MomsLeap

New Blog!

2008-04-05T11:43:00.003-05:00

I've started a new blog - you can find it here: http://www.WaffleTalk.blogspot.com

I started my MomsLeap blog a few months ago when my good friend Lundy asked me about starting a website to be called MomsLeap.com. It seems there was not a single decent resource website geared to Memphis moms. Life got in the way and months went by and neither of us was able to devote the time we needed to get this thing up and going. Of course, there's no such thing as an original idea, on the internet at least. So here we are and at least two moms' resource website franchises have launched blogs geared toward local moms. We've agreed that this is no longer the best use of our time, so are thinking about other possibilities for a new internet venture.

Since this blog has meandered around, away from the special interest blog we originally conceived, I've decided to start a new one and rename it with something more general.

I'll leave this blog up and will spend some time copying posts I think fit well into the new blog. I'm thinking I need to start a food blog, since that's a chunk of what I write about. The great thing about Blogger is that this is all free, so I might do separate blogs about food, day-trading, books, scrapbooking, my new consulting business, gardening or whatever else interests me.

I started my very first blog a couple of years ago, with family pictures (geared toward our relatives). I have another one for our extended family, one for my son's school baseball team, and of course MomsLeap and now Waffle Talk! Lots of blogs.

If you like what I've done, I promise you, you'll enjoy blogging. You'll get in the habit of taking pictures and actually uploading them to your computer! It's just a great creative outlet and fun to share with everyone you're close to. It's very easy to do, but give me a call if you need help getting started.

Waffle Talk

2008-04-05T09:43:00.005-05:00

I know you're wondering about the picture of the Toucan. I didn't have any great pictures to share, so I lazily looked in the sample pictures that came on my computer and found this. It reminded me of my upcoming trip to Brazil. Sure enough, the Toucan is native to South America. I doubt we'll see any in the city, but we are taking a side trip to the Iguazu Falls. They are only surpassed by Victoria Falls in Southern Africa. I wonder why I've never heard of them before. We've been to Niagara Falls and that was truly amazing, so I'm excited to see these. I don't know if we'll see the Toucan, but I've been told we'll see lots of wildlife, including very friendly monkeys!

Speaking of Brazil - I'll be leaving two weeks from Monday. It's hard to believe it's almost here. I'm a little nervous about the travel - it's a brutal 24 hour trip. That'll be the farthest from home I've ever been if you don't count the trip back from Japan when I was only a year old (I was born there). My poor mother - I can't imagine traveling that far on a propeller plane (yes, I think it's before jets were commonly used, at least for lowly Air Force NCO families - I know, I'm getting old). She made the trip alone with three kids under the age of seven, including a one year old (but I'm sure I was a little angel). My daddy must have been otherwise occupied with Air Force business. I need to spend some time documenting their stories of Japan and other travels. I remember Puerto Rico well since we lived their while I was seven to ten years old. Those are the most exotic places we lived.

Ok, on to the business at hand. I cooked THE easiest and best thing in the world last night. I didn't take pictues because it doesn't look as pretty as it tastes. It's a recipe from the Memphis Junior League's Heart and Soul cookbook. It's called Criolla's Barbeque Shrimp. I think it's an old recipe and I'm sure I've had it before, but must have forgotten. All you do is melt a stick of butter and stir in 1 tablespoon each of water, lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce. Add salt and pepper and a pound of shrimp. Amazing. The recipe recommends dipping French bread in the sauce, but I made mashed potatoes and used the sauce like gravy (I'm still working on the 20 pounds of potatoes I bought on sale). I also dipped my broccoli in it. You cannot believe how incredible this tastes, and you can tell how easy it is. Try it soon - I promise you'll thank me.

If you don't have the Heart and Soul cookbook, your cookbook library is not complete. I've never made anything from it that's not delicious. I should warn you that everything in it is packed with calories and fat, which, of course, is why it's so wonderful. The surly teenager didn't rave, but he must've liked it because he ate it when he came in from school and for dinner again a little bit later. I wonder if it would be good with chicken.

I have a blissful day with nothing at all planned. Tonight's the big game, Memphis and UCLA in the Final Four. GO TIGERS!

Leah (aka Monkey Tooth)

2008-03-29T17:53:00.003-05:00

I saw my sister and nieces this week. Leah is nine years old and in a major growth spurt. She ate like a field hand. She ate all the pizza pictured, plus an entree of pasta with grilled chicken and a root beer! Followed by some exotic coffee drink at Starbucks.

Monkey Tooth comes from the movie A Series of Unfortunate Events. Last time I visited them in Little Rock, we rented that movie. Monkey Tooth is the youngest character's nickname - well, you'll just have to watch it. Meryl Streep's character is hilarious. She's wonderful. Isn't she overdue for a movie?

We crammed a lot into one day and had lots of fun doing it. It will generate several posts, including Hannah (other amazing niece), Patio Redo, Ear Piercing and We Put the Fun in Dysfunction. Better get busy.

Crabcakes!

2008-03-29T17:34:00.003-05:00

I'm making them again! I also have rosemary potatoes roasting in the oven. Feeling very Rachel Ray-ish (she's the current Betty Crocker in my book - I know, the foodies don't approve - she's a cook, not a chef). I'm not sure the rosemary isn't competing with crabcake aroma. Since I bought a boatload (by the way, it is "boatload", not "buttload" for anyone who wants to know) of potatoes, I'll be fixing those a lot for the next few weeks. 20 pounds for $2.99 - too good to pass up. If anyone wants some, let me know!

Speaking of potatoes and butts, I pulled one out of the bag that looks like a butt. Don't you love that? I recently figured out that pototo eyes are called that because they look just like human eyes. I spend too much time gazing into potato eyes. They really are fascinating. Maybe I'll take some pictures and do a whole potato post. I really need to do a "The Virtues of Rosemary" post soon. It is an amazing thing.

Oops, almost burned crabcakes! We'll call them crisp. I promise I'll share my recipe soon. I've had requests, believe it or not. They really are good, and I think they're authentic Maryland, or at least as close as you can get with locally available crabmeat. I get a pound at Sam's for $16 or so (in the plastic container with metal flip top), but it makes a good bit and you could stretch it with bread crumbs. I used to use the tuna can kind, and they're not bad, but these are better. We can't go back.

I'll have to post my crabcake recipe at the same time as Renee K's amazing beef brisket. She's the Queen of Chocolate Chip Cookies - I've referred to her earlier. I've pushed this blog on my baseball mom friends - they're so kind and indulgent - I really should pay homage to them!

Ok, enough about crabcakes. I'm off to find potato recipes!

I Knew It!

2008-03-20T17:56:00.003-05:00

Just today I read about caffeinated soap - it's called Shower Shock and it has 200 mg per shower - they say caffeine CAN be absorbed through the skin. See, a while back, I noticed a burst in energy after grinding coffee beans, and began to wonder if one could absorb caffeine by smelling it. I searched online and even emailed a coffee expert (he has a whole website with copious amounts of information about coffee). The coffee guy didn't know, but I was pretty sure based on my empirical evidence. Lots of medicines are now available through nasal spray, so it makes perfect sense.

On to more coffee thoughts. This morning, I woke to find NO coffee (not even a little left in the bottom of the pot) and no Diet Cokes (I'm trying to give them up), so resorted to making iced tea. As soon as I was fit to drive, I went to Sam's and bought two big bags of Starbucks whole bean coffee. Since it's 6:00pm, I didn't grind any - just poured some into the jar for this picture, and feel a little pepped up just from that. I also bought a case of sugar free Red Bull - think of it as methodone for my Diet Coke addiction. One Red Bull in the morning - that's all. Actually, when I was training to walk the half-marathon a year and a half ago, I resorted to Red Bull or 5 Hour Energy to get me going on the long (6-8 miles) walks.

More about Starbucks. I'm kind of a reverse snob when it comes to paying $5 for a cup of coffee at SB, but I've found that I really do like making the SB whole bean freshly ground at home. It's more expensive than Folger's, I suppose, but WAY less expensive than buying it already made at SB. Especially at Sam's, right? Somehow, I spent $385 today, with no major appliance purchases. Seriously. I did spend the $30 something on the SF Red Bull, plus pricy lump crabmeat and a big piece of salmon, and so on. Oh, and $40 on the coffee. All the $6.88's add up, don't they?

Better get busy fixing the salmon with the bushel of lemons I bought!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! and more...

2008-03-17T19:08:00.003-05:00

When I went on an appointment today, I got out of my car to a bed of clover! I have to say, clovers are weeds, and my yard is weed-free, so no clovers in my yard. M took my camera to work today - not sure why - some sort of crazy corp team building exercise, I'm sure. Wish I had my camera for clover. I grabbed a bunch, but it was a sunny day and the clover totally wilted in my car seat while I was at my doctor's appointment, so no clover pic. Just the one I copied from on-line. Not a bad one, but I always feel more original if it's my own.

I wish I had time to look for a 4-leaf clover.

I so love Pioneer Woman - she has the most amazing site - it's probably the only one I know I'd pay to visit - don't tell her!

Made her great sandwich for kiddo tonight. Kitchen smells good, and I feel good to feed him something special.

Mother & Daddy aren't good - spent entire weekend seeing after them. That's a whole other post - maybe a blog of its own. They're better. That's all I'll say.

Gotta run - feel the need for something creative.

If you find the time to comment, I love the encouragement....

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2008-03-16T21:58:00.003-05:00

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

St. Patrick's Day is one of my favorite holidays. Green is my favorite color. Maybe that's why. I think I might be Irish. Or Welsh. Maybe that's why. There's a whole long post (several, many, maybe) about my heritage. The main thing is that my mom was adopted and her birth records are sealed, so I figure I can be whatever I want. It's kind of fun. All I know is that everyone in the family I know is amazing and unique and so very cool! Of course, that's another post. Several.

The Answer

2008-03-12T22:56:00.003-05:00

I've found a happy place on the internet. I'm adding OrganizedHome.com to my link list at left. I was wandering around checking all the great links I find in my monthly O - Oprah magazine. Two featured websites relate to meal planning. They are mealmixer.com and relishrelish.com. They look great and offer free trials but there's a subscription fee. I marvel at sites that charge subscriptions - my web expert friend Lundy long ago realized that web advertizing revenue eclipses any subscription/download fees you might charge. And if you build a great site, they will come. Most folks know that newspapers and magazines don't make money from subscriptions, but from the ad revenue. That's why the fall fashion issue of Vogue is bigger than the old Sears Wishbook! That's also why you can find amazingly cheap subscriptions that barely cover the postage if you look around - Amazon had some great deals at the end of December - I think I got a year of Marie Claire for $3.

Back to the great website: OrganizedHome. It has everything you could want. My current wish is for organization, specifically to cut the clutter. There's an article there that describes 5 different mindsets that contribute to a clutter problem. The frightening thing is that all 5 describe me! They are: 1) The Hoarder ("This might come in handy some day"), 2) The Deferrer ("I'll think about that tomorrow"), 3) The Rebel ("I don't wanna and you can't make me"), 4) The Perfectionist ("Next week, I'll organize everything perfectly"), and 5) The Sentimentalist ("Oh, the little darling").

Oh, my goodness - it's humbling when you see yourself in writing. I started today by gathering lots of great eBay stuff (part of my problem - oh, this might be worth something one day - they didn't even cover that in OrganizedHome!) and taking it to RightClick - a great little place near my home. They sell the stuff on eBay and keep 35%. Only problem is, each listing has to exceed $50. None of my stuff qualified, natch. And it's the wrong season for barely used football equipment. My short term plan is to take everything to the attic with the intention of going through it methodically, regularly, but with the reality being that it'll stay there until Mack and I die and Evans has an estate sale and totally random strangers are sifting through my underwear drawer.

