NaBloPoMo

The NaBloPoMo....she is finished.

Mental lap band ll

A couple of months ago I wrote about how I used a mental lap band to lose weight.

I thought that was something of my own invention.

Turns out it is a real thing.

Take a look

Huh.

Odoriferous

Our house is so smelly. It is a combination of a nasty carpet, the couch and canned catfood.

Really makes you want to come visit, doesn't it?

I think for the new year we are going to invest in a new carpet or hardwood flooring (depends on my Christmas bonus) and a new couch. One that the cats won't shred.

How do you train cats not to claw on the furniture?

Zingers

Sometimes I get such a craving for a Hostess/Dolly Madison Zingers. The raspberry ones. With the coconut. After I eat two or three I'm done for a couple of months.

Or sometimes it is an apple pie from Drakes.

Or Butterscotch Krimpets.

Do you have these brands in your neck of the woods?

Yummy in my tummy

Thanksgiving was at Tom's Dad's today.

We had lots of turkey, stuffing, two kinds of potatoes, peas, corn, creamed onions, cranberry sauce, gravy and rolls.

For dessert there was pie and cookies and pumpkin cheesecake, ice cream plus other assorted goodies.

I am FULL

Here's hoping you had an excellent Thanksgiving!

X-Box 360

Two years ago I got my husband the X-box 360 for Christmas.

With the exception slippers, it is the only Christmas gift I ever got him that I KNEW he would use nearly every day.

I'll never be able to top it.

Unless I can score some Superbowl Tickets.

Wedding rings

For years I couldn't get my rings off my fat, sausage-like fingers. And everytime I had to take a course of prednisone it got even worse.

I used to worry my rings, turning my finger red and chafed, in an effort to get them off. Finally one day they slipped off. I never put them back on.

I missed them, but liked the feeling on not being constricted even more.

Then when I started to lose weight I put them back on. Now they are loose. Almost as loose as when I first got them.

I mentioned to Tom that since we've been married for 15 years maybe I could get a new ring? He was a bit taken aback. Not by the 15 years. He knows how long we've been married, but by the thought that I might want another ring. He knows I'm not a big jewelry girl. When we got engaged he was the on who insisted that I get a ring. He's never had to buy me diamonds to make me happy. I'd much rather a pot of pansies or some such thing.

I've planted the thought in his head. He's a bit frugal, my Tom and he says that we need to do some much needed work around the house. Who knows, maybe in a year or so I'll be sporting a new diamond band? Or a paved driveway. Either way, I'll be happy.

Venison

Lately I seem to be running on empty. I need to eat more red meat. My larder is reduced to hamburger and frozen venison from 2006.

So tonight I made breaded venison chops. I overcooked them. It doesn't take much turn a nice piece of venison into leather.

I ended up eating chicken. Again. I'm getting mighty tired of chicken.

Perhaps next time I should eat beans to get my protein.

Upstairs, Downstairs

I've been watching the British series Upstairs, Downstairs.

I can't make up my mind if I would rather be a servant or an aristocrat with servants.

Somedays I want to be a ladies maid and other days I want to have a butler to answer the door and announce guests.

Either way, I would love to have a British accent.

Television

Today instead of working on my list of things to do, I watched T.V.

All day.

I'm a lazy, lazy girl.

Don't judge me.

Oh wait, I DID do one load of laundry.

Short and sweet

Stephanie sent me some scrumptious sweet and salty drops and a scarf (knit with her own two hands)


Snaps to Stephanie


*Sweeet and salty drops ingredients: Butter, flour, demerara cane sugar, salt, eggs, baking powder, vanilla extract. For further information you'll have to ask her. All I know is that I scarfed down the whole bag in one sitting.

Recognition

The other day, when I glanced at myself in the mirror, I saw my mother's face peering out at me.

It took me by surprise.

I have always been told that I resemble my father.

I don't mind looking like my mother. She has a pleasing face.

But it made me wonder if she ever looked in the mirror and saw HER mother? And did my grandmother look in the mirror and see HER mother. And so on. Really when you think about it it could be my great-great-great grandmother's face staring back at me.

This is too deep a thought for a Thursday night.

Quiet Time

All day every day at work I'm talking. On the phone or to my coworkers. I come home and talk to my husband until he falls asleep.

I can't seem to quit talking. My mother calls it "diarrhea of the mouth".

But by the time the weekend rolls around I just want to be silent. On Saturday, when I'm the only one at home, I don't talk to anyone. Except maybe an occasional word to the cats.

I luxuriate in the silence.

Sundays, if Tom has to work I get another day, unless I go to the grocery store. And even then I can maintain silence, especially if I go through the self-check out.

Try it sometime, you will be refreshed for the coming week.

Potatoes

Continuing in the food theme, tonight I made wee red potatos, buttered them put some parsley on them.

I was pleased.

