Blue Moon Rising

Tonight I'm welcoming 2010 with a bubble bath, Forrest Gump and some yummy guacamole and chips from Moe's.  Sounds exciting, huh??  It is, to me.  I have never been a party person.  I would much rather stay home where it's safe and bring in the new year in my jammies. I always, always watch the ball drop at Times Square. I've done that since my childhood and I don't see that ever changing.  

I guess the most exciting thing about tonight other than we're beginning a new decade (a decade that I KNOW will bring some pretty exciting changes to my life!), is we're having a blue moon tonight!  The second full month in a month is called a blue moon but it's rare that the moon is actually blue.  They don't occur very often, hence the saying "once in a blue moon".  I always wondered where that saying came from!  The next New Year's Eve blue moon will be in about 20 years or so.  I'll step outside as the clock strikes twelve tonight to see this phenomenon and wave goodbye to 2009.

Here's to 2010 and another chance for us to get this right.

I Followed Your Scent (Edward Cullen, Twilight)

Can you be in love with a fragrance?  'Cause I think I am. If Oprah would let me anywhere near her couch, I'd jump up and down on it, Tom Cruise style.

I got lots of Twilight Woods stuff for Christmas.  It's a new line at Bath and Body Works and I'd tried it at the store in November, loved it and added it to my Christmas list.  Ami and Mama hooked me up!

Of course, the name is not lost on me.  I know B&BW was trying to get all of us Twihards to buy it.  They ain't foolin' nobody.  Not no 42-year-old Twihard anyway. They sure got their wish because they can't keep it on the shelves!  It smells really, really good, though, Twilight connection aside.  It's woodsy, dusky, with touches of berry, mimosa and apricot.  And I swear I smell a little patchouli in there.  Ooooo, and the Triple Moisture Body Cream is like buttah.  It leaves your skin so soft and smooth. Twilight Woods is warm, cozy and sooooooo romantic, like a walk in the woods.

A walk in the woods with a sparkly vampire.  Yum.

Packing Up Christmas

I took down my Christmas tree today and all my decorations and lovingly packed them all away for another year.  It was sadder than usual for reasons I'm not sure I understand but I am glad it's done.

We had a wonderful Christmas in spite of a few little bumps and bruises.  It was the first Christmas in my life that I didn't see my brother but I guess I'll live.  It didn't kill him so I'm not going to let it kill me.  I enjoyed the day with Mama and Daddy and Ami and Brian.  We were blessed to have Uncle Jiggs with us again and the kids came so it was a good day.  We also got to see Maw and spend some time with her and that was great.  I'm so thankful to still have my Maw.

I got some awesome gifts, too!!  Ami gave me some cute bamboo socks with little peace signs on them, silver earrings, a silver change purse and some Twilight Woods bath stuff from Bath and Body Works.  That stuff smells soooooooo good!!  Mama and Daddy gave me some, too! And a pair of Ugg-like boots in chocolate brown.  LOVE them.  They are so comfy!!  They also gave me a set of Wonder Hangers.  I cannot wait to try them out in my closet!!  I have waaaaaay too many clothes and one little bitty closet.  I hope they work!!  I got lots of stuff in my stocking, too.  I really, really, really wanted a set of Paula Deen's cookware and Larry got me that. Another thing he got me was a set of Legos from the famous architect, Frank Lloyd Wright's line.  COOL!!  I really racked up.  I am so blessed to have a family and husband who love me so much!

But now the tree is down and all of the ornaments and Santas and snowmen and Christmas towels and wrapping paper are packed away and back in the attic to wait out another year.  

I'm really looking forward to 2010.  I'm always excited at the prospect of another year.  A fresh start.  A second chance.  I don't really make resolutions, though.  I just try to do better than I did the year before. Love more, laugh more and worry less.

The Hottest Toy This Christmas? I Has It.

A Zhu Zhu hamster!  The yellow one named Pipsqueak but I renamed him 'Nana Puddin'. One of the moms came to the office and brought Lisa and me some that she miraculously found at Wal-Mart this morning. These things are impossible to find!  Or so I've heard.  I didn't even know what they were until two days ago.  Lisa's grandkids call her "Nana" so 'Nana Puddin' it was.

