Love this song

AFC West Camps

It wasn't pretty and it wasn't easy, but the Chargers did it.

"San Diego SUPER Chargers - Charge!"

Thankfully the game was well in hand 99.9% of the game. It was pretty easy to watch unlike so many of the other games this season that have come down to the last few minutes....and seconds of the game. This time it was well out of reach for the Bronco's by the 2 minute warning. Enough so that I sat browsing my new cookbook for a recipe for dinner tomorrow night.

Now we just have to win next weekend. But like Rivers said at the end of the game, the slate is clean now....everyone is 0-0.

For Today...
22 - December - '08
49 degrees out
raining - Brrr...

Outside my window...
palm fronds are slick with rain and dripping
against a gray sky.

I am thinking...
that the months go tooo fast. It is almost
Christmas and I have hardly let the spirit
of the season enter my soul. Soon it will
be over and time of resolutions.

I am thankful for...
everything I have from the small animals I
cherish to the man I married to my car that
never seems like it will be fixed and to the
house that won't keep ants out.

From the kitchen...
I will soon be getting a cup of chai to soothe
my cold.

I am wearing...
Levis
lace ivory tank
ivory angora zippered sweater
angora "candy cane" scarf
Mudd mary jane flats
gold peace necklace
Light Blue perfume

I am creating...
a sample Valentine card in my head.
soon I will need to start making them.

I am going...
to wrap gifts tonight

I am hearing...
the heater blowing warm air

I am hoping...
what is left of December will be joyous

Around the house...
things sparkle and glow. I need to
really sit and look at our tree with all
the glittery decorations that adorn it

One of my favorite things...
to be up early in the morning alone in the
kitchen baking. It is my more creative time.

A few plans for the rest of the week...
get Monday & Tuesday over so I can relax and
not think of work. Try to bring the vintage Christmas
ornaments Greg's Mom sent us back to life with a
little cleaning up and filling in the spots that have lost
their glitter. I think they will look great when I am
done with them.

... last, but not least...

a picture to share

Christmas Day 1 year ago

shiver

I had a really bad day yesterday. Bad. It's too long and really.....no one wants to hear it.

But I am going to tell you about the very last part of it. I took a shower and got in bed with my new Oprah magazine. About 40 minutes later I turned the light off and fell in and out of sleep. I kept waking up because I was freezing! At one point I was shivering and I could not get back to sleep. My dear husband got a blanket from the living room and put that over me and that did the trick. I was soon cozy warm. But as I was laying there warming up, all I could think about were the people on the show Survivor. It wasn't an issue this season, but last season they were in a place where it rained a lot at night. Many of the places they have been were like that. People were crabby because they were not sleeping well. Their nights were 1000 times colder than mine was last night. How awful....that's all I kept thinking about until I finally fell asleep.

I would never consider trying to get on the show for many reasons, one of which is either being too hot or too cold. And if I don't sleep....man....it's not pretty. I'm a cat and us cats have to get our naps. I don't think the other people would understand about me and having to take 3 naps. Lazy people get kicked off the island pretty fast. Plus, I know they put people together who will hate each other, so I would either make someone crazy or they would make me crazy. I'll have to find another way to win a million.

Bonus Photo

Promenade
Originally uploaded by imapix.

This is so beautiful, I had to post it.

Day 12

Merry Christmas!
Originally uploaded by Dragan*.

Day 11

purple felt bird
Originally uploaded by Erratic Needle.

Holiday Cards
Originally uploaded by Lara Ferroni.

Day 10

Gingerbread Man
Originally uploaded by ssleek.

Day 9

Holiday Chocolate Chip Cookies
Originally uploaded by Bakerella.

Day 8

Today is a little different. I was looking on Flickr for some interesting holiday photos and I got the idea to look for a Christmas inspired wedding photo. How beautiful that would be, I thought. What I found was an entire set of photos. This wedding is outstandingly beautiful. It's simple yet grand....if that makes any sense. The bride is so lovely - I love her gown and red sash. Her groom, very handsome. They should be extremely happy with their photos...the love between them comes through loud and clear in these photos. Kudos to the photographer. It makes me wish I had been there to experience the abundant spirit that was clearly there. And by spirit, I do mean love, but there is something else I see in these photos. There is a spirit that only comes around this time of year. It's captured in the swags of sparkly of lights wrapped in sheer fabric, a wedding cake surrounded by silver Christmas ornaments in a dusting of "snow", pews, chandeliers, and the altar adorned with green pine and red bows....it all creates that magic that can only be felt at Christmastime. Enjoy.

Christmas Wedding

Day 7

A Hard Rain
Originally uploaded by AsherBlue.

Day 6

Santa Claus caught in the act - Santa delivers toys to our home in Longmont, CO
Originally uploaded by rockymtns99.

Day 5

blue christmas
Originally uploaded by n.elle.

Day 4

Christmas on Courthouse Square
Originally uploaded by bkwdayton.

Day 3

Snow Bro Bokeh
Originally uploaded by Amy-Rose.

Day 2

Holiday Pets

This one cracks me up. O Tannenbaum




Timmythe Christmas Kitty.
Originally uploaded by Juli's pix.

Kaycee's note to Santa...
Originally uploaded by TiggerLarue.

Christmas Tig
Originally uploaded by Miss Lane.

Christmas rabbit
Originally uploaded by romap.

----
Shop!

For the cat lover

Have to buy for someone that snores?

Super cute "chick" tee shirts

Day 1

Here we are....12 days of holiday photos.



christmas in new york
Originally uploaded by anniebee.

This one made me laugh!

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I'm also going to post a gift idea...or maybe two, a day.

Todays is pretty unusual and would be great for that hard to buy for person.

The Civilized Butler

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving
Originally uploaded by photo kitten.

lash-tastic

Warning to boys, this is about make-up so it likely have you yawing by the second sentence.

I'm searching for the perfect mascara. I'm not sure I will ever find it. Here are my findings so far. Please leave a comment if you use a brand you really like.

My rating system:
1= don't waste your time
10= buy stock in it

Bad Gal Lash: The brush on this is HUGE. I got kinda excited about that, but it turns out that, for me, a big brush is bad because when I get close to the base of my lashes, it gets on my eyelid. So I spent half my time removing unwanted smudges. On a scale of 1-10, I want so bad to give it a good score, but the brush brings it down to a 4.

Prescriptives "false lash" mascara: This stuff works ok, but it's expensive and does not live up to the "false lash" name. It gets really good reviews online, but I just didn't get what all the wow is about. I give it a 5 out of 10.

Laura Mercer: This is also expensive, but so far it is the best I've tried. The brush is really the key to why I like it. The bristles are close together so it goes on really well and gives good even coverage. The only problem is, it does not have staying power. By the end of the day it is wearing off. I give it 6.5 out of 10.

Maybelline Volume Express Turbo Boost: This could be the worst stuff I have ever used. I had to put on coat after coat and by then it looked awful. The mascara itself is "thin" and the bristles on the brush are not close enough together to apply evenly. This gets a 1 out of 10.

Smashbox Bionic Mascara: I had high hopes for it. I mean anything with the word Bionic in the name should be tops, right? Not. The mascara itself is good if you like waterproof. However, I don't groove on that. I didn't know that when I bought it. So being waterproof, it's really hard to get off. The other thing is, the tube it comes in. When you pull the brush out, the mascara is really caked on there. So either the opening to the tube needs to be smaller or the brush needs to be thicker. What's interesting is, I put the brush from my old Laura Mercer mascara in this tube (it has a bigger brush) and it comes out with just the right amount of mascara on it and works great! So clearly they have to work on the brush. Again, the only problem is that it is waterproof. I even use eye makeup remover and sometimes that won't get it off either. I'm giving this a 4 out of 10 since the only way I can use it is to use another products brush.

