Lily's Licorice

GOATS!

2011-08-13T02:08:00.001-04:00

Now I LOVE Goats! If I could have a pet goat I would, but unfortunately it is against the law in my town. How can they possibly deny us from being able to have our own goat? After all, wouldn't you think the town would love for us to keep our lawn perfectly mowed at all times?!?

So where did this love for goats come from? Not sure. They are cute. They do end up at all the petting zoos you go to when you are a child. And when there, you get to feed those cute little guys who nibble that food out of your hand ever so gently.

Speaking of petting zoos! My first recollection of a goat is the BIG black goat at some family attraction that my parents used to take my sisters and I to. My mom used to always carry black licorice around with her. (hence the "licorice" in the name of this blog). Well on this family outing, that BIG black goat followed my mom EVERYWHERE and kept eating the licorice out of her pocket. We still raz my mom to this day about that goat and her licorice.

Now, where I think I fell in love with goats was at Camp Charrith in Baraboo, WI. I went to that camp every summer when I was a kid. I loved it! There was a farm attached and Tiny, the goat was our camp mascot. He was so cute - a typical cute white goat. He had the greatest personality and we'd play and feed him. One thing I loved about him was how he'd always stand on top of his house. :) Oh how I loved that goat!

Now this next episode would make me hate goats if I hadn't already loved them so. After my son was born, my parents were visiting and we took my new son to Magnolia Plantation. They have a fabulous petting zoo with goats there. So I thought! They had two GIANT goats that just loved my chest cause it was producing milk and they seemed to think they should have some. I'll never forget my dad trying to get those goats off my chest! I actually ended up with brown and green spots on my shirt from those darn goats trying to nurse off me!!! It was a pretty hysterical scene. Such a shame we didn't have that on video!

Not sure what brought up the thought of these goats tonight, but I still wish I could have one for a pet.

What Are Your Kids Missing From Your Childhood?

2011-07-20T20:53:00.002-04:00

As summer rolls along, I think about the summers of my childhood and what my kids are missing out on. One of the best parts of summer was being able to roam the neighborhood freely even once it started to get dark. As we got into our jr. high years we even were able to ride our bikes after dark! Sounds CRAZY doesn't it!

Life was so different then, and I so wish our kids had the freedom we had. We even had the freedom to let the wind blow through our hair as we rode our bikes. Now kids are forced to wear helmets. That was one thing I did put my foot down on. I survived childhood with no helmet, so I didn't force my kids to wear one either. I'm not the only mom in the neighborhood that did that either, so you can't call me a bad mom.

When we were really young, our moms would pack us lunches and my group of friends (I think we were about 6, 7, 8 yrs old at the time) would load them up in the wagon and we'd walk up to the park and eat in the sand under the big turtle at the playground. NO MOMS came with. We were free to eat in the sand and dirt, play on the equipment (and I'm sure we never washed our hands), and come home when we felt like it. Ah...the freedom of those days.

In fact I don't remember our moms ever being around! My mom was a stay-at-home mom so I know she was home. So were all the other moms. But they never meddled in what we were doing. We just did what we wanted, and never got in trouble. We'd go from one house to the other. Each house was known for different things. If we wanted to watch TV we'd go to Jennie's cause her mom didn't care if we watched TV. If we wanted to play Barbies, my house was the place to go. I had EVERY Barbie item imaginable, and the best basement to play hide and seek in. Fisher Price Little People we'd go to Carol's. She had the whole clan of Little People! The Eagan's had the best swing set and trampoline and their backyard had a hill in it. And of course, there was the whole street to play games in and many other yards and houses. Everyone had their own unique roll in the neighborhood. Now, for my kids, heaven forbid they step on a blade of grass on someone's lawn. Surveylance cameras watch every move they make! One kid in our neighborhood even had the cops called on him cause he danced in front of the camera just to make fun of it. Come on people! Let kids be kids!

So what are your kids missing from your own childhood in this new and crazy mixed up world of today?

Wordless Wednesday

2011-07-13T00:02:00.001-04:00

The Magic Eraser Realy Does Work Like Magic!

2011-07-09T14:53:00.002-04:00

So my silly hubby has gotten into the habit of washing dishes that are in the kitchen sink with my precious Magic Erasers! I save these things for scrubbing our white kitchen floor(it's amazing how a white floor will shine up with those Magic Erasers) or getting marks off the cabinets or walls. These erasers aren't expensive, but they aren't cheap either, so I was getting miffed that he was using them to wash dishes.

Well...needless to say, he left one in the sink. I certainly wasn't going to let it go to waste, so I used it to clean one of my pots. OMG! It's amazing how easy baked on food comes off AND how nice my pot shined up! So now I use the Magic Erasers on my pots too!

Who knew sillyhead would introduce me to something this awesome! And here I was fussing at him.

IMPATIENCE!

2011-07-07T23:17:00.003-04:00

Those who know me know that I get really irritated with angry drivers and just plain stupid drivers. I have written many posts on this very subject.

Well, the other day, the car in back of me had 3 crabby young men in it. They were honking and yelling (swearing their heads off! and I had kids in the car!), and flipping me off waving their fists out the windows (did I mention I had kids in the car?). They were so irritated cause I was stopped and they wanted to GO! So what was I to do? Move forward and run into the train that was going over the tracks in front of me?

Memories of the Classic Extended Family Fourth of July Picnics

2011-07-04T00:18:00.003-04:00

The Fourth of July was one of my most favorite holidays as a kid. It was a big family production and everyone had so much fun. It was a WHOLE LONG DAY affair. Looking back, it's amazing how much work went into these wonderful day long picnics.

