This is Proof! Wash Your Hands...

This is kind of jumping around today... I don't have a lot of time because I've been goofing off all morning so now I have to get all my stuff done and supper started and laundry and, well, you get the idea all within the next two hours so I'll be humping and working my arse off to get it all done before I leave at 2:30pm to pick up all the kiddos. Sometimes it's just that way, you know, you can't get going and end up talking on the phone and playing on the internet and answering emails while everything around you suffers. I promise I'll be good tomorrow. And I get to work at the shop so we're putting out some of our jewelry so I'm excited about that. I'll let you know how it goes.

First things first: I found this quote this morning and I wanted Brent to be sure and read it. Whether it be today, tomorrow or whenever he happens upon my blog again, I want him to read this and know that this is who we are.

• A guy and a girl can be just friends, but at one point or another, one of them will fall for the other, maybe temporarily, maybe at the wrong time, maybe too late, or maybe, just maybe...forever" ~Unknown

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Fireproof is out on DVD today. I haven't made it to Target yet to pick it up but it's on my list for this week. I think I'll get it today and watch it tomorrow without Brent first to see exactly what's it is all about. But I dunno, I digress. I will have to ponder that.... any suggestions? Should I watch it first or should we watch it together first??

OK. So on with what I have proof of, what really exists .... and it's effin scary.

This is proof that what lurks inside our bodies can be very harmful, just by now washing our hands regularly: Brain-Eating Worm - And the boys never believed me that things like this happen. Guess what they'll both be watching when they get home from school today? Nothing like a Scared Straight video to help things along, albeit in a little bit of a different direction!! LOL

My friend sent me this and it totally freaked me out. So now I think I have one. I think it's what contributing to my being tired all the time, not listening when my kids tell me something, skipping from one thought to another, one project to another, getting bored easily -- oh wait, that's right about a year and a half ago I caught my nephew's ADHD. I guess I could also just as easily catch the brain-eating worm. Just thinking about it is making me sick. I can't shake it. I am totally grossed out. On a lighter note, I was really happy to see this woman get back to her life and her family.

Ciao

photo courtesy of : redstandard.org

Hy-dee Ho, no offense to the "Ho" part if you are one.

Well, it's been awhile but I can't seem to jump into a settled routine. Between school stuff, making jewelry with my friend and keeping up everything and getting stuff ready for taxes, every day seems to just fly by. This weekend went in the blink of an eye. So exactly what have I been up to since January 6th?? Well, I had a birthday on January 10th and it was really great. Brent was totally trying to surprise me so he succeeded for the most part. I knew we were going to my sister's in Lafayette but I just thought it was the same ole stuff. So he takes off on Friday and we spend the day together. He comes home with a rental car so we can take our trip which just happened to look like a pimpmobile. It's a beautiful car, really pretty but every time I see one (and I want one) it looks like someone should be chauffeuring around the local pimp. It was a Chrysler 300 and it made for a very nice trip. Great car with lots of room. The boys loved traveling in something other than the Expedition for a change. So, we get into town and instead of heading toward my sister's house we ended up at the Hilton where he had reserved a room for us for all weekend. I was really happy then when we walked in, there was only one king size bed. So, what made it even that much better is that the boys were staying with my sister. Yeah. oh I have to say it again. Yeah. So he made reservations at this restaurant he had went to when he was in North Carolina for a production seminar and it was really good. It's called BoneFish and it is as good as everyone says, well actually better since we have nothing in our area to compare it too. It is way better than Tokyo which would be the only thing remotely close to it. I made Christene, Bailee, Liam & Ian come into the bar part with us and have appetizers and we had a few drinks. I fell in love with their winter cosmos and the Bang Bang Shrimp appetizer was exceptional. I would have taken pictures of all this but I forgot my camera at home with a dead battery not knowing all this fun stuff was planned for my birthday. They left to go to another restaurant and to the movies and we stayed for a couple more hours and ate and had a few drinks. It was really nice. We had great conversation and forgot how much we love going out and trying new things (umm, without kids). I love 'em but sometimes, you know, just sometimes it is really a good thing to get away from them. You know?? Do you know or am I the only parent who thinks that way? OK, so here is the official review of BoneFish in Lafayette - A+. And I am not exaggerating. Service was great, drinks were to a tee and the food was titillating and satisfying. That's funny .... titillating and satisfying in the same sentence. Sounds like a porn story or something. hahaha So we had a cake my other sister had made by a friend. it was gorgeous to say the least. My sister and niece took pictures but I can't seem to get them to email them to me, hint hint! It was hot pink with black ribbon and a big black bow tied like a gift and then it had pink and black curly ribbon hanging from it. It was all edible fondant and the cake weighed about 10 pounds I swear. It was so heavy and delish! It was white with raspberry filling. I am going to be using this lady for all my cakes from now on. I don't know what others she does but the wrapped gift look is great for just about any occasion. I really hope to post a pic of it on here soon if I can get them emailed to me. hint hint. It was one of the most special birthdays I can remember and Brent did a great job making it really special for me and I love him more each day for all that he brings to our relationship. OK, enough of the sappy emotional stuff.