But I'm not a huge potato fan. My Irish ancestors are probably rolling over in their peat graves.

I'd rather have rice.

But I won't say no to a nicely fried french fry. Of the Burger King Variety.

Onions

I like onions. The girls in my office do not. Normally, I would show consideration and not order onions on my Subway sandwich, but I like them too much to forgo them. My co-workers can just suffer and pray that I remembered my gum!!

Over the weekend I was watching Julia Child and Jacques Pepin prepare Thanksgiving dinner. Among the many side dishes was creamed onions. I always wanted to make them but thought it might be too complicated. After watching Julia I realized that there is nothing to it. Just peel the pearl onions, saute them in butter, add white pepper and cream bring to a boil and then let the liquid reduce. Easy-peasy.

I also like Funyuns. Mostly made of cornmeal, they are onion flavored and a guilty pleasure.

I like the smell of fresh cut onion grass.

My grandparents used to make beautiful brown Easter eggs from onion skins. It is a dying art. Dying....get it?!?

Tom is a fan of my onion dip and requests it for parties. All it is, is a packet of Lipton french soup and sour cream mixed well and chilled. But I'm a star every time I make it.

I've said this before, my mother told me a long time ago that if you want to fool your husband into thinking that dinner is on the way, start frying up some onions. The smell permeates the house. There is nothing quite like the smell of frying onions.

NFL

Today the Vikings were my survivor pick and they won.

On to next week. I think I'm going to pick the Bengals.

We'll see how the week progresses.

Making my list

Today I got serious and started working on my Christmas shopping list.

I'm really quite into lists.

List of books to read.

List of movies to watch, otherwise known as my Netflix queue.

List of boxes I need to send out.

List of chores to do around the house.

Grocery list

List of things to buy a Walmart

The list goes on and on.

Do you make lists?

Luck be a lady tonight

Tom is off to play poker at his father's tonight.

That means I don't have to make dinner because Kathy always has a nice spread out for the poker players PLUS I will have control of the remote and I can watch a girly movie. ALL BY MYSELF.

Life is good.

Keeping Up Appearances

If I were Hyacinth Bucket (that's Boo-kay) I would never admit to what I'm about to tell you but since I'm me, I will gladly share my story.

First off you should know that Wednesday is Tom's regular day off and when I left for work, he was preparing to go out and do some Fall clean-up's, get more kerosene, mow the lawn and get a haircut.

When I arrived home, I found that that although the lawn was mowed, the empty kerosene jugs were still waiting by the door and my shaggy-haired husband was very nearly comatose on the couch.

When I tried to rouse him, he was exceedingly obnoxious so I retreated to the kitchen whereupon I called my sister and we had a nice long chat. Midway through the call, the sleeping giant woke from his slumbers, lurched into the kitchen, stumbled out the back door and proceeded to retch violently off the back porch. He sounded like a college girl puking in the parking lot of a fraternity house. I was tempted to ask him if he needed me to hold back his hair!! Staned back ladies, he's all mine!!

After that unfortunate episode, he made his way back to the couch to spend the rest of the night there.

When I awoke this morning I had to ask what happened. Turns out our feckless hero spent the day reliving his college years by doing some recreational drinking. He drank three XXX Molsen beers followed by Sambuca. Lord only knows how much of the Sambuca he managed to consume, but I know that he finished off a bottle, because I found the empty in the trash.

Oddly enough, this morning he exhibited no signs that he was suffering any ill side effect of his wee binge. I call it a wee binge, because in his hey-day this drinking would have been naught but a drop in the alcohol bucket.

The silver lining in all of this? Jen got a night off. I didn't have to make dinner and I could talk uninterrupted on the telephone for over an hour.

Jacks and jump rope

Did you play jacks as a child? I played all through 4th grade. That was the year I moved from one school to another and the kids at the new school didn't play jacks so I introduced the game. We used to long for a rainy day recess so that we could play on the smooth classroom floor. I had a pretty,multi-colored ball. It was my lucky ball. I won often when I used it.

When we went outside for recess, we played Chinese jump rope. Which I also brought from the other school.

I wonder, do little girls still play these games?

And how about pick-up sticks? Do kids still play that?

I think I'm going to get these games for my little nieces for Christmas.

What games do you remember from your childhood?

In an aside....this was also the year that Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers had the hit "Islands in the Stream" and Stacy M. had a cassette player and she would play that song over and over again until we all knew it by heart.

Individual servings

Green Giant has a wonderous new invention in the frozen vegetable market.

They have individual servings. Just for one they are called.

Green Giant® – Just for One allows you to enjoy the great sauces you love with your favorite vegetables in a portable single serve tray at home or on the go. Green Giant – Just for One is now endorsed by Weight Watchers® and only have 0 or 1 POINTS value per tray.

That's from their website.

I highly recommend the cauliflower and cheese. The peas and corn in basil butter sauce is also quite yummy.