We started out at picnics in Lord's Park in Elgin, IL. I loved that park. I mostly remember the playground and the lake that had swans and peacocks. It also had this odd museum of stuffed animals. I wonder why that was there! There was a swimming pool, but we never went swimming, we were too busy eating and playing crocket. After 5th grade we would move our big Fourth of July Family Picnic to some state park in McHenry County. It got moved cause I got jumped on that playground and beat up by a not-so-nice girl! I remember my grandfather running over to save me! Crazy!

So of course, I remember the picnics in McHenry County more, as I was older. There are the classic events that happened every year. My mom yelling at my dad at 8 am, yes we would get there at 8 am, about where to move the picnic tables. Dad wearing his golashes cause heaven forbid a little bit of dew get on his gym shoes. Classic! We still make fun of him for that!

The best meal on the Fourth of July was breakfast. There's nothing like eggs and bacon cooked on the grill. My mom would make your eggs to order too. She knew exactly how everyone wanted their eggs. There were alot of eggs to make with my grandparents, and four sets of aunts and uncles, cousins and relatives from Iowa all there. Not to mention friends that we brought with. And did I tell you my mom makes THE BEST bacon ever! But the best part of Fourth of July breakfast was the chocolate chip coffee cake that mom would get from The Village Bakery. Yum! Especially with a little butter on it! :)

There was plenty to do throughout the day. We'd play badminton - my little cousins would chase the poor chipmunks with the rackets, volleyball, jarts, and go hiking. One year Aunt Willa would fall in the coal pit playing badminton! If you knew her, you'd be laughing! Typical large great-aunt playing badminton in white shorts and heels! Needless to say, her white shorts were no longer white after that episode. Good thing the coals had cooled off too! One year my cousin and I got really lost hiking! I thought we were going to die out there! Luckily a nice family found us and returned us to our family. We never did that again! There was also the McHenry Dam you could walk up to. We'd hike up to the Dam with our uncles.

By then we were hungry for lunch! Lunch was a big affair! We had hamburgers, hot dogs, bratwurst, grandma's baked beans, the famous Sterzing potato chips from Iowa - The Iowa Potato Chips, mom's homemade potato salad, watermelon, and lots of different pies for desert. And brownies of course! We had the same spread for dinner too.

We'd spend ALL day out there just having a blast. Then as evening started to roll in, we'd pack up and head out to Arlington Park Race Track for the fireworks. What fun!

I wish my kids got to have a blast like this on the Fourth. My family doesn't do the big picnic at McHenry anymore. Now they are in my sister's back yard, which is huge, but it's not like being in McHenry. All the living relatives still come though. Wish I could be there. Wish the kids could be there. Wish the Village Bakery was still open so I could have some of that Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake!

Happy Independence Day to you all!

Lily's New Friends

2011-04-21T23:34:00.007-04:00

So we went to the beach for my son's birthday and somehow came home with these two new pups. Well, I guess they are about 2. Got them from a shelter, which I highly recommend anyone wanting a dog to do - get them from a shelter.

After all I put up with when Lily was a pup, I certainly do enjoy these two priceless pooches. My hubby thought we were coming home with one dog for my son. He was not pleased when we arrived with two! But come on! How much space does that little dog on the right take up?

So here we go with introductions:

Marcelyn - is my son's dog. She is on the left. They claim she is part Carolina Dog (a swamp dog with is perfect for my son who loves the swamps of South Carolina). I swear she is part fox though. When she is standing she totally looks lik a fox!

Mr. Waffles - is my daughter's dog. She loves making pancakes and when we left the shelter we passed a breakfast place called Mr. Waffles. He totally looks like a Mr. Waffles. He at first was the silliest looking dog. But with lots of love and care, he has turned into the cutest little thing! AND he does nothing wrong!!!! Unlike some horse I know that lives around here.

I Can Be Silent No Longer

2011-04-09T17:26:00.003-04:00

Remember when they unfurled the American flag on the pentagon after it was attacked on 9/11? All I could think of was the line from the National Anthem "And our flag was still there". That's what I think every time I see this picture. Nowadays, I have great concern that our flag won't be around much longer. It seems as the sole of this country is being sold to those who don't love or understand this country. It's also being sold to those who don't want us to stay a sovereign nation. We are treading on thin ice by not supporting Israel like we used to. We are now in the practice of supporting governments who want to get rid of the great country of Israel. Those who stand against Israel clearly are on the wrong side! This has been proven throughout history time and time again. We have lost God in this country. No - many have thrown God out of this country. All other customs are catered to and our national customers are now shunned, especially our Christian customs. Kids get in trouble for wearing a cross to school. Freedom of Religion has been misconstrued to be Freedom FROM Religion - which was not our founding fathers intent, nor is it in the Constitution! I can go on and on and on, but you wil see some new stuff sporting the pages of Lily's Licorice. We, of course, will keep our humor. You have to have humor to survive in life, but come on people! Pay attention to what is going on! Your country and your livihood depends on it!

Why Lee DeWyze Won American Idol

2010-05-26T22:54:00.006-04:00

Lee DeWyze, of Mt. Prospect, IL, joins the ranks of other great American Idol men such as David Cook, Chris Allen, and Taylor Hicks. Why, when he was up against someone who seemed to have so much more stage presence, did he win? It's simple. People loved the more clean-cut, humble, nice guy that Lee DeWyze is. He's the type of guy I wouldn't mind my daughter dating someday. If my son brought home his opponent, Crystal Bowersox, I wouldn't be too happy.

All through the season Lee was so humble as he came on stage week after week. He grew as a person and an artist. Crystal, however, had an attitude of "entitlement", and appeared to assume she was going to win it all. This attitude was very clear tonight. Yes, everyone in America, including Bowersox, probably thought she had won. But she acted like she had already won. I was thinking - "I so hope she doesn't win just to put her in her place." And HA! She didn't!!