These little guys are so realistic, it's like having a real hamster without the mess.  I think that was the whole idea!  They chatter and scatter and scoot all over the place.  They have a little sensor on their nose, a bump guard, and when they bump into stuff, they make the funniest noises and whirl around and change directions. They are absolutely hilarious to watch!!

Me and Puddin' played a little bit today in the kitchen. 

This is him saying, "'S'up, y'all?"

This is him going behind my refrigerator.

And this is him getting stuck coming out!  

See ya!

Ooooo, Ooooo, I Want These!!

Edible peppermint shot glasses!! I hope I'm not the last person on earth to have heard of these. Can you just imagine drinking some yummy eggnog from those?? They are SO cool!!!!

My Advent Calendar

I'm just gonna go ahead on and tell you.  I have the sweetest husband there ever was.  He made me this Advent calendar to help me count down the days to Christmas.  There are 25 little doors and behind the doors, there are 25 sweet little love notes.  I think I'll keep those to myself but I wanted to show off the calendar!  I love it and I can't wait to wake up and open up one of those little doors every morning!!

Last Minute Green Gift Ideas

I tried to get my family what they wanted this year but I threw in something green and homemade, too, for each of them.  And no, y'all, it's not soap I made!

Here are some ideas for last minute presents that are also gentle on the earth.

* A live plant or gift certificate to a garden center.  Go "naked" on the wrapping and tuck the certificate into a pair of gardening gloves.  Cute!

* Give the gift of food!  Cookies, brownies, breads, muffins and candy are always welcome. 'Specially at my house!

* Family Movie Night!  How about a Blockbuster gift card tucked into a basket with some microwave popcorn and a big box of Milk Duds?  Or what about gift cards to your local theater?  Those would also be very welcome at my house!  

* LED nightlights!  I LOVE mine.  They are cool to the touch and only use about 25 cents a year in electricity. You can find them anywhere, Wal-Mart, Lowe's, even the grocery store.  I got mine at IKEA. 

* Wind-up radios and flashlights!  Larry got me a wind-up radio a few years ago and it is great for emergencies.  I used it during some bad weather once when my electricity went out.  Things weren't so scary with it closeby.

* Soy candles!  My favorite brand is Old Virginia, sold at Cracker Barrel.  Soy candles burn cleaner, they produce a lot less soot and are eco-friendly because they don't contain petroleum. And they smell better, too!

* Or how about just your time?  Just spending some time with the ones you love.  Chances are that gift that you spent so much time planning and searching for and then buying will be at the back of their closet by the end of January and thus, beginning its eventual trek to a landfill.  The time you spend with someone will stay with them forever.

Happy Birthday, Randy!

Randy Owen is 60 today.  How in the world can that even be possible???

Having A Blast!

A Holiday Mint Blast from Sonic, that is!  They are sooooo yummy. Peppermint ice cream with little bits of Andes peppermint crunch and a ton of whipped topping. Really Christmasy!!

I stopped by Sonic tonight and got one after I'd seen Disney's A Christmas Carol.  I was more than a little skeptical about the movie because it's just been done to death but as usual, Disney did not disappoint.  The animation is unbelievable!  Old Ebenezer looks JUST LIKE Jim Carrey. I watched the 1938 version last night because I wanted to compare the two.  I'd never seen the original. The 2009 version stays pretty true to the classic and once you put on those 3D glasses (that, by the way, have come a lonnnnnnng way since Jaws was in 3D!), you are literally right there, a bystander on the street. Overall, I thought the movie was pretty good.  The story is still great and Jim Carrey was awesome as Scrooge. 

Only 15 Shopping Days Left!

I am completely, 100% finished with my Christmas shopping.  I am done, done, done and everything is wrapped and under the tree.  

I hate shopping this time of year.  I don't even like buying groceries in December.  It is just too crazy.  Traffic is a nightmare and the stores are so packed with people. They get on my nerves so bad walking soooooo slowly and then just stopping right in front of me.  I just wanna crash into them with my buggy!  Now how's that for Christmas spirit??  I know when I need to stay home. Ha! I start my shopping sometime around September and I'm usually done by Thanksgiving, except for little things here and there.

