Surprises

Lots of surprises these days! Good surprises, bad surprises, we all love surprises.

Suprise #1: The Toro "guaranteed to start" lawnmower didn't start. Clearly Step #1 needs to be renaming the motto. Anyway, $25 later, a nice man I found on Craig's List came and mowed by overgrown lawn (I know it was overgrown because he said "there might be a little more dead grass left on the lawn then you want). However, this turned out to be a good surprise. Why? Because the man refused to use his push mower and mowed by lawn with a riding mower! No joke. This officially means I have not been dreaming for the past 2.5 years: my lawn is of above average size. Anyway, Surprise #1 also led me to discover I have the ability to hoist this lawnmower into the back of Scarlet the Camry without giving myself a hernia. Even the lawn shop guy was pretty impressed (he needed MY help getting it out of the trunk). So, Surprise #1 while a little stressful has reinforced my superpowers.

Surprise #2: Imagine this: 6:30 A.M., taking a nice brisk walk through the neighborhood, and BOOM! a car backfires. Stella makes a 180 degree turn so fast that she comes out of her harness and leaves me holding the bag, er, leash. I screamed as loud as I could, ran to her, and literally flung myself on top of her grabbing whatever I could. She was too scared to move. [For those of you who believe this is overreacting, YOU try to chase a schipperke. Let me know how that works out for you.] Anyway, I was bleeding, on the ground, clutching at Stella every which direction - when SURPRISE! My screams were heard and a fellow walker came running with her seemingly well behaved poodle. Were that not a big enough of a surprise, Stella started panicking and when she panics she sheds. I was sweating. Therefore I have black hair all over my arms, face, hair, legs...it wasn't a good sight. SURPRISE! The walk got cut short this morning!

Surprise #3: Fun deliveries at work. Makes me realize what great friends/family/co-workers I have. Right before my birthday I received the most beautiful white themed flowers from some great partners I work with on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. All of my favorites were included! Then, Molly my sister sent me flowers after the NY trip. Then today I got a half bushel of fresh Clanton peaches! Tomorrow night they get cut up and frozen. It just doesn't get any better. These kind of surprises are welcome anytime and the more the better!

Surprise #4: Too many parents-to-be are keeping secrets! Two of you are refusing to tell me the sex of the baby, and one of you is refusing to tell me the name of the baby. This makes it very difficult for me to figure out what to knit the baby. Hopefully they come to their senses and at least give me a hit. Yellow hats do NOT look good on girls or boys.

Hope everyone is having a great week. It's a three paycheck month - SURPRISE!

Start spreading the quotes!

For the big "Thirtysomething" birthday, my mother, grandmother, and good friend Sue took a five night, six day trip to New York City. While the daily journals, shows, and events of each day will be covered in their own separate blog posts (per instruction-thanks Janelle), I did want to go ahead and list my favorite "Thirtysomething" quotes from the trip before I forget them. Hopefully if I miss any along the way I will swiftly be reminded of them and add them to the blog.

NYC to me embodies the American Dream. If you dream it, you can achieve it. Happy Friday!

1) "A construction worker standing on the second floor just spit tobacco juice on my arm, sleeve and into my soda can. Welcome to New York." ~ Grandma, on her first New York outing

2) "Where's the bus?" ~ Grandma, after quote #1

3) "I'll spring for a taxi." ~ Grandma, after quote 1 and 2

4) "Wow...were those purses sold in the back of the minivan real?" ~Mom

5) "It seems to me that wearing white rain ponchos on the upper level of the double decker bus, driving down the main street of Harlem MIGHT cause problems." ~ Jeff, the bus tour guide

6) "I'm going to go ahead and stop the meter now, since I have no idea where I'm going." ~ Cab driver

7) Top subjects discussed with EACH cab driver:
- "Are YOU the Cash Cab?"
- "Where are you from?"
- "How long have you been in New York?
-"What celebrities have ridden with you? What were they like?" (We got Peter Jennings and Barbara Walters as responses. Apparently Peter was a great tipper and Barbara would not speak to the cabbie and was a poor tipper. We have a hard time believing both of them did not have drivers, but I digress).
-"Were you driving during _____(insert NYC tragedy here)?"

