From now on our troubles will be miles away...

I am so sleepy I feel sick. This morning on the way to work, no I didn’t fall asleep behind the wheel, I blasted Christmas jams in an attempt to wake myself. At one point, I was cruising with the windows down. However, when “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” came on, I rolled the windows up in order to fully embrace the song. What a freaking weirdo I am! It is as if that song is sacred. I even tear up when I hear it. It is magical, like the season itself. “From now on our troubles will be miles away...”

Ole Blue Eyes has a way with words, more particularly, how he sings those words. Isn’t it funny how music can alter or perpetuate your moods? If you’re sad, you can either listen to “I Don’t Believe You (She Acts Like We’ve Never Met)” by Bob Dylan and giggle right along with Bob as he sings. Or if you’re not satisfied with getting cheered up,and want to dig yourself further in the hole, why just put on “A Ballad in Plain D” and listen to Bob croon about a once-in-a-lifetime romance coming to an end. Bob has a song for every mood, just give him a listen. That’s why he’s my favorite.

Do you have a favorite part of a song that you crank when the verse plays? I love doing that! Por ejemplo:

Break on through - The Doors - "I found an island in your heart, poetry in your eyes"

Mrs. Robinson - Simon & Garfunkel - "Where have you gone Joe Dimagio, our nation turns it's lonely eyes to you"

The Night Hank Williams Came to Town - "Mama ironed my shirt and daddy let me take the truck. I drove on out to Grapevine and picked old Mavis up"

Say It Ain't So - Weezer - "This way is a waterslide away from me that takes you further everyday. So be cool."

Cool.

Brothers under covers

I love my kittens.

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Hate

For the record, I hate when I step off of the elevator onto the second floor and the gentle breeze of passerbys wafts the scent of poo from the private bathroom to my nose. Ugh. It is 7:18 am. You couldn't have been here that long. Why don't you do your business at home before you leave? Good grief! I hope this isn't an omen for the rest of the day.

"The day will go swimmingly. No one will complain about your writing. Time will pass quickly. Class will be great. Before you know it, you'll be stopping at Kroger to buy some chocolate chips. You'll be home with your kitties and you'll be making you and your hubby some puppy chow to replenish the sad sack of crumbs that are currently in the fridge. Yes, the day will pass without any trouble. That $5 you lifted from the candy dish this morning will buy you a double-cheeseburger and fries from McDonald's. You can't go wrong with an all-star lunch like that! You'll re-fuel your car and avoid running out of gas on the way to school. You won't forget to do that, for you only have 14 miles left on what remains in your tank. Today will be a good day. I decree it."--Morning Pep Talk

Mommaw = Awesome

Have you guys seen the Humana commercial with the grandchildren and their grandparents? I love it. "My gwandpa is the best fwiend evul." "My gwandpa spoils me wotten." "Me and my grandma are best friends. After this, we're going to get some ice cream." What a sweet little commercial. Grandparents are so wonderful. I have a cool picture of me and my Mommaw from back in the day: I am hugging Mommaw who is sporting a "Pitino's Bombinos" t-shirt. Classic.

The Weekend

I had a fun-filled weekend. Friday at work stunk, but Doogie picked me up at 5 and we hopped right to having fun. Got home and relaxed a bit, and then headed to Frisch's for dinner. Mmm! I foundered. Also, I noticed a similarity between Big Boy and the new MP building. I think MP ripped off Frisch's color pallet, seriously--same blue, orange, yellow, and red. Maybe I should get a Big Boy bank for my new cube. Instead of thinking about CSRs, I'll be thinking about grilled cheese sandwiches and french fries. (Now I am hungry!) After dinner, we came home and I went up to my lair (my bedroom), and watched a horrible chick flick (Dear John). I love Friday nights, but my favorite day of the week is Saturday.