Enough of that. Check this great site - it's full of info, forms, ideas for FREE!! There's lots of good content. I plan to lurk around there - maybe even more than my beloved Pioneer Woman! She won the bloggie awards, by the way. No surprise!

Waffle Talk

2008-03-09T11:30:00.002-05:00

Does anyone out there remember "Coffee Talk" from Saturday Night Live? The skit where Mike Meyers dresses up like his mother-in-law and frequently says he's "verklempt." I think the other baseball moms were too young to remember this, so when I fanned my face and said I was getting verklempt upon seeing Dori's very handsome son who's a freshman in the Merchant Marine Academy and came straight from the airport in his uniform to watch his little brother's baseball game. They have to travel in uniform - did you know that?

In case you're not familiar with "verklempt", it's a Yiddish word which means choked with emotion. I looked it up just now in a very cool website called UrbanDictionary.com. It's so cool, in fact, that I'm adding it to my links list - at left.

All this to say, my Waffle Talk title is a take on Coffee Talk. I haven't made waffles in two weeks. Last weekend I was ensconced at the hospital with daddy and sister. Disgruntled hungry teenager complained. Yesterday he wasn't home - he spent the night with friend from school so they could play in the wonderful snow. I should be at church right now, but being the "sleep slut" that I am (see Urban Dictionary's word of the day!), I woke up at 10:00, thinking I could hurry up and make it to church and when I walked into the kitchen and the microwave clock said 11:00, I had one of those Twilight Zone moments before I realized this is Spring Forward day. So I stayed in my pajamas and made waffles.

I'm signing off now and am heading back to Urban Dictionary to find some other fun words!

More Snow!

2008-03-07T16:04:00.004-06:00

As you can tell, we've had quite a bit of accumulation since I posted about an hour or so ago. I checked the news and they are predicting 2-4 inches for Memphis. Quite a bit for us. It is still coming down pretty heavily.

I suppose it's all those years of conditioning as a kid wanting to get out of school, but I just get so excited when it snows. Especially now that I don't HAVE to go to work. Back in the day when I was doing CPA work, it was unthinkable to stay home from work this time of year. Every single time it snows, every partner in an accounting firm offers to chauffeur his employees if they're afraid to drive in the snow. I took advantage of that once or twice!

The corporate tax deadline is March 15th, so the CPAs are really under the gun, and then of course April 15th is looming, and we all know what that means. That reminds me, I've got to get started on ours!

Snow!

2008-03-07T14:46:00.006-06:00

I just this minute took this photo. Went outside in slippers with wet hair just for you! After some on and off snowing and sleeting this morning, it's finally really coming down. Hopefully I'll be able to snap a picture with these daffodils covered in a blanket of white very soon. It is unbelievably good luck to have the snow come on a Friday with no school to start with, nowhere to go (no family members in the hospital for a change), and a fridge full of food. Any Memphian knows the grocery stores are flooded with people stocking up at the first hint of snow.

Diana called and said she couldn't go to Archiver's tonight with the weather situation and I was relieved. Every Memphian also knows that the city comes to a screeching halt when the snow comes (once everyone's been to the grocery store). Now, if our power will just stay on!

The Scream

2008-03-07T12:02:00.003-06:00

Here's how I'm feeling. In case you don't know, this is a painting by Edvard Munch called "The Scream." He painted it in 1910 using tempera and pastels on cardboard. I found that interesting - he must have been a starving artist at the time and couldn't afford canvas.

Actually, I'm just on the verge of this. After spending six days at the hospital taking care of my daddy and sister (they're both ok), I'm at loose ends. When I finish this post, I'm going to sit down with my Hip Household Organizer (see previous post) and try to make a good list. Have I told you I'm a list maker? I'm sure I have a thousand lists all through the house. I even have a little post-it note on my computer desktop. An image, not the paper thing.

I slept till 10 this morning, so am feeling rested and as soon as I can get my thoughts organized, I'll be fine.

Strange thing, I was just about to say I was hoping for snow and I looked outside, and what do I see, but snow falling! I could use being stranded at home for a couple of days. I'm supposed to go to a crop at Archiver's with Diana tonight, but if the snow accumulates, I won't go. I haven't even checked the weather reports this morning. My friend Mary and her family are headed to San Antonio for spring break. I hope they won't have any trouble traveling. Her husband is fearless, so I'm sure it won't deter them. He went with their son to Philmont last summer. It's the big Boy Scout camp. It's the real deal when it comes to roughing it. They hike for miles and miles in the mountains with only a backpack. No rest stops with toilets and showers and real food (well maybe one along the way). Well, I'm really wandering with this post. I'll have to get her to remind me of some of the very interesting details and do a whole post on it later.

Back to snow - school's out for spring break today, so no worries about going anywhere or kiddo driving in this.

Ok, I'm finishing up here and sitting down to get organized. Happy Snow Day!!!

Baseball and Thankfulness

2008-02-29T22:03:00.003-06:00

I'm just back from about six hours at the baseball field, and loved every minute. We had a double header scrimmage against another high school. It was lots of fun catching up with all the families. It was one of those strange weather nights - cold at 5:00, then kind of warmer, then colder and very foggy. Strange foggy.

Some of the parents arranged a cookout so there was lots of good food. Gosh, that first hotdog of the baseball season tastes good!

Lots of batters were hit by pitches - that's not unusual early in the season. Or mid-season. Or the end. It's always scary. One kid got beaned (baseball-speak for hit in the head/helmet), but luckily all those guys were all right. One kid who wasn't all right was a fielder for the other team who was hit in the mouth by a ball deflected off his glove while he was trying to field it. Two of his teeth were knocked out. The guys walked out to second base, where it happened, and kicked around in the dirt for about five minutes, and naturally did not recover the teeth. We didn't know what was going on, exactly, on the sidelines. We decided all the moms should have gone out and gotten down on our hands and knees and felt around for the teeth (how else could you find them in the dirt?) until we found them. Besides, can anyone with a Y chromosome ever find his socks, much less two little teeth in the dirt?

I don't mean to make light of this at all. We are praying for a speedy recovery. One of the dads said he was in the emergency room and they were waiting for an oral surgeon. Which brings me to the title of this post. I try to remember to be thankful at the end of every baseball game. Thankful for our strong, healthy, good boys. Thankful for a safe environment (including our beautiful ball field) and skilled coaches and supportive families. Thankful for the great education our boys are receiving. Thankful for all the great friends I've made over the past four baseball seasons.

Cool Project + Great New Blog

2008-02-28T09:28:00.006-06:00

http://aherncentral.blogspot.com/2008/01/altered-itemme.html I ran across this great project while checking one of my favorite blogs today - Emilie Ahern. I've added a link to her blog at the left and here's the link to her project shown here. http://aherncentral.blogspot.com/2008/01/altered-itemme.html She's a great photographer and is very creative - you'll find lots of fun ideas there. This whole blog thing has become very addictive for me. I hope you'll like some of my great finds.

The Love of Books (bibliophilia)

2008-02-26T21:34:00.004-06:00

"Instead of going to Paris to attend lectures, go to the public library, and you won’t come out for twenty years, if you really wish to learn." Leo Tolstoy

"The closest thing we will ever come to an orderly universe is a good library.
Ashleigh Brilliant

"It is with the reading of books the same as with looking at pictures; one must, without doubt, without hesitations, with assurance, admire what is beautiful."
Vincent van Gogh

"If there’s a book you really want to read but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it." Toni Morrison

"Only in books has mankind known perfect truth, love and beauty."
George Bernard Shaw

I love books and libraries. Even more than scrapbooking but not as much as food. I spent some time at the main branch of the Memphis Public Library today, and now I have lots to read.

Check my latests lists (to the left) - Favorite Books and "Books to Read". Let me know your favorites.

One More Time

2008-02-26T19:28:00.005-06:00

Ok, this time, three minutes later. Maybe we'll call this Carol's Rule of Three. Try three times before giving up. If you give up, try again three minutes later. I like it.

Now, to the point of the post, and to tell about the successfully uploaded pictures. I used two packets out of my Homemade Gourmet box today. First was coleslaw mix. It calls for 1/2 cup mayonnaise and 2 tablespoons of vinegar in additon to the mix and 2 pounds of shredded cabbage. I find it interesting that they call for pounds versus heads or cups - a reflection on the trend of buying that kind of thing in a bag (measured by weight).

Here goes. It was very easy to mix up (especially with pre-shredded cabbage), and when I tasted it just after mixing, it was way too sugary. The directions said to let it sit for an hour or two. I did this, tasted again, and it was still very sweet. Nothing some extra vinegar won't cure. Even with the mayo, it could use a little creaminess, I think. Cole slaw is a very personal thing, and I usually have mine on top of a Corky's barbeque sandwich, so who knows. It may be a Texas thing since the company is based in Texas, as evidenced by the names of their products - "Texas Cornbread" and "Texas Cobbler." Even though I made both of these today, the cole slaw doesn't go with the chicken. Not for me. On to the chicken, here goes...

The chicken is phenomenal - hungry, but picky, teenage boy gave his thumbs up (better than a Michelin star). It's definitely more complicated than the cole slaw. I used the garlic lemon seasoning mix. Here's what I did, but I'm not sure I could duplicate it. I tend to complicate things. I'll just tell you what I did - then you're on your own. Before I start, do you ever just pull out the stuff you have and try to find a recipe that will use what you have (I'm not a good planner-aheader-grocery-shopper)? Food Network is a good site to visit - you can enter key-words, but it seems there's always one ingredient I don't have, so I just venture out on my own. In my mind, that's where the great cooks begin. Here's my path to greatness...

I sliced up one huge chicken breast. In a non-stick skillet, I melted butter till sizzling, then added raw chicken slices (note to self - bleach the countertops). I sliced 4 big green onions (my neighbors brought them the other day) and tossed them in. I threw 2 tablespoons of the Homemade Gourmet garlic lemon seasoning in. I cooked all this on medium-high until the chicken started to brown. At some point, I decided to add a couple of teaspoons of minced garlic in the jar - it browns quickly. I took the chicken out. To the pan I added 1/2 cup white wine (Sauvignon Blanc), juice of one lemon, more butter and a couple of spoonfuls of capers. A little more butter, then I turned off the burner.

I served the chicken with a little sauce over the top of the chicken and seasoned rice(same garlic lemon seasoning. It really is good. I'm going to eat now...

How Many Times...

2008-02-26T19:21:00.005-06:00

...how many times do you try to do something before you give up? Specifically, on the computer? For me, it's probably three. I've just tried three times to upload a picture to this blog (clearly something I've done before), with no success. I'll try later. Too bad, because I was in a blogging mood. I've been cooking, so the food-photographer wanna-be was raging. One success, one not-so-much.

More later, when Blogger (I KNOW it's them, not me) is working properly. Life lesson: It's usually not about me.

New Favorite Blog

2008-02-25T19:20:00.004-06:00

For those of you new to the world of blogging (see previous post - "What's a Blog?"), I want to talk about my newest favorite blog (I still love you, Pioneer Woman!) I've added the link at left - it's called "Just Us." This is probably the first blog, besides Lundy's, I started reading regularly. I was reading Creating Keepsakes, my favorite scrapbook magazine, and found the reference to this blog. Elizabeth (author of "Just Us" blog) is the Scrapbooker of the Year (SOY), a huge honor in SB World. I should back up and tell you that many of the blogs endorsed/accompanying a magazine are very dull and just serve a promotional function for the magazine. They're seldom updated. More and more, I'm reading that frequent updates are the key to a thriving blog.

I digress. I clicked on "Just Us" and was pleasantly surprised. Elizabeth posts nearly every day and she always includes beautiful photos, often of her scrapbook work, but sometimes just great people pictures or other fun stuff. She's so original and beautiful and downright sweet, not unlike Pioneer Woman.

