Out with the old, in with the new

This was my first year of blogging. I have no clue how I would be graded if there were grades being given. That wasn't really my intention behind this little venture. I wanted to put something down in black and white (and pink) to hold me accountable to my goals.

One of my big goals this year was my Tea Hoarding Challenge. And I would just love to stick some photos up of my now depleted tea shelves so you can all see the progress I made. But since I have this new fancy-schmancy computer I have no clue how to do this. One day I will sit down here and learn all about it and do just that, but for now let us all imagine how depleted my tea shelves have become.

They seriously are way down from a year ago. And because I was such a good girl all year long with not buying teas and using up old stock, Santa brought me two tins of new teas. Awwwwww! I also have a bunch of old used tea tins to be covered in some pretty paper and re-labeled for when I break open those vacuum-packed space-aged mylar-looking teas that I STILL HAVE NOT OPENED. It has been more than a freaking year! I know these teas were in there at the end of 2008 because I bought them when that cute little teapot store went under, and I stayed true to my word and did not purchase any new teas for me in 2009.

So, my plan for tomorrow is to re-organize the tea shelves and then cover, label and repurpose the old tins and fill them with the currently sealed teas and use them up. Enough with the teas already.

Another area of my life I will be looking at this year is my bookshelves and my closet. Now, I go through my closet every few months and toss things into a big box. When that box if full it is off to Goodwill. But I am talking about being brutal. If I haven't worn something in a really long time, I don't care how cute it is, it needs to go be cute in someone else's closet. Gone!

Same thing with the cookbooks. I do go through my other books every time I go to my aunt's house or my mom's and take them books. I like sharing and I like weeding them out. But I haven't thought of doing that with my cookbooks. How many frigging cookbooks does one woman need? This might be tough. I do love me some cookbooks. But I guarantee there are some on my shelves that I have never made one. single. thing. out. of. Not one. I am sure that I can back up that statement. So, I will be going through these and seeing what needs to happen to them. Maybe they need to be gifted to someone with less (or no) cookbooks? Maybe I need to be taking them to Half Price Books for some credit?

I wonder if I can get rid of a whole shelf's worth of cookbooks?

Which brings me to my next thought. What else should I be organizing and getting rid of? What things are not bringing beauty and joy to my life? What things are causing me more work as in dusting, polishing, etc.? A smart ass person might say something about dogs, cats, kids, husbands, but no, those things definitely bring beauty, joy, and loads of happiness along with their messes.

I am paring down, people! Paring down!

I have been thinking about those wish boards that people make. You know, the ones where you put pictures of things you want, things you see yourself doing, achieving or accomplishing. I don't recall what they are called. But anyhoo, that is not the point. The point is I have a board that would be perfect for that and think I might get busy doing one of those this year. If and when I do, I will be sure to photograph it and tell you about it and then see at the end of the year how many of them really do come to fruition.

2009, I will miss you. It was overall a pretty good year here in my house. I am thankful for the blessings and hopeful for the future.

2010, Welcome! High hopes for the coming year. Let's start with getting some good health care bills out of congress. Affordable health care for all in 2010!

Reading material

It's been a while since I have talked about which books I am reading. So I am here to rectify that little oversight. : )

Again, in no particular order, here are some of the books I have read or that are currently residing on my nightstand:

1. Babies remember birth. This was really interesting. Another of those things that keep smacking me in the face to remind me to quit talking so much and only say things I have really thought over and know that they will have value to those hearing them.

2. Jane Goodall, some book about food and eating habits around the world and what we should be doing. Can't recall the title right now.

3. Push - the book that has been made into the movie "Precious". Really good, and makes you want to go out in the world and start making an impact on someone's life.

4. Say you are one of them - Very sad, and powerful book set in Africa in different countries. Some of the most tragic lives I have ever read about.

5. Serena - for a book club. I just started it and so far I am only finding one character with redeeming qualities. The rest of these people are money-grubbing heartless bastards. Not too sure how this is gonna work for me.

I am STILL looking at the Kindle. I compared it to the B&N Nook and the other e-readers out there and I really do prefer the Kindle. But I want the Kindle DX which is not too much bigger overall, but it has a much bigger screen. Which means less scrolling, etc. And guess what?

Did you guess? Did you guess right? : )

My AMEX reward points can be used for a Kindle DX!!! Woot Woot!! I have enough points to get the smaller one for free and almost enough to get the DX. So I am going to continue waiting till I can get the one I want. Listen, I am nothing if not all about the anticipation being half the fun. Sometime this year I will have a Kindle and be just beside myself. Did you know that you can be reading a book on the Kindle and someone says to you, "Hey we need to take a quick road trip." And you can just take your Kindle and change it so that it READS TO YOU while you are road tripping?? Did you know that? Isn't that awesome?

There really isn't much I love more than books. I handle my books reverently. So it seems strange to some people that I would want a Kindle. Kind of an anti-book, or something. But here is how I see it: I can get a book for $9.99 on the Kindle and if indeed it is a great book that needs to be printed in hardback and take up space on my bookshelves then I will go invest in that book and make space for it. If it ISN'T really a great book, then I am only out $9.99 and no trees were cut down to make a copy for me.

Plus the fact that I can carry 3,500 books, plus newspapers and blogs with me in a tiny little amount of space is fab-u-lous!!

Are you reading? did you get any new books for Christmas? Do you have any recommendations? Do you have a Kindle or another type of e-reader? Share your thoughts, recommendations, etc.

28 years and counting

28 years ago today Mr. Big Ed and I got hitched. We had dated for 2 years, been engaged for 1 year and now 31 years later here we are. Talk about staying power! He and I seem to be loaded with it. : )

I would love to share some photos with you of exciting times through the years, but since I got this new computer I have absolutely NO CLUE how to get photos or clip art or any other non-clipped art on here. And since it has been Christmas time and I have been swamped, and I mean swamped I have not sat down here and figured out how to do this on my lovely new 24 inch iMac that I really do love. If either of the two readers I have know how to do this and feel like sending me DETAILED step by step instructions, by all means, feel free to do so. I would greatly appreciate it.

Yesterday was Christmas day and we spent a wonderful day with just the 4 of us. I appreciated it all the more knowing we may not have any more of those. The kids are getting older and will soon acquire partners, kids, etc. They may even contemplate moving away from us and then we won't have them here for every single holiday celebration. So yeah, I am aware of this and I really did appreciate that they chose to spend the day with us. That was my best present.

Back to our anniversary: way back in 2001 (aught-one for you old-timers) we had a big really nice, swanky affair for our family to celebrate with us on our 20th. I know, 25th is more traditional. But it was 2001, and Sept. 11th had just happened, we were living in Mexico City, and had no idea when or if we would ever live close to family again to celebrate with them, so we chose to do it up right on our 20th instead. It was a good time. I did enjoy that shin-dig. And I have no desire to do another one of those. Maybe by the time we get to 40 or 50?

So, in case you have been keeping track; I have my birthday, Christmas and anniversary all in a 3 week period. If it weren't for Mother's Day in May, I would only be gifted in one month of each year!!

Christmas Came Too Fast

Between last week and today I needed a month rather than just a measly 7 days. I am so far behind, I can see myself! I hate being behind and not "on task".

Yesterday instead of going to the UPS store, wrapping a few last gifts, etc, etc, etc, I got up at the crack of dawn and stood in the kitchen all day making tamales. Not just me, Rachel Pie was there. My s-i-l was also there and then more guests/helpers arrived. It was a really good day and we made about 25 dozen of 4 different varieties. If I can trust the taster tamales we tried, these may be the best ones yet. Woo Hoo!!

I have been working on and tweaking the menus for tonight, tomorrow a.m. and p.m. Hopefully, we don't have to go back to the store. I am not looking forward to that little bit of excitement! We are having our usual fare of tamales, queso dip, onion dip and Ruffles, hot spiced cider and such tonight. Tomorrow we will have Mexican hot chocolate, and ham & egg cups for breakfast and then for dinner we have cheese enchiladas, beans, rice, and guacamole and any leftover tamales. If you want any recipes, just holler!

So far I have seen Love, Actually twice already! Woo Hoo! I am so glad to have that added in to the Christmas movie rotation. No Die Hard yet. Maybe later today? And then the TBS marathon of Ralphie comes on. 24 hours of Ralphie, the Old Man, the leg lamp, the Bumpus' dogs. I mean really, what more could you ask for? "Fa, Ra, Ra, Ra, Raaaaa, Ra, Ra, Ra, Raaaaaaahhh!!!" The BEST Christmas show e-ver.

My poor dogs and kitties were totally freaked out by a random storm that came up last night. One dog was having kaniptions. Ok, I know that isn't spelled right but my brain is in low gear due to the huge quantities of disgusting sinuses I am storing in my head where my brain used to be. How in the world DO you spell kaniption? Conniption? Kuniption? I got no clue right now. Don't judge me. And one of my kitty cats was outside next to the front door huddled up giving his best "Get me the hell outta here!" whiney meow when I ran to the door to see how many cats would come tumbling in. That's the way it is with us now. Something happens outside, we are running to check the door and counting small kitty heads to see who is in and who might be lost.