It is now clear, that American Idol fans realized that DeWyze was just plain nervous last night. The guy is so down to earth and such a regular guy that many fans could relate to him if put in his situation. Plus he had excelled in the regular season. I'm so glad the fans voted on the whole season rather than just one night.

DeWyze deserves the title of American Idol. An IDOL is someone people look up to - someone you'd be proud that your kids look up too. Thank you Lee DeWyze for being someone I am thrilled that my kids look up to.

One last thing.....DeWyze is probably the most gracious winner of all the American Idol winners. Now, I'm sure many think it's because he probably thought he had lost, but that's just Lee DeWyze. Congratulations Lee!!

Census Takers - I Am NOT An Idiot!

2010-05-10T12:31:00.000-04:00

Ok, so we all know that my silly hubby likes to throw away all important stuff and keep the non-important stuff. So....when the 2010 Census Form arrived where do you think it went? Yes. The circular file.

So.... of course the Census Gestapo had to come to our house while my silly hubby was at work. Imagine that! Why is it that I always have to take the brunt of his silliness?

So today while making lunch for the kiddos two ladies in two vehicles came knocking on the door. I actually was afraid at first cause there were two ladies in two big SUVs coming up to my house with clip boards, and they didn't look nice.

I answered the door and they immediately were happy that I answered the door. They said most people won't answer the door for them. Well I wish I hadn't. So began my interogation by the Gestapo!

They refused to let me fill out my own census form! "You won't print the letters properly." That was their reasoning! Well when someone basically tells me I am STUPID I take offense. I was schooled in one of the BEST school districts in the nation, have a college degree in journalism no less (maybe she thought I could only type and not print -- now it makes sense!), and now run my own business. Oh! And I homeschool my kids and last I checked they print pretty well themselves. So I think I print well enough to fill out a Census form.

I know by law all you need to divulge is how many people live in the household. She was not happy that I refused to give out birthdates. She had a form longer than the Sally Forrester Shopping Surveys! Did she really think I was going to answer all that? Uh, NO!

I did give our names and relations. When I told her one was my son she asked if he was a male. Last I checked a son is some one of the "male" species. She did the same with my daughter. "Is your daughter a female?" she asked. Are your kidding me?!? Who even asks that?

I was getting more ticked off by the moment. Especially with the other lady who stood there and just glared! What was my tax money paying her for? To help gang up on me? And why did they have to come in two vehicles? So they can both submit for the milage payback? WAKE UP AMERICA - the Census is costing us double because of nonsene like this.

So then she asked me what my race is. It's pretty darn obvious by looking at me. I said "I'm a regular American." She literally asked, "So do you think you are a caucasian?" Do I think I'm a caucasian!?!?!? I KNOW I'm a caucasian, and if you can't figure that out you've got a major problem!

It was when she asked me who my mortgage company was that I finally walked inside the house and slammed the door. I don't know what that was, but that was purely weird and harassing. And I'm still so stumped that we, as tax payers, are paying DOUBLE for this nonsense!

What Flavor Is Orange Soda?

2010-05-07T11:38:00.000-04:00

My son just asked me the question that is the title of this post. I am speechless.

Bad Dog Lily! Lily Eats Blinds and Jumps Out the Kitchen Window!

2010-05-05T23:25:00.009-04:00

I only wish the dog in the pic was our Lily. It's actually quiet and docile and not trying to eat the window blinds and screen, and I don't see a single dog hair on that white tile. All her hair must magically adhere to the black tiles!

So Lily, whose goal in life is to send me to the sanitarium, decides she just HAS to get the darn cat that is our in our front yard. Does she decide to go out the front door like any normal person would do? NO! She has to eat the nice "faux" wood blinds that are on the kitchen window and literally jump through the screen to chase that cat down the block!

The kids now know that if they want the beast Lily back, they have to fetch her themselves, cause Mom is NOT CHASING after that dog anymore.

For those of you who are newer to Lily's Licorice, here's what this FREE dog has cost me. Let's add $125 to the tab for the blinds and the screen - http://lilyslicorice.blogspot.com/2008/09/my-free-dog-has-cost-me-2791.html

Free Dog To Good Home

(not really - I'd have a very sad little girl if I was lucky enough to give this dang dog away to someone dumb enought to take it)

How to Royally Blow a Job Interview

2010-04-28T16:53:00.006-04:00

I ran up to the local convenient store to get some Coke (pop) today. There, outside on the sidewalk, was the manager clearly conducting an interview with a potential employee. The potential employee had on a dirty camoflauge t-shirt, jeans, and a ratty baseball cap. I doubt he had taken a shower, much less combed his hair before heading out for this job interview. Although I guess you don't need to comb your hair good if you are going to wear a baseball cap anyway.

What made this disastrous interview scene even better was the guy had his wife, who was not even dressed properly to go into the store, sitting in their pickup truck right in front of where he was interviewing. She was watching, and watching, and watching what was going on. That poor store manager, I felt so sorry for her.

And I felt even worse for the guy trying to get the job. It was clear he needed a job, and it was clear he probably isn't very employable. Even though you fall into that later catagory, there are steps you can take to ensure some glimmer of hope when going on a job interview:

1. Take a shower before you go!

2. Don't wear a ball cap and comb your hair. Make sure you actually use shampoo when you take that shower before the interview!

3. Jeans and a t-shirt? Even if you're only trying to get a job at a convenience store, dress presentable. You have one moment to make a first impression on your future boss. Look at least half way decent!

4. Do NOT take your spouse with to your interview! You are a big boy or girl and can handle this on your own. If you can't you shouldn't be applying for a job anyway.

