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…

Pioneer Woman's Charlie the Ranch Dog

Oh, I'm such a fan of Pioneer Woman, well me and just about everybody I know.  She has taken a little blog and made a lucrative business out of it.  Now she has this children's book coming out in April, and you can preorder it now on Amazon.  Guess who will snap this up for her little granddaughter.  Yep, you betcha, Grammie Jan is going to be reading this to Abby ASAP!  You can read more about it on Ree's site.

Laputa–the best phone app, EVER!

I upgraded recently from a Droid to a Droid X, thanks to Jean, who told me about a rockin’ deal, and I found this book reader app called Laputa.  It’s absolutely fantastic, and I’m able to download a lot of current books from one of their third party links.  I’ve been reading Laura Bush’s biography, what a fascinating woman she is.

So if there are any smartphone users reading this, check into Laputa.  It doesn’t work for iPhone, but it does work on Android based systems, and Blackberry. It’s absolutely amazing.  You can set font size, font type, the pages turn like a book, the pages bookmark, and you always have an instant read with you wherever you go.  If you download this and can’t figure out how to get the current books, just email me and I’ll show you how to do it.

There are two versions of Laputa, the free version and the Pro version that costs $3.99.  You need the pro version so that you can add all the books to your bookshelf. Trust me it’s $3.99 well spent, you will love this!

And for the skeptics who think a phone is too small to read a book on, you’re wrong.  I was skeptical, too, but it works amazingly well.

You can read all about it here>>>

Cristina Ferrare's Big Bowl of Love...

Cristina Ferrare is sixty years old now.  She still has it, gorgeous, funny, spontaneous and a world class cook.  I'll be taping her series for sure.  She's just the BEST!

January favorites…

You all know how fond I am of original scent Jergen’s lotion, love that cherry almond smell.  But when we were at John and Deanna’s for Christmas she had Jergen’s Ultra Healing Dry Skin Moisturizer, and I have to admit, it really moisturizes better than any lotion I’ve ever used, and I’ve tried a lot of brands in the past.  So, for the winter months, I’m giving up my cherry scent for softer hands.  Still have those pots of Carmex sitting all around the house, though. ;o)

I bought the Cuisinart Brew Central that I blogged about a few entries ago.  It’s simply wonderful, just like people told me it was.  And my coffee flavor of choice right now is Gloria Jean’s Butter Toffee.  It’s wonderful on these cold January days.

And since January is all about soup, I haven’t made this yet, but I’m going to duplicate it later this week and it just might become a favorite.  Hubby and I went out to lunch yesterday and I had ham and bean soup.  When I make mine, I always put tomatoes in it, this one didn’t have them, and I think it will be easy to recreate.  It’s great northern beans cooked in chicken broth, finely diced celery, onion and carrots and finely diced ham.  It was “soupy” but thick, and I’m thinking that they must have used an immersion blender to puree part of the cooked beans to give it the thickness, and then they added a bit of cream of milk to finish it. 

Hmmm, that was a pretty short list wasn’t it?   But, oh, I forgot the fireplace remote control that dh got me for Christmas.  It is the ultimate in laziness.  Now I can sit in my chair, with the M&M’s snuggled in beside me, and read without having to get up and turn of the darned fireplace when it gets too warm in the room.  And no, I don’t wear one of those gawdawful snuggie things, and the dogs don’t wear them either.  Puh-leez, just shoot me now if I ever go there!

Talk about a nightmare!

I dreamed I lost all of my makeup and my cell phone was wet and wouldn’t work.  Can you think of anything worse?  I was never so glad to wake up in my life!!!

Gigi’s Chocolate Salted Caramel Cupcakes

This is the cupcake I have been raving about.  I put together the recipe for it and published it on Jan Can Cook.

This is total decadence, girlfriends.  It’s time consuming, but would be a great project for a lazy Sunday afternoon when you want to treat the family.

Here’s the click, check this out and don’t be overwhelmed by all the steps it takes to make this.  It’s well worth it, pinky swear it is…

~ jan

I’m back….

 

The holidays seemed to have gone by in a blur.  We were in Nashville with John and Deanna for nine days, then off to Lexington for the New Years with Ryan, Lindsay and Abby, it was such a good time.

Cuppycake was really into opening her presents.  Lindsay would start the tear and she would rip into them, so excited to see what was inside.  It’s just amazing how much these little ones grow in a year.  She got a little car to ride, and she sits on it and honks the horn and watches her cartoons, of course it’s just the cutest thing ev-er.

Lambchop was a hit.  If you need a cute gift, look for it on Amazon, the quality was great, and it talks and is just precious.

We had awesome food, I posted a recipe on Jan Can Cook for Spaghetti with Browned Butter and Mizithra Cheese, which is just the best thing you ever put in your mouth, pinkie swear it is!

We went to a cupcake shop, where I ate the most wonderful concoction of dark chocolate cupcake, caramel buttercream, topped off with a chocolate glaze and salt.  I’m looking for a similar recipe for that to post for you all.

I’m ready for January, and doing nothing, I’m sure most of you are, as well.  Life is good this sunny cold Monday of the New Year.  I’ll be around more, now that I have time.

~ jan

Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bars–a 4 Star Recipe

If you’re knee deep in holiday baking and looking for something really special, this recipe for Cranberry Bliss Bars tastes just like Starbucks.

Lindsay’s favorite has now become a family tradition.  If you make them, cut them into squares and then each square into a diamond, makes them soooooo special.

~ jan

Here’s the recipe>>>

Shari Lewis and Lamb Chop, simply the BEST!!!!

Let’s take a little walk down memory lane this morning.  I adore Lamb Chop, she’s always been my favorite.  Shari Lewis was such a talent, sadly she’s no longer with us, but oh what wonderful videos she left us all to watch. 

Lamb Chop is going to be under Miss Abigail’s Christmas tree this year.  I think she’s the perfect age to really enjoy a puppet, and what better puppet to buy her than Lamb Chop. 

If you have a little one that would enjoy buying one of these for, here’s the Amazon link.  It talks, too ;o)

So take a minute this morning, and see if Lamb Chop doesn’t brighten your day.  This is actually the second part of a four part video, if you want to see more of this Christmas video, they are all on YouTube.

~ jan

I did a little research this morning, and Shari’s daughter, Mallory is carrying on the tradition – here is a clip of her and Lamb Chop. This is really cute…

I’m on a roll here, now her daughter has a nightclub routine with Lamb Chop – here’s the clips – *sigh* she’s growing up…