Anyhoo, after the thunder, and the rain came the wind. We have so damn much wind blowing it is insane! And my poor luminarias! They are laying catty-wampus, hither and thither. And that is just the ones that aren't blown all over the lawn! Please let the wind die down so I can straighten them all up before the sun goes down and lights come on! (and save me from over-using that darn excitement point!!!!!)

Have a merry, happy and relaxing Christmas. Jingle yourself all the way to your refrigerator for a snack and then ho, ho, ho yourself on over to the couch. Get a snuggie, a dog, and a cat or two and get comfy to watch the A Christmas Story marathon and just enjoy yourself. Any stressful stuff will still be there to deal with come Saturday. Or Monday. No biggie.

Christmas Music & Such

Ok, I am done ranting about Christmas songs. No more grumpiness over here. Here is the deal; there are Christmas SONGS and then there are Christmas CAROLS. Christmas SONGS are the things that deal with Rudolph, Santa, Frosty and Silvery bells. Christmas CAROLS on the other hand are the stuff of Mangers, Stars, Jesus, Latin and that sort of thing.

I never ever find myself grumping and complaining about Carols. They are always festive, full of the spirit of Christmas and, let's face it they are what Christmas is all about. All those Christmas songs, well I suspect most of them are from the 20th century and are just money makers for whomever is the "flavor of the month" from way back when it was Gene Autry singing Here Comes Santee Claus (listen to it, he definitely says SANTEEEE, I have heard it 5,345,344,456 times already this year) to Burl Ives singing Holly Jolly Christmas back in the 60's, to believe it or don't, that twit Britney Spears or even Celine Dion belting out something so that you can NOT sing along.

But Christmas Carols, that's a whole nuther ball of wax, isn't it? I do love Christmas Carols. Silent Night, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, Silent Night, and my favorite O Come All Ye Faithful.

There are a few that straddle the fence between traditional Carol and modern holiday song, like Mary's Boy Child. Now, that is a great song! But even with the religious tone to the lyrics, I still consider it a song because you don't really sing it in church.

The song from Sound of Music "My favorite things" has somehow become a Christmas song too.

In my house usually right after Thanksgiving dinner we break out all the Christmas dvds. We have our favorites that we have to see not just once but many times during the season. And I will now reveal our favorite Christmas movies, in no particular order: (watch a little too much DWTS, don't I???)

The Christmas Story (Ralphie, you'll shoot your eye out)

Christmas Vacation

Emmett Otter's Jugband Christmas

Die Hard

Elf

Muppets Christmas Carol

Scrooged

Love, Actually

Charlie Brown Christmas

The Nightmare before Christmas

and of course The Grinch. The "real" Grinch, not that lame-ass new remade version.

Enjoy your Christmas music whether it be Songs or Carols. Enjoy your Christmas and other holiday movies. And really, enjoy just being with your loved ones no matter what you are watching or listening to.

Christmas Rant

Here I am ranting again. Believe it or don't. Who could be such a Scrooge McGrinch as to rant and moan and bitch right at Christmas time? Me, that's who.

On to today's rant! My local radio station that plays nothing but Christmas music through the season started early. Really early. They actually started playing Christmas music the week BEFORE Thanksgiving. That's pushing it as far as I am concerned. Before you all start throwing things at me and calling me Ebenezer please know that I love me some Christmas music. I play Christmas cds in my car all year long (until my kids start complaining and trying to pitch the cd out the window). Suffice it to say that I have heard every. single. Christmas. song., hymn., carol, ditty, what have you that has ever been recorded. Many of them hundreds of times over the course of this holiday season. So far.

There are a few Christmas songs that irritate the beejeebers right out of me and I thought I would rant and bitch about my Top Five Annoying Christmas Songs that need to be NEVER played again. However, I could only come up with a Top Three. This is how BAD, and HORRIBLE these three songs are. They are soooooo horrific that they stand alone.

Drum roll, please . . . . . . . . . . .

Starting the list in the Number 3 position of Most Annoying Christmas Songs that Never Need to be Played again:

3. I want a hippopotamus for Christmas. (sorry if I screwed up the title, but it is soooo bad I have tried to block it from my mind)

2. I saw mommy kissing Santa Claus - Now seriously? This is what passes for "cute"? Who the hell thought this was a good idea? Makes me want to slap the dog water right out of whoever is singing this tripe.

But the Number One spot for M.A.C.S.T.N.N.T.B.P.A. is reserved for the Big Mac Daddy of all crappy trashy Christmas songs: (ready??)

1. Santa Baby. OMG, this makes me want to poke sharp, hot things in my ears so that I never have to hear this again. The fact that I won't be able to hear ANYTHING at all after that doesn't even cause me to pause. This is the worst sort of crap ever written, recorded or listened to.

It was not too many years ago that we had REAL Christmas songs, White Christmas, Silver Bells, even Frosty the Snowman and Burl Ives (God love him) singing Holly Jolly Christmas. But now we have absolute crap. I think we deserve better.

Anyone else have other Christmas songs that they just can't abide listening to one more time? Feel free to share it here. I guarantee it will make you feel better !!!

New Stuff!!

Guess what? I am typing this from my birthday present! Yea!! and hooray for Mr. Big Ed for coming up with such an awesome gift.

It's an iMac. Fabulous! It has a 24 inch screen that has the best picture I have ever seen. I bet if you took the roof off my house, this screen would be visible from SPACE! It is that big and gorgeous.

If I knew what I was doing I would have some photos to post of me and my new computer. Maybe another day . . . .

And by the by, don't hold your breath while you are waiting.

Ok, this has nothing whatsoever to do with my gorgeous new 24 inch iMac, but I just wanted to say that I read over the weekend that the bimbo girlfriend/mistress person of Tiger Woods fame was one of the idiot girlfriends from season 1 of Tool Academy! Wth was he thinking? There is just no accounting for taste is there?

I am off to go do laundry, put up more decorations, go see a client, and think about starting my Christmas cards. Busy day!

And all I really want to do is stay home and play on my NEW 24 inch iMac!!

Gifting from the Heart

It has been a really busy two weeks and I noticed I had not posted anything in about 10 days. Then I had a million thoughts running through my head about what I should say. You know they were all clever and witty, don't you? :)

First off, it has to be said: HOORAY FOR DONNY OSMOND!!! There will be nay-sayers out there who think one of the others should have won, but I am really happy to see him win this.

Thanksgiving: Thanksgiving has a bad place in the calendar. It gets overshadowed when you are young because of Halloween and then Christmas. It really takes some work to push the turkey day up to the forefront to get the recognition it deserves. Our Thanksgiving Day turned out beautifully. We have had bigger crowds before, but we have never had better food or better or more willing participants in the kitchen. I had the lists made and recipes handy and people just milled in and out making something and crossing it off the list. There was no fighting, no moaning or bitching, no one forgot the rolls, and every year someone in our family forgets the rolls and they burn. And guess what? As if remembering the bread wasn't enough, we also had a couple of hours of spare time in the middle where everything was ready to go in the oven but it wasn't quite time to put them in yet. So we all got to relax, watch some t.v. or take a quick nap, or a shower or whatever it was people did. My new rule regarding Thanksgiving: Everyone who was here this year, has to come back EVERY YEAR!! It was perfect. And I am so grateful and thankful for that.

One more thing before I get to the gifting portion of this post. My tea hoarding challenge update. Tomorrow is the 1st of December and that means for a full 11 months so far I have been working down my tea supply this year. The only new teas I have brought in are for Mr. Big Ed who is not participating in my challenge and herbal teas like chamomile that I consider to be medicinal. But everyday regular breakfast teas, green teas, etc. I am STILL winnowing down those tins. I am almost ready to crack open those hermetically sealed teas and re-label some of the saved tins to house the new teas. Can you believe I had this much tea in my pantry? I sure as hell can't!

What has my tea hoarding challenge taught me? Well, first off it has taught me restraint in the tea aisle, that's what. Secondly, tea companies might want to offer their teas in 2 sizes. Some of us may want to try 2 or 3 varieties, but buying a tin with 50 bags of each flavor is just crazy. And that is where I seem to have gone wrong, thinking I could try all kinds of new teas 50 at a time. And the third and most important lesson for me has been that I don't need to have all the teas, just a select few that I seem to gravitate to on a daily basis anyway. My sister and I always bring a tin of tea when we visit each other, so I know at some point during the year she will come and bring an interesting tea for us to try.

Gifting through the years has morphed from being so much fun when I was a kid to becoming a chore and a huge task to make sure everyone got something and no one was left off the list, then adding in the neighbors, the co-workers, the husband's secretary, the postman, the paperboy, the yard guy, etc., etc. I have kept my Christmas lists for the last 10 or more years and I have been noticing the changes. I used to think I had to buy the best, the latest, the most cool up-to-date crap out there for my kids and nieces and nephews. If I had the $$ I have spent on expensive, non-useful gifts over the years, I would have a ton of money, that is for sure. None of this is to say that I wish I hadn't gifted at all. That's not it. I just wish I had gifted from my heart and not been led by the commercialism of it all.

The gift of time, the gift of an experience is certainly more memorable than one of 20 new games for the Nintendo, game boy, X-box, Wii. Who remembers that Aunt LisaPie gave them Super Mario Bros back in 2000? No one, that's who. So, I am completely changing my strategy for gifting. In the last few years I have gone to gift cards from http://www.heifer.org/ or from http://www.kiva.org/ for birthday gifts, but I still felt I needed to get something tangible for Christmas.