5. For those of you who don't adhere to the advice of #4 above, do NOT have your spouse stair and scowl at the interviewer, who would probably be your new boss. Although if your spouse is there glaring at the interviewer I highly doubt you will get that job anyway. DON'T bring your spouse to your next interview, if you are lucky to get another one somewhere else!

Sure hope these interview tips help someone out there!

I Love Nanny Goats!

2010-04-22T23:28:00.003-04:00

I've always loved goats, and would really love to have one as a pet. I hear they are great lawn mowers, and as my silly hubby is not so hot in the lawn mowing department maybe a goat would be a great addition to our family!

So today I ran across this blog. The name of it, nannygoatinpanties.com, really got my attention. And, of course, the Entracard photo of the nanny goat literally in panties caught my attention too! So I had to click on the nanny goat that was wearing pink panties and discovered such a great blog I had not come across yet! I love the stories and the photos of all the nanny goats!

I went to camp every summer in Wisconsin and at the outskirts of the camp was a fantastic farm full of goats. There was one white goat named Tiny that must have been the camp mascot. He had a fancy house and special place at the camp, and he was so much fun to play with! I do believe it is because of my six summers with the goats and Tiny that instilled the love of goats in me. Nanny Goat In Panties reminds me of such a precious, innocent time in my life. Plus the author's writing is hysterical and right up my alley!

Husband Available to Clean YOUR Garage!

2010-04-17T16:43:00.002-04:00

Clean out the garage. That is what the project for this weekend is at our household. I do believe WWIII will break out before the task is done! So I am pleading with everyone I know to please let my silly hubby clean out YOUR garage instead!

What's the big issue you ask? Well..... he seems to think that all new stuff and stuff that we actually use needs to go to the side of the road (where the trash people will pick it up). This is the stuff he is putting down there:

-my son's new scooter
-the tent I just bought that we only used once so far
-my books! (let me just say, I am a book rep by profession so he'd be throwing out my inventory!)
-shelves that I keep my book inventory on
-beach and pool toys - gee, why should I go buy these again in just a couple weeks?
-any and all clothes (the laundry room is in the garage so these are the clothes we actually wear and are in line to be washed. Now I know why we never have any clothes - he throws them out!)

This is the stuff he seems to think we need to keep:

-the ugliest lamp you've ever seen that he bought for $3 at the goodwill eight years ago - it sits in a big box taking up LOTS of space
-a horse saddle (do we own a horse? NO!)
-a motor for a boat (do we own a boat? NO!)
-rusted junk from an old hardware store that closed 20 some odd years ago (has he ever used any of it or will he? NO!)

I just can't take it anymore. The neighbors must think we are nuts! Although I'm sure they already thought that before today.

Easters of my Childhood

2010-04-04T15:01:00.002-04:00

Seems like we all think about easter baskets, Peeps, jelly beans, chocolate bunnies, easter egg hunts and so forth more than what Easter is really all about. It was somewhat like that when I was a kid. Back then though, we got Good Friday off of school. Kids didn't get Good Friday off here. Good Friday was always the start of "Easter Break". Yep, that's what it said on the school calendar.

Looking back we did have all the easter baskets, easter egg hunts and so on. I remember we always got a record with our Easter baskets. If I remember correctly my first record was Fleetwood Mac's Rumors. Now kids get scooters, toys, Barbie's and all that candy. Easter morning has become what Christmas morning was when we were kids.

I really disliked Easter week when I was a kid cause I had to go to church constantly! Making a kid go to church Thursday night, Friday night and then Sunday morning was just too much. And then it was lent so we had to go on Wednesdays that whole month too! I'm a bad mother. I don't make my kids go to all those extra church services. I figure they'll hate going when they grew up. Maybe this way they'll want to go then.

Just some Easter tidbits from me. Hope you all had a great one with your family!

It's Like Putting a Dress on a Pig!

2010-03-15T17:38:00.004-04:00

I've never heard this term before. "It's like putting a dress on a pig!" Have you?

My silly hubby is in an outrage over the fact that his beloved Goodwill store that he likes to frequent is now closed. They built a brand new stand alone building for the Goodwill store, and closed the old location. They are doing that all over the place here in South Carolina. There are multiple locations all within short distances of each other.

So this is my hubby's big beef with the "new" store. It used to be nice to go the strip mall where there was the Education Station, The Dollar Store and some other stores along with the Goodwill. Now you have to drive farther up the street (oh my it's SO far!), and it's in it's own parking lot. They've taken the fun out of going to the Goodwill. Plus it had it's own ombiance. Now it's in a new building that doesn't have that "old" feel to it. "It's absurd!", he said. "You go to a brand new multi-million dollar building to buy junk! It's like putting a dress on a pig!"

He has a point there.

The Salt Police?

2010-03-15T00:51:00.003-04:00

We may actually have to fear the Salt Police? Are you kidding me?! If Rep. Felix Ortiz of Brooklyn, NY gets his way, it's chefs in New York who will have to fear the Salt Police. Per Ortiz's bill, "No owner or operatior in this state shall use salt in any form in the preparation of food."

Hm...so how on earth are the famous New York bakeries going to bake all that good stuff they bake. Last time I baked, I know the recipe called for SALT! All the wonderful spaghetti and great entrees served in all those fancy restaurants will now taste horrible. It's amazing what just a "pinch" of salt does for a recipe. Certainly that "pinch" is not going to kill someone. And certainly, shouldn't it be our perogative to eat the oh, so bad stuff?

And someone please tell me how anyone is going to make their meat Kosher in New York? Salt is used to make Kosher meat. There goes the Jewish Delicatesans!

Is this really a way to try and "save" us from the ill effects of salt intake? Or is it a fabulous way to make another industry or two or three go out of business due to rediculous regulations?