Saturday started with baking (always a good sign). First, was Grandma Cleon's (Doug's Mommaw) chex mix. Success! The Chex Mix was delicious. After this win, the trouble started. I attempted to make the best peanut butter cookies in the world (the recipe is from a little old lady at Dwarf Baptist; she used to make these for Vacation Bible School). As the kids say these days, EPIC FAIL. I don't know what happened, honestly. I followed the directions, which instructed, "Cook cream and sugar together until a small ball forms." Yeah, nothing ever formed, but the sugar and cream FOAMED, climbed over the rim of my saucepan, and covered the surface of my stovetop. Scratch the cookies and move on to the cake! I went with Orange Sunshine, my favorite, something I've made a thousand times, perfect! BUT, I forgot the sour cream in the icing. Another fail. But my cooking didn't end in failure; I rebounded with cheesy hashbrowns. (Did I mention I was hungry?) I think I'll go make a plate of leftovers! The best thing about a recipe-swap, potluck function is all the leftovers you get for breakfast the morning after.

After everyone got their bellies full, and we sufficiently gabbed, we headed to the Dent Schoolhouse for their haunted house. We stood in line for about an hour, but finally made it through the house. Yikes! It was scary! I am glad I didn't have to go through the house alone, or I would not have made it out. I had to lead the crew for a bit, and that was the most tense job. I hated turning the corner and walking down the long, dark, skinny hall just knowing something was going to jump out and get you. Shew...stressful! I loved it! And guess what! No nightmares. Hooray! It was midnight by the time we got out of the house and were heading home. I guess you know what I did as soon as we arrived at 125, that's right---hit the hay! I slept in this morning and I didn't wake until 11!

11 has come and gone, and now it's half past noon on Sunday. Time for some of those leftovers I was talking about and some NLF football. Let's not think about what tomorrow is...

Scaredy Allicat!

Lorelai Gilmore is a great actress. Last night, I started watching her new show, Parenthood, and it's pretty good. It has Lorelai and Coach (Craig T. Nelson) in it. Can't ask for a better cast! It also has the dude from Six Feet Under, I think that's what he was on. Anyhow, it's a good show, but honestly, I can't see that woman as anyone but Lorelai Gilmore. Also, Sookie has her own TV show these days. What's up with Rory? She needs to get with the program and stop making lame movies (i.e., Post Grad).

Grad school is hard. There is so much work to be done and I am so lazy. I also want to take this opportunity to say that I don't particularly enjoy group work. You'd think that group work would be okay if you're group consisted of adult graduate students, but you'd be wrong. It's still the same story: a few show up, a few do the work, and I'm one of the few. Oh well, at least my group project is interesting, and I actually enjoy doing the work. We are studying the Beverly Hills Supper Club fire of 1977. I'll tell you about once I know more about it myself. I will be interviewing a police officer who was one of the first responders. Should be intense. I hope I don't mess everything up. You know I am a nervous wreck when talking to new people, add that to talking to a hero about an awful night, plus getting graded on it = not cool. I am scared.

I am scared of my basement. When I go down there...alone...in the dark, you know, it's really freaking creepy. Sometimes, I am scared by my own shadow. Sometimes, I see dead people. Sometimes, I think the reflection of the laundry detergent in the window is actually a creepy prowler staring into my basement. Gives me the creeps just thinking about it.

It is also terrible when the cats freak out for no good reason at all. I like to think my children would protect me from evil, like Clovis the Attack Cat from Sleepwalkers. However, sometimes, I think something in my house is scaring them. They'll just be sitting there (or laying there in the case of BC), and then go berserk, as if someone or something is messing with them. They run through the house like they're chasing a sleepwalker! I think my house is haunted. I wonder if we could get some ghosthunters over there to check the place out.

Cool car, cold heart, cold biscuit.

My husband loves his car more than his wife, hence the reason I had to eat a cold biscuit this morning for breakfast. I usually eat my biscuit fresh and warm right from the BK drive-thru window, but this morning, Doog told me no. He said, "Wife, biscuits are even worse than croissants, and if you even think about eating that biscuit in my car, I'll divorce you. Plus, you're ugly and fat."

It's Even Worse than I Thought

Today I got lost in my own neighborhood. I was too busy looking around at the beautiful houses, that I made a wrong turn at some point, and about 10 minutes later was down on Maryland Avenue. So pathetic. I had to break out the GPS on the phone to navigate my way back to Wallace Woods. It's all those tricky one-way roads. At least that's my story.