Almay One Coat Thickening Mascara: I used this for years. I loved it and it worked pretty good for $8. I started looking at other mascara because it has problems with staying power. It also flakes a little bit with age. When you get a brand new tube of it, the flaking isn't much of a problem, but I guess it dries out pretty fast in the tube. I give this one a 5.5 out of 10.

That's what I got so far. I'm not sure what I will try next.

Happy Birthday Bob!

Originally uploaded by regan_parks.

It's just around the corner...

Thanksgiving.

I love the smell of Thanksgiving. Whenever someone asks me what my favorite smell is, Thanksgiving Day is the answer...the whole house just smells sooooo good. My favorite thing to eat on Thanksgiving....not as easy to pick. One thing I never used to like was cranberry sauce, but I think that's because I didn't really grow up having it. However, I was pleased to discover that I do actually like it! Dried cranberries in the stuffing is really good. I know it sounds kinda iffy, but if you have never tired it, you should. Maybe reserve a few cups of stuffing and add 2 tablespoons of cranberries that have been boiled in chicken or turkey stock for a few minutes to the stuffing and give it a taste. You might find you really like it. And a smear of cranberry sauce on your turkey sandwich the next day is delish. But these two options are not original at all. "Cranberry people" do this stuff every year. So if you want to try cranberries, here is a cake. It will turn you into a cranberry person for sure!

Cranberry Cake

Cake:
1 18.25 oz. white cake mix
1 1/4 cups cranberry juice
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 egg whites
6 tablespoons cranberry sauce

Glaze:
1/2 cup cranberry sauce
1 tablespoon white cranberry juice

Icing:
5 tablespoons heavy cream
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch Bundt pan with butter or shortening and set aside.

Combine cake mix, juice, oil, and egg whites in a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes.

Remove 1 cup of batter and transfer to a small bowl. Stir in cranberry sauce until well combined.

Pour half of white cake batter into prepared Bundt pan. Top with cranberry cake batter. Pour over the remaining half of white cake batter. Bake in preheated oven for 38 to 40 minutes, or until tester comes out clean. Remove and cool for 15 minutes and turn Bundt pan over onto a serving plate and gently lift pan to remove cake.

Glaze:
Combine all glaze ingredients in a small saucepan and heat through over medium heat until syrupy.

Icing:
Mix all icing ingredients in a small bowl with a whisk until a smooth thick consistency.

Drizzle icing and glaze over top and down sides of cake.


Easy Cranberry Sauce

2 cups cranberries
Juice of 1 orange
1/4 cup Port or Cherry Brandy
1/2 cup sugar, or more if needed
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon cornstarch

In a small saucepan combine cranberries, orange juice and zest, port or cherry brandy, sugar and cinnamon. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmering and cook until cranberries are tender, stirring occasionally. In a small cup make a *slurry with cornstarch and 1 tablespoon water. Whisk cornstarch mixture into cranberry sauce and cook, whisking, until sauce thickens. Taste and add more sugar (a tablespoon at a time) if sauce is too tart.


*slurry
A thin paste of water and cornstarch or flour, which is stirred into hot preparations (such as soups, stews and sauces) as a thickener. After the slurry is added, the mixture should be stirred and cooked for several minutes in order for the cornstarch or flour to lose its raw taste.

Twelve Days of.....Something

I was thinking of doing a 12 days of something starting December 1st. These were my ideas:

12 unusual holiday cookie recipes
12 unusual holiday songs
12 unusual holiday web sites
12 unusual holiday photos (not mine)

I wasn't able to come up with 12 different unusual things....else it was have just been, well....12 unusual holiday things.

So since it is you all who have to read this hooey everyday, I thought I'd ask what you want. Any of those 12 things tickle your holiday fancy? Or do you have ideas of another 8 unusual things I can find to post about? Or does this 12 unusual things idea just blow and you'd rather not read it to start with?

New favorite song. Ignore all the Sandra Bullock photos and listen to the song. It's the only one I could find with the recorded version of the song.



Just Between You And Me
By April Wine
Circa 1981

Time and time again I see
A love that seemed strong, was not meant to be
Broken hearts dont always mend
Left too unsure to try love again

Just between you and me
Baby I know our love will be
Just between you and me
Always I know our love will be
Just between you and me

Lovers often seem to say
Hearts can be blind to love gone astray
Always its the same old song
Someones been hurt by a love thats gone wrong

Just between you and me
Baby I know our love will be
Just between you and me
Always I know our love will be
Just between you,
Just between you and me

Words are sometimes hard to find
The silence can be so unkind
You always help me find my way
The love that we share grows stronger each day

Just between you and me
Baby I know our love will be
Just between you and me
Always I know our love will be
Seulement entre toi et moi
Means that our love will always be
Just between you and me
Baby I know our love will be
Just between you,
Just between you and me

Voting Dream

Maybe nightmare would be a better thing to call it.

I had a dream last night that I got up early to go vote. I walked to the poling place in my neighborhood but I didn't exactly know where the house/street was. Despite that, I got there in time to be one of the first people in a booth. Once in the booth things started going badly. There was this newfangled machine that you had to feed your voting card into. You had to slide one side and open the other side and grab this thing in the middle all at the same time...while feeding your voting slip in. So I wasn't able to get it down. And then I was holding things up because I seemed to be the only one who could not use the newfangled thing. Then, the volunteer guy who is there to help people started making fun of me! So I just said forget it and told the guy to stick it where the sun don't shine and exited the booth without voting. I get outside and I suddenly have on these.....socks....I think....I'm not really sure what to call them....but these socks on that were really tight and I was having trouble walking in them. So I sit down on the grass and I'm struggling to get them off and I start to cry from all the misfortune. I get the darn socks off and I look at my phone and it's 6:30am and Greg is still home getting ready for work....he leaves at 7am for work. So I figure I will hurry home and tell him all this crap. Well....didn't happen. I got lost on the way home since I wasn't exactly sure where I was. Remember, I am like....10 minutes from my house...but this is the way dreams go. Ok, so come upon a swamp. Seriously. Yeah, that was a pain in the ass to get across. Then I didn't know which fork in the road to take. Course I took the wrong one and ended up in some spooky forest. Now it's getting foggy and kinda dark. Great. I get my phone out to call Greg to come rescue me. Of course, no service in the forest. *rolls eyes* I did finally find a bait shop on a lake to ask for help to get back to the main road....except the guy who made fun of me at the poling place was there drinking with all his creepy friends...ugh. So then I was trying to be all incognito so he would not notice me....

It was quite a trying election day.

Hope yours is nothing like my dream.

Why Did The Chicken Cross The Road?

Some of these are pretty funny....

===

BARACK OBAMA: The chicken crossed the road because it was time for a change! The chicken wanted change!

JOHN MCCAIN: My friends, that chicken crossed the road because he recognized the need to engage in cooperation and dialogue with all the chickens on the other side of the road.

SARAH PALIN: In what respect, Charley? Charley, Congress had allocated money to the other side of the road and Charley, I said, “Thanks, but no thanks.” Charley, don’t point out that I was for the bridge in 2006 and then I was against it. That is sexist. Or do you mean Charley, our proximity to the other side of the road. You can actually see the other side of the road from land here, Charley. That why I’m an expert on the other side of the road, Charley.

JOE BIDEN: The chicken went to the other side of the road because… (Continued on pages 2-30.)

HILLARY CLINTON: When I was First Lady, I personally helped that little chicken to cross the road. This experience makes me uniquely qualified to ensure right from Day One that every chicken in this country gets the chance it deserves to cross the road. But then, this really isn’t about me.

GEORGE W. BUSH: We don’t really care why the chicken crossed the road. We just want to know if the chicken is on our side of the road, or not. The chicken is either against us, or for us. There is no middle ground here.

DICK CHENEY: Where’s my gun?

MARTIN LUTHER KING.: I envision a day when all chickens will be free to cross the road without having their motives called into question.

COLIN POWELL: Now to the left of the screen, you can clearly see the satellite image of the chicken crossing the road.

BILL CLINTON: I did not cross the road with that chicken. What is your definition of chicken?