My last question is - Will we get arrested if we bring our own salt packets into a New York restaurant? I'm sure that will be next on the list. Along with ketchup.

Fried Chicken Legs and Corn on the Cob

2010-01-19T00:19:00.003-05:00

Well, I should have taken a picture of the fantastic dinner I made tonight. It was really scrumptious. I had made a great dinner years ago with fried chicken and corn on the cob years ago, but couldn't find the recipe. So I made this version up myself, and it turned out great!

I'll just write it out the way I made it tonight.

-Cook up at least 4 slices of bacon. I usually mak the whol pack, as everyone including myself ends up nibbling on most of the bacon. Keep the bacon drippings.

_Slice up three potatoes really thin.

_Pour about 1/2 an inch of cooking oil into a large skillet. Heat on medium. Add the left over bacon drippings. Add a little garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper to the oil.

_Lay the potatoes in the oil.

_Crumble the bacon into large pieces and add to oil and potatoe mixture.

_Dredge chicken legs in egg and then a mixture of Progresso bread crumbs, corn meal, garlic powder, onion powder, and bay leaves.

_Add chicken to the oil and potatoes.

_Continue to turn the chicken legs. Fry on medium for 20 minutes. Then add small pieces of frozen corn on the cob.

_Continue to turn corn and chicken and add baby lima beans or butter beans.

_Continue frying for another 20 minutes.

_Take everything out and place into a serving dish lined with paper towel and serve.

Even my son, who's a picky eater, loved this tonight!

What Would You Have Done?

2009-10-09T22:31:00.003-04:00

I took my kids to play tennis today. We went to a park that we usually don't go to, as there are tennis courts much closer to our house. I'm not sure why we went to this different park today. Anyway, when we got to the tennis courts, we got out of the car, and there was NO ONE around. It was nice and quiet. All of a sudden this guy about a half block down the street yells "Hey Lady!!" and starts running towards us! He was running, not just jogging or trotting - he was in a full sprint!

Well heck, I had no clue what this guy was going to do! I was petrified. I was a woman with two kids with her and no one else in sight except for this very tall man running towards us. I don't know what you would have done, but I corralled the kids, got them in the car as fast as I could, started it, locked the doors, rolled the windows up, and then proceeded to high tail it out of there! When I backed up there he was standing there by my window staring at me. I didn't know if he needed help or had a gun, but I wasn't about to find out! I certainly didn't want to be the one that needed help.

So..... what would you have done? I'm sure I probably blew things out of proportion, but the guy didn't look like he was in distress, he was walking slowly down the street until we got out of the car. I'm a mom, certainly moms protect their young.

Main lesson to be taught here is: guys, never yell "Hey Lady!" and start sprinting towards a mom and her children. She just may think you mean harm.

Sterzings Chips - Winner of MY Potato Chip Taste Test

2009-10-04T15:18:00.006-04:00

They came out with the winner of The Ultimate Potato Chip Taste Test. The winner was Kettle Krinkle . That's fine and dandy, but I'm sure someone forgot to put the OH-SO GREAT Sterzings Potato Chips into the taste contest. They'd have won hands down.

Sterzings Potato Chips were a HUGE treat in our household growing up. They were better known as the "Iowa Potato Chips". We only got them when Cousin Jim came to visit, or any other relatives from Iowa came to visit. They would usually load up their trunk with them and deliver to all our relatives on "this side of the river". River - meaning the Mighty Mississippi.

What makes these chips so great? They are light, and crunchy, and they have a completely different flavor to them. Also, some of them have these little pockets of grease that are to die for! Literally, we'd die for those! Fights would break out, kids would jump over the table even, all for a chip with a grease pocket in it. I even sold one for a buck to my sister. My oldest sister is the die-hardest Iowa Potato Chip grease pocket chip monger on the planet. Still to this day we fight over those! Too funny.

You can order these fantastic chips online here. I think I'm going to have to order a pack of 4 bags. Shipping is already included in the cost. They are so worth it!!

Bacon-Wrapped Hot Dogs

2009-09-07T12:54:00.002-04:00

Clearly this is not a healthy eating blog with the type of food that I put on here every so often. We're having bacon-wrapped hot dogs for lunch this fine Labor Day Holiday, so I thought I'd share this post that was originally on Karene's Kitchen on 9/9/08 (I merged Karene's Kitchen into Lily's Licorice back in the spring.)

It was always a special treat when mom made the bacon wrapped hot dogs for dinner. That meant we were getting chips and pop with dinner. No salad, potatoes or milk! Yippee!

These are absolutely delicious. You slice an opening long ways in the hot dog. Then you fill it with small slices of American cheese. Take a slice of bacon (2 actually works best to make it fit fully around the hot dog) and wrap it around the hot dog. Then you broil the hot dog til the bacon is done. You can also toast the bun just a bit. Top the dog with what you usually top it with, and Whala! you have a most delectable hot dog.

Enjoy!

Awww... It's The End Of Summer

2009-09-06T21:37:00.007-04:00

I don't know about you all, but we (my family) had probably the best summer we've had together (since the kids have arrived). Did we go on some fancy vacation? No. In fact I'm not so sure we even left town. I did go up to Saluda, SC two times. Who Hoo!! That's the happenin' place to be. Just kidding - it's in the middle of nowhere - and I mean nowhere - but it's very beautiful and peaceful.

So what made this summer so wonderful? Nothing! That's just it - we did nothing! We woke up when we wanted, we went to bed when we wanted (my good friends can attest to that), and we went to the pool whenever we wanted. Yes - we went to the pool whenever we wanted. Which is pretty much all we ever wanted to do. So everyday, when we got around to going, we'd pack up the pool bag (pool bag consists of 6 pair of goggles, sun screen, lots of snacks, water, small cooler, reading material for mom, mom's cell phone, mom's notebook, and pen). Then we'd head out to the pool. Most days we stayed ALL day or as long as we could.