This year, whatever the gift will be, it will be well-thought out and truly given from the heart. It may be a hand-made gift, it may the gift of time and an experience together, it may be a store-bought item that I know will really bring a smile. And it may be more gifts from Heifer or Kiva.

And if you are reading this and thinking of getting me a gift, please know that my favorite thing is spending time with you. It's a gift that always fits, it's never the wrong color, and we both can enjoy it equally and together!

Rant about the Jacksons

Sorry about this, but I have to rant, even if it is the season of being thankful and all that crap. So here goes:

What is up with the Most Dysfunctional Family in America? You know I am talking about the Jacksons. Yes, THOSE Jacksons. WTF, People!!! Your son/brother died and you can do nothing but find a way to turn that into $$$ and more fame and exposure for your own self?

It's just crass and tacky. That's what it is. Tacky. Capital T. Capital A. Capital C. Capital K. and a big fat Capital Y. T A C K Y.

I tried really hard to look online for a family photo of this clan to put on here 'cause what's a blog post without a photo? But omg! Every photo of these people just creeped me out. In every single one of them there is someone looking like a Pervy McPervert child molester. Gross. And it wasn't always Papa Joe, either. Just sayin'.

The only one of this whole group who seems to be just quietly working away at raising kids is the mom. But we see what a fab-u-lous job she did the first go-round. Would YOU trust her (or any of them for that matter) to raise 3 vulnerable children? I am sorry to say that I just don't see any great options there.

All done ranting about the Tacky Jackson family now. Just as soon as I say Shame on each and every single one of them for always looking for a spotlight in any situation. Sometimes it is best to hide your light under the bushel.

Thankfulness and Gratitude

One of my facebook friends posted a suggestion that we each put one thing we are grateful for each day until Thanksgiving. I thought this was a fabulous idea and have been doing so. I kinda wish I had thought of this myself and had started even earlier! It's interesting to see the things that others list that they are grateful for.

Let's be honest here, we have so much more than 90% of the rest of the world. If we aren't thinking about it and being thankful every day we are undeserving triflin' asses, aren't we?

We could start right at the top and be grateful for:

1. Being fortunate enough to be Americans and the lucky few on earth who have more freedom and opportunities than everyone else.

2. Clean potable water. Enough said.

3. Food. And wonderful choices of anything grown anywhere in the world available to us anytime. So what if it's not strawberry season, it is somewhere and they are willing to ship them to us. For a price.

4. Infrastructure that allows us to have electricity, gas, sewage, garbage pickup at the flip of a switch. Turn off some of that stuff and see how far outside the box you have to think to come up with an alternative.

5. Public Libraries. This is a wonderful resource that many other countries don't have. Some of my happiest memories from childhood are in libraries.

Okay, I don't want to get all preachy, I just wanted to share some reasons for thankfulness and gratitude this season. Feel free to share your top 5 list here as well!

Television Update 34656906095!!

I really had other stuff I wanted to blog about, but so much has happened in t.v. land that I *have* to cover it before my 50 year old brain forgets! So, let's get straight to it, shall we?

Tool Academy - Season finale and the winner is . . . . . (drum roll) T-Shaw the Dancing Tool and his long-suffering girlfriend Nicole. Maybe with the $100 K she can buy some waterproof mascara? I can't wait for the reunion show to see which of these couples are still together!

DWTS - Praise the Lord that little Aaron Carter is gone. Bless his heart, he was really trying. But he came across as kinda creepy in a stalkerish-I-need-this-so-much-I-may-go-postal-if-I-get-voted-out kind way. Kelly Osbourne better get her act together or she will be going home this week. I can't believe how much I am rooting for Donny Osmond! He is really putting his heart and soul in to this and trying as hard as he can. AND he is competing against people half his age. That has to count as far as effort goes. So I hope he wins.

SEX ADDICTION - Dr. Drew's new Celebrity Rehab show is with lame-ass celeb-wanna be's that I have never heard of except the one model/actress that was in the drug rehab last season. Now, you would think that show involving celebrities and sexual addiction would be all gossipy, interesting and actually FUN to watch, wouldn't you? You would be wrong. This show is a total snooze-fest. Boring. Dull. And did I mention Boring?

BREAKING BAD - This is one of the grittiest, coolest shows out there. How this one slips under the radar and most people don't know about I will never understand. Awesome.

SONS OF ANARCHY - Katy Sagal is such an asset to this show, they should double her pay. What a character she plays! I really love her. And her son, the guy who looks like Kurt Cobain, well he is just nice to watch.

THE LEAGUE - omg!!!! This is the funniest shit on t.v. right now! I have never laughed out loud watching t.v. as much as I do watching this. Freaking Hilarious! It's on FX right after It's Always Sunny. Check it out, you will just bust a gut. I promise.

SURVIVOR - Evil Russell!! Can you believe this guy? Where do they find these people? It's like a showdown with Evil Russell leading one side and Laura on the other team. She seems pretty evil too, doesn't she? And that Shambo! OMG! She just cracks me up!

TAR - Which couple do you like most? I am torn between the Globetrotters and the father/son duo. And I think it's because they work well as teams. You don't see all the fighting and bickering you do on the others. Those brothers, Sam and Dan? Lordy, lordy! What maroons! I really thought they might come to blows last week during the hay challenge.

Okay, that's all I've got right now. Comments? Suggestions? Lemme know!

Doula Training complete

The fall Doula Training was held this past Thursday, Friday, Sat. and Sunday (today) till noon. We had 18 participants and loads of local Doulas facilitating, helping, cooking, and just being as useful as possible. Our local group of Doulas is such a wonderful source of love, support, information, help and nurturing that it is unbelievable. This is not only for our clients, but for each other. We truly do nurture, lift up, and empower all the women in our lives. It is such a blessing to be associated with all these women.

I think one of the main reasons why this is such a cohesive group is because of our founder and director. The tone of a group is always set by its head, don't you think? She has been quietly and tirelessly working to build this group for more than 10 years and thousands of families have been served in that time. She never misses an opportunity to encourage each and every one of us and to tell us how much she cares about us.

Many of the 18 participants and now prospective-Doulas live in other areas and won't be joining our group. I really hope that they will find something similar in their hometowns to help them on their journey of serving women. For the others that are here locally, I will be looking forward to seeing them at upcoming meetings, in the office and assisting at the next training that has already been scheduled for April, 2010.

Being a Doula is truly a labor of love and I am so glad I found my way to this path at this particular stage of my life. I can't imagine anything I would rather be doing. Isn't it amazing when you find a calling and then find a way to be compensated for doing what you would do for free? It just makes it that much more satisfying and rewarding to know that your services are of value.

What things do you do or what things would you do if you could do anything you want without regard of the money? It's sad that we get stuck in a rut of spending 60 - 80 hours a week doing something we hate, in a place we hate, and away from our families just so we can pay the bills. There isn't much time left for doing things that nourish your soul, is there?

Recently I was thinking that if we were growing as much of our food as we could with the small piece of land that we have available to us, we could cut way back on working outside the home. Work just enough to pay for the electricity and utilities that we need. What else do we need? We all have way too much "stuff" so we don't need to keep buying more, do we? Food and utilities made the top of my list of consumables. Most everything else is not really a necessity, but rather a desire or a luxury.

Anyhoo, I think since I have found something I love doing that fills me up emotionally, and spiritually, but not necessarily financially. What I am doing now is finding ways to make the financial *needs* match the income rather than the other way round. Does that make sense? It makes sense to me in my head, I am just never sure that I express myself clearly outside my head!!

I hope you are doing good works that help you to be fulfilled and if you aren't able to do that right now I hope that you have other things that make up the difference for you.

T.V. Updates, yet again!

These updates are going to be hit or miss due to my dvr cable box becoming "Hal-like" and developing a mind of it's own. Sometimes it records things and sometimes not. It is very weird. And not in a good way. It must be time to go take this box in and get a newer, younger, less independent dvr cable box!

So here is what I do recall:

DWTS - Poor Michael Irvin! He was just getting good. He had just gotten his groove on, his happy feet on, his dancing shoes on, his rhythm going and what happens? He gets ousted by that little Aaron Carter. Speaking of Aaron Carter, I am MORE than a little creeped out by him and his bulging forehead vein. Not to mention, did you see his face when they said he was in the bottom 3? If looks could kill, that whole venue would have gone up in a ball of fire. Not in the least bit sane and healthy if you ask me. Something is just not right there is all I'm saying.

Oh, and I know it's probably not going to happen, but I really, really, REALLY want Donny Osmond to win. I love him! I love that he is 51 or 52 or whatever he is and he is twice the age of all these other people and he is still doing so well. Sorry, I just get tired of the 20-something people on these shows immediately picking off the older ones and treating them like they have no value. Go Donny!! Team Mormon!!

Biggest Loser - Praise the Lord!!!! It's been about 6 weeks in coming, but Tracey has FINALLY left the building. I didn't like her, I never liked her, and nothing she could do was going to make up for all the mean-spirited shit she pulled earlier in the game. Buh-bye Tracey!

I really like most of the other contestants left. I loved the D.C. stuff they did. I really loved them picking things in the White House garden and making salad there. Nice! Everyone should be encouraged to eat as close to the source as possible. Good job, Biggest Loser People!