So then it was time for CCD, basketball practices and we just signed up for baseball this weekend and picked up our two cases of candy to sell. Yuck. I hate that because they end up eating it, along with me and Brent, so I just end up writing a check for the lot of it to cover everything they ate along with anyone else who comes into the house! Ever since we came back from Lafayette that weekend, Liam's friends have been here all weekend long and we've had basketball games for Ian and then on Saturday we took Ian to Beaumont for a birthday party at the movie theater and got to spend three hours all by ourselves again. I'm getting used to having all this time with my husband. We did some errands, ate lunch and then hit up Super H-E-B to stock up on stuff that you can only get there. I love that store and I recently started going to Kroger Signature store in Beaumont and it is sooo nice. I actually had people who work there come up and ask me if I needed help finding something. Huh? Wha?? That never happens at Walmart or HEB here. In fact when they see you coming they turn around and head the other way or give you that "I can't believe you are going to interrupt my conversation while I'm at work to ask me some dumb ass question about where something is when it is clearly labeled on the sign ten foot above your head at the beginning of each aisle" you know that look right? Well, I just found a bunch of sights about Krogering and using coupons and their mega sales and stuff like that so I will be going back. I would rather drive 20 minutes and enjoy my grocery shopping experience in a CLEAN store that doesn't smell like dead, rotted meat than the crap Walmart has to offer. Our Walmart always seems to be super dirty and most of the time (if I have time) I will make time to drive to the other Walmart which is about 10 minutes farther. So if you have a Kroger Signature store nearby, give it a try. The blogs are raving about the sales and good deals so give it a go if you get a chance.

One new thing I've started is a menu plan. Yup, yesterday I sat down and did my menu planning based on things we already have. I have an obsession with grocery stores and going like everyday almost so I'm going to try and weed out so we can have some room. All three freezers are full and the two refrigerators are in need of stuff being weeded out and used up. So I did my menu based on things I don't have to go out for unless we run out of an essential item or I did a hair up my butt and want to try a new recipe. The cupboards have so much crap that I have nowhere, absolutely no where to put any new things. I am in the process of looking for an armoire with all shelves inside to use as a makeshift pantry for more canned goods and things of that sort. I recently put all the extra pumpkin, peanut butter and other canned goods of that sort on the shelving unit in the garage but food being outside with critters and bugs well that just doesn't sit well with me. Nope. Not at all. So we are going to see about using up some of the "crap" I have in the pantry and then stockpiling new things to do my weekly menu planning. If this goes well I want to do once a month cooking and shopping. I grocery shopped at the beginning of January with the understanding that it was for the month but within 2-3 days tops I was back at our local grocery store getting things for a new recipe I wanted to try. My friends just laugh at me. Even Liam said "Mom, we don't need anything else." But.... we always need milk, bread, eggs, etc. So I am going to try hard to stay out of Sam's too. That is the worse place for me to be - Sam's - hungry -- and bored. It makes for some very expensive shopping, although all the chicken, pork, and bacon I happened to pick up doesn't have anyone griping about it now. Last week I made the Cajun Meatloaf from The Pioneer Woman and it was soo good. Ian and Liam really liked it. Ian even commented that on all the cartoons they make noises and faces when they hear they are having meatloaf for supper, but he didn't understand why because he thought it was so good. My poor boys. I have never made a meatloaf in my life and I'd like to thank the meat manager at Kroger for pointing out the difference between ground pork and ground pork sausage. I won't go into details but will say that (1) there is a difference and (2) I'm glad I followed the recipe. So here goes my first ever Menu Planning Monday:

Monday:

Roast, rice & gravy, pinto beans (not from a can), cornbread

Tuesday: (CCD for Ian) Chicken-fried Steak w/gravy(courtesy of Sam's), butter beans, mashed potatoes which happen to be Liam's favorite food

Wednesday: (CCD for Liam) Salisbury steak, broccoli w/ cheese sauce, potatoes au gratin

Thursday: (Basketball Practice Ian) BBQ ribs (for ian - he loves them), citrus chicken (YUMMO), asparagus, dirty rice

Friday: Kids over so probably taquitoes, chili con queso, chips/dip; banana splits for dessert

Saturday: Basketball Games - probably out for late lunch or supper

Sunday: Hey, I just started this so if it lasts this long it will suprise me and you! Thinking Gumbo or Sausage and Lentil Soup courtesy of a copycat recipe from Carrabba's - truly DELISH.

Back to the Grind in Mom City: Argh

Yes, officially over. Time to get back to the daily grind of cleaning, cooking, homework and being the taxi for my two, make that three, overbearing bosses. I was recently asked in a meme if I loved my job and honestly, I'd have to say yes. A lot of the time I feel undervalued, you know, just an itty, bitty bit but for the most part I'd have to say that I love what I do as much as I love them. Trying to learn to solder silver jewelry but I'm scared of burning metal and if I mess up I'm sure I'll be scarred for life, but I can do it. I know I can. Positive talk, positive self talk. Are these posts boring? I think so but I guess I'll just ramble on. I feel like I worked trying to get everything so clean yesterday and no one noticed. Within fifteen minutes of the boys and Brent getting home, it seems just as untidy and messy. Backpacks on the floor, books all over the table. I guess I can gripe or I can accept it and make happy memories. Soon enough they'll be grown and on their own and we'll be wishing for these times back. The hustle and bustle of the everyday life. Tonight I'm making the easiest stroganoff recipe in the world -- hang on I have to take out the roast. Well, I guess not tonight because you have to use either stew meat or cut up a roast into bite sized pieces and the roast is frozen solid. Another night I guess. I guess tonight it will be a little simple, we have CCD for Ian and then he has has basketball practice Thursday night. It's already time to sign up for Little League and Ian's basketball games have not even started yet. He's doing the UPWARDS program at a local church. Our church doesn't have the program but Hillcrest Baptist in Nederland does and Liam played for about five years and loved it. I hope Ian enjoys his experience. He has really enjoyed the practices and his coaches thus far.

I started reading the series of books that True Blood on HBO is based on, written by Charlaine Harris. The first one seems to be following the beginning of True Blood but a friend totally me it does veer a little as you get more into the series. I am also about three-quarters of the way through Jon & Kate Gossling's book Multiple Blessings. I'm so on the fence about them but the book does seem to be a telling memoir of her feelings about being a mother of multiples. I'll let you know how that turns out, or let me know if you've read it or Dead Until Dark and what is your feedback.

I really need some of this today. I wonder where I can get it? I need to get some Red Bull or Monster to get some major stuff done.

