Betcha Didn't Know

I "borrowed" this from La Buena Vida.

Guilty Pleasure?

"Crazy" TV shows, such as Hoarders, Intervention, Toddlers & Tiaras, Teen Mom, Teen Mom 2, and a new one that I'm watching right now. Jury's still out if this will fall into the "guilty pleasure" category:

The woman on the bottom right in the white sweater is Suzanne Steece of Steece's Pieces. Love that blog -- can't wait to see her on TV!

Recent Splurge?

We just got a new huge-mongous 3-D plasma surround sounded TV for our living room. We just made plans to go away to Mohegan Sun casino in Connecticut. I think we've exhausted our splurges for a while!

In bulk, I buy?

We've been off going to Costco or BJ's for quite a while (I try to be a crazy couponer and you can't use manufacturer's coupons at either of those places)... When we did go, we bought mostly paper goods and laundry detergent.

My go-to flower?

Not sure what sense we're using the term "go-to" in, but purple roses are my fave. From my wedding:

Comfort Food?

Baked macaroni & cheese. Even better? Lobster macaroni & cheese. Hands down.

For breakfast?

Today, I had a plain bagel toasted with veggie cream cheese from Dunkin' Donuts. Of course, this may not be considered breakfast, considering I had it at 1 pm. I'm not a breakfast person. More to the point, I'm not a morning person!

For dinner?

Are you ready for this haute cuisine meal??? Hot dogs, fries, and salad. Yes, that's right - we do it up big here! Thursday night we're going out to eat though, to celebrate my stepson's graduation from college. Looking forward to that.

Love/hate relationship with?

This goes back to the comfort food answer. Dairy products. I'm lactose intolerant. I love dairy. I hate dairy. I could take lactose pills. I don't.

Can't stop watching?

See answers to guilty pleasures questions above. Plus, I love NCIS, Criminal Minds, and Bones.

Dreaming about?

Weird stuff (that's what happens when you take NyQuil.). I recently dreamt that My Ramblings bought my grandparents' house. Dirt Road Damsel was there, too. Weird. Just weird.

Every girl should have?

Pants that are exactly the right length. As someone who's too tall for petite sized pants and too short for regular length pants and can't sew her way out of a paper bag, it stinks. I have found "short length" pants. which are longer than petite and shorter than regular, which are OK for me...IF I have the right height shoes.

My style in five words?

1. Lazy
2. Casual
3. Plain
4. Somewhat...
5. ...Conservative

When I weighed less, I liked clothes a lot more. Now I just see them as a necessity. I'm hoping that I can get back on the Couch-to-5K wagon in 2012 and change this.

I love wearing?

Knee socks in winter. My legs and feet are always cold, so I love being able to keep them toasty.

Dream Job?

Getting paid to read books on a beach in Aruba? Being my sorority's archivist. (Yes, I could qualify with my newly minted library degree, yes, sororities and fraternities do actually have archivist positions, and no, I won't be moving to Columbus, OH to do this.) Oh well..dare to dream!

More Christmas 2011

Some more photos, taken by our niece, R.:

Nieces S. & S., Nephews J. & G. (with G's girlfriend M.)

Sister-in-law M.J. (proud grandma!) with S. and stepdaughter G. looking on:



Great nephew J. telling his cousin J. how it is:

All 20+ people jammed into our dining room/kitchen. (And someone's large sweaty head in the corner. :/):

Christmas 2011

Sickness ran (and is still) running rampant in this household, so Christmas wasn't as pleasant as it could've been, but in the end, it still ended up being pretty good!

Christmas Eve Eve is John's and my Christmas Eve with the kids. (It's funny that I still call them that at ages 24 & 21.) We carried out most of our traditions -- homemade pizza and a board game. Sorry was the game of choice and yours truly won. This doesn't happen often, so I must toot (toot toot) my own horn. G. chose to open one gift (a Disneymania CD), J. chose to wait until Christmas, and G. gave John and I our gifts. Her program had set up a little shop for its participants to shop at. She picked this out for me:

The "just add snow" part is easier said than done! It flurried on Christmas morning, but that's it. Does that mean we're getting slammed in January???

Christmas Eve morning was spent doing some last minute shopping. I don't usually go out on Christmas Eve to do shopping and let me tell you -- there were A LOT more people out than I thought there'd be. Dollar Tree was S-C-A-R-Y. I digress here, but it seems as though no matter how early I start shopping, it's never early enough. Seems like a losing battle and that's the part about Christmas that really bums me out. Anywho!