Breaking Bad - This is a AMC series that we have picked up and o. m. g. people! No wonder Brian Cranston (dad from Malcolm in the middle) has won the Emmy twice in a row for his portrayal of Mr. White. This is a great show and it seriously pushes the boundaries.

TOOL ACADEMY - Lawsy, lawsy. I tell you these tools and their tool-ettes. My jaw dropped when Stew (Hillbilly Tool) and his girlfriend went to the therapy room and there were their parents. He has nice, normal parents! I was kind of assuming since he seems like an illiterate hick and doesn't work and mooches off Amanda's parents that he either A. had no family, or B. was raised by hillbilly wolves. But no! He has chosen to be white trash rather than raised in it. What a complete tool he is! And her too, for choosing him. Good riddance to them.

Survivor - So the merge will happen tomorrow, according to the previews. Why is CBS giving away everything that happens before the show? They have done this all season long! Schmucks. Let's see if the other tribe members will catch on to Evil Russell and his shenanigans.

Amazing Race - Wasn't it about time for those poker-playing, whining girls to go? Yes, it was! Ericka and Brian need to go next. Last week I really felt sorry for the little virgin girl whose boyfriend was yelling at her and trying to shove her down a 30 story high water slide. What a dick. She needs to lose him. And quick. I really like the pink-haired guy and his dad. They are so cute to watch!

Ok, that's it for now. Let me hear from you on what you are watching and who you like on these shows.

The Tale of the Bad Dog and the even Badder Doggie Daddy

This tale takes place on Friday. Friday started out to be a really nice day. My nephew the Little Pumpkin came over to spend the day with his favorite aunt because he goes to a high-falutin' private school that has lots of holidays. Way more holidays than his parents get from their jobs. So he occasionally gets to spend the day with me doing fun things while his parents are at work wishing they were not there.

Mr. Big Ed and I were to have dinner with our around-the-corner neighbors who we like very much, so this was going to stretch from being a really nice day into a nice evening as well. I did what I always do and ask "What can I bring?" and was asked to bring a dessert. So I searched than pantry and found that lo and behold I had all the ingredients to make my all-time favorite cake, Nana's Pineapple Upside Down Cake. This is definitely not that nasty plain white cake with a pineapple ring and cherry in the middle on top of it. I don't care for that cake. Maybe it is because I was raised eating Nana's Pineapple Upside Down Cake? Whatever.

This is the best cake in the world. And every year when my mom would ask, what cake do you want for your birthday cake, this is the cake I chose. And this is what I chose to make for our friends. It turned out perfect. Baked just the right amount of time and cooled just the right amount to turn out of the pan onto the cut glass cake pedestal that I have.

You know where I am going with this, don't you? Mr. Big Ed who is known far and wide for not being able to completely shut a door, a cabinet, a drawer, anything! Well, Mr. Big Ed managed to leave the sliding glass door partially open and Ernest T. Bass comes trotting in and smells freshly baked cake and decides it must be for him. Even though it is clearly on the counter. And clearly away from the edge. And even more clearly on the pedestal cake plate for presentation to the neighbors.

I walked in to find he has eaten halfway around the edge of the cake. I screamed at him and then I screamed at his father. Then after I calmed down I had to call our friends and tell them that "the dog had eaten our dessert". They laughed and said Come on over and don't worry about it. But I worried about it. And I called Ernest T. names and I called his father even MORE names. Very descriptive names.

Wouldn't you have done the same after seeing this?

Good vs Evil

Did you watch Survivor last night? Not much in the way of surprises due to CBS showing 3/4 of all the action on the previews all frigging week long! It was obvious that it was the Good Russell who was going down. What was not so obvious was how bad he really was. Lawzy, lawzy, that guy was in really bad shape!

And the Evil Russell? Well, he is an Energizer Bunny of a Survivor, isn't he? He's a Timex watch (takes a licking and keeps on ticking) of a Survivor, too! He seems kinda like the Houston/Cajun version of Boston Rob, is what he is. Sneaky, snakey and e-vil like the de-vil.

Anyhoo, I just wanted to say how much I am going to miss Good Russell now that he is gone. It will be interesting to see what his team's dynamics will be now that they don't have his calm leadership to influence them.

Bye, Good Russell, we hardly knew ye!

Rambling, yet again

It's been a whole week since I last posted anything. I got nothing. Nothing exciting, anyway. I thought I might just recap what has been going on for a whole 7 days.

1. Meeting with a client who was over her 40 week due date.

2. Meeting with a new client who is due next month. Woo Hoo!!

3. Neighborhood HOA 1st neighborhood wide garage sale. Of course, I managed to shop at most of the particapants on both days. I did get some treasures, too! I also got several practical items. Nothing overboard.

4. Overdue client went into labor and we had a medium-length birth. Not too long, and not too short. Mom and baby are doing really well and breastfeeding like professionals. I am so proud and honored to be of service. I would do this for free, but it sure is nice to get paid. :)

5. Enjoying the most beautiful and delicious weather for the past week for so. I tell you, it just does not get any better than this. Perfect temps, perfect amount of humidity, perfect breezes to sit outside and enjoy. I love it.

6. Helping with the plans for the upcoming doula training. This will be a great training, I am sooooo looking forward to it and meeting and welcoming new doulas into the group.

7. Working on plans for Rachel Pie's graduation celebration. My small, tiny, precious baby girl is actually graduating from a university on Dec. 12. It boggles my mind and leaves me all bumfuzzled, yes it does. Rachel Pie is the best!

8. Trying to learn to make better and healthier choices. Like taking the stairs vs. elevator at the hospital. Not parking at the closest spot to the door and walking a bit further each time. Trying to do a little less caffeine each day. Taking some vitamins and generally being more holistic in my approach to my health.

9. Watching all these damn tv shows I try to keep up with! One day I may give up my tv, but not now. Right now I am having a good time watching a good variety of shows.

10. Tea Hoarding Update: Alright I made it into the 10th month before I bought any tea. I bought some chamomile which for me is a medicinal herb, so I think it doesn't count in my challenge. My challenge has been all about reducing my over-stocked accumulation of teas. What do you want to bet that next year I can challenge myself regarding tea tins and canisters? Ha! I am doing really well with this and I like the results I am seeing in my pantry and also in my resolve to stay with it.

Ok, 10 is plenty of rambling things. Is anyone working on holiday gifts? Is anyone working on Thanksgiving menu preparations? Is anyone else quite as anal retentive and ocd about this crap as I am ? :)

T.V. Updates #3,452,856

I don't recall doing a t.v. update in a good long time. Any bets on whether I remember anything to update? :)

BB- finished!!! and Praise the Lord that Natalie didn't win. That's all I have to say about that.

Survivor - Can someone please tell me what is wrong with that tribe with the Evil Russell? As opposed to the winning tribe with the nice Russell? What a bunch of maroons!

Tool Academy - It showed a lot of restraint on my part to not put this at the top of the list! They have definitely scraped the bottom of the barrel to find these tools AND the girlfriends. Lordy, Lordy, there are some scumbags on this season. And Dre-P and Leah are gone! Can I get an AMEN to that? That girl was getting on my last nerve.

Biggest Loser - Is there anything sadder than poor Coach Mo being stuck with Tracy as a partner by default? I don't like that girl. I don't trust that girl. And poor Coach Mo! I just hope he can stick it out till they go to an individual voting out situation. I like most of the other people. Not so much the pink team, they aren't showing much as far as competitiveness and loyalty to each other. But who is sweeter than Daniel? No one, that's who!!

Castle - I really, really, really like Castle. I like him, I like his mom, and even the supporting cast of cops. It's a good show.

Sons of Anarchy - If you can get past the idea of Ron Perlman from the Beauty and the Beast show being the head dude of a motorcycle "club" and being married to Peg Bundy who is the mother of a guy that looks just like Kurt Cobain, well you are watching a pretty damn good show. It took me about 2 minutes of watching Katy Sagal to totally forget Peg Bundy. She is a bad ass on this show and her character is all about determination. Watch it online and get caught up, this is a good show.

It's Always Sunny - I ask myself every season how they are going to top what they did last season. This show is hilarious! This is one of the few shows out there that would be worth the $$$ to buy the boxed dvd sets.

DWTS - Where do they get all these bad, horrible, uncoordinated dancers? Tom De Lay dancing to Wild Thing the first week made me want to poke sharp, hot pokers in my eyes. I don't even like remembering it to type about it here. Poor Cheryl Burke!!! Debi Mazar, omg! She was horrible. If Maks can't teach her to dance, she is un-teachable. And if some of those stiff, wooden men who can't move their limbs don't go home soon, I am going to call FRAUD!! How bad would you have to be for Ty Murray to show you how to dance? Come on, people!
And could Bruno be more expressive this season? Nope, no way. He is such a hoot!

Californication - Somehow this season started back up without my dvr remembering to record the first 2 shows. And then it started with the 3rd episode. Grrrr. So I am going to watch the first 2 at showtime on demand and get caught up before I can report on what shenanigans Hank is up to.

Entourage - this season seemed really short to me. I always like this show. I liked Lloyd standing up to Ari, I liked Turtle being in a relationship with Jamie Lynn Sigler (while the others were trolling), and what is funnier than Johnny Drama just getting through a day? Ha! It's funny that the show is about Vince, but he is the calm, cool one with all the crazies around him.