I like that when I'm making dinner and Tom wants one veggie and I want another I can just pop them into the microwave and we are both happy.

OH and speaking of individual portions....anybody try the Perdue boneless, skinless chicken breasts that are individually wrapped? I've got some in the freezer for later this week.

Housecleaners etc.

The house cleaners are coming tomorrow. They come once a month. I love them. When I walk in the house everything is neat and shiny clean.

Tonight for dinner we are having ham slice. With baked beans and mac and cheese. Dinner from a box and a can. Woo-hoo!

Matt Hasselbeck had 25 consecutive points yesterday to lead the Seattle Seahawks to a victory over the Detroit Lions. I tell you this because I picked Seattle in my survivor league and in the first quarter the Lions were up 14-0 and I was sure I was going to be knocked out in week 8. Now its time to start thinking about who to pick for next week. I'm thinking the Vikings.

Holiday shopping has commenced. I'm filling my Amazon.com shopping cart, as well as adding to my wish list. Look to the left....hint, hint.

Gifts by mail

I love to send gifts by mail.

I especially like to send unexpected gifts.

Over the course of the last year or so, several friends have been the recipient of a gift by mail and I still have a few more to go! Teacher Bee, Missyand baby girl Landry in particular!

But a couple of weeks ago I was my turn to be surprised.

My blog friend Cory sent me a package of orange.... some Halloween kitchen towels, Kathy Griffin's new book and a packet of pop rocks. She is the bestest!!

Christmas is coming which means more gifts to send.

Finders keepers

Finders keepers is my policy when doing laundry.

Any money, be it change or bills, found in pockets is mine.

I think it can be considered a tip

Ephrata Cloister

One of America's earliest religious communities, the Ephrata Cloister was founded in 1732 by German settlers seeking spiritual goals rather than earthly rewards. Gathered in unique European style buildings, the community consisted of celibate Brothers and Sisters, and a married congregation of families.At the zenith of the community in the 1740s and 1750s, about 300 members worked and worshiped at the Cloister.

I copied and pasted the above to tell you this....the Cloisters slept on a bench with a block for a pillow.

I mention this because lately every morning I wake up with a headache and a crick in my neck. I feel as though I've been sleeping on a board with a block for a pillow.

Note: Above is why the sect died out. Couples just can't get busy on a bench!!

Dancing With Deer

On the way home this evening, I drove through a herd of deer in the middle of the road. There must have been at least eight of them.

They couldn't make up their minds if they wanted to go left or right or stand in the middle. I honked my horn and they oh so daintily tip-toed off the road.

In NJ deer are a pestilence and a burden. They'll eat the plants right off your back deck if your not careful. Some people feed them corn, but I don't recommend that. They'll keep coming back time and again.

I'd rather have deer than bear or coyote though.

Clip or be clipped

There are many different kinds of clips….

Paper clip, tie clip, grass clippings, newspaper clippings, hair clip.

A clipping penalty in football, a clipper ship, money clip, ammo clip

A clipped way of speaking, nail clippers, The L.A. Clippers basketball team

Hair clippers

Mailbox clip

I could go on and on.

But let us reflect on the final clip. The mailbox clip. This is a highly refined clip that only professional clippers should attempt.

This clip requires a 35mph speed limit, a darkening autumn evening, a narrow road, an oncoming car that won’t move over, a passenger side mirror and of course a neighbor’s mailbox.

The end result?

An early morning phone call to the car dealership.

Draw your own conclusions.

Begonias

I have two begonias that still have a blossom each. One yellow and one pink.

It is time to bring them indoors.

For the pink begonia, this is the third year in a row that it will winter in my big bay window in the kitchen.

It will lie dormant until spring.

Much like myself.

Apes

Over the weekend, Tom and I watched a Planet of the Apes marathon.

We started with Planet of the Apes....you know....the one with Charlton Heston snarling "Take your stinking paws off me, you damned dirty ape! !!"


It was the first time I have ever seen it the whole way through. It was cheesy as only a 1968 sci-fi movie can be but yet the story was good and held my attention. Who knew that in the future not only would apes rule the world but apes with English accents? When the remake came out in 2001 (with Marky Mark) we went to see it and at the time I thought it was a good movie. But after having seen the original, I see how lacking the remake was. It took itself way too seriously.

The Taking of Pelham 123 will be the next remake we'll see. I'll also be watching "The Women". I loved the original....Norma Shearer, Rosalind Russell, Joan Crawford at her catty best. I'm sure the new one can't compare.

What remake do you recommend?

It's NaBloPoMo!

I need to get back into the swing of things and the best way is to commit to NaBloPoMo.

NaBloPoMo stands for National Blog Posting Month, which means that I need to post every day for the month of November.

I'm depending on you, gentle reader, to help me stay on track.

Wish me luck!!