I like to spend my Decembers quiet and peaceful and still.  That's what I'm going to do the next two weeks. Drink egg nog and watch Christmas movies, ride around and look at Christmas lights in my pajamas and just be thankful for the gift of a sweet little baby boy born in a stable one night.

Roast Steaks With Blue Cheese Crust And Red Wine Sauce

Larry found this recipe in a magazine and we thought it looked amazing.  Blue cheese CRUST? Shut up. I had to try it!!  I made it tonight for supper (I used two rib-eye steaks that I cut into four pieces) with some cheddar mashed potatoes and buttered carrots. It is slap-yo'-mama good.  Here's how you can make it!

1 beef tenderloin or rib-eye roast (about 21/2 lb)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 oz blue cheese at room temperature
4 Tbsp butter (2 Tbsp softened, 2 Tbsp ice-cold)
3/4 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs) or fresh bread crumbs
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
1 Tbsp chopped fresh sage 

Pinch cayenne pepper
2 Tbsp olive oil, plus more as needed
1 large shallot, sliced
2 cups dry red wine 

Worcestershire sauce

Makes 6 or more servings

1 Cut the roast crosswise into six thick mini roasts. If you're using tenderloin, you can tie a piece of string around each piece (like a belt) to help it keep its shape. Sprinkle both sides of the meat with salt and pepper to taste.

2 Mash together the blue cheese and softened butter with a fork. Fold in the bread crumbs, herbs, and cayenne.

3 Preheat the oven to 350°F. Smear a roasting pan with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Heat the other tablespoon of oil in a large, heavy skillet on medium-high heat. When it's hot, sear three of the steaks briefly on both sides. Transfer them to the roasting pan and repeat with the remaining steaks. Next, top each steak with some of the blue cheese mixture, pressing down to form a crust. Roast for about 7 minutes for medium rare. The crusts should be bubbling and lightly browned. When the steaks are done, remove them to a serving platter.

4 While the steaks cook and rest, add a little more oil to the skillet if it looks dry, and place it over medium heat. Add the shallot and saute until softened. Swirl the wine around in the roasting pan and add it to the skillet. Adjust the heat so the sauce bubbles vigorously. In a couple of minutes, it will start to thicken a bit; add the Worcester shire sauce and cold butter, stirring constantly. Pour the sauce over the steaks and serve.

This is what they look like with the red wine sauce on top.  Most nomish.

RIP John

October 9, 1940 - December 8, 1980

I was 13 years old and in the 8th grade when John Lennon was murdered that December.  I remember being in Home Ec and my teacher, Mrs. Abram, telling us all about it.  I am sad to say that until that day, I didn't even know who John Lennon was.  My folks were not Beatles fans and I was just too young to have been a part of that era.  I know who he is now, though, and what he stood for.  John dreamed of world peace and was not afraid to get out there and make his voice heard.  His legacy of peace and love is still as profound as it was all those years ago.

War is over, if you want it.

Who Wants To See Somethin' Pretty?

It's my Christmas cactus bustin' out with a big beautiful bloom!! It has lots of little baby buds and I hope they all bloom like that.

Thanks, Mama, for giving it to me!!

The Blind Side

If you haven't seen this already, stop what you're doing right now and go see it.  It's incredible.  

Christmas Partyin'

I went to my first Christmas party of the season tonight! Our office Christmas party held at the home of one of the nurses I work with. It was so much fun!! We had a ridiculously delicious dinner of turkey, ham, veggies, casseroles and desserts plus a table full of snacks, we played Christmas trivia games and played Dirty Santa. I won a trivia door prize - a Books-A-Million gift card!  It was tucked inside this BEAUTIFUL angel Christmas card.  I loved the card so much that I had to post a picture of it here.  Of course, my camera did not do it justice.  It's just absolutely breathtaking to me.

This is the gift I chose and nobody stole it from me! A cute little snowman frame! Actually nobody stole a gift from anybody so I guess we played Clean Santa. Ha!

OH!  And I heard an insane rumor that we may have a flurry or two in the morning.  Naaaaah.  

Fried Green Tomatoes In December!

One more reason to love living in the south!

I made these for supper tonight. Daddy got them for me for Thanksgiving but in the craziness that is Thanksgiving, they were forgotten. Now that all the leftovers are eaten or composted, I thought I'd cook my 'maters tonight.