Elizabeth also includes music on her blog. That can be irritating if you don't share similar musical interests. It interferes with any streaming music if you do that. It turns out that I like Elizabeth's musical choices better than my own! If you don't know about Pandora.com, try it sometime. It's like a radio station that you tailor to what you like. It's too hard to explain in this post, but really a simple, brilliant concept. I'll add the link to Favorite Links at left, in case you want to try it. Warning: It uses band-width. My friend Keith explained that to me when I joyfully showed him my work-place fun with Pandora. The place in which we were working used a borrowed wireless connection and I was unwittingly turning the friendly neighbor's "high-speed internet" into "a stroll in the park internet" connection. All that to say, when it's just me here at home, I pull out all the stops and stream whatever music I like, usually the "Just Us" playlist.

Ok, all that to say, take a look at "Just Us" - it's worth your time!

Nothing to Eat!

2008-02-25T18:30:00.004-06:00

After spending no less than $500 on food last week (well, $300 of that was at Sam's and included plenty of non-food items, I'm sure), I had nothing for dinner last night. The picture is of the great kit of seasonings and mixes I bought from Homemade Gourmet. It has lots of ideas, but I have to actually look in the box and pick up all the handy recipe hints included, and maybe remember what I decided on when I stop by the grocery store. I bought chicken on my way home today, gambling that I'll be able to pull something out out the box to combine it with. I'll let you know.

Just to be safe, I have some hamburger patties - that never fails to please the kiddo. Speaking of Sam's, don't you just love their stuff? My current Sam's favorites are lump crabmeat, Tuscan Bruschetta, mini-cucumbers that aren't bitter in the winter, fresh salsa and great strawberries for a bargain. I always buy a big thing of bananas, too - they're something like 98 cents - the only thing there for less than $9.88! Everyone says CostCo's better, but I hate to drive out to WolfChase (unless it's for the two amazing scrapbook stores), and there's a Sam's practically five minutes away from me on Covington Pike. Have to go during the week - it's a zoo on weekends. And don't ever go when they have a tasting event - I promise you, half of Memphis' families feed their kids there. The normally sweet old ladies hawking their samples get very grouchy that weekend when the kids are swarming around like catfish. It's kind of funny and sad at the same time.

Gotta call. Aforementioned kiddo's on the way home from baseball practice so I've got to start the aforementioned hamburgers! More later...

Cats are Predators

2008-02-22T16:49:00.004-06:00

My most important task today was to buy cat food. They picture the huge (16 lb.) bag of food as an injured antelope in the Sahara. They'd kill and eat my family if they were big enough. I can see why people prefer dogs. Only thing is, they are easy. And our back yard is not fenced. I go round and round on the cats v. dogs thing, and I think dogs go better with Republicans, but that's neither here nor there. The cats are easy. They can manage the weekend alone. Big advantage.

I need to tuck the big bag of food into the airtight container so they don't rip the bag open like a poor zebra's belly - I'll have a mess to clean up. If anyone knows of a cat-lady who needs two more....

Heavenly Hyacinths!

2008-02-22T14:00:00.002-06:00

I went to Kroger to buy cat food, only cat food. As I passed the produce section toward floral, I pushed my cart into a cloud of heavenly fragrance. At first I thought it must be lilies and then I saw the $4.99 potted hyacinths. They were half price. I bought this beautiful specimen. It has four amazing blooms. They were in several colors from purple and pink to this lovely very light pink - almost white. It was the Kroger on Sanderlin and there were only a dozen or so left. Beware: If you decide to go, remember that the tennis tournament is going on and traffic is a little hectic. What a sports weekend we're having in Memphis!

Let me know if you get in on the flowers, and if you ever have any luck with them coming back the following year if you plant the bulbs. I have a pink hydrangea in my yard that has struggled but survived for a number of years from a poor, usually short-lived grocery store plant!

To-Do Lists + Reality TV

2008-02-22T10:55:00.005-06:00

Here's my list for today - only the most important things. I started the walking in circles thing and couldn't find my Hip Household Organizer I made at Archiver's a couple of months ago. I really love it - it's nice and big and has lots of pockets and room for all kinds of stuff. It would help if I could find it. Finally found it in guest room after reaching near panic stage because it has my Brazilian Visa application and I have to turn that in this weekend. I have to get two more passport pictures taken today to go with the application. And the cats are down to the last few morsels of food. If I don't get food for them today, I suppose they'll have to live for a few days on all the food they scatter around on the floor. A million things to do, and here I sit blogging. Avoidance?

I just heard on the radio that the Tigers/Vols game tickets are going for around $3,000 on an auction they're doing for charity. I'll try to post you on the final selling price.

Speaking of the game, I will not be making a prediction. My prediction about Yau-Man winning Survivor (see previous post) was completely wrong - he was the third person voted off last night. Of course, he was a big target because he is full of integrity and is beloved by everyone. I hate it when the nice people get voted off and the mean people win. At least Johnny Fairplay (he is diabolical and a VERY BAD actor) was the first to leave. So now I don't care. I have to say the challenges were great last night. I'm really surprised no one suffered a broken neck in the island version of football. It was brutal. The coconut toss was very clever, too. Very much like basketball with a twist. I wish they'd do a 30 minute show without all the drama and scheming and drawn out tribal councils and just show the challenges.

Now that the writer's strike has ended, we'll get some real television. Can you believe the proliferation of reality shows? I'm not the only one in my circle of friends who's addicted to them - just look at Juli's blog (JustFindYourJoy - see link at left) - her list of favorite tv shows is not unlike mine.

All for now - GOTTA get busy!

Go Tigers Go!

2008-02-21T18:14:00.005-06:00

I'm not much of a sports fan (except for son's high school baseball and the World Series), but who can live in Memhis and not be excited about Saturday's game? I halfway watched the game against UAB last weekend where we pulled out a win at the last (literally) second. It made me nervous, but I read one of my million magazines and watched the game with one eye. Memphis and Tennessee were ranked number 1 and 2, respectively, going into last night's game. They both won, so we have the perfect storm. It's bigger than the SuperBowl. Seriously. For those of us in Memphis, anyway.

I used to love college basketball back in the day, when I was a "Memphis State" student. I was there when we went to the Final Four - in the Keith Lee days. On the rare occasions when I watch, it really gets my heart pounding. I like basketball because it's pretty easy to understand. I've tried and tried and have given up on football. I probably know as much as I do about baseball (not that much in the scheme of things) from years of keeping the scorebook for kiddo's team. I really do love that. People who know me give me a strange look when I start up about how much fun it is to keep score in baseball. It really keeps you in the game.

Well, I'm getting off track. Back to basketball. If you've heard rumors of tickets going for $10,000, here's the truth. I just checked eBay, and 2 tickets went for $500, 4 for $710 - those were the only two completed auctions. Someone's offering two for $7,500 and that auction's set to expire tonight. It looks like the market's not there. Of course, one thing I've learned through my experience in the business world - asking and getting aren't the same thing! It's still early, though, and this is just eBay, but I think it's a pretty good indicator of the market value. I'll be watching from the comfort of my den, although if anyone knows of any parties with a huge TV and fun people involved, let me know - I might just crash the party! I have a feeling lots of parties will be popping up this week.

I hope to write a jubilant post on Sunday morning after the big game. If not, I'll probably post another picture of waffles and make no mention of the game. For all the U of M fans out there, let's show our support, wear blue and enjoy the ride!

Food = Love

2008-02-20T18:56:00.005-06:00

I've been thinking lots about communication lately. This blog is a new form of communication for me, and now that my loyal friends are reading it and saying such nice things to me about it, it's no longer a one-way message.

For a couple of years now, I've been missing all the conversations I used to have with my son. The teenage years have taken a toll on the mother-son talks. I remember all the hours of bedtime stories, the million questions (when is that - around seven or eight years old?), and all the sweet words we exchanged. I really miss all that, so very much. My friends with older children assure me that they come around again. I'm waiting for that.

In the meantime, the best way to tell him I love him is through food. He never raves about anything I fix, but when he mutters "This is good" or asks me when I'm going to fix a particular thing again, I know I've succeeded. I'm not kidding myself - he doesn't really appreciate it now. He even prefers other moms' meals. I no longer make the best chocolate chip cookies - that honor goes to Renee K. But I know there are a hundred ways to make Maryland crab cakes and no one's will be quite like mine. And now that he's driving to school, I've been trying to have his dinner ready when he walks in from baseball practice around 7:00. I'm no June Cleaver, in fact, I'm about as far from that as you can get. No, seriously. But I do love my son. And I'm learning his language. Food.

The first picture is of the crab cake sandwich I made for him. The second picture is of the other, not-so-pretty crab cakes. They're far from perfect (the best ones went on the sandwich), and falling apart in places, unevenly browned and they caused me pain when they spattered on me while they cooked. Now, if that's not a metaphor for love, I don't know what is. Not sure what unevenly browned represents, but you get the idea.

One other thing, and then I'm going to eat. My new dream job is to be a food photographer. If anyone hears of an opening in this area, let me know. I have no credentials except I love food and I love to take pictures of food. It sits still and doesn't complain and poses for as long as I need. This makes me think of my friend Martha Hopkins' cookbook. It deserves its own post, so I'll write more about it later.

I'm off to eat the not-so-pretty crabcakes.

Flowers and Weeds

2008-02-17T12:53:00.003-06:00

The same day I noticed the daffodils blooming, I also saw the dandelions. Did you know "dandelion" comes from the French for "lion's tooth" since that is the shape of their leaves? Did you also know that a weed is any plant you don't want? I'm sure there are some life lessons here - the good with the bad, the yin and the yang, weeding out the stuff we don't want in our lives - you get the idea. I always think about spiritual lessons in the garden.

Speaking of gardening, I can't wait to get outside and dig in the dirt this time of year. It's too early to plant annuals, since we always get a frost. I think the day the experts say is April 15th. When I used to do accounting work, it wasn't difficult to resist since I was working dawn to dusk. For now, I could cut back the monkey grass, mulch the flower beds (right on top of the leaves I never raked, and maybe plant a few pansies or just pull up the summer stuff I never got around to.

For today, I'm headed off to my "niece" Christine's birthday party at The Incredible Pizza Company. She's my BFF Angela's daughter and we tease about time-sharing our boy and their girl. Better run - party starts soon!

Card Making

2008-02-16T12:20:00.005-06:00

Here are the fruits of my labor spent at Archiver's yesterday. The tall cards (about the size of a legal envelope) seem to be the hot thing right now. I've received two cards this size in the last few weeks - both from very hip people (Sally P for one). Brown with any bright color also seems to be the rage. I'm going to put these on Etsy to sell (see link at side) to see if I can subsidize my Archiver's spending. I'm not even considering my labor since papercrafting (cardmaking and scrapbooking, primarily) are therapeutic for me.

Girl Scout Laws

2008-02-15T09:49:00.005-06:00

I just grabbed my Junior and Cadette scout manuals and got a kick out of the fact that I completed the Housekeeping badge. Anyone who's been to my house knows that one didn't stick! I read the Girl Scout Laws, and I think they're timeless. Here they are, from the 1969 edition: A Girl Scout's honor is to be trusted. A Girl Scout is loyal. A Girl Scout's duty is to be useful and to help others. A Girl Scout is a friend to all and a sister to every other Girl Scout. A Girl Scout is courteous, is a friend to animals, obeys orders, is cheerful, thrifty and clean in thought, word and deed. Wow, these are some great thoughts. I'll try to be a good Girl Scout today.