My point here is this: I really think the reason we had such a wonderful summer is cause we weren't rushing around trying to do all sorts of stuff, we really enjoyed each other's company (my son and daughter really get along even better now - they actually hung out more together than in their little separate groups with their friends), and it was just laid-back and relaxing. Plus mom got to hang with her friends too. I plan to do the same thing next summer.

Oh! And the added bonus is this fabulous tan I have now, and I lost quite a few pounds with all that swimming too! (and yes that is our pool up above - during a swim meet)

So how was your summer?

My First Pottery Piece!

2009-08-13T21:51:00.003-04:00

My son loves doing pottery. He's actually pretty good at it and has even won Best In Show awards at the local fair here. His pottery teacher told me I could join in his classes with him - she's so neat, she let's the moms take the class for free if they wish to stay. So this go around I decided to. I'm so glad I did. Not only did we have a blast together, I actually had a lot of fun! So I'm showing off my first pottery piece. It's just a plate, but with the Cataba Blue glaze I used on it, it goes fabulously in my kitchen!

Life Happens! And I Missed My Blogoversary!

2009-08-01T23:00:00.007-04:00

Life Happens, and because of that I totally missed Lily's Licorice's very 1st Blogoversary!!! It was July 29th. I can't believe it. I wouldn't have noticed it if it weren't for Teena in Toronto! Thanks Teena for the warm wishes.

When I am really busy with my Usborne Books business, unfortunately Lily's Licorice suffers. But that's ok. She will always be here. I have a blast with it. And I have a blast with my Usborne Books business. By the way! You can join my team, and start your own Usborne business for only $15! That's THE BEST offer Usborne has ever had. They really are trying to help people get their own business started. You can check it out HERE.

Since, many of you weren't around when Lily's Licorice first started, I am reposting the first original post. That way you can see WHY it's called Lily's Licorice.

Why Lily's Licorice

So many silly things happen in our lives each day. All day long silly things come to us via our computers, our mailbox, our children, our dogs, our spouses, our telephone - you get the picture. Life is constantly SILLY!

If you are someone who can find the silliness in any given situation, then you have a leg up on most people in this world. That's me. I can find humor in anything and actually laugh about it! Although that usually gets me in a lot of trouble, but so what. I am the least stressed person I know, and I am the least stressed person all my friends know. I know that cause they always tell me that. And I have to tell you -- I probably have more to stress about than most people do! Find the humor in life. It's so much fun.

So, where does the name Lily's Licorice come from. We had an incident today with our brand new lab pub named Lily. She's a beautiful Lab pup that my husband brought home from work one day last month. I was so excited to be getting a brand new puppy. I did not know a horse was going to be walking through my front door! I like small dogs, and my husband brought home a gigantic lab that was only 7 months old yet I didn't have to bend over to pet the thing!

Needless to say, it took some time to bond with my new race horse. Thirty minutes is a long time. She's so mellow and so wonderful, how could you not LOVE her!!

So today, after being with us less than two months I had to take her to the vet. She was limping last night and this morning she wouldn't even get up. When she finally got up she wouldn't walk on one of her legs, so I had this giant horse hopping around my house on three legs! I wasn't quite sure how I was going to get this horse down the steps and into my van to take it to the dr. Somehow I did it--in the pouring rain no less. The doctor first thought she had some osteo something or other that lab pups get so he took an x-ray. He came back in the exam room shaking his head saying "This is not at all what I would have expected." The dog has buck shot all throughout her leg!!! And that's just the leg that was x-rayed! I can't imagine how much more she has in the rest of her body. Anyway, Lily will be fine. We got her from the lab rescue (had horrible owners before - obvisouly if the dog was used as target practice!)

So I decided that since I love this dog so much (wow! I'm actually admitting it to the World now) that maybe using her name would be fitting. Lily. Now what goes with Lily? Licorice was the first word that came to my mind. Black licorice at that! Now when I was a kid, my mom carried black licorice around all the time as a snack. I have no clue why!!! One time we were at a petting zoo and a crazy goat kept getting in my mom's purse to eat all her darn black licorice! Boy I bet that goat was sick that night. We certainly weren't cause we never got any!

Hence the name Lily's Licorice!

Presidential Wit

2009-07-14T23:19:00.013-04:00

I have this book, Presidential Wit, that I just love. It gives you an idea of how our former presidents really were - a sense of their personality that we don't usually get to see. Here are some of my favorite quotes:

John Adams:

"During a tour of Princeton University, Adams was taken into the chapel, where, he said, "the scholars sing as badly as the Presbyterians in New York." " August 24, 1774 (pg. 12)

"From John Adams to his wife, Abigail Adams: "I must not write a word to you about politics, because you are a woman." " December 30, 1778 (pg. 12)

Thomas Jefferson:

"In a letter to John Jay, Jefferson described Louis XVI during a crisis in France: "He hunts one half of the day, is drunk the other, and signs whatever he is bid." October 8, 1787 (pg. 17)

"Politeness is artificial good humor, and a valuable preservative of peace and tranquility." Letter to a Friend Novermber 24, 1808 (pg. 19)

John Quincy Adams:

"The wife of Willis Anderson came again to petition for his pardon. She hinted that her husband did not wish to be discharged from prison himself, and that it would be no relaxation of his punishment to turn him over to her." Diary June 19, 1828 (pg. 30) Ha! I'm sure many a men would feel this way in this situation.