The story of today was: stay positive; if you don't have anything nice to say about anyone, stay quiet. I think I did all right with that, and you know, I had a pretty good day.

Sunday is funday until you realize tomorrow is Monday

Woke up this morning...put on my new plastic gloves...just kidding! Woke up this morning late. Slept in til 10. Then, it was time for church. Yep, you read that correctly, I went to church this morning. Let's just say, that church was...different. ("Your son's different, Mrs. Gump.") Folks were nice there, and the preaching was pretty good, but the singing and other antics, I just couldn't get behind. Oh well, not sorry I went. It was a good message and what else was I gonna do? Sit on the couch?

The couch is where I went when I returned home. Doogie, as it is Sunday and he is a man, was planted in front of the television watching football (Who dey!). The Bengals won! Though, I wasn't awake to see it. Yessir, took me a little 2 hour nap. I love lazy Sundays, but I do not love how they end: Mondays. Again, I ask you, why are weekends so short? Makes me sad. And so, Doogie is on his 9th hour of football, and I am back to the couch (just got home from seeing Easy A--good flick), laying here dreading work tomorrow. Why won't Brian just win the lottery for us?

Doug & the boyz

Hard at work assembling my table. Why yes, that is a Nintendo DS in Doogie's hands.

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The day has come...

My dining room table is finally here! Yes, boys and girls, today I went to Ikea and spent way too much money on a dining room table that I didn't particularly need. It is beautiful...or so it was in the store and in the catalog. It's sprawled out on the dining room floor in pieces right now. Doogie is in the dining room assembling it. Though, as I sit here and type, I hear the clanking of swords instead of the drill. I have a suspicion that he is playing Final Fantasy on DS instead of building my table. DOOOOGIE! GET TO WORK! KNOW YOUR ROLE! Doogie is sweet. He promised to buy me a buffet for Christmas. He spotted it at Ikea today. Same color as my table and will fit in the dining room between the fire place and the window. Perfect! Merry Christmas to me. (Let it be known that he retracted this promise when we got home. However, I suspect he'll still get it for me. He's a big softy.)

Softy (plush Godzilla toy) was M's best Christmas present. Last year for his birthday, we got him a plus Battra (some nasty worm thing from Godzilla). The 13th was M's 5th birthday and today was his party. We got him a dragon lunch box, a dinosaur sandwich cutter, and a dinosaur sandwich box. He seemed to like them, but his sister opened them for him. Reminds me of his remark when we were watching The Great Pumpkin last year---"My sister is like Lucy." The birthday party was hysterical, better than television, and it kinda made me not want to have children. Out of the dozen children there, 2 were all I could tolerate. The others: BRATS. Jesus, I just don't know how parents can tolerate these types of hoodlums 24-7. M got into a boxing match with some kid, for real. "Understand me, M, there is no kicking in boxing." Puh-chow. Pu-chow. "Listen, only I am allowed to kick, M." Pu-chow. Pu-chow. Then M goes running out of the pool screaming bloody murder, "I'm bleeeeeeeeeding!" And then there was the water balloon fiasco. Some of the older little girls brought water balloons, but not enough for every kid. So, they turned all Mean Girls on this younger little girl and wouldn't give her a water balloon. She cried and threw a tantrum, but I'm telling you, those older little girls were mean.

Mean people...everyday I see my world filling with more and more of them. And I'm getting tired of them. I try to be a positive, nice, easy-going person, but these mean people make it so hard. They're taking over! Ignore them, I say. They don't matter, and yet, I find them impacting my life. Making me worry. Causing me to be frustrated with things that would otherwise not bother me. Ugh. As the Sweathogs would say, "Up your nose with a rubber hose!"

Edward, you creep! Mmm cookies!