The rest of Christmas Eve was spent wrapping, cleaning, cooking, and setting this place up to host 22 people...yes, that's right...22! (That includes a 4 year old and a 4 month old and 2 adults ended up not coming...you do the math on how many we had in the end!) It was kind of a bummer because I was sick, John was getting over being sick, we had tons to do, I had a slight meltdown, etc. etc.. so we didn't end up doing what we usually do -- have wine, hot crab dip, and a movie. I ended up just calling it a night after we were done with our stuff, determined to wake up in a better mood on Christmas morning...and I did!

We got up and exchanged our gifts. John had purchased a 3-D LCD plasma something or other TV for our living room just a week or so ago, so we were low key on gifts. I gave John two fleeces, three Blu-rays (the TV was supposed to have come with a free Blu-ray player...um, yeah...not so much), a "how to make homemade Bailey's Irish Cream" kit, and a book, which I think is hilarious and only he would find it:

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John gave me some great stuff -- a gift certificate for a massage, a beautiful handmade scarf from JessiArts, an ergo wrist rest, and this calendar (Emma Peel ROCKS!):

The kids came over and we gave them their gifts -- it was a Wii dance game Christmas for G. (HS Musical Senior Year Dance and Just Dance 3) along with another Disneymania CD, clothes, Pretty Little Liars calendar, and a journal. J. got an XBOX Gold subscription, a Mac software upgrade-thingy and money.

J. gave me these DVDs. When I was a little girl (8ish) I watched this minseries on PBS with my parents. Growing up in a small town and at that point, having only lived in that one place, it was so magical to imagine moving to Africa and living in the "wild." If you've never read the book or seen the miniseries, I HIGHLY recommend it. Great story.

Then the fun really started...lol. Family started arriving...the kitchen was crazy...laughter was everywhere. Even though I grew up in a very small family with very small sedate celebrations, there was MAYBE a tiny part of me yesterday that enjoyed the largeness and loudness of the day. :)

We had lots of appetizers, roast pork, spoon roast, mashed red potatoes, squash, turnip, roasted brussels sprouts, creamed onions, green bean casserole, gravy, rolls and too many desserts to count.

Opening up presents was next...everyone got very nice things and had more laughs.

Here are some photos I borrowed from our niece S:

John's and my great nephew J. with his new helmet:



Stepson J. and great nephew J:



Nephew G. and great nephew J.:



Almost all grandkids/great-grandkids with their Grammy/Great Grammy:

BQOTD: What Do You Think About Posting Personal Information on Public Chat Boards/Facebook?

For those who aren't familiar, BQOTD stands for "Big Question of the Day." (La Buena Vida does a lot of these.)


So, what do you think about posting personal information on public chat boards or Facebook? By personal information, I mean last name, address, workplace information, birth dates, etc...
I've had two experiences with this that stick out in my mind:
The first was on The Nest, a portal for newlyweds that hosts a number of chat boards on various topics. After my husband and I bought our first house, I joined the Nest and was a "regular" on the Decorating & Renovating (fondly known as D&R) board. By creating an account and logging in, you get extras that the public doesn't. However, anyone can go to the chat board, read the posts, see photos posted, and click on any links provided. So, even though posters generally have a screen name that is not their first/last name, their posts, photos, and links can expose this information to anyone.
People would post a photo of their ultrasound -- with their full name in the corner of the photo. Someone said what town they lived in and another asked what part of town. The original poster basically gave the street intersection. A lot of people have links to their personal blogs, which can certainly contain a lot of personal information.
The second place I've experienced this is Facebook. Granted, most people (although not all) have completely private profiles and the general public can't get to information such as workplace, address, birth dates, etc...
A lot of people also post on Facebook things such as, "Entire family is gone to the mall!" or "Leaving on vacation for three weeks."
So, what are your thoughts about this? Talk to me.

Goodbye Max

It's been over a month since our Golden Retriever Max passed away and while it gets a bit easier each day, I still think of him constantly. When I open the bathroom door after my shower, I still brace myself for trying not to step on him. He'd lie outside the bathroom door when John or I took a shower and wait patiently until we were done. I still leave the bedroom light on when I leave for work in the morning -- I never wanted him to be in the dark when he was home alone. When I go down into the basement, I see his food bowl and his toys and I picture him running to the door with the "Crazy Chicken" in his mouth. While unpacking the Christmas things yesterday, we happened upon his stocking. We won't hang it up this year, but his picture is on the mantle and he's never far from our hearts.

