'm going to go stark raving mad, I'll probably be running naked in the street, and trust me, that's a site you don't want to see!!!!!!!!!!