Last night, upon my return home from class, well, let me just paint the picture for you: It's dark. The night air feels wonderful, so I'm cruisin' with the windows down in Betty Blue (my car). As I pull up the driveway, I hear a noise and think someone is hiding in the bushes behind my garage (my mind also goes to the worst case scenario). I pull into the garage, I see someone standing in there. I scream. Then I laugh when I realize it's just Count Edward. Stupid Dracula. Liked to have scared me to death! It's a wonder I didn't wreck in my own garage. What a way to end the night!

Tonight, I had dinner with fabulous friends, excluding Dacian (I refuse to be nice to him until he concedes that his Halloween costume [Jason] is lame and decides to stop being a drag). The food was delicious (LaRosa's), company even better, and to top it all of, we were serenaded by a sweet little dude with...The Planet Song. Didn't know such a song existed until tonight, but it is indeed a song, and it was sung brilliantly. Hooray for sweet babies!

Babies with potty mouths are not so cute. Before our friends arrived, we sat and observed, in awe, a nice, mannerly (italics = sarcasm) family. Their surrounding area looked like a war zone: napkins, food, crayons, straws everywhere. Amidst the destruction, sat 2 fat old people silently eating (the grandparents). We were relieved, thinking the crew who had created the mess had already left. No, they were still there, as a matter of fact, to restate one of the toddlers, they had "gone [to] shit in the potty." Yes, children, those were the verbatim terms. Lovely.

Lovely pumpkin cookies! I baked them tonight, and Doogie says they're pretty good. In case you get a hankering for some of your own, here's the recipe, compliments of Betty Crocker (and as you recall from her 1990's tv ads, she knows what guys want):

Pumpkin cookies with browned butter frosting (italics = title of recipe)
Cookies:
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
2 eggs
2 1/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt (which I just realize I didn't add)

Browned butter frosting:
3 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3 to 4 Tbsp milk
1/3 cup butter (Betty says not to use margarine or spread because it will burn.)

COOKIES: Heat oven to 375. Beat together sugar, brown sugar, butter, and vanilla until well blended. Beat in pumpkin and eggs until well mixed. Beat in flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. On ungreased cookie sheet, drop dough by heaping tablespoonfuls. Bake 10-12 minutes.

ICING: In medium bowl, place powdered sugar, vanilla, and 3 Tbsp milk. In a 1 quart saucepan, melt butter over medium heat, stirring constantly until light brown. Pour butter over powdered sugar mixture. Stir until smooth. Add remaining 1 Tbsp milk to make frosting creamy.

Oh I Lobster & Never Flounder

Found the cook magazine, only after the best husband in the world took me to Walmart to try to find a replacement (which Walmark didn't have). I love my husband. He's all right, I guess.

Guess where the magazine was! Under a wax ring for the new toilet. Oh yeah!

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Mission Failed

I went on a mission to purchase black cat Halloween pajamas today at lunch, but Old Navy failed me. No size Ms. How dare you, Old Navy! Why is it that every time I want to purchase an article of clothing, the only sizes left on the shelf are XS or XL? Boo to Old Navy! They are skanktrons. Now I will be forced to venture all the way out to Florence in a quest to find my spooky pjs.

Pjs...Brian says men don't wear pjs. Is that true? Is that why you don't wear those snowmen pjs I bought especially for you, husband? Men are so strange.

Stranger things have happened, but I vehemently believe that I will be destroyed tomorrow. I have lost a cookbook...ahem...cookmagazine, and its owner will be upset with me. It's been nice knowin' ya, kids. I threw it in the trash this weekend when I was de-cluttering my crib. Cleaning never amounts to any good.

Good grief! My head hurts. Had another stressful day. I wish I had a stress-free job. Doug says I worry too much about silly things. He is right. I don't know why I let things bother me. No one else seems to care, so why should I get all worked about it?!

It seems as if I have abandoned altogether my notion of blogging about food. I haven't tried a new recipe in weeks. I am too lazy; it is really depressing. I get home and get into my pjs and don't wanna do anything! I will amend this. This week I shall make my pumpkin cookies; I will photograph the cookies; and I will blog about the whole process. It shall be so.