Have you picked up any new shows that are worth watching or talking about? There are a lot of news shows this season. Happy t.v. viewing!

Memory!

Yes, I am singing that damn song from Cats. I love that song, but it is one of those that gets stuck in your head and there you are walking down the aisle of the grocery store humming and annoying all the other shoppers. Seems as though I hum louder outside my head than inside my head. I bet I hum better and more on-key in my head, too!

This is the story of my life. I sit down at the computer to post something new, exciting and relevant and what happens? It all goes out the window, I get distracted by some new shiny object and nothing gets done. So I get up and go about my business and then the thought pops back in my head and we start this all over again.

And here is the fun part! When I try to remember what I was going to post about, the song Memory starts going. Then I say to myself "If I only could remember . . . . " and then my theme song soundtrack switches to "If I Only Had a Brain!!!" Lovely.

So basically this is post about me and my menopausal brain forgetting important things and remembering lame-ass songs from eons ago. Nice.

I know what you're thinking, you wish you were me, right? Yeah, not so much.

Ok, well here is what I am sure I meant to post at the beginning of all this fal-de-ral. I have just finished reading a fabulous book. It is called "A Midwife's Tale, the diary of Martha Ballard, 1782 - 1810" I am just guessing on the dates because the book is in the other room and if I wander over there to get it, chances are I may not remember to come back! Anyhoo, this is a well-researched and documented little chunk of history told through the diary of a midwife back in the 18th century in Maine. Mrs. Martha Ballard and her husband Ephraim settle in Maine in the area that became Augusta right on the Kennebuc river. Through her diary she lists all the babies she birthed, whether she was paid, what the weather was like, who died, what things she did such as planting, weaving, washing, etc., rather like an almanac. It is a really interesting read.

The author did tons and tons of research and verification of who was who in the township, what were the customs, etc. through other surviving documents, diaries, maps, etc. Speaking of maps, Martha's husband Ephraim was a surveyor and many of his maps still survive. Can you guess how much I want to go to Maine and go through the museum that houses all this stuff and look at where she lived and walked? Very exciting stuff!

Martha's sister had a daughter who became famous in her own right, Miss Clara Barton the founder of the American Red Cross. She was a feisty feminist for her time! And the great, great granddaughter who inherited the diaries became one of the very first women to become a doctor in the U.S. She is the one who donated them to the Maine state museum for their archives.

My favorite phrase I picked up from reading this is "leaving them Cleverly". This was an old British way of saying in good shape, or good health. So when Martha journaled that she left mom and babe Cleverly, she was saying all was well. I love it!

Last night I picked up "Son of a Witch", the sequel to "Wicked". I read "Wicked" a few years ago and followed it up with the "Ugly Stepsister's Tale". Now I am re-acquainting myself with the Land of Oz. Makes me wish I had the gift of imagination that the author does.

And with that, I hope this finds all of you Cleverly. I am going to find my marbles.

Christmas Presents

Okay, if you are on my Christmas list and DON'T want to know what you might be getting, turn away. Close this screen and don't peek. If you are not on my list and want to know what I am doing so as to give you some inspiration, please read ahead. If you think it is too early to think about Christmas and gifts, well you are just wrong!

So, Christmas gifting is a year-long process for me. I work and plan all year long as to what I am going to be doing and who gets what. For the last 5 or 6 years I have tried to switch to mostly all handmade gifts rather than store-bought. I am trying to get the focus back on the intention behind the holiday and the reason for gifting rather than supporting Best Buy and Target. I had frankly gotten fed up with gifting "gift cards" and can I tell you how many of the damn things go lost in my house? And I am sure mine is not the only house they go missing in. I think buying gift cards is like tossing money into a black hole.

A couple of years ago I started planting loofahs. And that year everyone on my list got their own personal loofah to scrub with, a crocheted cotton wash cloth, jars of bath salts and a bar of homemade soap. These were all gifted in a crocheted shopping bag. No waste involved here at all, no paper, no tape, everything was usable.

Before that I made flavored vinegars and olive oils. Those were really good and easy to do. The trick was finding beautiful bottles with corks to package them in. We made some pickled mixed vegetables from the garden back when we weren't living in a drought and actually HAD a garden to pick things from!!

This year I am making the cutest aprons you have ever seen. They are just precious! I am really excited about them. But not as excited as I am about this . . . . . .

For 2 almost 3 years I have been working on a cookbook as a fundraiser for San Antonio Birth Doulas http://www.sabirthdoulas.org/index.html This is a non-profit organization I work with and it is very dear to my heart. Finally, after all this time the cookbook has gone to print! Hooray!!! So I will be gifting most of the people on my list a cookbook and a new apron. I am really excited about this. Now I just have to come up with a clever way to present them.

The cookbook is very family and baby friendly. The chapters are not the usual Appetizers through Desserts. Instead we have more than 400 recipes that are categoriezed in Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Arts & Crafts, Lunch Box & Snacks, Parties & Celebrations, Pregnancy Post-partum & Baby. All the recipes are tried and true and sent in by people who work with SABD and their family members. I am really proud of it.

If you are interested in purchasing one of these cookbooks (all the proceeds go straight to the works we do), please let me know. I would be happy to mail some out to you so that you can gift a few of these yourself.

Oh, and if you know someone who is having a baby I have printed up a new batch of the baby food cookbook I started back when my kids were small. I worked on it and refined it over the years and it is really nice. Same thing with this one, I am donating all proceeds after my printing costs back to SABD. So you can feel good about making these purchases knowing you are not only gifting a high quality book that will be used to nourish your loved ones, but you are helping us to help under-privileged women and babies. Talk about your win-win situation!

Whining. Again.

Okay, I hate whiners worse than most anybody. Whiners are annoying as all get out and whining makes me want to smack the dogwater right out of you. You will NEVER get what you want from me if you whine your request at me. NEVER. Could I be any more clear on this topic?

And yet, I am feeling pretty whiney around here. Let me 'splain. Sunday night when I was getting ready for bed I noticed that I was just not feeling great. There was the sinus thing, the sneezing thing and a bit of a scratchy throat thing. Uh Oh.

I woke up Monday feeling bad. Feeling like my sinuses were trying to kill me, to do me in, to rub me out, to lay waste to me. So I started with the emergen-c, lots of hot tea, Claritin, advil, Similisan homeopathic sinus spray and then I brought out the Big Guns.

Vick's VapoRub. That is my Go-To-Guy. I don't care what is wrong with you, Vick's will make you feel better. It is warm, soothing, moisturizing, long-lasting, and just the best. Mr. Big Ed claims he doesn't have to use it, he just can be near me and get all the Vick's action he wants.

Did you know that Vick's VapoRub has it's own website? Neither did I. Well, it does. And there is a ton of good info on that site. Did you know that Vick's makes its own little personal steamer/vaporizer apparatus? Looks much better than the bowl of hot water with some Vick's in it and a towel over my head that I currently use. I might have to see if Walgreen's carries this awesome little appliance and for how much.

But, back to the whining part of this. When I don't feel good I become Whiney McWhinerstone, Queen Whiney McWhiney Pants, Count Whine-ula of Whine-sylvania. And what does Mr. Big Ed become? He becomes Mr. Come Home Late and Keep His Distance, that's what he becomes. So instead of saying "Oh poor baby, I am so sorry you feel bad, what can I bring you?" He says lame-ass shit like "Stay away, you probably have the Swine Flu. A guy at my office has the Swine Flu." To which I said "Stay away from the damn office then!" Ha!

Have I mentioned that Mr. Big Ed is EXTREMELY suggestable? Have I ever mentioned that Mr. Big Ed is a bit of a hypochondriac? All you have to do is mention something casually in conversation and the next thing you know he has it. And he has it worse than every. other. person. on the planet. Who has EVER had it. Oh, how that man does suffer! And, oh how that man does love to whine when he's suffering! Guess how much sympathy Mr. Big Whiney Ass Hypochondriac Ed gets from me? Especially after his triflin' ass has ignored me during my travails. Sara, notice the new use of triflin'? Have you noticed how triflin' just seems to always have an "ass" right after? Triflin' ass just rolls right off the tongue, doesn't it?

I have been on the CDC website scoping out Swine Flu symptoms (just to make sure that Mr. Big Ed is not right) and I don't think I have it. I don't have fever, chills, vomiting and several other symptoms listed. What I do have is sinus pressure, sneezing, nose-blowing, that gross coughing you just can't clear your throat thing, dry itchy eyes and, no, nothing else. I think that's it. It's enough.

So I am whining and making my tea and wearing my Vick's and wishing someone would just want to come over and hold me and say Oh Poor Baby for a while. And I thought I would share all this with you.

You're welcome.

Thanks for listening and I will try not to whine too much more.

Spring Pea Salad

Spring Pea Salad

I cut this recipe out of a magazine about a gazillion years ago. It was with an ad for Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix, which is an ingredient in this salad. Why am I posting a Spring recipe the week after the first day of Fall, you ask? Well, this recipe can be made with frozen peas which are about 99% as good as fresh peas and 2000% less work. So you can have a little taste of Spring anytime your little heart desires!

On with the recipe . . . . . .