Andrew Jackson:

"Commenting on Sam Houston, Andrew Jackson remarked: "There goes a man made by the Lord Almighty and not by his tailor." " (pg. 34)

Millard Fillmore:

"When James K. Polk won the Presidential election, Fillmore said: "May God save the country; for it is evident that the people will not." " Letter to Henry Clay November 11, 1844 (pg. 42) Hm.... seems like we are in this same situation today!

James Buchanan:

"Inviting a friend to dinner at his house, James Buchanan wrote: "I am happy that our tastes on so many subjects are the same and that we both delight in the classical dish of sauerkraut. Many pretenders to refinement despise this honest German dish; but we know better. I shall therefore expect you." " (pg. 46)

With that I think I will stop, as Abraham Lincoln's Presidential wit will be a post in itself. Then I will take up the rest of the presidents to Johnson.

Cited from: Presidential Wit from Washington to Johnson, Compiled and Edited by Bill Adler, Trident Press: New York, 1966.

Wordless Wednesday - This is How My Silly Husband Melts Butter

2009-07-08T00:00:00.001-04:00

Lily Wishes Everyone A Happy 4th of July!

2009-07-04T00:00:00.000-04:00

Andrew Lee Whitten - March 13, 2009 - July 1, 2009 Our Miracle Baby Is Truely A Blessing!

2009-07-01T13:34:00.011-04:00

How is it that a little baby, who only spent 111 days on this Earth, can make such a huge impact in the lives of so many adults?

Back when my friend Heather, Andrew's mom, was pregnant, she and her husband Jim were told that Andrew would not survive, he had a hole in his diaphram and other issues and it was best they terminate the pregnancy. I know as a parent, those are some harsh words to come from a doctor. Heather and Jim decided it was going to be up to God whether their baby was going to survive - it was not going to be up to the doctors.

So Heather and Jim went along with the pregnancy. Heather was sick the whole time. The doctors kept telling her the baby, who by now they knew was a boy, probably would not survive being born.

On Friday the 13th of March, Andrew Lee Whitten arrived in this world 5 weeks early! He defied the odds that the doctors had given him and survived being born. The little guy was on a ventilator, but he was alive and absolutely adorable!

That week was stressful at the hospital. The doctors didn't seem to want to get Andrew the care he needed. They insisted he wouldn't survive. Heather and Jim tried to get Andrew flown to Florida where there was a doctor who was pretty confident he could save Andrew. After a few days it was determined Andrew would never make it to the medical helicopter let alone all the way to Florida in a helicopter. So the doctors here in SC, who had never done the type of surgery Andrew needed, decided to go ahead and try. He had a 2% chance of making it. The anesthesiologist told Heather and Jim he had a 0% chance, and he thought it was awful they would put him through that surgery! Can you believe it! Once again, Heather and Jim went to bat for Andrew - they were his parents, and they wanted him to have every chance he could.

Again, Andrew defied the odds, and survived that surgery! The doctors and nurses were amazed. This little baby started getting a little better. He eventually got strong enough to have the heart surgery he needed. And in time, Andrew was growing and getting better and slowly weening off the ventilator.

Heather started making plans for his nursury. We went to pick out baby stuff for him, and she even registered. Andrew was growing, he was opening his eyes and smiling and his adorable personality was starting to come out. He even got to play in the bouncy seat! We were all excited, because Andrew, our Miracle Baby - as we call him, was probably going to go home around August.

Then all of a sudden his heart stopped! What happened? The doctors were able to bring him back. They had to put him back on the ventilator. And then it was determined that Andrew had developed a lung condition from being on the ventilator so long. The only way to save him was to remove a portion of his lung. But Andrew was so weak. He had to get strong in order to undergo the surgery that would save him.

Sunday evening, Heather said "she knew". Andrew felt like a rag doll. Heather knew something was wrong, and that it wasn't good. Her fears were confirmed Monday on doctor's rounds. "This is it", Jim texted my husband.

Immediately I went down to the hospital. There sat Jim, with his beautiful baby son in his arms. I don't think I've ever seen a grown man cry like that. Jim wanted one more day with Andrew. One more day to hold him, to love him, to kiss him.

On Tuesday evening, Baby Andrew died in his parents arms which were so filled with love for him. His parents passed him right into the arms of God who has even more love for him than any of us can imagine.

Andrew defied all his odds for a long time. This child proved to doctors that things beyond their medical control happens. Many of the doctors could not explain why Andrew was able to be with us for 111 days. It was purely God who wanted Andrew with us for 111 days.

This baby changed people's perspectives and brought more people to God in 3 1/2 months than most adults do in a lifetime. The most amazing of which is his father, Jim, found the Lord through all this and became a Christian. Amazing! This child came to earth and SAVED his father. As Heather says, "Andrew was able to do something in 3 1/2 months that she could not accomplish in over 15 years!"

Below is the poem Andrew's sister wrote for him a few weeks ago:

" He is My Brother" By: Deanna Whitten

His name is Andrew.
He is my brother.

He was born five weeks early.
His is my brother.

He has wires and tubes coming from everywhere.
He is my brother.

His skin is so soft as I hold his tiny hand.
He is my brother.

His room always smells so clean. It has to.
He is my brother.

His machines, with quiet tones, help him breath.
He is my brother.

His skin tastes sweet as I give him tiny kisses.
He is my brother.

His name is Andrew.
He is my brother.

Andrew's memorial service will be Sat., July 11. Please keep the Whitten family in your hearts and prayers.

Michael Jackson's Death is like Elvis Presley's Death for Our Generation

2009-06-25T22:47:00.012-04:00

I'm eating dinner at some restaurant in Michigan on August 16, 1977, and the waitress tells us that Elvis Presley had died. I will never forget that moment or that waitress, or my aunt's reaction. I was on vacation with my aunt and uncle and cousin. I had no clue what I was going to be in for when I got home the next day!