Archivers

2008-02-15T09:16:00.007-06:00

Since I have nothing I must do today, I'm going to head to Archivers as soon as I can get all my stuff together. I'm going early to work in their great workspace. The Mania (their word for group scrapbooking session) goes from 5:00 to 11:00, so will do that, too, but might not stay till the end. I come home so keyed up and it takes me a couple of hours to wind down. They really are fun, though, and my friend Diana who works there, is the hostess. I tease her mercilessly because on one of her evaluations forms, one of the attendees told her to "get a personality." If you know Diana, you know she has a great personality and a highly developed sense of humor. Well, you can't please everyone.

Archiver's is a place to consider for birthday parties or Girl Scouts meetings. Check my link to the side and click it for the Memphis store's calendar of events. Did you know there's a Scrapbooking Badge now? More about Scouting in another post.

More on Valentine's Day

2008-02-13T13:18:00.003-06:00

The goodies are from Sally P's Homemade Gourmet party this morning. Don't you love the lips cookies? Sally is so festive - she had so many cute Valentine's decorations. She is full of joy!

The Homemade Gourmet distributor is a sweet girl named Dalene - she's a good friend of Sally's. I bought the "4 Meals in 4 Minutes Collection." We'll see if I can use it all. It's enough for 56 meals, but I'll have to divide that number by 3 since these are probably for normal serving sizes. Hungry Teenage Boy usually eats at least three servings - his body is a furnace for food! I'll let you know how they are - look for future reviews. I had three cups of very good coffee (a new product for them) and the mocha muffins (pictured) and very good Baked Brie Bites. They are wontons wrapped around little bits of Brie and Mock Spinach Dip. They were good and different from the standard party fare. If you're interested, I can put you in touch with Dalene.

I've taken another picture of the Valentine card I made. The lighting is everything, well, having the right background helps. The color is much truer in this picture than in the previous post.

I'd better get busy now, before the three cups of coffee wear off! All for now.

Valentine Cards

2008-02-12T20:54:00.003-06:00

Here's one of the grand total of five Valentines I made - just made them today. For as much Valentine's stuff as I bought, my cost per card is very high. I'll mail them tomorrow and the ones in town might make it to their destination on time. Oh, well. I only got about half my Christmas cards out. I should start on St. Patrick's day cards now!

I might try to take another picture of this one in the morning when the light is better. I used the "museum" setting on my camera with the Valentine taped to my kitchen's yellow wall, and it turned out way too yellow.

I downloaded a free 30 day trial of Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 and am going to give it a try. It's what all the scrapbooking gurus use, so it must be good. I could probably correct my color on that. I'm sure I can. I want to do a slide show with music for all our old family photos. I'll also have to buy a color scanner, but they're not too expensive. Mack's cousin Heather did it for Christmas for all their family and it was really wonderful. She used a program called PhotoStory, but Elements can do it, too, plus all the photoediting and digital scrapbooking stuff.

My favorite things to use right now, as far as scrapbooking and cardmaking, are my acrylic (clear) stamps and ink on all the edges and rhinestones. Brown and pink and aqua are the colors I love - not just now but always. They happen to be the hot colors in the scrapbook world at the moment. I think brown is big for weddings, too. My friend Ruth's future daughter-in-law, Lenox, is having brown bridesmaids dresses. I think she said she is pairing them with crimson or some shade of red. It sounds very pretty.

I had the best dinner tonight. I called a takeout order into the new PeiWei on Mendenhall and Evans picked it up on the way home. I had the Kung Pao Shrimp. So good. I guess this teenager driving thing has its benefits. His car locks have frozen twice, so I need to go to WalMart or AutoZone and buy one of those lock unfreezer things. I think they really exist and I'm not imagining them.

I can't believe it is 9:00 already and I haven't done a third of the things I hoped to. Well, there's tomorrow. My friend Sally P is having a Homemade Gourmet party in the morning, so I will go there and have coffee and pick up a few things to make. A girl I used to work with sold it and I liked everything I tried. I'm probably due to go to the grocery store again. I cannot keep the kid in milk. Do milkmen still exist? I wish I could have it piped in from the street. Well, that's enough rambling for now. Suddenly I'm very tired.

MomsLeap Logo

2008-02-09T08:08:00.000-06:00

Here's our working verson of our logo - a real collaboration between Lundy and me. We hope it represents our idea of moms (or just people for that matter) leaping over everyday obstacles, every day. We haven't even talked about whether or not to give her a name, so if you have any ideas, be sure to let me know. For now, she will be MemphisMom - the name of our soon-to-come website. My first draft had the lady leaping in the other direction and Lundy explained to me that it is more pleasing visually to Americans to leap in the other direction. She knows so much.

I'm doing my Saturday morning waffle making. Like everything, practice makes perfect, so here are my tips: Use half buttermilk and half regular milk in the mix (I just use Bisquick Heart Smart - no trans fat). Make the batter runny enough so it will spread over the whole griddle. I add frozen berries and that seems to make the batter thicker, so I usually have to add a little extra milk. Don't let them burn - it doesn't take long. Since I'm using a 20+ year old wedding-gift waffle maker, it might take more watching. Spray Pam on before each waffle, and butter them after (so much for Heart Smart). Let them cool on a rack if you don't want them to get soggy in the several hours that elapse before sleepy, hungry teenage boy appears. He likes them just fine soggy, though.

See the pale, sick looking waffle in the middle of the stack? That's the first one. I heard someone in a movie say, upon his girlfriend breaking up with him because he was her first boyfriend and she wanted more dating experience, "So I'm the first pancake!" I liked that line!

Just researched waffle irons (on Amazon - my favorite source for buying ANYTHING!) and found that all the new ones have some kind of ready indicator, so there you go - not to worry about burning the waffles.

Interestingly, you can get a new-fangled waffle iron for anywhere from $20 to $109. The deluxe ($109 model) is actually a Petite Flower Gravity WM (don't they all use gravity?) which makes 3" waffles in the shape of a daisy, rose or sunflower. Can't imagine making twice or three times as many tiny little waffles, but this would probably be fun if you have little kids. This one has not just an indicator light to tell you when the iron is hot, but a little chime plays when the waffles are done. Surprisingly, you can get several models of Cuisinart starting at $30.

Isn't technology great! Hey, don't I say that a lot? I need to add a side bar with TLAs (three letter acronyms) to the side of this blog so I can just say things like "ITG?"

If you haven't moved your computer to the kitchen, I highly recommend it. Since I got my laptop, I stay perched here in between switching out waffles, and generally not letting stuff burn in the oven or on the stove because I can't hear the timer/smell the smoke. I'm becoming more of a multi-tasker - but then, most of you are already light years ahead of me.

I hope your weekend's off to a good start!

Heart Shaped Pizza!

2008-02-08T15:36:00.000-06:00

Isn't this cute? My good friend Sally P, told me about the Papa John's heart shaped pizzas. They are selling them from Feb. 11 through the 17th. You can order on-line in advance, just in case there's a huge demand on the 14th. I don't know about you, but I'd much rather stay home and munch on a heart shaped pizza than fight the restaurant crowds or eat candy. If I'm going to splurge on carbs, I'd much rather have pizza than candy. Let me know if you have any other fun Valentine's Day ideas.

Survivor is Back!

2008-02-07T20:37:00.000-06:00

Not a minute too soon and Survivor is back. You must watch it just for Yau-Man, pictured here. He's quite an amazing person. He's the Chief Technology Officer for the College of Chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley, and just the sweetest, kindest, truest Survivor contestant ever. I'll go out on a limb and predict he will win this one. I think my favorite Survivor moment ever was in a previous season when the Survivors were trying to open a big wooden crate that was dropped from a plane onto their beach. All the big, brawny guys were slamming the crate with a huge sledgehammer, to no avail. Little Yau-Man walked up, lifted the crate, and dropped it on its corner onto a rock. The crate cracked open. He modestly explained that the corner is the weakest point of a box. Applied science.

On tonight's episode, he used a drop of water on his glasses to magnify the sun's rays to start a fire in the coconut husks. More applied science. I'd want to be on Yau-Man's team.

My worst Survivor moment was when Dreamz traded a promise of the immunity idol (if he won it) to Yau-Man for a truck Yau-Man had just won on the show. Dreamz won immunity and then went back on his word and kept the immunity idol, causing Yau-Man to be voted off, only because the remaining players knew they would never win a vote by the other survivors between themselves and Yau-Man.

One more thing. Aren't you glad Johnny Fairplay was voted off tonight? I just couldn't take much of his smarmy posturing. I guess his teammates couldn't either.

Maybe I should start a separate TV blog. As a matter of fact, I need to cut this short so I can go watch Celebrity Apprentice on DVR.

All the News...

2008-02-07T15:13:00.000-06:00

Just watched the first five minutes of Inside Edition, and here's all you need to know:

Britney's Out (of the hospital)
Mitt Romney's Out (of the race)
Kirsten Dunst's In (rehab)

Poor Brit-Brit. She may be out of the hospital but she's not out of the woods. I'm glad her parents are taking charge and hope she'll be ok. I'm kind of sick over all the paparazzi swarming around her (including helicopters) - they compared it to the O.J. Simpson car chase. Leave Britney Alone!!!

Of course, I suppose I'm guilty, too, for blogging about her and watching all the celebrity gossip trash on tv.

William Tell Overture for Moms

2008-02-07T14:23:00.000-06:00

I promise you will laugh so hard at this. In 3 minutes and 15 seconds, you will hear everything you've ever said to your kids, from toddler to teenager! It's been around a while, but it's worth playing again. The performer is Anita Renfroe and she's a Christian comedienne. She's hilarious. I watched another video from her website, www.anitarenfroe.com and gathered this gem: If weight-bearing exercise prevents osteoporosis, we big girls ought to be protected just by walking around! Isn't that the silver lining? Love it.

House M.D.

2008-02-06T16:10:00.001-06:00

For anyone else out there who's a fan of House and missed it last night from all the weather reporting, it'll be on after the 9:00 Fox 13 news tonight. It's a new episode - a rare thing with the dreadful writer's strike. I love Hugh Laurie's character - he is so funny in a very clever, sarcastic way. Did you know he's a Brit? Every once in a while he slips and you can hear his accent in a word or two. I read that Hollywood is using more Brits and Aussies because they will work for less. Isn't that a reflection of the global markets? Anyone had trouble understanding a foreign accent when calling tech support? They should give you three options at the beginning of the phone tree - push one for English, dos por Espanol, and thrayee for Suuuthern! Because the automated attendant (robot?) DOES NOT understand Southern! Lundy said she was having to scream NO over and over to on the phone in the library at the Village of Germantown today when she was trying to get her airline reservations straightened out. She said HELL NO! didn't help.

Am I the only one going through tv withdrawal and reality tv overload? It is like junk food for the mind and I'm powerless over it. I won't begin to confess the stupid shows I've watched. If you just watch The Soup on E! Entertainment, you'll see everything you need to see from the whole week in just 22 minutes (if you DVR or Tivo it). It is the only show that makes me laugh out loud. Joel McHale is hilarious and he does a great job of pointing out just how ludicrous this stuff is.

Stampin' Up + Entrepreneurial Friends

2008-02-06T15:27:00.003-06:00

I went to a SuperBowl Scrapbooking Party at Archiver's Sunday and ran into Juli Bowen, my former Archiver's co-worker and fellow scrapbook fanatic. She said she reads my blog, so I thought I'd feature her here! She is SO creative. Maybe she'll let me feature some of her layouts or cards here soon. Well, if you're interested in hosting a Stampin' Up party or ordering some of their products, check her link at: http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/stampwithjuli/ They have great cardmaking supplies in addition to scrapbooking stuff. She does a pre-teen cardmaking class - wouldn't that be a great Tween Birthday Party! If she can work Hannah Montana in, it would be a huge success - maybe you could charge admission!!