The first time I ever had them was many years ago with Mama at the Whistle Stop Cafe in Juliette. We both LOVE the movie and just had to go to Juliette and be a part of where it was filmed. We had lunch, tomatoes and barbecue sandwiches ("Secret's in the sauce!"), and I was hooked for life!

More Christmas Decorations!

My Mantel So Far (Also Titled: I Swear This Is My LAST Post Today!)

This is what I did with my mantel. I wanted to do something different this year. I usually have two little trees on each end and lighted garland between them. I have a little collection of different kinds of Santas so I kinda just displayed them all together on the mantel. I picked up some red bell garland and just used a few candles that I already had. I have NO IDEA where that white, glittery Christmas tree candle came from, though! I was going through my candle cabinet last night trying to find ones I could use and I saw that one. I honestly have no clue where I got it, how long I've had it or nothin'. That is so crazy!!  But it was perfect for what I needed it for and I think it looks pretty up there.

Visit With Santa

This is me and my (sleepy-lookin') brother, Ricky, with Santa at Sears in 1971.  

The Super Fabulous Schneider Christmas Tree Of 2009!

I started calling our Christmas trees "The Super Fabulous Schneider Christmas Tree" two years ago when I was still blogging on MySpace. I thought it was cute and it's kinda stuck.

I have a seven-foot Douglas fir that, praise the Sweet Lord Baby Jesus, is PRE-LIT. I like the old-fashioned multi-colored lights and this one has 650 of 'em!

Here's a closer shot of some

of my orna-
ments.

I like orna-
ments better than glass balls. Ornaments tell stories, have sweet little person-alities and are just more interesting to me.

The two little red reindeer right in front are from my childhood Christmas trees. They were always on our tree when I was growing up and Mama let me have them last year. They'll always be right in front!

Second Thanksgiving

I'm calling today "second Thanksgiving" because I bet I have more food in my refrigerator than I ate all day long yesterday.  It's always like that.  We always fix waaaaaay too much and end up with a ton of leftovers.  My favorite thing to do with leftovers is a turkey, dressing and cranberry sauce sandwich on a hoagie.  Just pop it in the microwave for about 30 seconds and you're done.  It is sooooo yummy!!  

We had a great Thanksgiving!  We all met at Mama and Daddy's house just like we do every year and we wobbled home around 5:30, loaded down with food.  I have never gone to my mama and daddy's house without taking stuff home!  It's gotten to the point that Ami and I take our own containers now for leftovers.

I went with Daddy to visit Maw in the nursing home and it did me so much good to see her. She has good days and bad days but I guess that's to be expected.  One of the things I'm most thankful for this year is that I still have my 86-year-old grandma with me.  

I'm also thankful for my parents' love and devotion, their health (they've had a pretty good year!), my sweet sister and her husband, who I wouldn't love more as my brother if he'd been born to us (although that would have messed up Ami's future big time!! Ha!).  I'm thankful to have a husband who adores me.  I honestly cannot live without him.  I'm thankful that I have a home, a warm bed and plenty to eat.  I'm thankful to have a job that I enjoy and for the new friends I've made there.  This time last year, I was reading stuff on the internet about Citi closing and downsizing and I was fearing for my job. What a difference a year makes!  

I read this the other day and I was so touched by it that I thought I'd share it.  I think it's how we should observe Thanksgiving and every day.

Count your blessings instead of your crosses; Count your gains instead of your losses.

Count your joys instead of your woes; Count your friends instead of your foes.

Count your smiles instead of your tears; Count your courage instead of your fears.

Count your full years instead of your lean; Count your kind deeds instead of your mean.

Count your health instead of your wealth; Count on God instead of yourself.

Ran Head On Into A Hog

Bless her heart!!  She was such a good sport about it, though.  Said she "ran head on into a hog!"

ATLANTA -- Celebrity chef Paula Deen was hit in the face with a flying ham Monday while helping out Hosea Feed The Hungry & Homeless.

Deen and Smithfield Foods wanted to make sure the homeless had food for Thanksgiving so the Food Network star was on hand to donate and deliver 25,000 pounds of protein to Hosea Feed The Hungry & Homeless Monday morning. The donation is part of the Smithfield Foods' Helping Hungry Homes initiative, which was established to help ensure that American families in need do not go hungry.