OK, so I'm trying to watch a movie online called In the Valley of Elah. Only about 15-20 minutes but it seems really interesting about a missing soldier whose dad is trying to locate him. The dad is Tommy Lee Jones. So I'll let you know how this one turns out. It's so dreary, rainy and cold and I had a million things to do but have not mustered up the motivation yet. Even with three extra strength Excedrin. Brent is doing a project at work and we're trying to find sliding cabinet storage shelves for the kitchen. If he sees them while he's out today, I'm going to go get them so we can get them installed. No time like the present right? So I'm off to do a mom's devotional and try and get some things accomplished on such a melancholy day.

Change of plans: My sister/partner in crime just called and she's coming over for coffee and breakfast. What? My friend wants me to go Hobby Lobby (yeah!) so I guess all this boring stuff can wait. After all, add a little spice to your life and fly by the seat of your pants. If I run across any good deals I'll be sure and share them. Oh and I totally racked up at Target on all Christmas decorations and apparel for 75% and 90% off. Cannot wait to use all the new stuff next year, well this year. Toodles. Ciao!

It Said Any Bitch Could Cook, But I Highly Doubt They've Eaten My Food!

In this instance, BITCH is a good thing. Keep reading and get your mind out of the gutter.

Umm, ok. So I have all these cookbooks, big ones and little ones, that say I can supposedly cook. However, I doubt they have eaten my cooking. These little cookbooks are printed in San Angelo, Texas and they have some of the best recipes. You can get your very own right here. I've tried a few but with my new Kitchen Aid that I got for Christmas, I'm really hoping to start soon. I'm going out tomorrow to try and get a few more of these "bitch" cookbooks. One for a friend's birthday on Sunday and now they have one about appetizers and other about cocktails. By the way, BITCH stands for Babe In Total Control Of Herself. So if you haven't had a peek at these, you really need to get one or two!

Another great find lately has been this pecan pie in a jar mix. I swear this is the best stuff. I made one of the pies for Thanksgiving and it was a big hit. Brent loved it and his brother liked it a lot too. I liked it better after it had been refrigerated and was all sticky and gooey, OMG I could have slapped your momma (not my momma, she's too little and frail right now). It is freakin awesome so I ran back to Gaudie & Co. and bought two more. At $15 a jar, it's a little pricey, but it is so well worth it. Really it is. I also found another place in town that sells it so if they don't carry it after the holidays, I know where I can get it locally. But there's always the internet. I think I'm going to make one of these for my friend's birthday that's coming up. However, I'll have to ask if she even likes pecan pie. Not to sure and these days, people are allergic to everything. I'm going to post a few pics over the Christmas break of us working on our gingerbread house. It was pretty pathetic but the boys (and Brent, and me) had fun doing it. We had to cut craft sticks in half to hold up the roof (lol) because it kept sliding off. The directions said to wait at least 30 minutes before adding all the embellishments to the top but did they listen to me or the directions? NOOOO. So it was sliding off and falling off so I just started eating the candy. The gum drops that we put on the roof were old and chewy, and they were so good. We couldn't get enough of them. So I hope you enjoy the pics of all my boys working so very hard. They tried to be so perfectionistic and it turned into a mess. But it was beautiful when it was done, in a mother's eyes of course.

Even Liam took part in this family endeavor, which, if you have teenagers, is a big deal!

Ian and his daddy were all into this. I usually just let 'em throw it together and call it good but no, it had to be perfect. Well, until it started falling apart. he he


Brent's trying to look really tough while he oversees the decorating of the gingerbread house. Now that's funny, I don't care who you are!

Ian intently watching his daddy construct the pieces of gingerbread which will soon burst into the semblance of a home. Well not exactly. He's just getting po'd because he has to actually put the candy on the gingerbread house instead of eating all of it!

Awww, Brent... you can put icing/jellybeans/whatever you want on my rooftop any time...! he he You'd know I'd have to make this into something erotic. Then again, if I wasn't so randy all the time we'd probably be pretty bored all the time!!