So, I kinda wanna see that new Ben Affleck movie, "The Town." Anyone interested? I had nightmares about it last night, though. Yes, I know it's not a scary movie, but you have to admit there's something terrifying about angry dudes carrying tommy guns sporting creepy old man masks. So, why do I want to see this? I don't know. It looks good. Affleck looks good. Blair Lively is a crack skank in it, but she still looks good. All-in-all, it's a good lookin' movie. I'm guessing Doogie won't be up for it. You let me know if you want to accompany to a showing.

Another weekend here and gone...

I know I type the same thing every Sunday night: Depression sets in as Monday approaches. Why can't we work 2 days and have 5 days for stay-at-home time?

Time has come for pumpkin flavored cookies! Now (finally!), at your local Kroger, you can purchase canned pumpkin to make said cookies. I've taken this first step; next, it is off to the kitchen for baking! But do I want to rush to the kitchen to bake, not only the cookies, but myself? Ugh, summer will not go away! Summer came back, the very next day, you thought it was a goner, but summer came back! 81 today and 87 tomorrow.

Tomorrow, as well as the rest of today (the part of today that is not spent doing homework), I will push-on in my attempt to ready the dining room for my new table and in my thus far failed attempt to de-clutter my house. When and how did I acquire so much crap? I have been purging, and I still have an unbelievable amount of stuff! I have multiple copies of novels. I have un-opened DVDs. I have unidentified crap with origins, no doubt, from the "collection" of Eunice Stone. I am a Level 1 Hoarder: Household is considered standard. No special knowledge in working with the Chronically Disorganized is necessary verging on Level 2. Nonetheless, however cluttered my house may look, I want you to know that I do not have crusty food, bugs, maggots, animal feces, or other unsanitary jazz floating around, AND all of our rooms are functional. I shouldn't joke about such things; my house rules and I'm lucky to have all the cool stuff I've gathered over the years. My new table will love its new home and will look snazzy in the eclectic dining room.

I like...

...when I am talking to the kittens, but Doug thinks I am talking to him and answers.

Gruesome Group Halloween Invitations 8ct - Halloween Invitations - Party Supplies - Halloween Costumes - Party City

Gruesome Group Halloween Invitations 8ct - Halloween Invitations - Party Supplies - Halloween Costumes - Party City

Graham crackers

I forgot to tell you all...the last time I was in Dwarf, Mommaw told me that she remembered the first time she ate a graham cracker. She said she loved it, and that it was the best thing she'd ever eaten.

On a similar note, I can remember the first time I had a Nutter Butter...or at least, the first time I remember eating a Nutter Butter. I shared the cookies with Carl Everett and Bob Dylan was being played in the background. The second memory of Nutter Butters was the event mentioned in a prior blog: Junk Day on Juniper Street, when I traded my loot for 2 cookies.

Say it ain't so...

The 3-day weekend is over! Noooo! It was fun while it lasted. Let me tell you about all the fun things I've been up to this holiday weekend:

Carol and I worked ourselves to death (well, I did, she's used to such tasks, so probably wasn't as pooped as I was) Saturday on the bathroom. It looks so nice! After working all day, we kicked back on the bed with a couple glasses of wine and watched Ghost (Carol's favorite movie). I wish I could say the work was all done, but I still have to grout. Hopefully, I'll get that taken care of next weekend. I want to get it all done before Carol comes back from Philadelphia. When she is back, we're going to get one of her workers down here to hang drywall on the ceiling (it is currently some skanky ceiling tile). Not too much longer til it is completely done! Yay for a new bathroom.

The bathroom cost us 2 trips to Ikea, neither of which resulted in the purchase of my coveted table. I have to face the sad truth: I'm not getting my table this month. Forgot how much it costs to redo a bathroom: plaster for hanging of the tiles, vanity, sink, faucet, cabinet, toilet it all adds up to mucho dinero. *tear* I will purchase the table before the Halloween bash.

The Halloween bash has been on mine and Doogie's braing (as Alvin Bush would say)! We were shopping at Sam's yesterday (for the bare necessities) and came across something that we need so badly for the Halloween party: talking Halloween busts. They interact with each other! If only they weren't $75, they'd be on our mantle right now! We'll hold out for a month and see if they drop in price. They'd complement Edward (the Vampire) quite nicely. Can't wait!