AL GORE: I invented the chicken.

JOHN KERRY: Although I voted to let the chicken cross the road, I am now against it! It was the wrong road to cross, and I was misled about the chicken’s intentions. I am not for it now, and will remain against it.

AL SHARPTON: Why are all the chickens white? We need some black chickens.

DR. PHIL: The problem we have here is that this chicken won’t realize that he must first deal with the problem on this side of the road before it goes after the problem on the other side of the road. What we need to do is help him realize how stupid he’s acting by not taking on his current problems before adding new problems.

OPRAH: Well, I understand that the chicken is having problems, which is why he wants to cross this road so bad. So instead of having the chicken learn from his mistakes and take falls, which is a part of life, I’m going to give this chicken a car so that he can just drive across the road and not live his life like the rest of the chickens.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN: We have reason to believe there is a chicken, but we have not yet been allowed to have access to the other side of the road.

NANCY GRACE: That chicken crossed the road because he’s guilty! You can see it in his eyes and the way he walks.

PAT BUCHANAN: To steal the job of a decent, hardworking American.

MARTHA STEWART: No one called me to warn me which way that chicken was going. I had a standing order at the Farmer’s Market to sell my eggs when the price dropped to a certain level. No little bird gave me any insider information.

DR SEUSS: Did the chicken cross the road? Did he cross it with a toad? Yes, the chicken crossed the road, but why it crossed I’ve not been told.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY: To die in the rain, alone...

GRANDPA: In my day we didn’t ask why the chicken crossed the road. Somebody told us the chicken crossed the road, and that was good enough.

BARBARA WALTERS: Isn’t that interesting? In a few moments, we will be listening to the chicken tell, for the first time, the heartwarming story of how it experienced a serious case of molting, and went on to accomplish its lifelong dream of crossing the road.

ARISTOTLE: It is the nature of chickens to cross the road.

JOHN LENNON: Imagine all the chickens in the world crossing roads together, in peace.

BILL GATES: I have just released eChicken 2008, which will not only cross roads, but will lay eggs, file your important documents, and balance your checkbook. Internet Explorer is an integral part of eChicken 2008. This new platform is much more stable and will never crash or need to be rebooted.

ALBERT EINSTEIN: Did the chicken really cross the road, or did the road move beneath the chicken?

COLONEL SANDERS: Did I miss one?

Merry Christmas....in October?

Back in....I don't know....something like February, Greg bought his Christmas present. A Nintendo Wii. He called me and said he really wanted it and I guess it was some good price so he bought it and put it under the bed...waiting for December. All year long he has been buying little things to go with it...games, controllers, etc. He's been buying two of everything because he says I am going to play with him. Anyone who knows me knows I am not a game person....well, not a video game person. But he's sure I'll be playing with him. We'll see.

So today we are at Best Buy spending one of the gift cards he got for his birthday and he sees a woman at the check out counter with a Wii Fit. He makes a remark about how they are hard to find.

"You want to go look at them?" he asks.
"How much are they?" I ask
"Umm, about $80 bucks"

What the heck. We get out of line and go look. They didn't have any more but my interest was sparked looking at all the Wii Fit accessory stuff. We got back in line and I asked him why he didn't want one for himself. He's always been saying we wants to join the gym and loose some pounds, but going to the gym is a royal pain in the ass so he never joined. When we got home he called around and found out Sears had a few, so he reserved one and went down to pick it up. He added it the Christmas pile under the bed. We will take $40 out of each others Christmas fund and share it. Amazon.com reviewers gave it 4.5 stars out of 5....so maybe this will be my first video game addiction!

He's pretty genius....getting all this stuff in advance. Because he says that will be his only Christmas gift, but he knows good and well I am going to buy him other stuff....so he is making out like a bandit this year.

Just so you know, my lack of posting is on account of my job and how dang busy I am. But I am not going to complain about having a job.

So the other day I was at Sephora....one of my all time favorite stores, and I got some mascara plus they gave me a bunch of free samples. One of them was some kind of anti-aging potion that claims to make you look young and beautiful. Well, ok.....it didn't exactly say that, but you know....that's what they want to say. So tonight before bed I peel open the foil packet and get ready to slather it on hoping for the best. I bring my potion covered palms to my face and slather....then I suddenly stop. I made the worst face....I know because I was looking in the mirror. This stuff smells like rotten fruit! And not even a fruit you can recognize....this fruit is waaay beyond recognition. My first thought was to wash like crazy....get this stuff off! But then I thought about it for a second and looked at my hands....I still had a lot left...enough to slater my arms for good measure. Because you know, no one ever said the fountain of youth would smell like roses....tho I don't think any of us ever thought it would smell like this. So I went on and slathered it all over my arms. I let it dry and got in bed with my laptop and start surfing. Greg comes in and lays down next to me. He sniffs.

"What is that?" He asks....with kind of a wrinkled nose.

"My new beauty potion..."

He got up and left. Not even the cat wanted to lay with me.

I think instead of calling it a potion, I better call it a witches brew.

Hopefully I don't wake up in the morning with warts and green skin!

YES on Proposition 2

See more here

Calendar Girl - Update!

You can reserve your calendars now and see all the winners! That's my girl....Miss December 2009!

*so proud*

2009 Calendar

I think this is funny.

A woman I work with is beyond excited about the Mother Goose Parade next month. Not "the" Mother Goose Parade, the San Diego County Mother Goose Parade. She goes every year. I had no idea it even existed. So this year when she looked up the parade marshals and celebrities who will be there and she started screaming so her husband came running to see what was wrong.

"Oh my God!! Christopher Atkins is going to be at the Mother Goose Parade!!! Oh my God!!"

Seems she is still in love with him after all these years. She said: "I've seen The Blue Lagoon like 500 times!!"

So she's going to get her picture taken with him because she has read that he likes to have pictures taken with fans. She told me she might faint if he puts his arm around her.

*laughs*

If you're curious what Christopher looks like these days, you can see him and the rest of the celebrities that will be there.

Parade Celebrities

Bad Luck

I have bad luck. I just do. I must be getting paid back for some really bad karma. Now how can I have bad luck, you ask? I have a job, a home, a husband, food…all this…so how can I say I have bad luck? Well, it’s not the no job kind of bad luck. It’s the kind where you have a cat who catches lizards….and lizards just happen to be in the list of the top 3 things you really hate. They creep me out big time. There is a long history of my hate for lizards….I won’t get into the story of the one that was in my bed. But it was bad.

Ok, so Greg left to go to Vegas this weekend for a softball tournament. He left around 5:30pm. At about 6:15pm, I hear this loud bang on the screen door. I rush out to find Calvin, Greg’s cat, trotting into the kitchen with a lizard flailing around in this mouth. I scream and jump on the sofa.

Ohhhh……that cat realllllly pisses me off.

So with Greg safely out of reach, the cat nets himself a lizard from under the screen door. He does this all the time….tho he has not done it in quite a while. But he chooses today…when Greg is gone, to start up again. It was a big one, too. And interestingly enough, he always does it when Greg isn’t home. So….I had to do something….fast. Calvin has never let one get away from him…..of the dozen he has caught, but there is going to be a first time and it could not be today. So I gotta think fast. I dumped a small trashcan out on the floor and figure I can turn it upside down trapping the lizard under it while I come up with a plan. So I do that. Then I stand there looking at it for 10 minutes. The only option was to slide the trashcan to the door, open the screen and slide it out. So there it was….me scooting the trashcan across the floor with lizard running under it all the way to the door. We get to the door, I threw it out, lizard went flying, I screamed, slammed the screen shut and slammed the door closed.

Now the red trash can sitting in my front yard and I have no intention of going out there to get it anytime soon. It might be out there until Greg gets home on Sunday. And the front door is staying closed all weekend.

And that cat better watch his ass because his master is gone and I might just tote him off to the pound.