I seem to find myself surrounded by entrepreneurial people lately. I'm thinking of Juli as well as my friend Julia E. (beading), Angela L. (diaper cakes), Kim M. (Sweet Celebrations - beautiful cakes), and of course, the fabulous Lundy - web guru and my partner in the soon to come women's resource website (to be called MemphisMom.com).

For my crafty friends who are interested in selling some of their creations, take a look at Etsy.com (see link to the left). It's an alternative to eBay. You pay a small fee per listing and another fee when it sells. No baby-sitting auctions. It's geared to handmade items. It's a great place to find the going rate for your wares.

Let me know if you have any other tips or resources you'd like to share.

Drat the Cat! - part II

2008-02-04T10:00:00.000-06:00

Subtitle - Sleepus Interruptus

I had a rude awakening early this morning (before 6:00!) by the sound of the bedroom closet doors bumping together, plus loud meows. I was in the middle of major REM sleep. Turns out Lisa, the offending cat, got into Mack's closet when he while he was getting his clothes out. She's very nimble to be so obese (the vet's word). Of course, she changed her mind about being in the closet and began her very loud closet-break attempt. I beckoned Mack from the kitchen and asked him to sit on the bed and just listen. I think he wondered about my sanity in the minute or so it took her to resume the meowing and bumping. He apologized and let her out and I was able to go back to sleep. Regardless, I have a headache and a very late start to my day.

On a side note, regarding feline obesity, here's what happened on our last visit to the vet. He told me that she needed her food restricted or she would be at risk for diabetes and in this event, I'd be forced to give her injections. Right. Has anyone out there had to give a cat injections? I've been extremely unsuccessful in the past in giving her pills and brushing her teeth. I tried the tooth brushing after being told by said vet that she would develop heart disease from the plaque on her teeth. Didn't work. Do good pet owners brush their pets' teeth? Since I'm going public with my pet owner (Mistress?) failings, I run the risk that the ASPCA will come and take our cats away for not brushing their teeth and putting them on a diet. Seriously, it's not the worst thing that could happen. Feel free to report me. I should add their link here to make it a little easier for you.

As for the shots, I'm afraid if the insulin injection issue comes up, there will only be one shot involved and that will be the goodnight shot the vet administers. I'll hold her and sing a lullaby and we will miss her, but she's had a nice, long, comfy life. I have a feeling that if it were a dog, I'd feel differently, but then dogs are so compliant.

Better get busy now - I've got to hurry and get busy to make up for my late start this morning...

Drat the Cat!

2008-02-02T10:45:00.000-06:00

For some time, I've been in a dilemma about our cats and the allergy I seem to have developed. The other day I took some Claritin I had sitting around, and voila, I'm breathing much better, and no more itchy eyes or sneezing. The picture is of Lisa Marie, our older cat. She's very sweet but has a bad habit of bumping our heads at night. If we close the door in the hall to our bedrooms, she cries and that wakes me up. The head-bumping is intermittant, but not the crying. We go back and forth on how to handle this.

She's taken to slipping outside again. She used to do this frequently when she was younger. She's very clever and waits until you're bringing groceries in. The few times she's done it lately, it's been cold and/or rainy, so she didn't stay long. Evans is the only one who can catch her. Oddly enough, our other cat, Mia Hamm, doesn't ever try to go outside, in fact, has hated it on the few occasions we've taken her out. We figure that's because she started life as an outdoor kitty and wound up at the Humane Society shelter due to an injury, so she knows what a cold, cruel world it is out there.

On a sad note, Lundy's daddy died last night. He had suffered with severe Alzheimer's for some time, so they lost him long ago, and are at peace with it. Still, pray for Lundy and her family, if you will.

Really Great Household Tips

2008-02-02T10:29:00.000-06:00

Good friend Suzanne sent me the following list. I think it has some really great ideas. I know it's long - I've put my favorites and my commentary in bold.

Peel a banana from the bottom and you won't have to pick the little "stringy things" off of it. That's how the primates do it. Take your bananas apart when you get home from the store. If you leave them connected at the stem, they ripen faster.

Store your opened chunks of cheese in aluminum foil. It will stay fresh much longer and not mold!

Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating. Peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking.

Add a teaspoon of water when frying ground beef. It will help pull the
grease away from the meat while cooking.

To really make scrambled eggs or omelets rich add a couple of spoonfuls of sour cream, cream cheese, or heavy cream in and then beat them up. I've used a little Miracle Whip - it makes the scrambled eggs less crumbly and adds a little tang - Tabasco's good, too.

For a cool brownie treat, make brownies as directed. Melt Andes mints in
double broiler and pour over warm brownies. Let set for a wonderful
minty frosting. Yum!

Add garlic immediately to a recipe if you want a light taste of garlic and at the end of the recipe if your want a stronger taste of garlic. I know this is true.

Leftover snickers bars from Halloween make a delicious dessert. Simple chop them up with the food chopper. Peel, core and slice a few apples. Place them in a baking dish and sprinkle the chopped candy bars over the apples. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes!!! Serve alone or with vanilla ice cream. Yum, again!

1. Reheat Pizza - Heat up leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove, set heat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy micro pizza. I saw this on the cooking channel and it really works.

2. Easy Deviled Eggs - Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal, mash till they are all broken up. Add remainder of ingredients, reseal, keep mashing it up mixing thoroughly, cut the tip of the baggy, squeeze mixture into egg. Just throw bag away when done easy clean up.

3. Expanding Frosting - When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get to frost more cake/cupcakes with the same amount. You also eat less sugar
and calories per serving.

4. Reheating refrigerated bread - To warm biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place them in a microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will keep the food moist and help it reheat faster.

5. Newspaper weeds away - Start putting in your plants, work the nutrients in your soil. Wet newspapers put layers around the plants overlapping as you go cover with mulch and forget about weeds. Weeds will get through some gardening
plastic they will not get through wet newspapers.

6. Broken Glass - Use a wet cotton ball or Q-tip to pick up the small shards of glass you can't see easily.

7. No More Mosquitoes - Place a dryer sheet in your pocket. It will keep the mosquitoes away. This one has never worked for me.

8. Squirrel Away! - To keep squirrels from eating your plants sprinkle your plants with cayenne pepper. The cayenne pepper doesn't hurt the plant and the squirrels won't come near it. If you shot the squirrels and cooked them with dumplings (people in the south really do this), would it add a cajun flavor?

9. Flexible vacuum - To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge add an empty paper towel roll or empty gift wrap roll to your vacuum. It can be bent or flattened to get in narrow openings.

10. Reducing Static Cling - Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip and you will not have a clingy skirt or dress. Same thing works with slacks that cling when wearing panty hose. Place pin in seam of slacks and -- ta da! -- static
is gone.

11. Measuring Cups - Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill with hot water. Dump out the hot water, but don't dry cup. Next, add your ingredient, such as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right out.

12. Foggy Windshield? - Hate foggy windshields? Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the glove box of your car. When the windows fog, rub with the eraser! Works better than a cloth!

13. Reopening envelope - If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to include something inside , just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for an hour or two. Viola! It unseals easily.

14. Conditioner - Use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It's a lot cheaper than shaving cream and leaves your legs really smooth. It's also a great way to use up the conditioner you bought but didn't like when you tried it in your hair...

15. Goodbye Fruit Flies - To get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small glass fill it 1/2" with Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 drops of dish washing liquid, mix well. You will find those flies drawn to the cup and gone forever!

16. Get Rid of Ants - Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it "home," can't digest it so it kills them. It may take a week or so, especially if it rains, but it works & you don't have the worry about pets or small children being harmed!

Pepperoni Chips + Camera Tips

2008-01-29T14:01:00.001-06:00

Pepperoni Chips were my own personal happy accident. One day, while heating pepperoni in the microwave, I let it go too long and voila, I wound up with wonderfully delicious crispy (as in potato chips) little slices of salty-heaven. I thought, how is it I've never had/heard of these before? I did a Google search for Pepperoni Chips, and of course, they are not new (is anything ever really new?) There were all kinds of methods (of course only one ingredient, so not much variation there) including baking in the oven, and my favorite, the microwave.

Here's how I do it. I lay the pepperonis in a circle on a paper towel on a plate (for even cooking) and cover them with another paper towel. Then I put them in the microwave on high until the sizzling stops (about a minute for my microwave). I let them cool a very short time (if I can restrain myself) and they become wonderfully crispy.
Other than how great they are, here's why I love them: They are easy, delicious, NO-carb, great as a snack and wonderful crumbled on a salad. It's like really crispy bacon without the strip of fat, and of course with great spiciness. I tried them at Suzanne's yesterday, and she liked them, too, I'm pleased to say.
For any of you health nuts out there, a few pepperonis aren't a bad thing, calorie-wise, and lots of the fat comes out into the paper towels (see middle photo above), so they're even better for you than the Nutrition Facts box on the label says! As for the no-carb aspect, I'm trying to really avoid all my favorite carb-laden things. The next thing I'm going to try is the Pioneer Woman's Bacon-Wrapped Jalepeno Thingies (bacon, cream cheese and jalepenos - no carbs there). Find the recipe here:
http://www.thepioneerwomancooks.com/2007/07/bacon-wrapped_j.html/
On to photo-tips. I had a time photographing the pepperoni close-up, so had to poke around on my camera and found a macro-closeup choice - it did the trick.

More Food

2008-01-27T20:28:00.000-06:00

In a nod to my new favorite blog, The Pioneer Woman Cooks (see link at left) and my strict new diet, I made one of my most favorite, simple, carb/sugar/fat laden desserts ever. It doesn't have a name - I've always just called it Mike's (my cousin) Wife's (her name's Sharman) Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Thing with Cream Cheese, but I've decided to rechristen it Carol's Cheating Chocolate Chip Cookie Cheesecake. Too many, C's, couldn't resist. Don't you love alliteration?

It really is so easy. I show all the ingredients (except forgot to lay out one of the two eggs). You just mix the two things of cream cheese with the 2 eggs and 3/4 cup of sugar. Put one small (or 1/2 big) roll of chocolate chip cookie dough in the pan. Pour the cream cheese stuff on that, then lay the other half (crumble or just slice) of the cookie dough on top. Bake at 315 degrees (I never heard of anything at 315 degrees, but it works) for 40-45 minutes. Immediately take it to a neighbor (that's what I did). I resisted eating the errant pieces of cookie dough. That was the hardest part, because it's a reflex for me to pop cookie dough in my mouth, and no, I don't want to hear about the danger of salmonella in raw eggs - I figure I'm testing cake batter, cookie dough, etc., for the safety of the others who will be eating it. I know, it's a selfless, dangerous risk I take.

The egg thing reminds me. Does anyone else remember eating hard-boiled Easter eggs a month after Easter - straight out of the unrefrigerated bright pink plastic grass in the white plastic Easter basket with plastic flowers on it? Wait, I might be confusing the Easter basket with my bicycle basket. Anyway, how did any of us survive? Maybe that's why I can lick cake batter with no ill effects - I have surplus salmonella antibodies. And no, don't tell me that salmonella is bacteria, not a virus and therefore I cannot develop antibodies. I don't know if that's true, and I have a feeling anyone reading this won't know, so never mind about that.

Ok, it's time to end this prurient post. But first, I have to tell you the strangest thing (icing on the cake, so to speak). I checked the spelling (and meaning, too) for "prurient" at dictionary.com, and sure enough, it meant what I wanted to say, but right above it was an ad that said "10 Rules for Losing Belly Fat." Seriously. That's all.

Back in the Saddle

2008-01-27T09:26:00.000-06:00

Evans is back to baseball practice/conditioning. Just about every day of the week. If not practice, he's running or lifting.