Dore said Deen playfully threw one down the relay line like a football and someone said "Back at ya!" and threw it back. It hit her in the nose.

"He threw the ham back and I was unexpecting the pig and it just hit me full on," said Deen. "'Bout knocked me for a loop!" Dore said Deen laughed after she got an ice pack for her face and made jokes about a swollen nose.

"It just got hit with a hog, so what can I expect," she sniffed. "Ran head on into a hog."

Deen said her nose wasn't broken and the ice helped keep the swelling to a minimum.

Deen, known for her Southern cuisine, is a celebrity spokeswoman for Smithfield foods.

Countin' Down To The Turkey!

AND my mama's dressing.  OHMYGOD.  If y'all ain't eatin' my mama's dressing, you are missing out.  I just realized the other day that I have NEVER even made a turkey.  I've never had to.  Mama does that.  And the dressing.  And we do the sides and desserts.  That's how we roll.  

Oh, yeaaaaah, the rolls.  Nom.

This year, I'm making Cracker Barrel's amazing hashbrown casserole, green beans and red potatoes, homemade cranberry sauce and a pumpkin pie that I'm making from scratch.  As in I'm using the pumpkin that was on my front porch at Halloween!  First time I've ever done that. It's prolly gonna be the last time, too.  That is a lot of work!

New Moon straight showed OUT, didn't it??  $140 million.  Jessi and I went to see it Saturday. We drove by the theater Friday night and could not believe the parking lot!  It was like that Saturday and again Sunday.  I knew that movie was going to be huge but $140 million? That's incredible!  I thought the movie was great.  Those kids are going to be superstars.

Yeah. I'm One Of Those People.

I admit openly and without shame that I love me some Twilight. I read all four of the books last year (mostly at work when we were so slow!) and I just fell in love with Edward and Bella. I even got Larry to read them! Ami and Brian, too! And while the actual writing may be a little juvenile, the story is awesome and so, sooooo romantic.

I saw Twilight twice at the theater, once with Jessi, and then she and I stood in line in March at midnight to get the DVD when it came out. I don't even remember how many times we watched it that weekend!

I stood in line again today to get tickets to see New Moon Saturday afternoon.  I'd have to go all Volturi on some teenagers at the theater if I tried to see it tomorrow. 

Couldn't Stand It No More

I've been wanting to Christmas-up my blog for over a week!!  Ami made me such a beautiful header that I could not wait another second.  (That's Little Me and Little Larry with the snowman we built.  Awwwww.)

Sooooooo....

Let us commence to Christmasing!!

Fall In The 'Hood

We have had an absolutely gorgeous weekend and I got out yesterday and took some pictures of some of the fall that's remaining in my neighborhood. The leaves are turning brown SO FAST that I thought I'd better snap a few pictures before all of that beautiful color is gone.

The red orange and evergreen against that blue sky was just so pretty to me.  I love how this one turned out! 

This little feller just sat there and posed for me.  The squirrels around here are so used to us feeding them that they are not scared of nothin'! Probably not very smart for them. I love how he's wearing his Southern boy camo britches for this picture!  You almost can't see him.          

This is that huge oak tree in our backyard.  I was just telling Larry yesterday morning how bright yellow the leaves were. When I took this picture just a few hours later, some of them were already turning brown. Winter is coming fast!   

This pretty thing is next door.  I'm not sure what kind of tree it is but I love it, too.  It'll be completely bare in about two weeks.  Of all of our trees around here, it's always the prettiest and always the first to go.  

Dome Day!

I'm reading Stephen King's new book, Under The Dome. I got it yesterday at Books-A-Million. It is HUGE!! I almost can't hold it. It's over 1,000 pages and so far, so very good. I love SK's crazy ass anyway, though.

This is what USA Today had to say about it:

When the dome comes down on Chester's Mill, Maine, in Stephen King's propulsively intriguing Under the Dome, we are slammed up against the wall of one of his mightiest epics.

On a sunny autumn day, a woman reaching for a garden squash loses her hand and a grazing deer his head when an invisible and impenetrable bubble clamps down around this rural town. Helicopters, planes, trucks and cars slam into the dome with deadly results.