New Year, New Attitude

Oh my gosh long time no see! Happy New Year!! Hope 2009 brings a lot of happiness, health, wealth and all the prayers I can send your way. I have taken a long bloggy vacation and I swore to myself that at the beginning of the year when all the hype from soccer playoffs, holidays, shopping, Christmas and New Year's were over with, I'd get down to business and try and find a happy medium. I dunno, maybe I had writer's block. That's funny because I don't actually consider this writing so I had blogger's block. Yup, the dreaded BB. Every time I'd think of something to blog about or get excited about telling everyone, I'd have that foreboding feeling that people were just judging every sentence, every period, every comma, every comment. Well, for someone who really doesn't give a crappo what others think, I think I was doing a good job of giving a shit. So, if you like it, keep reading, if not, log off. I've been perusing hundreds of blogs lately and that is basically the consensus. Write what you want and if people don't like it, well, they'll visit other sites they do like. I am very opinionated, stubborn and at times obscene, but hey, not everyone has all of those good points. Now for the bad... I'm opinionated, stubborn and obscene with a capital O, S, O. lol OK, that's funny. So I hope you all celebrated the New Year even if it was at home in dreamland. A new year, a new start, a new beginning, freshness abounds. blah blah blah.. Whatever. I just like it because my birthday is nine days away and I'll have a reason to celebrate with my hubby.

A quick recap of the last two months. School, homework, taxi for the boys, soccer games, soccer playoffs, CCD, Thanksgiving, a very long week with no school, shopping, shopping, excruciatingly mundane things like groveling over Christmas lists and gift lists to the point that I think I developed an ulcer, more shopping with Brent on two of his vacation days, school Christmas parties and staying up until past midnight making Christmas mice and goodies for the kiddos, a really great Christmas with family and friends, enjoying all the fruits of our labor, watching the boys play with all their new stuff and learning how to use my new professional series Kitchen Aid mixer. (I love this piece of kitchen equipment. If I go on an extended vacation, I will be bringing it with me). Did I tell you how much I love my mixer? Did I tell you how pretty it is? Did I tell you that it's so nice, pristinely clean and beautiful that I haven't even used it yet because I don't want it to get cake mix and flour and water and oil and crap all over it to never be the same again. Kind of like when you get your new haircut and it looks great because someone else did it and at home you know in your heart it will never be quite that great. Well, that's how I feel about the new addition to our family. She sits there so purty and clean that I've scrounged and scoured over recipes only to say "nah, not today. Maybe tomorrow." Do I have that Scarlett O'Hara syndrome? You know the "I'll think about that tomorrow." Yup, I really and truly believe I do. I promised Brent I would use it before the boys go back to school so I think a nice, simple peanut butter cookie recipe will suffice. I know, I'm rambling on. But does anyone else ever feel that way about such a materialistic thing? I guess I could just go throw some flour and water all over it and leave it overnight and then get up in the morning, kind of clean it and never feel the same about it again. Yeah, yeah. That's it. Like when you get a brand new minivan and your child spills an entire bottle full of milk in between the seat and the sliding back door but you don't discover it until a day later when the Texas sun has curdled all the milk into clods and your brand new van now smells like rotten feet. Yup, been there, done that. Ok, on to the recap. Christmas - Check. New Year's - Check. I guess we're up to par on the events unfolding in my life since we last had contact. New year and hopefully new ideas.