This is funny. It could take a while to load, but it is worth it. And don't click on any of the items ~ just wait and watch.

click here

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Plus, it's the first day of Fall! How exciting!!!

***

And....a recipe! I didn't have raspberries, so it was just all plum.....but it was still really yummy. If you make it, be sure to use red plums.

Plum Raspberry Crumble

2 pounds red plums, cut in 1/2, pitted, and cut in 1-inch wedges
2/3 cup granulated sugar, divided
1 1/4 cups flour, divided
2 tablespoons orange juice
1/2 pint fresh raspberries
1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced
1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup sliced almonds, plus extra for sprinkling

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large bowl, combine the sliced plums, 1/3 cup of the granulated sugar, 1/4 cup of the flour, and the orange juice and toss well. Add the raspberries and toss lightly. Pour into a 9 by 12 by 2-inch baking dish.

3. For the topping, place the remaining 1 cup of flour, the remaining 1/3 cup of granulated sugar, brown sugar, oats, and the salt in the bowl.

4. Cut in the butter and until the butter is the size of peas.

5. Add 1/2 cup of the almonds and mix well.

6. Spread the topping evenly over the plums, making sure the fruit is covered. Sprinkle with some extra almonds. Bake for 40 minutes, or until the fruit is tender and bubbly and the topping is golden brown.

Okay, so here is the thing....I like coconut but I don't love it. If a recipe calls for it, I usually only half of what it calls for.

So, I was hunting around the internet and came across the spot below for the show "Down Home With The Neeleys". The woman bugs me a little bit, but I can take her in small amounts so I watched it. What does this have to do with coconut, you ask? Why have I gone from telling you my taste preference on coconut to telling you the Neeley woman bugs me? I'm not crazy....well.....oh, just watch below and you will see link between the two....and why I am dying for a square coconut donut....

calendar girl

black, white and red all over
Originally uploaded by photo kitten.

I am overwhelmed with happy emotion.

I just got a call from the SPCA telling me that this photo of Abby won for the December shot of their 2009 calendar! Jenny, the woman who called me said it was a landslide vote....she didn't even have to count votes because Abby had clearly won it.

I'm so very happy.

I have a feeling the answer is no, but is anyone watching HBO's vampire show True Blood?

Last Sunday afternoon Greg asked me if I was going to watch it and I said no. I am usually very disappointed in vampire movies/shows so I wasn't going to bother. They are so......stupid. Nothing has compared to Buffy in my eyes. Until now. I really like this show. After I said no, I got a little curious. I found a trailer for the show. Just watching that had me hooked. So thanks to Greg for giving me the nudge.

Now, let me just say, I understand that just the idea of a vampire show sounds stupid. Trust me, I felt that way about vampire movies, shows....anything. Not to mention a show with a heroine named Buffy. Pretty stupid. But then one night I watched an episode. it really is good. I'm lucky I opened my mind to it because it was, and always will be, a great source of enjoyment and inspiration to me.

I think True Blood might do the same thing for me. It isn't like the movie Blade or that ridiculous show Blood Ties. It's just....good. It's quality. Something you don't see a lot of in vampire flicks and shows. True Blood is nothing like Buffy The Vampire Slayer.....well, except that it has vampires in it. It is very adult.....which you would expect because it's on HBO. They get away with things you will never see on non cable stations.

If you are even slightly interested, I think you can watch 2 aired epidoes on HBO's website.

Happy 40th Birthday Laura!

Sometimes it's good to be 40!
Originally uploaded by shutterBRI.

Happy Birthday Greg!

Greg's Birthday Cupcake
Originally uploaded by photo kitten.

I Love Weddings...

...but sadly, I don't know many people who have gotten married so I don't attend very many weddings.

Recently my boss was in a wedding and I got to view the photos....all 200+. The wedding was really lovely. A few things stood out to me. One was, the bride wore garnet colored satin shoes with rhinestone buckles on top. I know it may sound gaudy, but it wasn't at all. They were really beautiful shoes. So she is in head to hem white and then....POP....you get a glimpse of her shoes. The colors of the wedding were garnet & tangerine, which again may sound gaudy, but they did a good job of just splashing the colors here and there so it was not overdone. The flowers were red and orange roses with orange calla lilies. I just love the little things that people do....like the shoes. I think it was cool to get away from the traditional stuff and be different.

Other than that, I really have nothing of major interest to post. It's been hotter than a stolen tamale here. So we have just been laying around like sloths. I am eagerly waiting for Fall to arrive with it's cooler temps and hope for some rain. I cannot even remember the last time it rained.....far too long ago. My coats and scarves are calling to me from the closet.....

"Hey! Woman! You ever going to were us again? This closet is cramped and we need a change of scenery!"

So for my coats sake, let's hope we get some rain soon.

Happy Furry Friday!

cute
Originally uploaded by photo kitten.

The Last Song

Each time I hear Elton John's "The Last Song", I am touched in many ways. Simply said, the lyrics are....brilliant. The video is very well done and captures the true essence of the song.

San Diego Week In Review

Get it? Like Washington Week In Review? Oh never mind...

The in-laws were here this pas week. They left yesterday. Tell you what, for pushing 70, they have a lot of dang energy. We drove and walked all week - from SD to Hollywood. Yes, we did end up going to Hollywood and they really liked it. We took a 5.5 hour walking/bus tour that we were almost late for....had 20 minutes to spare. Thank goodness we didn't miss it or they would have been crabby as all get-out. It started at 9:30am so we had to leave at 6:30am to get through traffic. His Dad was worried the whole way up there that we would miss it. If he had his way, we would have left at 5:45am. No way. Being with them that early is bad enough, but there was no way I could handle being with them before the sun was even up. I had one thing I wanted to see. One thing - the Hollywood sign. I don't know why. I just wanted to see it and take a picture of it. I tend to fall asleep on long car rides....so there were are....

"On the right is the Viper Room where River Phoenix died of a drug overdose on Halloween morning in 1993. On the left is the diner where they shot scenes for Pulp Ficton. Ahead is the....."

....zzzzz zzzzz....off to lala land I went. I missed a good chunk of it but that's okay. The very last thing we saw was the Hollywood sign.

"Now look to you right and keep your eyes open or you will miss it! There it is...a good glimpse of it!"

*rolls eyes*

We did go to the outlet mall so his Dad could shop. But the fact was, he shopped the entire week! No matter where we went, he found a shop. Shop, shop, shop. I am so shopped out.

Saturday Greg took them to the swap meet because his Dad suddenly had to have a poncho. A poncho? Why? I have no idea. But he wanted one and we had already been to Old Town on Monday so going back would have been a pain in the ass. They did find one.....red with some kind of cow on it. He tried it on for me when they got back. It looked preposterous. I just smiled and nodded. After the swap meet they went to the Christmas store. Then to the regular mall. I didn't go. I told Greg there was just no way I could shop and walk anymore....I wasn't going. Can't look at another knick-knack, another article of clothing, another San Diego souvenir. I said they should just go without me various times during the week.....I'd be fine. I'd nap. But no....."sometimes we have to do things we don't want to do" Greg would tell me. I can't tell you how much I hate it when he tells me that. But he finally let me off the hook on Saturday.

So the rental car is returned, the folks are back in Indiana, and we are back to the two of us doing our own thing. Feels good. Now we just need a vacation to recover from our vacation with them.

According to From Wikipedia:


Slow lorises

These slow moving strepsirrhine primates range from Borneo and the southern Philippines in Southeast Asia, through Bangladesh, Vietnam, Southern China (Yunnan area) and Thailand. Adult slow lorises range in size from 21 to 38 cm, depending on the species, and weigh up to 2 kilograms. The tail is a mere stump. The short, thick fur can have a variety of colours, mostly grey-reddish and often with whitish undertones. They have well developed thumbs, which they use to grasp and hold fast to branches, and a very flexible back. The eyes are large and the ears are small and nearly hidden in the fur. Like all lorises, slow lorises are nocturnal and arboreal animals that prefer the tops of the trees. Also, they have slow, deliberate movements and a powerful grasp that makes them very difficult to remove from branches. They live as solitaries or in small family groups.