We got Max when he was only a few months old. After John and I had moved in together and our landlord OK'd a dog, we told the kids they could help pick the dog out. We went to a Golden Retriever breeder's and I can still picture that "scene" like it was yesterday versus almost 10 1/2 year ago. We pulled into the driveway of the house and a litter of Golden Retriever puppies went nuts, barking and climbing on the fence. G, my stepdaughter, immediately started crying and plugging her ears. (The breeder must've thought we were forcing the kids into getting a dog!) We asked J, my stepson to pick out which puppy he wanted. He chose the one eating dirt (and we never let him forget that...)

We decided to name him Max, with his AKC registered name being "M.S. Maxdaam." We had just come back from a family cruise on Holland America's M.S. Maasdam and we thought naming him that would be a good way to commemorate our trip.

A few weeks later we drove back and took him home in a laundry basket in the backseat of the car. We crate-trained him, took him to Puppy Kindergarten, cleaned up his pee all over the house, and even took the opportunity to pick him up and cuddle him like a baby (that didn't last very long.)

I remember coming home at lunch one day from work (I'd drive home to let him out). He'd been out of the crate and had literally ripped the shredding out of the loveseat in our bedroom (the VERY UGLY one you'll see below...maybe he did us a favor.) He'd also pulled a few rows out of the Berber rug in our bedroom. I stood there calling John in tears. What were we going to do??? What else could we do? We got through it.

Max loved the snow. He loved peanut butter. He loved lobster meat. He knew which Christmas stocking was his. One of us could say, "Where's Max's stocking?" and he'd sit in front of it and raise his paw.

We loved him dearly for 10 1/2 years and we're pretty sure he felt the same. He'll live forever in our hearts.

His life in pictures:

A young'un. He loved that hot dog and had it for a long time.

Aforementioned ugly loveseat. I think he was eating that towel in preparation for the loveseat stuffing!

Here's trouble:

Good thing he was cute. I think this picture is the cutest.

Then again, maybe this is the cutest?

Man's best friend.

Let me preface this photo by saying this was NOT animal cruelty! We had a hole in our porch door that he always tried to get in. Even when he was a baby, his head was too big!

I'm pretty sure they won the World Series because of him. :)

Running on the beach. He wasn't fond of the ocean.

He's thinking, "I see my stocking, I know which one is mine, I just can't reach it!"

Here are J & G showing him his Christmas loot:

He wasn't so sure of lobsters when they were alive, but LOVED their meat!

Our best buddy.

Loved, loved, loved the snow.

Loved to sleep!

While going through our photos of Max, I came across this one:

Even though it was taken years ago, I immediately remembered that I had given Max the postcard that J. had mailed to him from Florida. I found that postcard. I shed even more tears when I read it.

Why I've Been MIA

My baby boy Max passed away on November 4th, 2011. Devastation. I'll devote an entire post to this, but I'm working my way into writing about it.

Then Turkey Day showed up with all kinds of family present. Had a nice day of shopping with my Mom & Dad (my Mom LOVES these chairs in HomeGoods):

My final project was due this past Friday and I'm only one 25 minute presentation/3 hour class away from THE END!!!

Friday night I got some sad news. My friend and sorority sister Meg passed away. She'd been battling Ocular Melanoma for quite some time and finally succumbed to it. She was brave in her fight and kept her 1000-watt smile. Even though some think Facebook is a waste of time, I'm very thankful that it reunited us.

This was from my 20th b-day at Cheesecake Factory in Bethesda, MD. Meg is on the left, I'm in the center, and our friend Jeanine is on the right.

Chili-Corn Chip Pie

I'd heard about Frito Pie from my Southern friends and was curious. I mean, who doesn't like the sound of Fritos being part of a meal? Well, when I finally got around to reading my September 2011 issue of Cooking Light (just a few days ago) and I saw the recipe for Chili-Corn Chip Pie, I figured now was my chance to try it. It was a bonus that it is considered a "light" version.

John and I were going to go out to eat Saturday night, but once the predicted Nor'easter was becoming a reality, I decided that it was the perfect night for comfort food and the perfect night to make the Chili-Corn Chip Pie. You'll see the various items that are light/low-fat. Our grocery store didn't have "lightly salted" Fritos, so we used regular ones. We also used low-fat vs. fat-free sour cream, as we can't quite make that leap.