OH MY GOD I ALMOST FORGOT TO TELL YOU!! It freakin' snowed in Texas. We're in Southeast Texas and Brent woke us up at 12:30 in the morning on December 11th (I think it was the 11th) to tell us that it was snowing. No, not just a few flurries here and there but to us it looked like a blizzard. The boys were so funny. Sleepy, cold and gathering snow to eat and throw at each other. It was snowing hard until about 3:00am then it slowed down and we got back up at 5:30 am to watch it some more. It was so peaceful and tranquil. They played in it for about 45 minutes before they had to get dressed and go to school. Yup, you heard me right. It hasn't snowed and stayed on the ground here since 19freakin89 (last time it had even close to this amount was 19freakin73) and the school did not even delay it one minute. All the other school districts in the whole area and up north delayed school by two hours but noooooooooo, not our district. Liam went to school kind of bummed but once we drove up all the kids were having a giant snowball fight in the football field. He said that since first period was athletics the coaches let them stay out as long as they wanted. He didn't last too terribly long because he said his hands were so cold he was afraid he'd get frostbite. He's too funny, frostbite - in Texas - poor thing - he's so naive. But we took lots of pictures and it really did create some great memories. Ian still has a bag of snow (well, actually it's just a big clump of ice now) in the deep freeze. Sweet little man. He has no idea it's a big hard ice ball. I don't think I'll tell him for right now either.

These are the oleanders in the front yard. It was so beautiful to see the banana trees, oleanders and palm trees covered in snow. Talk about strange -- tropical plants covered with snow.

Even when we go on vacation, it's usually to the beach or somewhere else just as hot so this is the first time the boys have ever built a snowman, a cowboy snowman at that!

OK, to us this was almost blizzard like conditions. It was too funny. Tricia said she was going to call in sick to the post office because she didn't have snow tires. I believed her. She calls in all the time for dumb things like that so I wasn't sure if she was kidding or not. She was.


The sun was just beginning to rise and it was so gorgeous on the snow. The boys were thrilled. The snowman kind of looks like he's shooting the finger in a way. Now that's funny.

Oh, one new thing I'm doing is helping my friend at her jewelry shops. My neighbor sells purses, jewelry, Yellowbox flip-flops and slippers and things of that sort. So, for the last several months I've been going to the shop on Wednesdays and working there for her while she does the jewelry shows in bank buildings, office buildings and hospitals. I guess I kind of volunteer, since I don't actually get paid. But for Christmas I got some great gifts for people on my list for our bartering arrangement. She gets help when she needs it and I get gifts when I need them. I have really enjoyed it. The women who come in are great and they buy stuff on their breaks at the hospital and lunch hour. So in the new year we've decided we're going to start making these really neat necklaces and try to personalize them, although we're still not sure exactly which ones. It's a really exciting opportunity and she's just as pumped as I am. It's been a long time since I've looked forward to creating something from nothing. Hurricane Ike repairs and damages kind of put a big damper on Christmas cheer around this area, but I think everyone is coming around. Like I told Brent, we could be living in a travel trailer in Bridge City so I guess ours doesn't seem so bad now. Just cumbersome. We actually had the structural engineers out the week before Christmas so we're waiting on their report to finally begin the next step.

I don't know about where you are but the traditions in Texas dictate that you have to have pork, black-eyed peas and cabbage on New Year's Day. So even with his smidgen of a hangover leftover from last night, Brent helped me get everything ready for a great lunch of bbq ribs, cabbage with smothered ribs, ham and a big ol pot of black-eyed peas. I have no idea how he seasons them but I love them the way he cooks them. I used to hate them so much that even as an adult (probably when we were DINKS -- double income no kids) that I would gag. Then one year after I had Liam and he was a small baby Brent made some and they tasted so good. They were so delicious and I've loved them ever since. He really spices them up and adds chunks of ham and... well you get the idea. So whatever the traditions are where you live, imbibe in them, carry them on year after year. Remember that song Tradition from Fiddler on the Roof. My daddy loved that song and used to sing it and dance around the house like Tevye, the father of all the girls in the movie. If you have never seen the movie, get it and watch it. Tradition. Tradition.

I hope everyone has been doing well, and I wish you all a Happy New Year. There are some awesome women out there with great blogs and my bloggy resolution for this year is that when I find a great blog and things that I feel others could benefit from, I will be sharing it here with you. I've received a lot of recipes, coupons, freebies, samples from great sites that have made such a difference. I love reading about other women and their families journey to a debt free life. We made our goals for 2009 and I have no doubt that we will meet them. Ciao Bella!