Ok, now for some cute loris video. It is worth watching the whole thing! The look at 1:53 kills me!!

Shopping Gene

This is not true of every man, but I think most men do not enjoy shopping...excluding shopping for drills and those "man" kind of things. Greg, however, enjoys most shopping. Even grocery shopping! He likes going to the book store, Old Navy, browsing in Marshall's, shoe shopping at DSW, traipsing around the mall, Pottery Barn, electronics stores, Target.....I can even get him to go to my craft stores. In fact, sometimes *he* suggests taking me to the craft stores. Plus, he is a buyer. I don't think he has ever come out of Old Navy empty handed. He's a shoppin' thing.

So, his parents are coming out in a few weeks from Indiana and they have been here 3 or 4 times now so they have done all the tourist things - I promise this ties into what I just wrote about. I was trying to think of something interesting to do while they are here and I thought of a tour of Hollywood since I know they have never been there and it's not too far to go....it could be a day trip. We look into it and Greg finds this tour that takes you all over and you pretty much see everything.....so he tells his folks. We figure this will be a sure thing. Well, turns out it's not. They seem a little less than interested. And when I say "they", I mean his Dad. I was surprised. I thought for sure his Dad would love to see all the stars hand/shoe prints and the walk of fame and all that stuff. But seems not. Instead, he told Greg he wants to make sure we get to the outlet mall they went to the last time they were out here.

The outlet mall? He wants to go to a shopping mall over seeing Hollywood?

*is confused*

Ok, whatever....not going to Hollywood will save us a lot of gas and we won't have to get up early....so that's fine. We'll just go the mall. So father and son can shop.

Girl Talk

The exchange below is between me and a girl at work. I thought I'd share because it's a pretty funny story.

(Jane) yeah, i was tired yesterday...i got home late because i went to a bachlorette party for my friend
(Jane) they had a stripper, but he was pretty bad...
(Jane) it was hilarious to watch though
(me) oh no
(me) was he good looking at least?
(Jane) i didn't think so...kinda scrawny
(Jane) no butt
(jane) he kept showing us his stuff though
(Jane) he wasn't shy
(me) how funny
(Jane) and he had this vibrating glove that he kept trying to touch everyone with
(Jane) i wish i would have had a video camera because some of the stuff that went on was hilarious
(me) was he more of a comedy kind of guy?
(me) maybe he wasn't supposed to be sexy
(Jane) no, he was serious...he was dressed as a pizza delivery boy...lol...his line was "who ordered the large sausage"
(me) oh my god....*laughs*
(me) sounds pretty funny
(Jane) he was too skinny though...and he wore black socks and shoes through the whole thing...lol

It's late in the work day and I am about ready to leave for the day, but I just had to share this. You may recall from a previous post that I have to look through a mail folder full of spam for legitimate email from off campus users. So I am looking at the subject lines....it's usually very obvious from the subject if it's spam or not. So going along reading....

Lindsey Lohan died in car crash...
Britney and Paris Lesbian video....
See this fastest beer drinker...
Sex after sports kills man...

Then I see this one and burst out laughing...

Breaking news: Aliens landed in Ohio.

I'm not allergic to gluten, but I found the recipe below and it peaked my interest. The creator of the recipe claims that unless you know it has no regular flour in it, you will never be able to tell the difference. I'm curious. And considering I am trying to bake more, I might have to make them.

Course, they are not very healthy with the butter, sugars and peanut butter. I guess I could bake them, we could eat one....or two if they are as good as they are said to be, then send the rest to work with Greg. Course, I'd have to make sure they actually made their way to his work and did not get stashed in his car for snacking. He's a little snacker. I can just see him around 10pm when he gets a little peckish....tip-toeing his way out to his car and digging around for cookies.....only to turn around with crumbs on this lips and peanut butter on his breath and seeing me standing at the door. So maybe I better look for a low fat cookie instead....

Perfect Gluten-free Peanut Butter Cookies

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup salted natural peanut butter
1/2 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup corn flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/4 cup potato flour

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together the butter, brown sugar, white sugar and egg until smooth.
3. Stir in the peanut butter.
4. Combine the baking soda, corn flour, tapioca flour, and potato flour; stir into the batter to form a dough.
5. Roll the dough into teaspoon sized balls and place them 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
6. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven.
7. Let cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely.

Christian the Lion

Just had to share this because it is my kind of story. This is a true story. There are some videos on You Tube that show a horrible ending and those are edited and didn't really happen. Enjoy!

Bleeding Love - Leona Lewis

Closed off from love
I didn't need the pain
Once or twice was enough
And it was all in vain
Time starts to pass
Before you know it you're frozen

But something happened
For the very first time with you
My heart melts into the ground
Found something true
And everyone's looking round
Thinking I'm going crazy

But I don't care what they say
I'm in love with you
They try to pull me away
But they don't know the truth
My heart's crippled by the vein
That I keep on closing
You cut me open and I

Keep bleeding
Keep, keep bleeding love
I keep bleeding
I keep, keep bleeding love
Keep bleeding
Keep, keep bleeding love
You cut me open

Trying hard not to hear
But they talk so loud
Their piercing sounds fill my ears
Try to fill me with doubt
Yet I know that the goal
Is to keep me from falling

But nothing's greater
Than the rush that comes with your embrace
And in this world of loneliness
I see your face
Yet everyone around me
Thinks that I'm going crazy, maybe, maybe

But I don't care what they say
I'm in love with you
They try to pull me away
But they don't know the truth
My heart's crippled by the vein
That I keep on closing
You cut me open and I

Keep bleeding
Keep, keep bleeding love
I keep bleeding
I keep, keep bleeding love
Keep bleeding
Keep, keep bleeding love
You cut me open

And it's draining all of me
Oh they find it hard to believe
I'll be wearing these scars
For everyone to see

But I don't care what they say
I'm in love with you
They try to pull me away
But they don't know the truth
My heart's crippled by the vein
That I keep on closing
You cut me open and I

Keep bleeding
Keep, keep bleeding love
I keep bleeding
I keep, keep bleeding love
Keep bleeding
Keep, keep bleeding love
You cut me open and I

Keep bleeding
Keep, keep bleeding love
I keep bleeding
I keep, keep bleeding love
Keep bleeding
Keep, keep bleeding love
You cut me open and I
Keep bleeding
Keep, keep bleeding love

I'm on a roll, people!

Look out, I'm crossing off another thing on my 101 list!

44. Have a photo of mine in a magazine or calendar

This photo is published in this book.

It was picked because of it's breast cancer theme with the special edition Campbell's soup label and the special pink M&M's that were out last October for breast cancer awareness month.

chop ~ whisk ~ stir

Greg and I watch a lot of the Food Network. Pretty much every night we watch something we've recorded.....Iron Chef, Boy Meets Grill, Everyday Italian, and recently, The Next Food Network Star. We have not watched this series before, but I recored the first one and we just kept watching it. I must say, it's pretty exciting to watch. There were 10 people all trying to win their own Food Network Show. It's kind of like "cooking show survivor". There are people you clearly do not like and people you do like. Each week you are pulling for someone to get canned and someone to keep going. The hour long show never drags. It's fast paced and there is always some kind of "drama"....in a good way. Keeps you interested. I think they are going to do a marathon of the show this weekend, so if you want to watch it, you can record it and watch one each night and then watch the last 4 that are left. They also have clips of the show here. If you do happen to watch it or if you start watching it, you have to read Bob Tuschman's weekly blog. I look forward to reading this just as much as I look forward to watching the show. He is one of the people on the selection committee and is funny, smart and is a good writer. His blog gives you insight into the episode, how they came to pick who was booted off and some tid bits you didn't get to see on the show. The other committee person is Susie Fogelson and she has a vlog which is interesting, but not as much as Bob's blog. Although, she did have Bobby Flay as guest on her vlog this week and we got to find out who his favorite is. He also said there is someone who is currently still in the running who he does not feel should be there....but he declined to say who it was. Maybe that will be revealed at the end. Bobby is also on the selection committee which is a plus because he is so likeable...tho Greg says he might be a little too serious at times. *shrugs* I never thought I'd hear a critical word come out of Greg mouth about Bobby Flay!