Let me just say this -- John (my husband) is wary of ANYTHING that's light or low-fat. So, basically, anything that comes out of the Cooking Light magazine, he's skeptical of. Not this one. He used the word "amazing," I do believe. He loved it and so did I! It's a great winter lunch/dinner and it's VERY easy.

Ingredients


Cooking spray
1 pound ground sirloin
1 1/4 cups chopped onion
6 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon no-salt-added tomato paste
1 cup fat-free, lower-sodium beef broth
1/3 cup water
1 (10-ounce) can diced tomatoes and green chiles, undrained
4 ounces lightly salted corn chips (such as Fritos)
1/3 cup (1 1/2 ounces) shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 cup fat-free sour cream
1/2 cup diagonally sliced green onion tops

Preparation

1. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add beef to pan; sauté 5 minutes, stirring to crumble. Remove beef; drain. Wipe pan clean with paper towels. Add onion to pan; sauté 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in beef, cumin, pepper, and salt.

2. Stir in tomato paste; cook 1 minute, stirring occasionally. Add broth, 1/3 cup water, and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, and simmer 15 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.

3. Place 1 ounce chips in each of 4 bowls, and top each serving with about 2/3 cup beef mixture, 2 tablespoons cheese, and 1 tablespoon sour cream. Sprinkle each serving with 2 tablespoons green onions.

You Say "to-mah-to" and I Say "to-may-to"

What do you call each of these things? My answers are at the bottom. (Don't cheat!)

1.

2.

3. 

4.

5.

6.

7.



8.

1.  Carriage. Having worked at a grocery store in high school, I think I picked that term up there. All I can here is, "So and So, Carriage Control." I've heard it called a cart, shopping cart, wagon.

2. Couch. I remember hearing my Great Aunt T. calling it a divan and I almost laughed out loud. Sounds very old-fashioned. I've heard it called a sofa, settee.

3. Pocketbook. I always feel funny saying this, although not sure why. Most everyone I know calls it a purse. Also called a bag, satchel.

4. Sub. I think when I was younger and lived in western Massachusetts, I called it a grinder, but after moving to the Boston-area, I converted to "sub." I've heard it called a hoagie, submarine sandwich.

5. Soda. When I was in 7th grade, having just moved to the Boston-area, a friend asked if I wanted to go to the tonic machine. My answer? "They have machines for tonic water?" Um, yeah. I'd never heard soda called tonic. Totally Bostonian. I've heard it called pop and some people call all flavors of soda "Coke."

6. Dresser. Occasionally I call it a bureau. I've heard it called a chest of drawers.

7. Sweatshirt. This one bugs me. My husband calls this a "jersey." Um, NO! A "jersey" is a long sleeve shirt. The new fad, of course, is calling it a hoodie.

8. Tag Sale. Yet another western Massachusetts term, I think. Most everyone calls them yard sales or garage sales (even if they're not in the yard or the garage.)

If You're On a 'Need-to-Know' Basis...

...then you'll NEED to know these things.

Today is National Chocolate Cupcake Day. No, really -- it is. If you don't believe me, believe ABC. Any article that starts with, "It’s National Chocolate Cupcake Day. What are you doing to celebrate?," is worth reading in my book! Here's another corroborating article from the Examiner. Another article worth reading, as it tells the reader to, "Get your cupcake on!"

So, what are you waiting for? Get out there and find some chocolate cupcake recipes and bake it up! Sink your teeth into this holiday!

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You might be tempted to stop at the cupcakes, but WAIT...there's more! Not ONLY is it National Chocolate Cupcake Day, but it's the birthday of three female TV icons.

Happy 73rd Birthday to Maryann from Gilligan's Island! I'm guessing Dawn Wells doesn't look quite like this anymore.. (although, I'm sure she's still a lovely woman.)

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Next up...It's the BIG 6-0 for Mindy McConnell! (Really? That was her last name? I guess I wasn't on a "need-to-know" basis for that piece of info.) Thanks to Wikipedia, I also just found out that Pam Dawber's married to Mark Harmon, who's stars on "NCIS," which I'm watching right now. Coincidence? I think not.

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And last, but certainly not least....Joanie Cunningham is 51!  It's too bad Erin Moran couldn't stay forever young as Joanie. The whole "Joanie Loves Chachi" thing was a disaster, not to mention going on "Celebrity Fit Club." ::cringe::

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Just a guess, but I'm thinking you may not have NEEDED to know any of this!