10 oz. fresh or frozen peas

1 cup diced celery

1 cup chopped fresh cauliflower flowerettes

1/4 cup diced green onions

2 Tbsp. chopped pimento

1 cup chopped cashews, macadamias or salted sunflower seeds

1/4 cup crisp cooked crumbled bacon

1/2 cup sour cream

1 cup prepared HVR Buttermilk Original Ranch Salad Dressing

1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard

1 small clove garlic, minced

Rinse peas in hot water or steam if fresh; drain. Combine vegetables, nuts and bacon with sour cream. Mix dressing, mustard and garlic together; pour over salad mixture. Toss gently. Chill.

Serves 4.

**My notes: Now look at how versatile that recipe is! This can be whipped up in as long as it takes you to chop the cauliflower and celery while the bacon is cooking. And just think! If you happen to have a couple pieces of bacon leftover from breakfast and some peas hanging around in the freezer you are halfway there to a fabulous, crisp and fresh-tasting side dish.

I hope you enjoy this!

GOOP

Have you been to Gwyneth Paltrow's site? It is
called GOOP. What I understand is G and P are
for her initials, who knows what O and O are for.
But that is beside the point. The point of this is that her site is fab-u-licious!! I love, love, love it!

I know there are those in the media who are ragging on her but they should be ashamed. She has like 5 categories, Look, See, Go, Do and Be or something like that. If I really wanted to impress you I would have gone and scoped it out and typed them in correctly. She shares some wonderful information, travel tips, recipes, exercise, all sorts of things. You can't buy this stuff anywhere and she is sharing with us for free. I love that.

The only thing I would like to see on this site is a place to put comments or ask questions. Maybe there are just too many to have to deal with? If I were planning a trip, I would scope out GOOP first and see what hotels, restaurants and other things she recommends for that city. If I were looking into a new exercise regimen, I would check out the video she has posted of her trainer giving her a quick workout for hotel rooms when you are traveling. She has awesome recipes on here, a lot of which are vegan, gluten-free, and healthy alternatives. Good things to try, and most everything is kid-friendly.

I love this site and think it is worth the once a week check-in. There is a place to sign up and have the newest posting sent right to your inbox as well. How considerate and convenient is that?

I'm NOT no bitch!

I am thinking I should just make a once a week post about t.v. updates, that way it's not all over the place. What say you? Once a week is plenty, right?

So to recap what's been going on in tvland:

BB - ended with Jordan the complete dark horse, underdog, unexpected winner. But praise the Lord for that! If that skanky no-good horrible Natalie had won I would have thrown something through my t.v. And now I can sleep at night not having to stay up watching BB after dark on showtime. Whew!

Survivor - Did you see the new season premiere last week? OMG! Is that guy Russell (not to be confused with the other Russell!) a total douchebag or what? Any bets on how quickly people figure him out and get rid of him? The challenges look like they are going to be way harder and more physical than in previous seasons. Any favorites yet? Too soon to tell? Me too.

Tool Academy - They have really scraped the bottom of the barrel for this class of tools and their girlfriends. What a bunch of lo-los! And what kind of name is "Charm"?? Hmmm? Does he think he has Charm? Does he think he is Charming? And is it just me, or do you also get a mental picture of Kronk from "The Emeror's New Groove" when Big John talks? Ha! Cracks me up!!

Sons of Anarchy - This is some good tv here, folks.

Entourage - I am so loving that this season Turtle is the only one with a real girlfriend. Just waiting for the repercussions since Eric dumped the Psycho girl. She is N U T S O.

It's Always Sunny - All the hype and build-up and it was an exciting hour to record. Or so I thought. It turns out it was 30 minutes of Sunny and 30 minutes of some new show that won't even premiere till Jan. sometime. Not sure at all that I liked it.

Real World - finished and can I just say how much I loved that guy Bronne? All the girls in the house were nuts for not wanting to hang out with him all the time! He was such a fun guy. The new RW-RR Challenge starts in a week or so, I hope it's a good one and that they DON'T invite CT along. That boy needs to be detoxing, going to rehab and some anger management classes. Actually he could take Wes and Abram along with him.

This week Castle, DWTS, AR and probably 100's of other shows start up again. Oh, I looked up Lost online and it doesn't start till "early 2010" according to abc.com. Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice are starting really soon too. Don't miss them! Especially Private Practice! That was the best cliff-hanger season ending I have ever seen.

Does anyone know when the new Celebrity Rehab is coming on? Me, neither. But I will check and post it here next week. You're welcome!

And by the by, this post title is the 'BEST' line ever on tv from Hell's Kitchen!

Random Thoughts

Awwww, look how cute. That's my little punkins way way back in 1989. Sparky was 4 and Little Teeny Rachel Pie was almost 3.

And what's better than a Halloween costume that doubles as pjs after the fact? I would not be a bit surprised to find that I still have that wall decoration that is behind them. I save all that sort of stuff since it is ridiculously expensive and re-use it year after year.

Since I saw all the Halloween costumes and decorations all over the stores yesterday, it made me think of posting a Halloween pic. After my kids were done being punkins they went on to be the Scarecrow and the Tinman. After that it was all witches and vampires for years!!

You might be asking yourself, "Self, what was LisaPie of the non-shopping compact group doing in the stores yesterday?" And you would be right to ask this. I had saved a circular from the Dillard's home store Labor Day weekend sale and wanted to look at one of the sofas pictured. So I trotted down there, tied up my horse at the entrance (see, cause I "trotted". Heh, who thinks she is funny??) and went inside and asked to look at said sofa. I sort of liked it. The color was not exactly as I thought it might be. So after the saleslady who bathed in her perfume led me all over the store to look at similar sofas and I then got the idea that I was wasting her time because I wasn't pulling out a checkbook, I left. There is nothing quite like following someone downwind who is marinated in a shitty perfume, is there? Arrrrrgggghhh! Blech.

Then I went to the Texas Thrift Store that is in the neighborhood of the Dillard's home store. This store normally has a great selection of books. Most of which are priced at $1.98. I perused the books and then I noticed the area that now has all the costumes and items that can be re-purposed as costumes and scoped them out. I didn't buy a thing in this store either.

I had to run a few more errands, pay a bill, go to the bank, and then on to my Super Target to get bleach and jasmine rice. I am sorry, there is NO WAY I can make it through my Super Target without getting something extra. NO WAY. It seems to defy all laws of nature to get in and out with only the items on the list. And one of the things I got was my FIRST HALLOWEEN CANDY OF THE YEAR!!! Woo Hoo!! Typically, I buy Halloween candy at least 2 or 3 times before Halloween gets here. It somehow gets eaten and has to be replaced in the meantime. But the only candy I bought was the Pumpkin Spice Hershey Kisses. These things are delicious and tremendous! Like a little piece of heaven wrapped in chocolate. Mmmm, mmmmm. Try 'em, you'll like 'em! Whoever is in charge of marketing at Hershey's and came up with the making flavored Kisses changing throughout the year is a genius. I have a candy jar that is shaped like a glass pumpkin that I keep filled with these seasonal Kisses. And now I have 2 bags of the Pumpkin Spice Kisses to put in there. Awesome.

What else was I going to tell you about? I can't remember. Oh well, I will let that go.

Reminder: Tonight is the season premiere of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and the new season of Survivor. Have you seen any of the promos for Survivor? There is this one dude on there I think his name is Russell who says he will destroy his tribe's food and water to control what happens to them. Wtf?? We shall see, won't we?

Go get yourself some Pumpkin Spice Kisses and put your feet up and watch some Top Notch t.v. tonight!

Endings and New Beginnings

It's the end of BB tonight. Did any of you vote for the tie-breaker? Who did you vote for? Do you even care at this point? Tomorrow I promise to post a report on the finale events of BB.

And it's the beginning of fall must-watch tv!

Most importantly this week starts:

Survivor! Woo Hoo! I am really excited about Survivor.

Biggest Loser starts up tonight. Don't miss it. I think they are bringing back Daniel, the youngest and heaviest contestant yet.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia starts Thursday. OMG! Yes, I just omg'ed you in CAPS! Sunny always elicits that kind of response.

Tool Academy has been on a couple weeks so far, but you don't want to miss the remaining tools!

Sons of Anarchy - new season starts up soon. This is an awesome show. I really look forward to what's going to happen.

Californication - Let's hope for some maturity and growth out of the main characters. I think the "oh we are so immature and can't resist temptation" has been played to death. Grow up already and be responsible parents!! We shall see!

Curb your enthusiasm - Looking forward to the reunion of the Seinfeld cast on here. Should be fun.

Dancing With the Stars - I don't know the date for this, but poor Cheryl Burke. They stuck her with that oh-so-flexible-and-light-on-his-feet Tom De Lay. So much for her getting a chance at winning this season!

Other shows that just had their season finales:

True Blood - Can Sookie and Bill not have one moment of happiness and bliss?

Weeds - Did you see this? Lawzy, lawzy, what on earth is going to happen next?

When does Lost come back on? Is it true that this season will be the last one? Will they really and truly wrap it up so that it makes any sense? I had a dream recently that they were all dead and this island is some kind of purgatory. Let's hope that is NOT the case.

Just feeling like a good rant

Okay, you know you've been waiting for it. Another rant from LisaPie. Yes, you have! Well sir, this is indeed your lucky day!