Anyway, there you go....maybe more than you really wanted to know about a cooking show :)

It was a nice long weekend. Sometimes 3 days weekends go really quickly, but this one actually took it's time. I was so happy on Friday because it felt like Saturday....but it wasn't!

Laura invited us to go swimming on the 4th and that was nice...pretty much was in the pool the whole time we were there. Skipped the fireworks....the traffic would have been horrible. All in all, a nice 4th.

I didn't touch my craft/office closet as I suggested I might. I almost went in there yesterday, but I took a nap instead. Napping is far better use of my time :)

Things at work....ugh. It's a really long story and a bit on the complicated side so I'm not going to get too detailed. The reclass I have been talking about over the last few months didn't get approved....or denied. There are just questions about the process and how my boss has handled things along with how out of date my job description is. There are just a lot of questions. So, it looks like the job will have to be opened for recruitment. Meaning, they have to post my job, have to interview, hopefully I get it. You might ask, "how could you not get it?" Well, first, I never in 100 years thought my job would be opened for recruitment, so that right there tells you anything can happen. The second thing is, I am qualified by experience, not schooling. The job category would require a college degree....and lord knows I don't have one of those. So if someone else applies for the job who is as qualified and has programming skills.....well....then I could be pretty well screwed. If my old department had not merged with the new department, I would not be worried. Not a bit. But here....in this new department, things are much much different. The directors here don't know me....they don't have a clue who I am. So they will look at this very objectively.....and everyone will have a fair shot. Sure, I know the fine details, I don't need training, I've been doing it for what seems like my whole life, but that's only part of it. They tend to look at things long term, which I have to admit is smart. Things is, I might not be the best long term thing out there....me and my lack or programming and all that crap. So my less than competent boss (honestly, she has sucked at this whole process from the start and is the reason I am in this predicament) is looking into all this and I should know this week what will end up happening. I've had nothing but bad news about it, so I'm feeling unsure of things. Wish me luck!

Happy Birthday America!

home of the free ~ land of the brave

See my 4th of July art here

I just crossed off #20 and #50 from my 101 things to do list. Well, half crossed them off. My wonderful husband helped me clean and organize my craft room. Actually, he did most of it.....clean and organize are not favorite words of mine. But he is a cleaning and organizing machine - a Virgo. I'm a Libra....we are creative and lazy machines. So I told him my ideas and he made it happen. It's a much different room now. You can walk in and see everything. There isn't "stuff" all over the place. I can easily find paper, any stamp I want, use my Cricut without having to lean over a pile of "stuff" to get to it, see the many different spools of ribbon I have...it's nice.

The reason I only half crossed them off is because I wouldn't say it's beautiful yet. It's functional. Not beautiful. But it could get beautiful in time. So just half crossed off. It is clean, so #50 is also half crossed off. To get that one totally crossed off I will have to keep it clean. But you know.....clean and organized are not favorite words of mine. I really like it clean....I really do. Last night I sat in there for a few minutes just looking around. It was cool. So maybe I will keep it spotless. Maybe. Time will tell.

As for #49....well those piles of "suff" I talked about.....they made their way in there. So that is not even close to being crossed off. Maybe I will work on that closet on Friday. Maybe. It's just going to suck. But 50% of it is clothes I have never wanted to get rid of. So if I just go in there and close my eyes and stuff it all in a bag, I will not see what is on it's way to Goodwill.....and then some lucky fool can buy my acid washed jeans from 1985 for $2.

I was listening to this song this morning and the lyrics just starting cracking me up...

Brick House - The Commodores

(various grunting sounds)
She's a brick----house
She's mighty mighty just lettin' it all hang out
She's a brick----house
I like ladies stacked, that's a fact,
ain't holding nothing back.

She's a brick----house
well put together everybody knows,
this is how the story goes.

She knows she's got everything
that a woman needs to get a man, yeah.
How can she lose with what she use
36-24-36, what a winning hand!

She's a brick----house
She's mighty mighty just lettin' it all hang out
She's a brick----house
I like ladies stacked, that's a fact,
ain't holding nothing back.

She's a brick----house
She's the one, the only one
Built like an amazon

The clothes she wears, her sexy ways,
make an old man wish for younger days, yeah
She knows she's built and knows how to please
Sure enough to knock a strong man to his knees

She's a brick----house
She's mighty mighty just lettin' it all hang out
Brick----house
I like ladies stacked, that's a fact,
ain't holding nothing back.

Shake it down, shake it down now
Shake it down, shake it down now
Shake it down, shake it down now
Shake it down, shake it down now

BRICK----house
She's mighty mighty just lettin' it all hang out
BRICK----house
She's the one, the only one
Built like an amazon, yeah

Shake it down, shake it down now
Shake it down, shake it down now
Shake it down, shake it down now
Shake it down, shake it down now

Shake it!
BRICK----house!

Sardinia

Del Riso
Originally uploaded by LucaPicciau.

Yes....must go there....and play in that crystal clear water.

This is kinda funny.

http://thedailywtf.com/Articles/The-Stalled-Server-Room.aspx

Interesting...

A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song - Maya Angelou

I forgot about the bird story.

The other day I was leaving work and I was walking thru the parking garage and I could hear a bird chirping. It seemed really close to me so I looked up but didn't see where it was perched. I continued to my car and suddenly the small bird flew past me at about hip level and landed on the floor just an inch or so under the passenger side door of my car. Tiny little thing. So I was like...."Uh, you gotta move" and started to walk up to it thinking it would fly away. Well it didn't. Just sat there looking at me. So there we were...just looking at each other for about 5 minutes. I thought it would take off at some point, but it seemed planted there. I looked around for something to toss in it's direction to get it to fly away - a straw. I tossed it and the straw landed about a half inch from the bird. The result was the bird took a few little hops....didn't fly away. Now I knew it could fly since I had seen it zoom past me....so that wasn't the problem. Maybe it was sick? So then I started to feel really bad for the little thing.

Meanwhile, people are leaving work and they are looking at me.....seemingly staring at the ground. I don't think people could see the bird since it was a gray brown color and was almost a perfect color match to the cement floor.

So I paced for a minute and then got the idea to go outside and get a eucalyptus branch to use to nudge it to fly away. My choices were tiny sticks or one 5ft long branch....I picked the branch and back in I went. I had hoped that while I was stick hunting birdie had moved on. No luck, he was still sitting there. I nudged him and he'd hop....nudge...hop, nudge...hop, nudge...hop.....making his way further under my car. So I went to the drivers side and got on the floor to look under the car. He was lookin' at me like "Now what the heck you going to do to me?". So I nudge from under the car....he hops, nudge...hop, nudge...hop. Ok fine....this isn't working. He was now just under my front end licence plate. I get up and and look at him...we're going to have to come to some kind of agreement on things.

Keep in mind....people are still looking at on the way to their cars....seemingly poking at my car with a 5ft eucalyptus branch.

The garage door wasn't far away at all....maybe 50ft. I wondered if I could get him on the end of the branch and just take him outside since he was so mild mannered. Now....I kid you not....I put the branch down in front of him and he hopped right on. I was elated! Now could I just get him outside? YES! I walked quickly with him on the end of the branch and took him to the first eucalyptus tree. I raised the branch up high and deposited him safely in the tree.

Adding bird rescuer to my resume.

bright tulips crown the boulevards

The title means nothing. I just like the sound of it.

So....lots going on.