He's also driving to school every day so far this semester. That's been so freeing for all involved. He has a dentist appointment Tuesday morning, and will stop there on his way to school. It reminded me of his first checkup when he was two years old, and he laid in my lap in the dental chair and slept through the checkup! We've gone to church forever with our dentist, Dr. Tom, so didn't go the pediadontist route, so no kiddie-sized chairs, but we've been completely happy. Dr. Tom is a baseball fan, St. Louis Cardinals to boot, so he and Evans always have lots to talk about.

Evans' baseball season starts in February, and I'm not looking forward to the cold, windy hours of sitting outside, but it is fun to watch the games, and fun to catch up with the other moms. I always think of the days in July when we broil like rotisserie chickens - we span the whole Memphis temperature spectrum. For all my failures at being a good mom, I think the Saturday waffles and endless baseball game I've watched might redeem me in the end.

More Signs of Spring

2008-01-26T08:48:00.000-06:00

I took this photo of daffodil shoots the other day, on a quest in my yard for signs of spring. Of course, it's 31 degrees right now, and we are in the throes of winter - Memphis style. According to my Windows Vista Weather Gadget (love the gadgets), it will be 64 degrees Monday. Still, it's not as bad as in my former life, as an accountant, when I was facing three long months of sitting at a desk and cranking out lots and lots of audit/tax work. I made lots of money during those 50 hour weeks, but about 3 years ago, I woke up and knew I could never do another tax season. So here I am.

I'm writing my Saturday morning waffle-making blog. It was genius of me to put the laptop in my kitchen - now I can really multi-task. Of course, every once in a while, I get caught up in blogging and lose a waffle! The Hungry Teenager has commented more than once on his Saturday morning waffles (this tradition is just a few months old), so I've incorporated it into my day. I feel gratified to put my 22 year old wedding-gift waffle iron to use.

I'm thinking of getting a color scanner and Adobe Photoshop Elements. I might go with version 5 instead of the newer 6. It's much less expensive and apparently version 6 still has some bugs, especially with Vista. My only research consists of reader reviews on Amazon. Lundy gave me some other sites to research. Any thoughts about these products? All the Creating Keepsakes scrapbooking gurus use Elements, so I figure I can't go wrong.

Have I told you how wonderful Amazon is for any purchase? Recently I bought Microsoft Office 2007 at Sam's (we use Excel and Word lots around here), and subsequently found it on Amazon for $15 less - taking shipping charges (none) and sales tax (none with Amazon - 9.25% with Sam's) into account. Luckily, Sam's took it back since seal had not been broken. Will use $15 saved to buy cd's to burn all my million digital photos to cd and clean up hard drive. Gotta run to Office Depot today - received a coupon for 50% off - only good this weekend. Need paper, too.

What's up, Chicken Butt?

2008-01-23T18:03:00.000-06:00

I have a theme for this post. Poultry. First, the title comes from spending time with my cousins in Covington, KY (across the river from Cincy). They would say "What's up?" to which I'd reply "What?" Their answer, of course, was "Chicken Butt!" Maybe it was a regional thing. I don't know, but for some reason, thought of it today.

Maybe that's why my new fave blog - Pioneer Woman Cooks - inspired me to actually cook tonight. My results were wonderful. My prediction, based on this happy experience, is that chicken wings are not for long. Legs will knock them out of their place of honor. I told my son to think of them as chicken wings on steriods. To which he replied, "Isn't that a bad thing?" Kids are so literal. But of course, all chicken that's not organic is loaded with steriods, I'm sure. But I digress.

He's doing homework, so I don't have the Hungry Teenager's Seal of Approval yet, but the 46 year old mother of said teenager has fallen in love! With the chicken legs! Amazing. And easy. I will tell all my friends who are MHTBs (Moms of Hungry Teenage Boys). Better yet, I'll tell them to check my blog, which will send them to my new blog-crush, Pioneer Woman.

I need to figure out how to get her permission - hope she won't mind! Help, Lundy!! Even though my last post might have given the impression that I'm a blog expert, I'm still figuring out how it all works. Clearly I should limit myself to taking pictures of food and maybe doing a little laundry in between. That reminds me, I'm so in love with my Gorillapod.

What's a Blog?

2008-01-23T11:28:00.000-06:00

Prepare to be amazed. This is by far my favorite blog of the moment!
http://www.thepioneerwomancooks.com/

Beautiful, step-by-step photos of decadent food. I promise you'll be hooked.

I've had several friends say they don't really understand blogs (after reading mine, no less!). Here's my definition: A blog (short for web-log) is an on-line diary of sorts. There are a limitless number of blog types, since they are unedited personal expressions. Sometimes the blogs are associated with a website. The number of blogs has increased exponentially due to easy-to-use, free sites like Blogger.com which make it very easy for the average computer user to self-publish on the web. I started blogging a couple of years ago out of a desire to share pictures of Evans on-line with his grandparents who live out of town. My inaugural post on this blog explains my purpose here. I've been exploring quite a bit lately, and have found the best blogs (like Pioneer Woman, above) by looking at the favorite blogs listed on my favorite blogs. Note to self: add a list of my favorite blogs along the side of this one. If you're interested in finding blogs you like, start with the website for a magazine in your area of interest (mine was Creating Keepsakes). They will be quality blogs, i.e. no weird stuff. Another way is to look at Blogs of Interest on Blogger.com, although they will cover a much broader range of subjects.

Great blogs will have lots and lots of comments, a reflection of a large readership. It is safe to leave comments since your email address will not be displayed, although you will have to enter it.

When you have your own blog, it's good to monitor comments (you can be emailed as they are posted). I hear you can wind up with strange things if you don't. I've decided that good photos really help make a blog good - lots of them are devoted to photography, so keep that in mind if you decide to join blog-world. To my friends, I'll be glad to get you started if you'd like my help.

I tend to go on blog searching sprees, bookmark ones I like, then come back to them later. I'm probably following 5 or 6 blogs regularly. The first blog I ever read is Lundy's: http://www.lundini.blogspot.com/

She always has fun, crazy, strange, informative posts, as well as lots of newsy ones about what's going on in her life.

I hope this helps. Happy blogging!

The Staff of Life...

2008-01-22T20:15:00.000-06:00

...unless you're doing low-carb or no-sugar, no-flour, Sugar Busters or some other variant of Dr. Adkins' plan. If that's the case, do a Google image search for bacon. Be careful, though. I'm some freak has come up with perversions involving bacon. Be very careful of image searches. Just the other day, I was looking for an image of Betty and Veronica from the old Archie comic books. I was shocked to see the depths of depravity that were reached - using these two innocent and lovely girls. Nothing is sacred.

On to the subject of this post. Bread. I baked it tonight. Two batches, or the equivalent of six loaves. I'm doing Suzanne's great sourdough version. It's like a pet - you have to feed it and exercise it at least once per week, more often is better. Suzanne and I have exchanged many emails regarding sourdough breadmaking methodology, and I finally have a batch I'm pleased with. It's still kind of heavy and a little dense, but it'll pass.

Oh, I used my new Gorillapod for this photo. I love the G-pod. It lets me take photos in low light without blurring. I can tilt the camera for a different angle, push down to lower the vantage point or straighten legs to raise it. It's very steady and slip resistant. If you've ever stacked books to try to get the camera steady and to the right height, you will love this. I do.

Caveat Emptor

2008-01-22T17:26:00.000-06:00

I'll lose most of you with my long diatribe, but please read my rules for a hoodwink-free existence:

1) Check Better Business Bureau BEFORE you call.
2) If the repairman confuses you, call the company. Don't worry about offending the repairman. If he's honest, he won't mind. If he's not, he'll straighten up.
3) Ask questions. Think. Don't just have them do it to get it over with. It's not just the money - it's the principle.
4) Never pay in cash, even, or especially, if he offers to do it for less. Unless you want to be guilty of aiding and abetting.

Here goes:
I called an old Memphis company to get our iron storm/security door repaired. We bought all three of our doors from this company when we bought our house 18 years ago. I had figured out what was wrong - two screws attaching pneumatic arm to door had come loose. I tried tightening them to no avail. When I called, they said they'd send someone out within an hour, and they didn't mention a minimum fee for a service call (should have been my first warning sign, better yet, I should have asked).

The guy showed up, and told me there was a $75 service charge, to which I wondered aloud why I hadn't been told about it. He told me my weather stripping needed to be replaced, and he could do it for me, himself, not through the company. How about instead of saying it should have been a warning sign, I just put a symbol in parentheses, like (???). It comes up quite a bit.

I told him how I had tried to fix it and asked if there was a nut or bolt that had fallen off. He said yes. I asked how he would get to the inside of the door frame (all metal), through the top? - to which he said yes. I wonder if it was because I was sitting in the kitchen, just inside the back door, and would have seen him go through the top of the door (it would have been an acrobatic feat, or would have involved a special ladder to accomodate the back steps) that the turn of events happened as follows(???). Next, he needed to call the office. He said it would be $35. I felt like Detective Goran (Law & Order, Criminal Intent - my favorite tv detective, played by Vincent D'Onofrio) trying to pin him down to exactly what the $35 included, especially since it was so much less than the original $75 (???).

He said he could replace my weather stripping at the bottom for $40 (I thought he said $4, but was quickly corrected). I said, "No thanks, I think we can do it ourselves." Argument ensued about availability of special rubber strip that cannot be found at Hardware Store - only at this particular company(???). Regardless, no thanks.

While he was repairing the broken screws from the back of the door (no ladder or acrobatics required), I called another iron door company listed in the phone book. They said they'd sell me the whole weather strip, metal + rubber, for $10 per door. I don't think he heard this conversation, but strangely enough, after the repair, he offered to replace the weather stripping for just $20, paid to him personally, not the company(???). I should have said no thanks again, but gave in to the desire to have it done for the same price as buying it at the other store and spending the time to install it.

Ok, I won't tell you any more. I'm tired of the story. I could spend another 4 or 5 or 6 more paragraphs relaying the saga. I will only say that when I called Suzanne to tell her about the ordeal, she said she had had a bad experience with this company and that they had an unsatisfactory rating with BBB. Sure enough, I checked, and it was still unsatisfactory. I don't think they had a blip of bad service with a bad subcontractor. I think they are poorly managed and sadly, the company's long-held, hard-earned good reputation is not a reflection of the current state of affairs.

I got a refund for the excess charges ($30 refund, yielding a $25 net fee), but am left with a sad feeling about a family business losing value, and ultimately, failing.

Buyer Beware, and check Better Business Bureau.

Wreck of the Day

2008-01-22T16:38:00.000-06:00

What a day. As I sit down to write this post, my Pandora station is playing one of my favorite songs - Anna Nalick's Wreck of the Day. The cherry on top is that the cat just threw up. Seriously, just this minute. I'm not making that up. Here's how my day went.

On my way to a business meeting (for which I was running late), got a call that the meeting was cancelled. That's ok. Forget that I could have easily slept another hour. Took advantage of extra time to call the company from which we bought our iron doors to get the back door repaired. That's a very long story - worthy of its own blog post, but suffice it to say I was hoodwinked and the repair guy got fired (or so the owner of the company said). Will explain in another post, to be titled "Caveat Emptor."

Next, the man who was supposed to come measure kitchen floor and bring tile samples at 2:00 never showed. After I called to inquire of his whereabouts, he called to say his basement was full of water and his heat was out, and he'd see me Thursday. That's ok.

Went to pick up prescriptions, and one of the refills was missing, natch. Just a few extra minutes' wait. Then headed out to door repair place for hoodwink-related refund, and drove past - easy to do on Summer Avenue.

Made it back home, with refund (a good thing). I feel like I'm in a John Grisham novel - the paranoid protaganist, running from the Mafia. I'm constantly looking over my shoulder for the supposedly now-unemployed repairman. Thought I saw a black pickup pull away as I drove up our street. I'm jumping every time I hear a real or imaginary car door shut. After all, he has my name, address, phone number and bank account information (from check I wrote).