And you know the thing is, I don't have anything major to complain about. I have pretty good health. I live in a really good house. It has a roof, walls, flooring to walk around on and damn fine air-conditioned air to breathe, I mean what more could you ask for in a home? I have a great husband, 2 of the best kids there are and millions and millions of furry pets I get the privilege of caretaking.

But every once in a while . . . . . . It's those little things that get you, isn't it? That's what they say most divorces are about, all those little annoying habits that just build up and build up until you can't take it any more and swear if he breathes in and out loudly in that same manner one more time you are going to plug up his nostrils with carrots and choke the hell out of him. You know what I mean? I bet this is the same way most murders happen. You are rocking along like usual and there he goes insisting that whatever it is you want done can ONLY happen on the weekend, you will have to keep on waiting. Then the weekend rolls around and what happens? He is tired from the long busy week at work and says it will have to wait. So six months later you are sick and tired of being a shrew and demanding that someone else hold up their end of the responsibilities and the next thing you know there his triflin' ass is laying there on the floor and there you are with a cast iron skillet in your hand. Not that this has ever happened here at Chez LisaPie. But a girl does have daydreams . . . . . .

Sara, did you see what I did there? Did you see how I used "triflin'" in a sentence?

What was I about to go on about? Oh yes, ranting about small irritating annoyances.

So, here is a list of the small things, nothing huge like global warming or that moron that heckled President Obama in the senate the other night; just small things. Consider these like the small dog pecker gnats of annoyances, if you will.

1. People who call you and ask you who you are. If you called me, you obviously know who I am. If you don't then you must have a wrong number and it is none of your beeswax who I might be.

2. My insurance company calling me with a recording asking when was the last time I had a colonoscopy. Seriously, their computer has an interest in my colon?

3. People who can't put things back where they found them or where they belong regardless of where they found them. Put things away, people!!!

4. Husky Princess dogs who think they should eat garbage and cat litter. Gross, gross and I am sorry, g r o s s!!!!!

5. People who see A, B, C, D, and E all need to be done and when you ask for help will do step A and then walk off. That's just wrong.

6. And I hate to get back on the old topics but I am still bothered by a few phrases people keep using. I feel like they don't even know what they are saying but rather just repeating things others are saying. Little sheep/lemming behavior. These tired little chestnuts need to be dropped from usage immediately:

Conversate.
At the end of the day.
It is what it is.

These things make you look like an ass clown. Quit using them now!

Okay, I feel better. All off my chest and I am dusting myself off and going to go read a book and listen to the hoot owl outside my bedroom window. Whoo, hooo, hoooooooo, hoo.

Oh, and one more thing: remember The Colonel and the chainlink fence saga? Well, I have been trying all summer to come up with something awesome to plant along the fence so that I don't have to see it. And what I came up with was some beautiful fuschia bouganvillia. Sounds good, right? Well, this past week T.C.'s yard guy came and with T.C.'s supervision of course, he planted a bunch of fuschia bouganvillia on his side of the fence! So maybe I need something else? I am trying to decide if I want to put something like honeysuckle, jasmine, grapes, morning glories or loofahs all along the fence to vine up all over it or if I want to put my very own bouganvillias. Any opinions? Any ideas? Let me know!

It'sssss Baaaaaaack!!!!!!

OMG!!! The 2nd season of Tool Academy has started
with a bang. Where do they find these tools? I am shocked and amazed that there are even more tools of the same caliber as the first season! Oh Lawzy, Lawzy!

There are tools who call themselves by dumbass nicknames, there are tools who are in their 30's and way too old to be rocking the "tool lifestyle", there are rude, insenstive, selfish idiots tools. In short all the tools you could ever hope to meet. :)

Here is the question this show brings up for me: WTF are these girls thinking? ARE these girls thinking? What could any of these tools actually bring to a relationship that would make any of the girls think they are worth rehabilitating? Any woman with the tiniest teensiest bit of self esteem would run screaming into the night the first time one of these jerks showed his true colors.

Which brings up the next question: Is vh1 now going to have some sort of show to help these girls learn how to demand some R E S P E C T? They could have Aretha Franklin on there telling them how it should be! They could have the girls from Season 1 on there telling them how those morons haven't shaped up one iota and all should have been kicked to the curb. I love this idea! I do have some pretty great ideas now and again, even if I do say so myself. (Patting self on the back)

I know the first season ended with a reunion show but it was so soon after the show ended we didn't get a real sense of whether any of these so-called reformed tools could maintain their new-found attitudes. Wouldn't it be great to do a follow-up a year later and see how it's going? Is that brain trust Matsuflex still in love with himself? Did the little Josh and Ashley couple who won and got married stay married? Lots of questions to ponder.

In the meantime we have season 2 tools to watch and be appalled at. And this is an appalling bunch of tools for sure! The very first one to get bounced from the academy made a damn scene on his exit and then was telling his girl friend how it was all her fault alternating that with "tell me you love me, baby". She is a damn fool for getting in the car with such a lunatic. I wish her all the luck in the world extracating herself from that relationship and in finding a therapist to put her back together. By the by, he was my top pick for leaving first. Bad news all the way round.

It's one of those shows that is like a slow motion train wreck. You know it's going to be bad, you know you shouldn't be sitting there watching, but you can't make yourself look away. And there is nothing funnier than hearing the host dude say "I'm sorry, you are a complete tool. Hang up your jacket and leave the academy". Ha!

Thursday nights on vh1, be there or be square!

Sssshhhhh..... Guess what?

It's 3 months and 3 weeks till Christmas!

There, I said it. And do you know Hobby Lobby has had their Christmas trees up for weeks now? I flat refuse to go into the Hallmark stores because they think they need to put their ornament displays up in JULY!! This means that next to the Clearance July 4th stuff there is a BIG Christmas ornament display and smaller Halloween, fall and Thanksgiving displays. It is just. too. much. Information overload, indeed!

Back to it being only 3 months and 3 weeks away from Christmas. I am continuing with my theme of home-grown, hand-made and original gifts. I do buy a few things for my youngest nieces and nephews from their wish lists, but for the most part everyone on my gift list is getting a hand-made gift. Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining about doing this. I really enjoy coming up with gifts that I hope everyone likes and uses, I am just starting to feel the time crush.

Normally by this time of the year I have made a ton of things and put them away in a closet to be dragged out in November and sorted. I shut down my massage room and turn it into Santa's Workshop in mid-November. There will be post-it notes all over the room designating whose gifts are going where. You can tell I am a very visual learner, can't you? Anyhoo, see up above where I said "normally by this time of the year . . . . . . " well I haven't really done that this year. And due to the Great 2 Year Long Drought of '08 and '09 our garden didn't make this season, so I don't have jars and jars of goodies to gift people either.

So I am going to have to print up my Christmas list and start getting really creative about what can I *really* pull off in this short amount of time.

Do you do this? Do you enjoy making things for others? I love the intention of making something with someone in mind and thinking about them whilst you are creating. If so, please post some fresh ideas that I may not have thought of yet. If you also make gifts all year long and save them up and are looking for some new ideas, let me know and I will post a list of some things I have done.

What I am reading

Here is the cover of the book I am reading right now.
I have read several of Salman Rushdie's books and I still
think that Satanic Verses is one of the best books ever written. This one is shaping up nicely to be a real classic as well.

The other books on my nightstand waiting to be read are The Son of a Witch and A Lion Among Men the 2nd and 3rd sequels to Wicked. I left the Wicked series to read the other book he did about Cinderella and the Stepsisters. I love the background he gives us about the locale, the history of the people, etc.

Oh, and I wanted to say that when I was looking online for a picture of the book cover, it seems that the British version was released with a completely different cover. I wonder why that is?

I just didn't want you thinking all I do is watch trashy reality t.v. shows! I do read. I read a lot actually. Do any of you have any suggestions of things to put on my reading list? Do any of you want any suggestions from me for your lists? Let me hear from you!

And happy reading to all!

Honey Lime Dressing

I haven't posted a recipe in forever so I thought as long as I was looking this one up I would go ahead and type it in here.

This recipe is from the Dallas Jr. League Cookbook that I received as a shower gift waaaaaay back 1981 from Mozelle Reuter. Mozelle was one of the nicest people you could ever meet. Her husband George was my Mama's boss for many years. Anyhoo, this book Mozelle gave me is one of my very favorite cookbooks. I believe it is out of print but I find copies every so often in a used book store. Mine is all messy and spattered and falls open to the most used pages, just the way a cookbook ought to.

This recipe is for Honey Lime Dressing which is fabulous! Especially on fruit of any kind including melon balls. I promise you will love it. According to the book it was submitted by Mrs. E. Don Rott. This was back in the day when women went by Mrs. Husband's Name. Personally I am glad this particular little etiquette rule has gone by the way side. People also used to say "Didn't you used to be (insert your maiden name here)?" Yeah I did. And guess what? I am STILL that person! And the mean side of me wants to poke fun of Mr. E. Don Rott's name right now. I mean, really. Can you say Mr. E. Don Rott without doing it with an accent? First I said it with an Asian accent, then I went to British. Makes me wonder what the E. stood for. And what was Mrs. E. Don Rott's name?

Enough sidetracking: Without further ado . . . .

Honey Lime Dressing

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup honey
2 Tbsp. dry mustard
1 Tbsp. dry ginger
1 tsp. salt
1/3 cup lime juice
1/3 cup water
2 cups salad oil

Mix sugar, honey, mustard, ginger and salt in a blender on low speed. Add lime juice and water. Add oil very slowly with blender on high.