Our cat Suzie is sick again. She has an infection so we have to give her antibiotics for 30 days. The fist few days things seemed to be going fine until we randomly found her pills on the floor in various places. It seemed that little miss smarty pants would take the pill and act like she had swallowed it and then as soon as we let her go, she'd spit it out when she was out of our sight. We found 4 pills. So the first 4 days she'd done this.

*shakes head*

Of course now we have to darn near torture her to death to get her to swallow the pills. It can get pretty bad. One night she was foaming at the mouth....these pills must be horrible. She just kept spitting it out and it got wet and mushy so then the foaming started....it's terrible. She feels bad and then we have to do this. Needless to say, she isn't speaking to us right now.

Greg's truck broke down and he needed a new master cylinder. Oh joy.

Remember that reclass I talked about in Feb? I was supposed to hear back about it in March. I never heard and kept waiting and waiting to hear something but there was no update. So I finally asked a few weeks ago. Well.....she never submitted it!!!!! Oh man.....I just about lost it when I heard this. Never sent it in?? What the heck!? She said she got busy with other projects and it just didn't get done....

I'm trying hard not to use bad words right now.

Taps foot....*sighs*

You know....I work hard and do a really good job. I show up when I am supposed to, I'm not a slacker, I meet my deadlines. And then this shit happens. But I still work. I still show up. And I have not called anyone a bad name....well....not to their face. It's no wonder I have high blood pressure! I just know there has to be a silver lining....it just has yet to show itself. There has to be one....right? There will be a silver lining....won't there? Is waiting for it....

On a happier note...a photo of mine has been selected to be on display at the San Diego Natural History Museum.



So that's cool. I am semi tempted to cross off the item on my 101 list that says something about having a photo in a magazine or calendar and call this close enough, but....I'd still like to be in a magazine or calendar.

Okay, that's all I can think of for now.

I've been working from home all week because our office building is closed due to the US Open. Sometimes you can see the building in the background when they are near the 11th hole....it's about 60 yards from that hole. So for security and because traffic and parking will be horrible, they closed the building and people either had to work from home or take vacation. We are up the street from campus, so traffic in general for campus was going to be bad. They are expecting 50 thousand people to attend daily.

In the prior weeks, everyone was saying it would be a pretty kick back week because it was thought that a large percentage of people were expected to take vacation. No one thought that people would want to deal with getting their computer working from home or would want to drive in and deal with the traffic.

Well.....let me tell you....it has not been a kick week!

It's actually been one of the worst weeks I've have in a long time. Nothing is easy this week. Stuff is breaking, people are cranky, co-workers are hard to get a hold of who are supposed to be working....just everything has been bad.

If ever there were a Friday to say TGIF, today is it.

To end on a happy note, I'll leave you with a recipe. It sounds mighty good!


Strawberry Whipped Sensation

4 cups fresh strawberries, divided
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tub (8 oz.) Cool Whip
8 Oreo cookies, finely chopped
1 Tbsp. butter, melted

Line 9x5-inch loaf pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides of pan.

Mash 2 cups of the strawberries in large bowl. Add condensed milk, juice and 2 cups of the Cool Whip; mix well.

Pour into prepared loaf pan.

Mix chopped cookies and butter. Spoon over Cool Whip mixture. Cover with ends of foil and gently press cookie mixture into Cool Whip mixture. Freeze 6 hours or until firm.

Invert dessert onto serving plate when ready to serve; remove pan and foil. Spread remaining Cool Whip onto top and sides of dessert. Slice remaining 2 cups strawberries; arrange over dessert. Store leftovers in freezer.

Enjoy!

101 Things to Accomplish Before I Die

1. See The Boss in concert
2. Go to the Oprah show
3. Go back to Denmark
4. Live by the sea
5. Go to New York at Christmastime
6. Sell something on Etsy
7. Retire early (please, please, please)
8. Or at least work less than 40 hours a week...
9. Plus, work more than one day a week from home...
10. Then, when I retire, volunteer at an animal shelter
11. Take a money shot (a photo worth some money)
12. Publish something
13. Go see Maya Angelou speak (I better get on this one)
14. Take the Coast Starlight from LA to Seattle
15. Wear a bikini....in public....and feel ok about it
16. Take Greg to a Bobby Flay restaurant
17. Go to Prince Edward Island
18. Have a fancy Christmas party at my house
19. Go on a shopping spree with someone else's money
20. Have a realllllly beautiful craft room/office
21. Snorkel and see lots of pretty (small) fish
22. Go to Ireland
23. Age well
24. Wear a ball style gown to a fancy event
25. Enjoy reading again
26. Eat a croissant in France
27. Understand what all the buttons on my camera do
28. Renew our vows
29. Take the White House tour
30. See the Vietnam War Memorial
31. Have my backyard be spectacularly beautiful
32. Take a road trip across America
33. Stay at a nice ski lodge while it snows outside
34. Cook like Ina Garten
35. Have a chef quality kitchen
36. Feel peace
37. Love my hair!
38. Go to some kind of craft convention
39. Sell my baked goods
40. Be healthy
41. Live green(er)
42. Take an Alaskan cruise
43. Eat 70% organic
44. Have a photo of mine in a magazine or calendar
45. Camp at the Wild Animal Park
46. Win a costume contest
47. Decorate my *entire* house
48. Sponsor a needy child
49. Clean out my craft room closet (ugh)
50. Well....keep my craft room clean in general
51. Be on the Martha Stewart show (dream big, right?)
52. Have less regret
53. Make outstanding coleslaw
54. Go on a spa retreat
55. Stop passing up opportunity
56. Speak German well (ha!)
57. Learn to line dance well (ha!)
58. Discover California culinarily
59. Vacation in the Hamptons
60. Worry less about what others think
61. Love hard...forgive harder
62. See the cherry blossoms in DC in spring
63. Watch all my Buffy DVD's again
64. Take another photography class
65. Be an extra
66. Write an autobiography...could be interesting
67. Grow a vegetable garden
68. Learn to sew
69. Meet my neighbors...hopefully new ones
70. Run thru the sprinklers every summer
71. Feel financially secure
72. Give 100 Barbie dolls away at Christmas!
73. See the 17 mile drive in a convertible
74. Bake more. A lot more.
75. Send Oprah a birthday card
76. Have a lemon tree in the back yard
77. Make homemade lemonade more than once a year
78. Wear jewelry again
79. See more movies
80. See more sunsets
81. See more sunrises
82. Live my life the way I want to
83. Get a more professional massages
84. Buy a custom pair of jeans
85. Eat at Spago's in Beverly Hills for my birthday one year
86. Leave work at lunch more...I usually sit at my desk
87. Use those darn exercise videos I bought!
88. Take an art class of some kind
89. Go to Atlantis
90. Start scrapbooking my photos
91. Turn my bedroom into an relaxing resort style retreat
92. Learn more history
93. Ride a horse on the beach
94. Make persimmon cookies or bread
95. Go to one of my high school reunions (yes, Laura...you, too)
96. Get a Sleep Number or TempurPedic bed
97. Take more pictures of Henry...our oldest girl
98. Have picnic style dinners at the beach with Greg a few times a year
99. Make sculpey ornaments for the Christmas tree (example)
100. Leave work....at work
101. Make a difference

I challenge you all to make a list like this and put it someplace where you will see it until each thing is checked off. So far I only have one thing checked off, but that's better than none!

Happy Memorial Day

Don't forget why we have the day off...Memorial Day is a time to remember those who have passed in war.

Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day to remember those who have died in our nation's service. Decoration Day was officially proclaimed on May 5, 1868 by General John Logan and was first observed officially on May 30, 1868. In 1882, the name was changed to Memorial Day, and soldiers who had died in other wars were also honored. In 1971, Memorial Day was declared a national holiday to be held on the last Monday in May.

tastes like chicken!

Honey Baked Chicken

"Baked chicken with a sweet and spicy glaze"

1 (3 pound) whole chicken, cut into pieces
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup prepared mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon curry powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place chicken pieces in a shallow baking pan, skin side up.
Combine the melted butter, honey, mustard, salt, curry powder and pour mixture over chicken.
Bake for 1 1/4 hours, basting about every 25 minutes with pan drippings.
The chicken will should be nicely browned and the juices should run clear.