Life under this impenetrable big top isn't just the weirdest show on Earth, it's the only show as the media, the military and the loved ones of the dome's trapped population converge on its impermeable borders.

"It's some kind of force field, like in a Star Trick movie," surmises one of the local yokels. But who or what is to blame? The military-industrial complex? Mad scientists? Extraterrestrials? Or according to Big Jim Rennie, one of the book's most evil and compelling characters, "the work of God's righteous hand."

Selectman Rennie, a used-car salesman with delusions of grandeur, sees the dome as his chance to become king of this newly created principality – maybe even make the cover ofTime.

Under his lumbering, maniacal reign, "legal is whatever we decide" becomes the mantra of Chester's Mill's police force.

But Rennie has a formidable opponent in Col. Dale "Barbie" Barbara, a decorated Iraq war veteran among the thousand or so stuck under the dome. Barbie is tapped by the U.S. president – Rennie refers to him as "the one who has three names including the terrorist one in the middle" – to govern the dome's populace. But Rennie is having none of it.

Readers will find the ensuing battle between good and evil staggeringly addictive. It's bloody and heated, and just when you think things can't get any worse for Barbie and his band of freedom fighters, they do.

Readers can wallow in this glorious novel's metaphoric and oh-so au courant messages about U.S. domination, freedom of the press, torture and environmental abuse, but they also can come to this novel just for the story.

King dishes up a fantastic you'll-never-see-it-coming culprit behind this domesday scenario. But it's the story of the people – the human zoo – trapped inside the dome that's most gripping.

In these days of text messages and Twitter novels, King grips us in a chokehold of un-put-downable fascination for more than 1,000 pages.

It's Veterans Day!

I'm spending the day lovin' on my most favorite veteran in the whole world. Take some time today to thank one for his (or her) sacrifice and service!

Ida Had To Rake Leaves Tomorrow...

...but thanks to this girl here, I don't have to.

Hurricane Ida has dumped so much rain on us today!

I had planned to clean my yards tomorrow afternoon but that's completely out now. You ever tried to use a leaf blower on wet leaves? Um. Yeah. They don't move.

I'm just devastated about it. :)

The Sky Is Falling!

Well, actually, it's acorns. A hundred thousand acorns waking me up at 3:00 in the morning when they fall from my backyard oak tree, ping off the roof and then roll down and hit the patio. Pow! It sounds like a driving range around here.

And we don't even want to talk about what they do to bare feet. Ow!

They were like this last year, too. I did a little research and found out that every seven years or so, acorns reproduce like little pink bunnies and absolutely cover the earth with their round cuteness.

I also read that tons of acorns means a very cold winter ahead. Don't like that. If that's the case, Warner Robins better buy up all the bread and milk NOW.

I Give Up. Merry Christmas!

Few things brought me as much joy when I was a little girl as the Sears Christmas Wish Book. I got one in the mail today and all those old memories just came flooding back! Memories of me and my brother laying on our bellies on the living room floor, circling toys and dog-earing the pages of that wonderful, magical book.

I've been trying really hard to savor fall, Halloween and Thanksgiving but Sears sho' makin' it hard for me to not think about Christmas! I found some pictures online of some things that were fantasies in the Wish Books of my childhood and then became realities on Christmas morning. Santa Claus at my house ROCKED!

The Sunshine Family!! Oh, how I loved these dolls!! Steve, Steffie and Baby Sweets. 1973-74? Cute little hippie family who were green and ate granola and probably smoked pot when I wasn't looking. No wonder I loved 'em so much. They also gardened and made crafts and recycled. Oh yeah, and I remember their eyes used to pop out a lot.

My Easy Bake Oven! I remember me and Ricky baking Jesus a birthday cake that Christmas morning. Awwww.

And I was ALL about the babies! I got so many dolls, a new one every Christmas. I had all of the Tender Love Dolls as well as Baby Alive, Baby That-A-Way, Rub-A-Dub Dolly and Baby Drowsy. I still have most of my babies but they're still living with their grandparents.

I'm such a bad mama.

Halloween Eve

I am SO ready.