Makes about 1 quart.

See? Now isn't that easy? And please, for heaven's sake, use fresh lime juice! Don't get that pre-packaged bottled crap. And don't you love how they use "salad oil"? No one does that anymore. In case you are wondering, that means a really light oil with very little flavor. Don't be breaking out the big guns of EVOO!

Enjoy!

Important Video

http://vimeo.com/6182741

Please watch this short video. It is so important that this information be available to everyone. There is a link to share this with your legislators and also one to donate if you wish to help.

Thanks!

BB Updates

O. M. freaking G.!!!!!

I leave town on Friday after watching the Thursday live show (AAAAAWWWWESOME by the way!) and watching the BB After Dark show as well. So I thought I had an idea of what would be going on over the weekend while I was gone.

Apparently NOT!

Chima has hopped the Insane Diva Freak Train and left the station bound for Heaven-Only-Knows-Where.

But first let's talk about Thursday's live show which I totally called! Just ask my friend Richard. I told him a week ago that I was voting like crazy for Jeff and that my perfect scenario would be Jeff taking off stupid Chima's nominees and putting up Jessie the Turtleboy and Natalie his psycho pitbull of a lying girlfriend. I am so thrilled that he had the stones to do it. So many times these people are given a chance to step out and take a huge risk and they blow it by not wanting to make waves. Make waves people! That's what you are there for! Yes!

Personally, I want Natalie gone but Lydia has fallen off the rails and may need to go to a de-briefing station for a couple of months before re-entering Real Life. It does not look good for her.

So right now my Top Three picks are:
1. Jeff, he has played this game exceptionally well. He made the right moves at the right times. he doesn't cause unnecessary drama. He has the funniest Chicago accent!
2. Kevin, this boy is so right on with all his assessments of his fellow hamsters. Very intuitive. I like Kevin.
3. Jordan, she is very likeable. Kinda like a really cute but stupid puppy dog. You really like it and think it is cute and precious, but you know there is nothing going on upstairs. that girl is about as dumb as a sack of hammers, a box of hair, a turnip, or whatever as dumb as analogy works for you. She is really sweet though. And she is sharing her HOH week with Michelle who got totally screwed and got an HOH Day and 1/2 instead.

Michelle & Russell, devious and devious-er! Oh Lord, what will those 2 pull next.

So, I am really looking forward to this Thursday's live eviction and new HOH comp. It is make or break time people! It's do or die! It's sink or swim!

Yeah whatever, you get the picture. :)

Who are you current faves? What did you think of this past week's whirlwind of adventures?

Truth in advertising

My sister saw this and sent it to me. Hmmm? Any guess as to why she would think of me?

I just thought it was funny as hell! Feel free to reproduce these for your own personal use. :)

Fenceline update

That's little Ernest T. Bass sitting there looking all cute and handsome. Notice that he is being quiet and not barking like a barkaholic idiot.

I know, you have all been sitting by your computers on the edge of your seats just waiting for the next installment in the Saga of the Fence. So here goes!!

The new (and not improved) chain link fence, is chain link two words or chainlink one word? I don't really know, so I am using chain link here. Anyhoo, the chain link fence has caused Mr. Ernest T. Bass to go ballistic and act like a damn fool every. single. flipping. time The Colonel goes outside. What a maroon! That's Ernest T. that is the maroon, not T.C. Just wanted to be clear on that. I was not disparaging The Colonel.

We thought it would get better with time. You know, after a few weeks of seeing T.C. out there it would just become part of the routine. But guess what? Nope, not so much. I spend an inordinate amount of time going outside and yelling "Ernest T. Bass! STFU!! Quit being an idiot!" and then squirting him in the face with a water bottle. The water bottle is the thing I learned from the dog trainer to do when we say "No". Said water bottle has a bit of either lemon juice or vinegar in it and dogs (and cats) don't like it and will most anything to NOT get squirted. Even to the extreme of doing, gasp, what you tell them!! Shocking, I know.

But since we implemented the squirt bottle all I have to do is pick it up and whichever of the critters is doing offensive behavior stops immediately and heads for the hills so that the evil lemon water doesn't hit them. It's really pretty funny. Back to the fence saga . . . . . .

Today was exceptionally bad with all the barking, tail wagging, fence line running and general carrying-on. So I trotted out there for the 4th time with squirt bottle in hand and yelled at Ernest T, "Ernest T. quit carrying on and being a moron!" And what did I spy? What did I spy moving there in the deep, thick bamboo forest?

The Colonel! He was creeping around in the bamboo trying to snake a soaker hose in and out and all around it. He is actually worried that his water-hogging forest of bamboo might die off in this drought! Personally, I think after the apocolypse all the bamboo will be right there along with the cockroaches, dog pecker gnats, styrofoam, disposable diapers and pushy Amway salesmen.

Here's the deal: the grass is dead. The shrubs are dead. The garden has been dead for months now. Our gorgeous 100 year old oak trees are stressed and not doing well. But the bamboo, it's green and tall and still creeping into my property. Note that I said property. I didn't say yard, or lawn because there IS NO LAWN!! No grass.

Tonight is the once weekly time that he can water his lawn. So I guess he was preparing to water and save his bamboo forest. Oh, but I almost forgot to tell you the best part of this!

He told me that every day he when he is out in the back yard Ernest T. runs over and barks at him and then he gives him a treat!!! Every time he barks at him he gives him a treat? Does anyone else think this is exactly the opposite of what you want to do IF you are trying to get a dog to quit doing something? Or a child. Or a husband. Or whomever. I don't reward bad behavior. So poor little Ernest T. Bass is getting mixed messages. He barks, I yell at him and squirt him in the face and The Colonel gives him treats. Not a good situation, wouldn't you agree? Aaaarrrrggghh!!!

Random t.v. updates & nonsense

Let's start with BB. What gives with the most BOOOOORRRRRING cast in history? Gaaawd, these people are so tiresome. Right now I hope Jeff takes over and kicks some ass. I am seriously voting for him to win the coup d'tat or however one spells that Frenchy word. Even more annoying than Chima's horrendous laugh (that never ends, please make it stopppp!!!) is Lydia doing her whiney little girl baby doll impersonation when she is alone with Jessie. OMG! Wtf is wrong with her? Can none of those girls see that he is so not interested? I don't think Jessie is gay either. He seems to be pretty asexual, just totally bored with the whole process. Nothing interests that boy other than looking at himself in the mirror. Makes me wonder if he can see how teeny, tiny his head is. What a complete douchebag.

Here's my rundown on these wieners:

Jordan - I honestly can't imagine how she makes it through each day without picture instructions. Dumb as a sack of doorknobs. And if she doesn't quit playing with her hair someone should just straight up bitchslap her. aarrrrggghhh!!!

Michelle - uuhhh? Where to go with this? Is she a nerdy scientist? Is she a freaky bisexual? Is she just weird and boring? Will the real Michelle please stand up?

Ronnie - Kick that boy to the curb. Weird as batshit.

Russell - Cute, sort of smart, and I love the way he is always sneaking around and listening in on everyone. Ha! Now, that's funny t.v.!

Lydia - Oh Lydia, I had such high hopes for Lydia the tattooed Lady. But she is proving to be a big disappointment. Mostly in her stupid crush on Jessie the turtle boy. And the way she throws all her friends and allies under the bus at the drop of a hat. No loyalty at all.

Kevin - Is Kevin still there? Is he? Has Kevin done anything?

Natalie - My least favorite hamster. She rubs me the wrong way. I can't stand it every time she opens her mouth. Casey had it right when he called her Jessie's pitbull. That girl needs to go home. It would be way funnier for Jessie to go first and then see what she can do without her boy.

Jeff - He seems to be the most honest one there. A little too honest sometimes. He could use a filter for what leaves his brain and goes out his mouth. But I really like him, in the same way I loved me some Evel Dick!

Chima - omg!!! Can she just STFU??? I can't stand her constant laugh. I can't stand her being so full of herself. Seriously, she thinks she hung the moon! Get over yourself, girl.

And just a quick rundown on some shows Sparky and I have been watching:

Hung - too frigging funny! What a bunch of strange characters. They are so strange you tend to think this is a real group of people!

Sons of Anarchy - Wow. Just wow! We just started this and now have to get all caught up before the new season starts up in Sept. Do yourself a favor and sit through a few episodes.

Hell's Kitchen - What was up with that weird guy who got sent packing for getting all up in GR's face and insisting "he ain't no bitch"?? There's a bunch of weirdos in that kitchen . . . . .

Saving Grace - This season has been different. It's almost like the weekly crime plot is incidental. We all know the true stars of that show are Earl, Gus and Retta. :)

The Closer - Brenda Lee Johnson is not near as nice this season. Maybe marriage isn't agreeing with her? I don't know what it is, but everyone on her team seem seriously grumpy this year. Is someone going postal before the season ends? It's not pretty.

Weeds - Kevin Nealon deserves a pile of awards for playing Doug. He is hysterically funny! He and Andy make that show as good as it can be. Love it!

Anyone watching anything? Any BB opinions? I have been hearing about a show called The Kings, but I haven't seen it yet. Let me hear about your summer t.v. watching!