On top of that, the weather is appropriately gray and dreary.

Gotta run - time to check on bread in the oven. My day's taking a better turn. I have to say, there have been times when this series of unfortunate events would have done a number on me, but amazingly, I'm ok. But then I have the aroma of baking bread to comfort me!

Cottage Industries

2008-01-17T19:13:00.001-06:00

Since I've started this blog, I've become aware of lots of women who have small businesses doing things they love for a little extra cash. They all seem to be party-related - isn't that fun! Mack's co-worker, Angela L., makes these adorable diaper cakes - perfect for a baby shower or gift. I don't know if you can disassemble it and use the diapers - maybe not, but wouldn't it be great for an emergency supply? Let me know if you're interested in one (leave a comment) and I'll get you her contact information. I'm also thinking of the pinatas and cakes I've featured in previous blog posts.

To all my crafty friends, I should share a website I recently became aware of: http://www.etsy.com/

Their tag-line is "Your place to buy & sell all things handmade." My sister-in-law, Marjorie, told me about it. She's considering selling some of her beautiful knitted items there. I received a yellow knitted cotton dishcloth from her for Christmas and it adds a little bit of luxury to wiping the countertops. I've been thinking of making some cards to sell there. There's a small fee to list your item and then you pay a certain percentage of your selling price when you sell it. Let me know if you've tried it.

Of course, the best cottage industry I know about is my friend Lundy's booming website development, design and search engine optimization business. She's so resourceful and energetic - I'm glad she invited me to partner with her on MomsLeap. Great things are in store!

Double Your Workout!

2008-01-14T19:07:00.000-06:00

Anyone who knows me will totally ignore this post - who am I to give exercise tips! Bear with me - I think this is good advice. When I saw my good friend Angie Hamilton at Christmas, we made a pact to walk the half-marathon in December 2008. We walked in the 2006 St. Jude half-marathon - 13.1 miles. Yesterday, I thought of our pact and decided to take a good, brisk walk. I would have stopped after a mile or two, but I employed my fool-proof method to ensure a longer walk. I just walk directly away from my house until I've gone half my goal distance. It never fails me. I have to get back home. I do take my cell phone in case of a twisted ankle or dog attack, but so far have never used it. I came close a couple of times in the 100+ degree temperatures last summer. I had to ask for a water-bottle refill from a brave soul who was working outside in his yard (on my route) one day! I walked four miles yesterday - first time in several months to come anywhere near this distance. I will have to get serious in September. There's a scientific three month training schedule. For the 2006 marathon, I don't think I had ever really walked more than 9 miles at one time, but I managed to make the 13 miles in three and one half hours - a respectable 16 minute mile on average. I just thought of something funny. I made one port-a-potty stop and it was clear that every one was in a hurry because, suffice it to say, the potty was EXTRA messy - if that's possible.

I have lots of fond, funny, pleasant memories of that experience. It was a real challenge.

I used my new tripod for the photo of my running shoes. It's smaller than you'd think, but very nice and sturdy - I think I love it! Another photo tip is to get on the level of your subject. This small tripod was great for that.

After watching The Bucket List this weekend, I've been thinking a little about things I want to accomplish. I think the half-marathon is a good thing, even though I've already done it. I don't see myself ever aspiring to the full marathon - I just don't think it's healthy - not for this body, at least! I think my trip to Brazil in the spring will be a life-changing experience. I've looked at 1000 Places to See Before You Die - same idea, but it's totally overwhelming. I think it would be better if they did 10 places and really spent some time talking about them. Of course, the Travel Channel is a great way to visit lots of places on a trial basis.

Let me know what you'd put on your Bucket List (things to do if you knew you were going to Kick the Bucket). I'd love to know!

Pinatas + The Bucket List

2008-01-12T21:35:00.000-06:00

Mack and I met the cutest couple tonight at the theater. We went to see The Bucket List (loved it) and we went early to get one of those great seats right behind the handicap section with the great bars in front to prop your feet up on. Even though the theater was practically empty, I asked if I could sit right next to this young couple who were taking up two of the three seats with foot-props. I assured them the theater would be packed because this was opening weekend for the movie. Instead of thinking I was weird and clamming up, they merrily chatted with me. I knew I liked them when Mack asked them where their three little girls were tonight and the husband replied "They're out in the car." The wife said, "We cracked the windows for them so they'd have fresh air." So funny.

As we talked, we found out that Tricia, the wife, has an internet company which sells pinatas. You can order a pinata like the one above for Valentine's day at:

www.partywithpinatas.com

There are lots and lots of other cute pinatas and party kits. There's an interesting history of pinatas - there's actually religious symbolism involved! Tricia said she's been working on getting her site to rank higher in the search engines, and I told her about my friend Lundy, who's an expert at that. While checking to see where Tricia's site fell in a Google search, I ran across provocative pinatas as well as Osama Bin Ladin pinatas. Who would have imagined? I was afraid to look at either site!

Good luck to Tricia and Nathan. They're moving to Denver in February for a new business venture - we wish them all the best.

Signs of Spring

2008-01-12T11:09:00.000-06:00

No, these didn't come from my yard. They were $4.50 per pot at Kroger. I bought two to take to friends today. I did find daffodil shoots in my flower beds yesterday. I'm always excited to see the first daffodils. In Memphis, you never know when to expect them. I've seen them as early as January and as late as March.

My good friends Luanne and Mary Jane (sisters) have a sweet story about daffodils. They lost their mother a few years ago. Their mom loved daffodils. When her first birthday since her death rolled around in March, Mary Jane and Luanne were so touched and surprised when they walked outside that morning and saw the first daffodils of spring. That year was probably the latest I remember the daffodils arriving - it had to be more than a coincidence. God is good.

It's time to cut back the monkey grass, and I need to pull up the forlorn remains of geraniums from my flower boxes on the front porch. The asparagus ferns and ivy I planted there seem to have survived the cold just fine. My gardenia has survived, but I have my fingers crossed that my maidenhair fern will come back. I think it's normal for them to come back from the base. I have tried and tried to grow gardenias (my favorite flower), without success. I think I should plant the next one next to the house. The ones I've noticed that get so big and beautiful seem to all be next to houses - I'm sure it helps shelter them from the wind. I need to fertilize mine - it's looking very yellow. Let me know if you have any gardenia tips.

Today is the day for changing sheets and laundry (isn't every day laundry day?). I used to change them every Saturday but lately I've been letting them go to every other week. A friend was the mom of a college student who came home for Christmas break, and the mom realized that the kid had gone the whole semester without washing the sheets! This was a girl, too! I think I should start working on an instruction manual for Evans to take to college now. Except I guess the whole point of going away to college (besides getting an education) is to figure out this stuff on your own. I can't believe we'll have an empty nest in less than three years!

In the mean time, the nest needs clean sheets, so I'm off to that!

Photo Tips

2008-01-09T21:59:00.000-06:00

Ok, here's a non-food post! I noticed that while on my (very) modified low-carb endeavor, my last two posts have not only been about, but have included photos of extremely high-carb foods - pizza and cake! I have to say that I'm proud of my pizza photo. I took two - one with the flash and one without. The one without the flash is by far the better photo. I've been noticing that lots lately. The biggest problem with taking pics in natural light (except bright sunlight) is that the slightest movement of the camera will cause the photo to blur. I've propped the camera on books or furniture a couple of times, but someone told me about the Gorillapod. It will stand like a normal tripod or it can wrap around a small pole or adjust to an uneven surface. It's 6 inches high and weighs just 1.6 ounces, so can easily go in your purse or camera bag. I just ordered it from Amazon for $20 - free shipping. Can't wait to try it out. Maybe I'll start using the self timer and actually take pictures with all three of us in them for a change.

Has anyone tried this? I'll give you my review when it arrives and I try it out.

Food, Glorious Food

2008-01-09T19:10:00.000-06:00

Since I'm trying to watch carbs, I'm obsessing about my favorite subject, food. Big news is that Pei Wei is opening at Mendenhall and Sanderlin next Monday! I love Pei Wei. The Mandarin Kung Pao Shrimp is my very favorite. It's pretty spicy and the shrimp are kind of crispy - yum. My teenage boy likes their shrimp fried rice. It's made with brown and white rice and has plenty of veggies, but not too much. It's so much lighter than typical Chinese fare in Memphis.

Speaking of teenage tastes, I have to share my son's very favorite food made at home. In an effort to duplicate Memphis Pizza Cafe's great pizza, I bought the pre-made crust (Mama Mary's or Boboli's) and used Meza Tuscan Bruschetta as a base. I've only seen this at Sam's - let me know if you've seen it elsewhere. I haven't tried it yet, but I think Rotel Italian style tomatoes would be similar. You could probably doctor up some canned diced tomatoes with garlic and parsley and basil. This seems to make it different and fresher tasting than regular old pizza sauce. My son likes goat cheese and sun-dried tomatoes as well as mozerella and parmesan. I bake the pizza directly on the rack. Miss Mary's makes a thin crust as well as the regular, but watch it as it burns easily (just made that mistake while working on this post). I like it with artichoke hearts, but that adds one more messy step. If you have teenagers, plan for one pizza per kid, and if you have leftovers, of course we all know how great leftover pizza is!

Let me know if you have any other good recipes, especially for teenage boys! Back to low-carb world...

Sweet Celebrations

2008-01-05T22:53:00.001-06:00

My friend Kim made this amazing cake - she is just about the most creative person I know. She also makes incredible banana nut bread - one of my very favorite things. I know because she brought me some when I was recovering from surgery this fall. Her business is called Sweet Celebrations - you, too, can have a cake this beautiful. I know she gets really busy in May and June for graduations and weddings, so plan ahead. If you're interested, let me know and I'll give you her contact information. We'll post more pictures and other information when we get the website up and going.

Kim's a fellow baseball mom, so we see lots of each other in the spring. Maybe not quite as much now that both our boys are driving. Beware the streets of east Memphis!

Seven!

2008-01-05T18:39:00.001-06:00

That's how many cans I opened for dinner tonight. I think this is a subconcious reaction to reading the Sweet Potato Queens' cookbook. Here's the breakdown: creamed corn, rotel tomatoes x 2, whole kernal corn, black beans x 2, and chopped green chiles. Can you guess what I made? Mexican cornbread, black beans and mexican rice. I love rotel tomatoes. There are a million cornbread recipes on the internet with every combination of cornmeal (yellow, white, self-rising cornmeal), flour, buttermilk, etc. I adapted Paula Deen's recipe to what I had on hand. I have to say it was successful. I should be doing low-carb, but as you can tell, I'm majorly into carbs - the thrill of the forbidden. Maybe tomorrow.

I've been reading about Brazil - I'm going there in April. Did I mention that it only took 20 days to get my passport - non-expedited? I was pleasantly surprised. Anyway, reading about Brazil put me in the mood for the black beans and rice. I ate lots of them when we visited Puerto Rico some years ago. It's like gumbo in New Orleans, different everywhere you get it, but always delicious. Unfortunately, the Brazilian version of black beans and rice, feijoada, contains copious quantities of scrap meat - things like pig snout and ears and tail and hoof. I might become vegetarian while I'm there. Since cattle ranching is a big industry there, I might not be too popular, or even worse, will go hungry! That might be my ticket to losing weight!

Let me know if you can beat my seven can record.

Sweet Potato Queens

2008-01-04T21:18:00.000-06:00

I think I've discovered the cookbook for me. It's called The Sweet Potato Queens' Big-Ass Cookbook (and Financial Planner) by Jill Conner Browne. I have been laughing out loud. I found this at the library yesterday and coincidentally found out that she's coming to Davis Kidd this Sunday (the 6th) at 3:00 pm for a signing of her newest book - The Sweet Potato Queens' Guide to Raising Children for Fun & Profit. I just might plan to go!