Wait til you see all the loot Doug found in the garage when rummaging through his Dad's stuff. He hit the jackpot for pictures of Stephen (McBeavin the name of a twirp). Here we thought that no one cared about Steve and therefore took only pictures of his much cuter little brother, Douglas, but, what's that, someone did care! They cared enough to take pictures of little Steve (and promptly stash them in a ziplock bag in the bottom of a box full of books on the history of the Roebling Bridge)! Baby Steve, Toddler Steve, Steve with a mullet, Steve at Prom, and my all-time favorite, Steve snuggling his little bro, Doogie!

Doogie also found a cool document telling the history of the Pelstring family (Carol's family). Once I re-locate this piece, I will share it with you. Grandpa Vince's stamp collection was also discovered this weekend. AND a playbill from 1920. Super suave! I wanted Doug to switch me jobs: let me sort through family artifacts and you tile! He didn't go for it.

Tile. Be. Done. Already.

We (Carol and I) tiled all night, and we will tile some more on Saturday. The bathroom should be done by then. The wall tile is basically up, just one more round to go on top, and Carol's design she's worked out. It is looking sharp! Last night I was in charge of lathering up (aka putting the paste goo on the back of the tile) the tiles and placing them on the wall. I also did a little measuring and marking of the tiles to cut, but did no actual cutting. Carol has faith that I can properly work a tile saw without losing a finger (or my entire hand), but I have great doubt. At any rate, I will be happy when the bathroom is all done and back in order.

Ordered some more Christmas presents! I am on a roll. I have already gotten so many purchased! If I can just hang onto them until Christmas, and not cave and give them early (I'm so bad about that). So exciting! And! The weather is going to be perfect his weekend! 70's! Fall is coming, I just know it! Wallace Woods is so enchanting in the fall. It kinda reminds me of Stars Hollow. : ) I wish we had a Luke's Diner.

Tootsie Pops, The Possum, and Edward Cullen

I wish you could get blowpops without the gum. The gum is simply sub-par. It sticks to your teeth, that is, if you can even break it up enough for it to take on its gummy attributes. I broke a tooth once on a blowpop. I was a senior in high school. It was the gum's fault, and that is why I stay away from the gummy center, folks. I wish there was more candy coating! I do not share these same feelings toward Tootsie Pops. The tootsie roll center of the Tootsie Pop is always chewable. They are delectable! But, the Tootsie Pop candy coating flavors are not as yummy as the blowpop favors (except the purple ones...purple IS a flavor). If there was only a way to combine the 2!

2 big regrets:

1. I'm speaking for my bestie when I say this...not acquiring that George "Possum" Jones t-shirt that once belonged to your dear Grandma, which she purchased at the Preble County Fair. If you don't regret turning this gem down, I regret it for you. What a classic t-shirt!

2. Thebiggest regret of my life: Spending my time and hard-earned money on Twilight. Bought the books, read the books (except, I couldn't bring myself to finish the 4th one after all that imprinting on babies business...creeped me out), paid to go see not 1, not 2, but 3 of those God awful movies. I made those people rich and famous, and they suck (no pun intended).

Whole Lotta Love

I wish I was a cat. If I was a cat, I'd be snoozing right now. If I was a BC cat, I'd be snoozing on the guest bed, maybe snuggling a brother. If I was a Flashy Cat, I'd definitely be snuggling a brother, for Flashy cats do not like to sleep alone. If I was a Mr. Cat, wherever I'd be--bookshelf, ottoman, office desk--I'd be beautiful and slightly grouchy. If I was a Sasquatch Yoshipotomas Cat, my big belly and I would be laid out under the quilt rack with a stuffed cat and/or rat. At any rate, if I was a cat, I wouldn't be at work, and I'd be cozy and sleeping!

Sleeping was abruptly stopped today when the aforementioned Sasquatch Cat decided to JUMP ON MY HEAD! Grrr, if they weren't so cute, I swear, I'd get rid of them!