Just The Facts Ma’am

Oct 182012
 

Nichole and I talk maybe once every 3 weeks.  Sometimes 2 weeks if we are lucky.  She is a busy woman, and I know this, so I let her call me when it’s convenient for her and we chat for what seems like hours, which is great because then we catch up on everything and we’re good for a couple of weeks.

On our last telephone convo, she had mentioned coming up to visit and I guess I really didn’t have my facts clear, because I mixed up the weekends of which kids would be home on what weekends.  So the other night I left her a message saying that this coming weekend would work out great for her, Alexis and Kayla to come up.  I told this to Rick unaware that he was making some plans of his own.

Well, I (in my old age) got the weekends and kids mixed up.  So she messaged me back and told me to pick one, which I did.  So I told Rick the situation, and this is when I found out that he was making plans to visit his folks on the weekend that was not the weekend that I thought the kids were coming up.

With me still? (because even I’m confused at this point).

Anywho, after leaving her several messages to find out if she got my message and getting no reply and wanting to give Rick an answer on when she was coming up, I said f*ck it, and decided to call her.

Ummm… this was a big mistake because I had forgotten that she had Parent Teacher conferences.  And I had just called her in the middle of one.

Worst Mother award goes to yours truly (I seem to be earning this a lot lately).

How could I forget this?  She told me about it when we talked on the phone (where we talked about 2 million things, but that’s not the point).

These are the times that I hate cell phones.  I interrupted her during a very important meeting for something that really could have waited for a reply back.

Yes, I am impatient.  I blame it on the invention of instant messaging and texting.  I say we go back to writing letters.  Sure, it took a while to arrive, but at least had the facts in writing.

 

Betty Crocker I Ain’t

Oct 172012
 

Monday was a busy day of running around and baking.  I actually bought some fresh fruit to make these

And ya know what?  They turned out pretty good!*  I made 4 of the “traditional triangle” that we’re all familiar with, and 8 of the rectangle that you saw in yesterday’s post (which are sitting in the freezer waiting for this weekend).  All apple, because it was easy (which is obviously the way to go).

Of course I cheated and bought the phyllo dough because… have you ever tried to make that stuff yourself?  It takes like 3 days and you have to have the patience of Mother Theresa and the muscles of Lou Ferrigno to pull it off!

OK, I may be exaggerating a tad, but not by much.  Here’s my fear:  I’m gonna take the time and energy (and flour, butter and other crap) and with my luck I’ll end up with hockey pucks instead of light fluffy turnovers.  Some of my fears may be irrational, but I don’t think I’m too far off the mark on this one.

And if I do decide to be Betty f’n Crocker and make the homemade stuff, you’ll know I’ve finally headed down the road to Crazyville.

At least I won’t be lonely… I’ll have all of you there with me.

 

*My taste tester loved them.

 

Lazy Days and Weekends

Oct 162012
 

I’ve basically gotten over my creepy crud *knock wood* with the exception of a few coughing spells here and there.  I figure those are just hanging around because they enjoy my company.

Or not.

Before that ugly crap invaded my body, I was working on getting myself more active.  I was planning 2 – 3 things that I needed to accomplish every day so that I wouldn’t automatically sit down in front of my computer after work and veg.  And it was going really well too.  For 3 solid weeks I felt more productive and slept great.

And then Typhoid Mary came into the house and put all that hard work to a stop.  And now that I do have energy and am back to a semi-normal person (I was never completely normal, just ask my kids), I just don’t have the mojo that I did just a few short weeks ago.  And with hibernation season (aka Winter) right around the corner, I don’t want to fall back into the sit-on-my-ass-all-day-at-work-and-repeat-process-when-I-get-home routine.

So on Saturday when Rick and the guys were working on the shed, I decided to get off my duff and bake cookies.  Nothing special, just some Chocolate Chip sweetness to fill the cookie jar.  And it felt… good.  So good in fact that it gave me some inspiration to look for new recipes for something that I’ve never tried baking:  turnovers.  (I know, cookies and turnovers aren’t the same thing, but baking is baking.)

And I came upon these:

Now, I’m not a “It’s a good thing” fan, but this recipe is just to simple to pass up!  Bonus points go to the fact that you can make them ahead of time, throw them in the freezer, and bake only what you need without having to thaw them out.  Definitely my kind of baking.

I’ll let you know how they turn out.

 

Windows and Doors Make Me Happy

Oct 152012
 

On Saturday we officially passed the half way point (in my mind, because that’s all that matters) on the shed.

The guys worked through the chill and drizzle and completed the back roof portion.

Not only did that, but they made this woman so very happy by installing the windows and door.  I tell ya, I was grinning from ear to ear.

My contribution to the day (besides making pizza) was to start burning all the odds and ends of wood that couldn’t be used for anything else.

At least it got me off my duff and away from the computer for a few hours, which lately has become my lazy zone.  It’s amazing how easily computer Solitaire can turn you into a zombie.

Remember back in the day when the “Hang In There Kitty” posters were all the rage for motivation?  I think I need one of those, but mine (yes, I had one when I was a kid… quit laughing) was left on my bedroom wall when I moved out of the ‘rents house a million years ago.

This is the closest I could come up with.  It’ll do for now.

 

Bear 2, Sandy 0

Oct 112012
 

I know all of you have been sitting on the edge of your seats waiting for updates on “The Great Sunflower Watch”.

Well, I’m here to let you know… it’s over.  Done.  Kaput.  History.

Remember the bear that got to my popcorn?  Yeah, well apparently he likes sunflowers too.  Two days before I got to the farm he struck again.  Do you think he would want the plethora of tomatoes and squash that were just laying around like a giant platter waiting for him to eat his fill?

Noooooooooooooooo, not good enough for his refined palate.  He’d rather smash down innocent sunflower stalks, rip the heads apart (it really wasn’t a pretty site) and snack on all those teeny tiny seeds (and left the evidence behind in big stinky mounds, if you know what I’m talking about… eww).

So out of my 100 plants I was able to salvage about 30 heads, which are now hanging inside the garage (away from the evil squirrels) until they are dry enough to shuck.

Next year I’m gonna glue Habanero peppers to the seed heads.  He’ll have to eat them first if he wants my sunflower seeds.  There will also be a nice surprise waiting for him coming out the other end.

If you know what I’m talking about.

 

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