8) "Yes, this is my first AND LAST time I am riding the Subway." ~ Grandma

9) "I understand the Carnegie Deli is famous and that Woody Allen eats there. But who cares where Woody Allen eats? Haven't you seen all of his movies? They're horrible. I wouldn't even say hi to him if he was in there. Couldn't care less." ~ Grandma

10) "Shakira's parents are over there." ~ Waiter
"Who's Shakira?" ~ Mom, Sue and Grandma

11) "Erin hit me with a pack of Becca matches once to stop snoring, then she got up and shook me. Quite a night." ~ Sue

12) "Do you have something you'd like to say to me?" ~ me
"Like what?" ~ Mom
"Forget it." ~ me
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!" ~ Mom
"It's about time you remembered." ~ me
"Oh, I knew the whole time...." ~ Mom

13) "These Ellis Island people don't have any more information than I do on immigrants. In fact they have LESS information!" ~ Grandma

14) "This hot dog is rank. Does it taste bad to you?" ~ Grandma
"It tastes like a hot dog." ~ me
"Don't eat it." ~ Mom

15) "I quite like not having a reservation and being able to people watch by sitting at the table in the foyer of the restaurant. It really is the best table in the house. People think we're important!" ~ Mom

16) "That man in the sweatpants is laughing at the lady in the blue dress. He just said, 'she may be thin but she is WAY too sunken and droopy to walk around in a dress with a slit down to her waist!' It was hilarious." ~ Mom (people watching at the foyer table)

17) "We agree." ~ Sue, to the sweatpants man

18) "I work in fashion, and it's the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen! Someone needs to TELL HER!" ~ Loudly spoken by sweatpants man

19) "See, I told you. He may work in fashion but HE'S the one in the sweatpants." ~ Mom exiting the restaurant

20) "Oooh....they are in a bad fight...look at that! Well no wonder they had to wait for their reservation. They only have a party of 35." ~ Mom

21) "I am wet." ~ Grandma after riding around on the top of the double decker bus during a monsoon
"It's still better than being hot." ~ me

22) "Can we at least make time to shop at the DSW in our hotel? GEEZ you'd think we could at least shop there." ~ Mom

23) "Grandma just tripped on the sidewalk but you missed it. She was checking out the men in the restaurant." ~ me

24) "I swear those steps were moving sideways." ~ Grandma
"No, the steps were not moving sideways, but you were." ~ Sue

25) "Work with me Alabama." ~ Jeff the bus tour guide, after I answered too many of his New York questions correctly

26) "Look grandma they have potatoes." ~ Me
"She thinks I can only eat potatoes. I eat MANY things other than potatoes. But I probably will have a potato." ~ Grandma to the waiter

27) "Sure you know 9 to 5! You know Dolly Parton with the big...I'm sorry, I didn't realize he was only 14." ~ Sue

28) "Of the five burroughs of New York City, which one is not an island?" ~Jeff
"Staten Island?" ~ Bus passenger
"Excuse me? IT'S AN ISLAND!" ~ Jeff

29) "I have got to find a pair of clean underwear and then I'll be set." ~ Me
"I've got an extra pair, but they are granny like and I'm not sure they would work." ~ Grandma

30) "Not sure who made the biggest mess...Sue with the tomato sauce and coffee down her shirt, or Grandma with the tobacco and then Ellis Island mustard all over herself. It's a draw." ~ Me

Thirtysomething

Before Friends and Grey's Anatomy, there was a little known show called 30 Something. I only know about it because one of the leads (red hair on the left) of the TV series also starred in the West Wing series, and I work hard to know as much about West Wing stars as possible.

After last Tuesday, I will officially be referring to my age as "Thirtysomething" for the rest of my life! What a relief to not have to count the age on birthday cakes anymore. I'm planning on buying one big 3 and one big 0 and using them year after year.