I have to quote from the cookbook - it's just too funny:

"Recently we have noted with interest the trendy new job of Lifestyle Coach. This is somebody (who received on-line training from the absolute genuis who thought it up) you pay five hundred dollars an hour to tell you what, in their opinion, it is you ought to do in any given situation. Oh, hey, is this the job for me, or what? I always know what other people ought to be doing in any given situation. Always. I can't think of an exception right offhand. And here, all my adult life, I've been telling everybody what they ought to be doing in any given situation, and I've been doing it for free. And what's more, they didn't even have to ask me what, in my opinion, they ought to be doing. My sister has been providing the same service for all of her friends and acquaintances as well - and likewise, unsolicited and gratis. We are considering billing them all retroactively."

Anyone who knows Lundy and me will laugh at this, too! Maybe that's why we love the idea of starting the MomsLeap website. It's an opportunity to do Lifestyle Coaching. Maybe we should offer an on-line degree in Lifestyle Coaching. Let me know if you're interested in this, and more importantly, what you'd be willing to pay for this degree. We could do a really nice certificate, suitable for framing. If Lundy could stop building hurricane-proof houses and managing her various businesses (she's really busy with tax stuff), we could get this up and going! In the meantime, if you want to be entertained, take a look at her blog: www.lundini.blogspot.com I promise you, you will learn something new and interesting. It's good fuel for small talk at cocktail parties.

When I see the Queen Sunday at her book signing, I'll ask her permission to post one or two of her recipes here, and if she says ok, I'll share them with you - they have funny names and look very easy. Maybe I'll even review her new book here.

All for now.

Free Groceries!

2008-01-03T19:47:00.000-06:00

Yes, it's too good to be true! I found free groceries in my own kitchen. I regularly throw away so much food and have decided to try to use some of what I have. Tonight I peeled five pounds of potatoes I've had for at least two weeks. I peeled lots off, but still got a big batch of mashed potatoes. One was rotten, but luckily had not started to stink yet. I can't think of anything that smells worse than a rotten potato. I have a 1 horsepower garbage disposal so it handles things like whole rotten potatoes and thick peels. I also made ceasar salad and used some garlic bread I had in the fridge for croutons. Just cubed it and toasted it - perfect! Now I have a mess to clean up!

I've been thinking of the old idea of cooking one weekend for a month, but with a twist. I thought it would be fun to have a group of friends get together and figure out a way to cook and assemble food for the freezer. I might order one of those books - it would probably have the math already done as far quantities go, and I'll bet a shopping list, too. I have lots of friends with great big kitchens so will volunteer one of them to have us over. I've heard Hope Pres does this. It would be perfect in a church kitchen. I'll have to see what I can find out. Of course, with this being Memphis, there's always the risk of losing your freezer full of food due to a power outage. Unfortunately we were out of town the first few days after Hurricane Elvis when everyone was having their "Empty the Freezer" grilling parties!

Let me know if you have any ideas you'd like to share about any of this - I'd love to hear from you.

One Little Word - continued

2008-01-02T11:56:00.000-06:00

Hi All,

I've found my word for 2008. It's "love". It came to me Sunday in church. I thought of 1 Corinthians chapter 13 - also known as the love chapter in the New Testament. Specifically verse 13 which says "And now abideth faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love." 1 John 4:18 says "...perfect love casts out fear..." I considered making "fearless" my one little word because I have struggled with fear in the past. Then I realized that it is better to focus on love, a positive thing, and the fear would go away on its own.

I found this quote that describes how I'd like to approach this: True love is not a feeling by which we are overwhelmed. It is a committed, thoughtful decision. --M. Scott Peck

I'll be writing more about this as the year progresses. Let me know if you decide to try this - I'd love to hear your one little word!

Chain Reaction

2007-12-29T11:33:00.001-06:00

Ok, here it is. It took more than the one day I'd hoped, but none the less, I'd consider this challenge a success. I have to admit, however, there's still a spillover of plastic containers on my floor and in my dishdrainer. The chain reaction is due to my shuffling things from other cabinets. For example, the heavy Pyrex dishes seem safer on the bottom of the cabinet. In the past, I've stuck them where I could, sometimes up high in the cabinet over the stove. I was always a little afraid they'd come crashing down. This is much easier to see, and I was actually able to nest three sizes.

A byproduct of this project was finding lots of my friend Angela's containers and dishes. I'll return those today. Another good thing was the ghost of Tupperware parties past! And Pampered Chef. Lots of neat gadgets I hope to put to good use!

Well, I feel much better having accomplished this. My reward is returning Angela's things when I go to her pre-Liberty Bowl bash in just a little while. I'm not going to the game, just the party! I'm waiting for the roof repair man right now. We had a limb fall on our house last week when it was so windy. I thought the house was crashing down, but the limb wasn't that big. It was big enough, though, to punch a hole near the edge of the roof.

Ok, I'm going to continue the cabinet project now. Good luck in all your new year's projects!

One Little Word

2007-12-27T16:37:00.000-06:00

Hi All,

I just found a great idea for the new year, one that is better than a bunch of sure-to-fail resolutions. One of my favorite blogs is Ali Edwards', one of the writers for Creating Keepsakes magazine. Her idea is to choose one word for the year and really think about it all year long. She incorporates her word into her art as well as her daily life. Her word for 2006 was "play" and her word for 2007 was "peace". She will announce her 2008 word soon, and if you're interested in reading about her thoughts as well as all the other great words her readers chose, click this link:

http://aliedwards.typepad.com/_a_/2007/01/aezine_challeng.html

I'm going to read them all and choose one of them or maybe one that's not on the list and try this exercise in the coming year. I'll keep you posted.

Challenge - Reclaiming My Space

2007-12-27T11:04:00.000-06:00

How many times have I complained about not having much storage, especially in my kitchen? Yesterday I called a new cleaning service and the owner said she'd have to come give me an estimate for the initial deep cleaning. Getting ready for her visit (afraid she'd turn around and walk out, saying she couldn't help me - yes it's that bad) I was frantically throwing stuff anywhere it would fit. This exercise made me realize that I REALLY DO have cabinet space. I just have SO much stuff that I never use. That I can't find. I recently found a waffle iron that we no doubt received as a wedding gift over 21 years ago. I've been making blueberry waffles pretty regularly since then and it's made me feel pretty good about using it. It stands upright and doesn't take up much space. My son even requested them on Christmas morning - maybe the start of a nice tradition.

I digress. As the photo shows, I have at least one cabinet that is a jumbled mess. It goes way back under the counter. I could store the food processor I use once a year at Thanksgiving for cranberry-orange relish here, instead of with the pots and pans that I use semi-regularly. There's lots I could store here - things I'd actually use if I could find them. Today's project is to clean out this cabinet. I'm going to have to completely empty it and start from scratch. If I throw away all the mismatched, stained and warped plastic containers, I'll have a good start. In order to accomplish this, I'm doing two things. The first thing is this blog post (I hope to do a new one tonight with a picture of an organized cabinet. The second thing is that I'm going to leave the cabinet open until I tackle it. Let's see if this strategy works.

Please leave comments if you have any tips or tricks for projects like this - I'd love to share them. Hopefully, when I go to bed tonight I'll have a head start on my new year's resolution of organizing and I'll feel better about my smallish kitchen. Hope your recovery from the holiday is going well.

Out with the old...

2007-12-26T10:45:00.000-06:00

At the risk of sounding like a Scrooge, I'm so relieved Christmas is over. I'm ready to pack up the Christmas decorations and let things return to normal. Of course, this week will be hectic (as far as traffic and shopping) with all the after-Christmas sales. I know people who get up at 4 in the morning, go out for breakfast and hit the sales early. Wait, that might be the day after Thanksgiving. A friend from church works at Target, and she said there were three arrests for disorderly conduct in her store. People can get desperate this time of year! Can you imagine that family tradition? "Your mommy's in jail but she got you the last Webkin!"

As the pictures show, I'm rushing the next holiday - Valentine's day! I took down our Christmas wreath this morning and replaced it with the pretty heart wreath I found on Christmas eve. I prefer to think of it as a symbol of love in general as opposed to a seasonal, holiday emblem. I'll try to keep love in my heart as I deal with the fallout of Christmas - returning unwanted gifts, navigating crazy east Memphis traffic, dragging the Christmas tree into the attic, and more. Thanks to our new pre-lit tree, at least I won't have Christmas lights to contend with.

Speaking of artificial trees, my son and I were discussing whether it's more "green" (environmentally friendly) to have an artificial tree as opposed to a real tree. I think because we use ours for 15 years minimum, the artificial tree is the way to go. I'd love to hear comments on this. We are trying to be more green, or at least think about it some. Of course, part of the fallout from Christmas I didn't mention is the major garbage that is produced from all the packing and wrapping. Our garbage pickup is on schedule (Thursday) this week, thank goodness.

Well, I'd better get busy packing up the decorations. More later.

Merry Christmas to You!

2007-12-24T17:28:00.000-06:00

Here it is Christmas Eve, and I'm playing hooky from church and blogging. I took Lundy to the airport today. She's heading back to her dream home on the Gulf Coast - I'm more than a little envious - it's 47 degrees here in Memphis. We were only able to spend a little time together but it was good to see her face. I never thought I'd say it, but the ride to the airport is just a little too short!

DH and son have gone to church and they'll pick me up on the way to the Manheins' annual Christmas Eve gumbo celebration. This is only our second year to attend, but I hope it'll be a tradition for us for many years to come! When we get home, we'll sit by the tree and read Luke 2 from the King James Version.

I'm already thinking of new year's resolutions (spurred by the fact that I couldn't zip my favorite pair of jeans this morning). I always make so many, but this year I resolve to make them realistic. I'll post more on this later, and for now I'm going to tackle the Tiramisu detritus. Oh, I should say, it's the jello pudding version of Tiramisu - look at jello.com for the recipe. This just uses vanilla wafers, instant pudding, cream cheese and cool whip. I substituted Kalhua for coffee to drizzle on the wafers, so maybe that'll fancy it up a little. I don't want to hear from the foodies about this - I wanted something simple. Do you know how hard it is to find ladyfingers and how much stirring it takes to make custard? I guess you do, if you're going to fuss at me about my Tiramisu cheating! It's for our last family celebration of the year tomorrow at DH's parents, and after that, no more baking/sweets, I promise!

All for now.

Carol

Inaugural Blog Post!

2007-12-22T17:46:00.000-06:00

My dear friend, Lundy and I are undertaking a new adventure in the new year. We're starting a website devoted to providing valuable information to moms and non-moms, alike. Lundy came up with the name "MomsLeap" with the mental image of women leaping over piles of laundry, busy schedules, grocery bags on the kitchen floor and all the other obstacles we encounter each day. We thought this would be a great name, and we especially like the fact that it can be used by all moms everywhere when we branch out from our initial focus on the Memphis area. You can find us at: www.MomsLeap.com

Lundy and I have lots of interests, so this might be an eclectic blog, but we expect our website to be chock-full of stuff that makes you pop your palm against your forehead and say "Why didn't I think of that!" That being said, please, please, please send us all your great ideas as well as questions or problems you'd like to see addressed. Send us your best pictures (be sure to grant permission in your email and we'd love to feature you on our website - we'll use first names only). Let us know your favorite child friendly restaurants or places to host your kids' birthday parties, your favorite lunch spot and why you love it, or just anything you want to talk about. Don't worry - we already have a million questions we're just waiting to ask!

Our site should be blowing and going soon, and we can't wait to start a special community of women with ideas and wisdom and support to spare!

Carol