Recipe

Ever had the cheddar cheese biscuits at Red Lobster? They are super yummy.
I found a recipe for them :)

2 c. Bisquick
2/3 c. milk
1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 c. butter
1/4 tsp. garlic powder

Mix Bisquick and cheese; add milk.
Spoon onto ungreased cookie sheet (makes about 12)
Bake at 425 degrees for 8-10 minutes.
Brush with melted butter and garlic powder

Loving these songs right now. The first one might take a minute to start....so chill.

stuff

I don't know why I like it, but I love watching the show Jon & Kate + 8. There are screaming kids the entire time (mostly) and I usually cannot stand anything that involves screaming kids, but I just love the show. It makes me laugh. Those kids are funny and the parents are amusing to watch. Check it out if you have never watched it.

Speaking of kids, yesterday I was talking to a guy I work with and he was telling me that he had a ton of errands to run after work and his kid would have to go with him. Except he'd have to take the kid home before one of the errands because the kid would not want to go to the grocery store.

What?!

Take the kid home because he would not want to go to the grocery store? That is crazy. I was like....."Uh, maybe your kid just needs to deal and go with you so you're are not running all over creation all night". I am just amazed that people will cater to children like this. And I hear about this stuff all the time and it just seems ridiculous to me that children have this much control. They are children! And these kids are going to grow up to be adults that are hard to deal with. They will not want to go out of their way for other people and they will expect people to do what they want and get really annoyed if they don't get their way. Imagine being their husband or wife. Yeesh.

Anyway, just my .02 cents on kids.

Last thing.....and oddly enough.....it is kind of kid related.

Abby.

*sighs*

Little girl is always into something she should not be into. Just like a kid. We came home the other day and I went in our bathroom and I noticed a broken cup in the sink and the medicine cabinet was open. The contents of the cup was scattered all over the vanity. She had got it open and was poking around looking at everything in there....including all the medication I take. I have a few loose pills in there because the pill bottle is hard to open. So I'm sure she sniffed those and I seriously hope she didn't eat one. If she did, I'm sure she'd should have not been feeling good. So amazingly, I don't think she took a taste test of them like she does everything else.

Then this morning I found her stuck inside my soft-sided laptop carrying case. The laptop slides into about a 2 inch opening. She managed to get her head and her front legs wedged in....then got stuck. I pulled it off her head and asked her what the heck she was doing! If she could speak, she would have said what all kids say when they are doing something they shouldn't be doing....."nothing....".

Facts About Kitten At Play

1. I have a cell phone but I have no idea what the phone number is.

2. Half the shoes in my closet are sandals or flip flops.

3. I use pencils over pens.

4. My favorite number has been 19 since I was in 6th grade.

5. I wear perfume everyday.

6. The "pop" those refrigerator biscuits make when you open them scares the crap out of me.

7. Whipped cream....man.....sooooo good. Best part of dessert.

8. I can remember people's house addresses but I can't remember things I did last week.

9. Large bodies of water make me nervous....like swimming pools.

10. Red meat, ice cream and pie are a few of my least favorite things to eat.

I considered entering a few photos of mine in the photo contest for the San Diego Fair this year, but after not placing last year and all the work and money it took to get them printed and mounted, I just didn't feel like it. This was one of the photos I thought about entering. She's such a doll sometimes. Other times she is like a wild hyena :)

Have a good weekend.

What Color Am I?

Sometimes these things are kinda close to the way you really are and sometimes they are scary close. This one is pretty much a perfect description of me.

--

What Color Are You?

WHITES are motivated by PEACE, seek independence and require kindness. They resist confrontation at all costs. (Feeling good is more important than being good.) They are typically quiet by nature, they process things very deeply and objectively, and they are by far the best listeners of all the colors. They respect people who are kind, but recoil from perceived hostility or verbal battle.WHITES need their quiet independence and refuse to be controlled by others. WHITES want to do things their own way, in their own time. They ask little of others, and resent others demanding much of them. WHITES are much stronger than people think because they dont reveal their feelings. WHITES are kind, non-discriminate, patient and can be indecisive, timid, and silently stubborn. When you deal with a WHITE, be kind, accept and support their individuality, and look for nonverbal clues to their feelings.








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yes, more YouTube

But this is a good one.

I know I've been posting a lot of YouTube stuff, but I had to add this Macy's commercial I like. Just incase you don't know, Macy's has a lot of celebrities selling their stuff there now....like Martha Stewart, Mariah Carey and Donald Trump. So that has a lot to do with the commercial below.

I tried to find the one with the green M&M getting attacked by a squirrel, but it does not seem to be on YouTube yet. Have any of you seen it? It's pretty funny. Anyway, enjoy this one :)

Wow...

If Abby were a dog...

Greg thinks this dog and Abby (our cat) are somehow the same animal. It's obvious they are both black and white furry things, but Clover (the dog) acts much like Abby does with the running and playing. Plus, they are both pretty adorable.

this is impressive

I have some unusual gifts. I of them is seeing things that I think most people either never see or don't see very often. I don't know why I'm chosen to see these things, but I do.

This morning I am driving along on my way to work and boom....I see a couple having sex. I was driving slow because it's a residential road and the cops like to sit with their radar guns and pull people over, so I was going about 30mph. There are parts of the side road that are not developed. This one area where they were has no homes and you can see clear to the ocean. I guess the view was particularly inspirational this morning!

So that is an interesting way to start the day.

---

I've been sick again. I really think it is this new office I am in. I've been sick more since last August than I have been in the last year. So I'm sitting here with my "DeFense UP" juice drink. It has echinacea and stuff like that in it. Whatever helps!

That's all for now.

Cupcake Contest

I entered a cupcake contest on Martha Stewart's website. Mine is a zombie cupcake in the cupcake gallery (17th photo uploaded, so it is way at the end of the gallery). You have to click on "Enter Our Cutest Cupcake Contest" on the right side where it says "Cupcake Week" and then you can click on the button to view the cupcakes entered. It wasn't until today that I realized that it says Cutest Cupcake Contest....so, not too sure how my zombie cupcake will fair since cute isn't the right word to describe it. I was going for being creative and different, so maybe I will score on that. We'll see.

Wish me luck! :)

"American's are so sheilded from real life.....with our movies, fancy clothes and fried chicken in a bucket..."

After I said this, I thought to myself....that sounds like a line from a country song! Haha.

We don't even care to shake these zipper blues
And we don't know just where our bones will rest
To dust I guess
Forgotten and absorbed into the earth below
The street heats the urgency of now
As you see there's no one around

--1979, Smashing Pumpkins

Happy Easter

Happy Easter
Originally uploaded by photo kitten.

just stuff

Fruit Fact: When picking a honeydew mellon, it should have a yellowish skin (not pale green) and be slightly tacky to the touch. I had no idea. I had to get all green fruit for a potluck today and this is what the produce guy told me about picking a honeydew. I cut it up this morning and it was seriously delicious!

Also, red grapes are super sweet right now. Sooo good.

---

Greg had a 9am softball game last night and he managed to get me to go even tho I knew I'd be sitting there freezing my ass off for 2 hours. But I'm glad I went....he got his first home run of the season :) He's been soooo close to it so I knew it was just a matter of time. And it is really early in the season, so I know there will be more. He's such a studmuffin.

---

Abby turned 2 years old on Sunday. We got her a new cat bed and a box of her favorite toy mice. She destroys the mice. We find mouse heads with no body, bodies with no heads, mice ears....and nothing else, and 90% of them have no tails. She just loves us to throw them down the hallway and she tears after it and brings it back to us ready to go again.....just like a dog. Such a playful little thing. We're lucky she came into our lives.

---

Get ready to "spring" into action! Tomorrow is the official first day of spring :)