People asked me this past week if I feel older. Hell yes I feel older! Things sag, creak, give me heartburn and most of all the dry skin parallels an alligator. But let's face it everyone, if these are my chief complaints, I'll take it, God willing and if the creek don't rise. Here's to the next 30 years!

Invites, shoes and armadillos OH MY!

Before anyone gets too excited, I am not planning MY wedding. However, I am hard at work at my MOH (Maid of Honor: pronounced MWAH) duties for my sister Molly who is getting married in August. Don't get me wrong: according to the "Discover your Strengths" book, my three of my five top strengths include maximizer, activator, and organizer. I'm now realizing I am the only person in my family with these strengths (no offense intended). And so we find ourselves at the crux of shower, wedding, bachelorette, and bridesmaid luncheon invitations. BREAKING NEWS: got mail merge to work on my IMAC from 2007 Excel spreadsheet to a Word envelope - and what's more, it was a CUSTOM set up to be a a 6x9 envelope. Everyone, pick yourselves up off of the floor at this accomplishment. If you persevere, you too can figure out Office 2007.

Now that I have successfully tackled invites, envelopes, complete with the X-Large 61 cent postage stamp (the price you pay for custom envelopes), it is on to shoes. I've got to find some silver shoes with a back on them for the wedding. I need the widest shoe possible but preferably something still cute.

Third, and secretly my favorite item to post: I secretly wish there was an armadillo cake for the groom's cake. I don't even know if there is a groom's cake, but if there is, I'd do anything possible to convince my future husband we should have something ridiculous (like an armadillo) as the groom's cake. Just like Steel Magnolias! Funny...Southern folk don't think it's quite as hilarious. My neighbor Jan is a wedding coordinator/cake maker and I told her that if I ever got married, I really wanted an armadillo cake. Her response was a curt "I don't think so." Whoops...

Again, what a great movie. Here's a quote for you to enjoy on this lovely Monday...

Drum: Ouiser, can we call a truce long enough for me to get a piece of cake?
[Ouiser slices him the tail piece of an armadillo cake]
Drum: Aww, thanks Ouiser. Nothin' like a good piece of a$$.

Love it!

Guilty Pleasure TV Show #1 - Snapped

At the top of all of the things I could be choosing to do (play with Stella, brave the tornado force winds to workout, read, knit, clean, pack for NY, etc.) I have spent the last hour searching the Internet for a clip of Whitney Houston screaming "Bobaayyyyyy" at the top of her lungs beckoning for her husband. YouTube, Nothing. Google Images, nothing. BravoTv.com, nothing. So, I will continue to lead the charge that she did indeed scream that over and over at the top of her lungs during "Being Bobby Brown" with no proof to corroborate my story.

Thinking of how awesomely bad that show was (and I was ridiculously led astray that a second season would exist - sort of like how I've been led astray for five years that Marky Mark was going to reprise his Italian Job role in a movie titled "The Brazilian job" that is seemingly a no-go), I am turning to another show that is a guilty pleasure, and that is the Oxygen show "Snapped." While it is not even close to being in the top ten of favorite past or present TV series, it is something I have started to tape and watch just because it makes me feel way better about myself.

The fact that I even watch the Oxygen channel is something I never thought possible. Here's the premise of the show: Who are these women and what drives them to kill? Oxygen's hit true crime series, Snapped, in its 7th season, profiles the fascinating cases of women accused of murder. Did they really do it? And, if they did, why? From socialites to secretaries, female killers share one thing in common: at some point, they all snapped.

The best parts of the show: The awesome heart thumping theme music coupled with the easy mystery to solve: you always know who did it (yes, that's right, it's the crazy lady!) I like to watch this right before bed, it lulls me to sleep but I'm afraid might lead to my insane dreams I have from time to time.

It's also pretty funny to watch them interview the real people who were involved with the case.
A lot of them are still in shock about what happened (and for some reason there's always a Sheriff "Uncle Bubba" involved).