Ze House Next Door? Itza Still Ugly

Just a quick update on the saga next door. The trim has been repainted a really pretty wine color. OVER that ugly ass red. Ugh! It looks better but still not good. Why the guy didn't prime it first, better yet, why they didn't choose colors that would easily blend in with the houses around it is beyond this little country girl's ciphering. That would make too much sense. That might make the neighbors happy. That might line the stars up. Who knows?

I've had a headache for four days now. It's a lot better today than yesterday, feeling a little more sore than an actual headache. It hurt for so long, it's just sore now. How cool is that? That's right. Not very.

I'm cleaning my house tonight because it's a leeeetle hard to scrub a tub when your head's 'bout to pop off. I'm doing that tonight and watching "The Office" but that's as far as I'm gonna go.

That's what she said.

Monster Toes!

These are probably the grossest thing I've ever made in my life.

We're having a li'l Halloween party at work tomorrow and I made these to take. Since our menu consists of Blood Clot Salsa and Vomit and Human Skin (that's dip and chips), I thought these toesies would be right at home.

I thought afterwards about using strawberry jelly instead of ketchup. Then we'd have some toe jam. Yuk yuk.

I know you're dying to make some for your own freak fest so here's how:

Recipe Ingredients:

Cocktail wieners

6-inch tortillas

Ketchup or mustard

Toothpicks

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut a wedge into the end of each cocktail wiener to make a toenail.

2. Cut the tortillas into strips about 4 inches long and 3/4 inch wide. Discard the ends.

3. Soften the strips in the microwave between damp paper towels for 10 to 30 seconds.

4. Roll each wiener in a tortilla strip and secure with a toothpick.

5. Bake for 7 to 8 minutes. Remove them from the oven, then fill the toenail with ketchup or mustard. Remove the toothpicks before serving.

(It's NOT Good To Touch) The Hot Red Mess Of Home

Okay. So Tuesday, I come home at lunch and find that the condo next to me is being painted pink and red. I told the painter I HATED IT. Bless his heart. It's not his fault. He didn't pick the colors.

Wednesday, I come home for lunch. The painter is on the roof next door, he sees me drive up in the driveway and he hides behind the chimney! He KNOWS I'm finna say something. By then, he'd gotten the entire front painted. (See the pic above and try not to scream)

Today, he's almost done. Every day this week, I've told him how much I hate it. I've told everybody that I hate it. I'm pretty much a mellow person. I usually just roll with stuff. I cannot roll with dis heah. Ami suggested that I get a neighborhood petition signed to present to the owners. The folks living there now are renting so it's not their fault either.

The base color is okay, the red is, well, there's just no delicate way to put it, HOOKER RED.

So I called the owner today on behalf of the entire neighborhood and said WE ALL HATE IT, HATE IT WITH THE HEAT OF A THOUSAND HELLS, WE DO.

And he's gonna change it!! Monday!! To a deep wine.

A deep wine that I pray will not resemble Barney.

Stay tuned...

Something Blue

I saw this meme on a blog I read and thought it would be a fun thing to write about. I didn't realize how hard it would be! You're supposed to come up with seven blue things that you love, are in your home or define your life in some way, things that make you you. This is what I came up with.

Larry's beautiful blue eyes. I can't think of another blue thing (or things!) that I love more than my husband's eyes. In them, I find comfort, protection, desire and so much love that it takes my breath away sometimes. I hope that if we ever have a child, he has his daddy's eyes. I really wish I had a better picture of Larry in his gray fire department uniform. That color makes his eyes POP! Mmm mmm mmmm, I could sop that boy up with a biscuit.

Another "blue" in my life that I don't love so much but it's there and it does define my life in a way would be the blues Larry and I get when we're not together. :( Thanks, baby, for coming up with that one!

The ocean! I am truly a beach baby.

I love every-thing about it, even getting sand you-know-where. Give me beautiful blue water, a chair and...

...a sunny blue sky and I'll stay out there all day. I'll come in looking just like a tomato but I'll be happy!

Blue jeans!

I'm almost always wearing jeans. Even when I'm not. :)

Blue cheese!

I could just eat this wedge UP.

Nom nom nom.

My blue sofa!

This is where you'll usually find me at night, camped out with my laptop.

This was fun! Now all you bloggers try to come up with seven blue things in your hearts, your lives or your homes!