Snapped. WOW!

Breakfast casserole

If you have ever stayed the night at my house, chances are that you've eaten my breakfast casserole. Or, if you have ever turned to page 30 in the 1980something Redeemer Lutheran Church cookbook (the best cookbook next to Betty Crocker). I do make it a little different than RLC recommends and I will point that out in the recipe.

1 tube sausage (see below for the non-porkers)
9 eggs whipped
3 cu milk
1 1/2 tsp dry mustard
3 slices bread torn (the recipe says to cut in cubes but let's face it that is exerting unnecessary energy)
2 cu grated cheese (recipe calls for 1.5 cu cheese but I dump the whole 2 cu packet in as I'm too lazy to measure it out, plus the cheese will mold in the fridge most likely anyway).

Brown sausage (sometimes I throw in onions if I have them). Drain grease from sausage (if you are a fat freak, you can boil the sausage in hot water and it will pull out all of the grease possible). Mix eggs, milk, mustard and salt. Stir in bread, sausage and cheese. Pour into greased 9x13 pan. Refrigerate, covered, overnight. Bake at 350 for 60 minutes.

Now, we've got some folks who don't eat pork (referred to above as the non-porkers - all judging aside). At the hands of a lesser breakfast casserole chef that would be a problem. Here is a substitute you can use comprised mainly of ground turkey. It is not AS good but not too bad of a substitute.

GROUND TURKEY BREAKFAST SAUSAGE
1 lb. ground turkey 1/2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce 1/4 tsp. Hickory Smoke Liquid 1/4 tsp. sage 1/4 tsp. tarragon 1/4 tsp. thyme Mix all ingredients well. (Do not add additional Hickory Smoke Liquid.) Form into small to medium patty sizes. Use spray Pam in frying pan for less calories. Fry until brown.

Mamma Mia!

I very much understand now why some people either a) slack off on updating their blog or b) update it every day. I had previously categorized these people as slackers or obsessors. I rationalized that the slackers were too unorganized to be able to actually update their blogs as they said they would or that their life just wasn't interesting enough. I categorized the obsessors as people who just had nothing better to do, or people that thrived on getting feedback from other people. Now I realize it is almost impossible to find a healthy medium. I was trying to save everything up for a once a week post, but things are just too exciting this summer as the once a week post is seemingly too overwhelming. However, I'd go nuts at a once a day post (although I think it would be much easier). Anyway, I am still being harassed by non-bloggers for not blogging in an adequate timeframe per their standards; I will try to do better. Too bad I can't just dictate to the computer.

This weekend was a whirlwind weekend but a lot of fun. Three friends from Atlanta came to visit. We snacked and played Euchre on Friday night. It brought back my freshman year of college where we would come back from SAGA and sit in the dorm and play Euchre for at least an hour. How awesome to be able to play Euchre five times a week! Those were the days.

Saturday morning I was up early (thanks Stella) and trying to be quiet to let the guests sleep in. Stella does enjoy a morning bark or too and hasn't figured out good manners when guests are in the house. I took Chris to his church and then Toni and Pura and I met Cynthia at Pepper Place, which is a big Saturday morning fresh market. We shopped a little and had drinks. Then, we got Chris, ate lunch at Newk's and then shopped in downtown Homewood. I think all were pleased with the purchases! After a little break, we headed down to the Mamma Mia sing a long at the Alabama theater. What fun it was! Imagine a whole theater singing "take a chance on me"....it was pretty funny. We hit the bars afterwards in Lakeview, and then called it a night. I put my culinary skills to use and made cinnamon rolls, breakfast casserole, fruit salad, etc. It was kind of fun to cook for a group.

Yesterday Stella and I napped and I tried to get some things down around the house but had a hard time...nice weather outside but a little humid. Stel and I were up early yesterday and she was a bundle of energy, that is for sure!

This week will be very busy...looking forward to a trip to see friends AND Stella's first birthday on Sunday.