We arrived home the day after Elvis had died. As we turned the corner onto my block you could hear Elvis music blaring down the road. I was so embarrassed, cause I knew it was coming from my house!! My mom was a HUGE Elvis fan. Sure enough, we walk in my house and there's my mom literally balling her eyes out in the living room listening to REALLY LOUD Elvis music. Again, I was so embarrassed.

(this is the Michael Jackson I like to remember and love)

Obviously, Elvis's death was huge. Just like today, Michael Jackson's death is huge. For us, who grew up with Michael Jackson's music, it's as if a part of our childhood has died. It's the replaying of the videos of when Michael was young and with the Jackson 5 that makes me cry. His voice, especially for that age, was just incredible. And those songs were incredible. I remember arguing with kids on the block (not the band, literally kids on our block) that the Jackson 5 was way better than the Osmond Brothers. I did agree Donny was way cuter than any of the Jackson 5, but the Jackson 5 were way better talent wise. That's because they had Michael Jackson.

As time went on, Michael Jackson provided so many FUN memories, especially in my college days:

The Thriller Video: The first time I ever saw the Thriller video was at midnight at Dibbos in Hudson, WI. Everybody stopped dancing and just watched it. It was just incredible!

Billy Jean: Every song on that album and the Thriller album is awesome and gives me so many wonderfully fun memories of times when we were still innocent, and free, and YOUNG.

Michael's Moon Walk: How on earth did he do that? And no one could ever duplicate it the way he did it. (so sad to write about him in the past tense)

The Pepsi Commercial: Here's something I haven't heard about today. Remember when his hair caught fire filming the Pepsi commercial. Now that was funny, but not really.

Anyway.... even though Michael Jackson ended up such a different person in the past years, his music and his videos, and all the work he has done for charities is timeless. He is a legend.

*An interesting observation: Elvis died when he was just 42. My mom was 42, and I was entering 7th grade. Now I'm 43 and my son is entering 6th grade. I just find that interesting - the ages reflect what I had titled this post as - Michael Jackson was the Elvis of our generation.

The Day Someone Stole My Silly Husband's Car

2009-06-21T21:59:00.004-04:00

Before we had the kiddos, my silly hubby and I lived in an apartment. We so loved that apartment - it was our first "home" together, it was in a great location, had two balconies, and life was just so happy there (I'm sure cause we were newlyweds!).

One morning when my silly hubby left for work, he came running back in yelling that someone had stolen his car! I looked outside - it wasn't out in the parking lot. He called the police and reported the car stolen.

I drove my silly hubby to work, and by the time I came home there was a message on the answering machine from the police. They had found the car!! Wow!! I was so impressed that they had found it so fast.

Turns out it was in the Food Lion parking lot right next to our apartment complex. The Food Lion was so close that we walked there all the time. My silly hubby had stopped at the Food Lion the night before on his way home from work. He made his purchases and walked home!!

Hard To Believe It's Been Two Years - We Love And Miss You Brad

2009-06-18T00:00:00.004-04:00

How did I keep myself calm and composed on what seemed like such a long drive to be there and to comfort my most dearest friend who had just lost her husband in a horrific fire? "I prayed for you the whole way down", said Monica. "I knew you needed strength and safety in order to make it down to the firehouse in one piece."

Usually I keep the TV on in the kitchen, but for some reason, the night of Monday, June, 18, 2007, I was so busy upstairs that I didn't. I came downstairs and flicked the TV on. There was breaking news: A fire at a furniture store in West Ashley. It looked like the furniture store right around the corner from Heather and Brad's home. It didn't look good, and they said "one man" was down. I immediately called Heather to see if Brad was on duty and at that fire. She had just heard of it and was waiting for the dispatcher at Brad's station to call her back. She sounded so nervous and scared. There was a feeling, a power in the air, that made me uneasy. I knew something bad was happening. I just didn't know how horrible it was going to get.

"Oh, that's the dispatcher!!!", Heather yelled, "I'll call you right back." By 11:15 there was no word from Heather, and the count of fallen firefighters was up to 3! I was a nervous wreck. I just knew Brad was one of them! "What should I do?" I asked my husband. "Call her back," he said. Heather and Brad's 8 year-old daughter answered the phone. She told me Heather was at the fire. Dad was safe, and mom had gone up to see him. She was so happy!! After a few moments I told my husband that didn't sound right. Something was wrong. But I never heard anything else. For some reason I was making home made hot pretzels that night. Now who makes home made hot pretzels at that time of night? Not a norm in our household.

The pretzels were just coming out of the oven when the phone rang. It was Heather!!! But Heather wasn't on the other end!! It was a different familiar voice. "Is this Kristie? Kristie Glascock?" It was Monica's voice, and all my fears were confirmed. Brad was gone! "She wants YOU.", Monica said. "I know this is hard, but you have to stay composed and stay strong for her."

It was almost midnight. The kids were still up, as they knew something very serious was going on with the fire on the TV. I had to leave. I had to make the hardest drive I have ever had to make in my whole entire life. I had to drive down to my most dearest friend, really my sister, who had just lost her firefighter husband in the line of duty. There were 3 of them gone.

I had to get gas. After I got the gas I had to call my dad to help me make that drive down I-26. My parents are in their seventies, they were already in bed. My dad answered right away knowing that no one calls them that late at night. "Dad! There was a horrible fire down in West Ashley! Three firefighters were killed! One of them was Brad!" "Oh my!!!", he said. Now my dad has always loved Brad. The first time my parents, and in fact my husband and I, had ever met Brad was when he and Heather came to the apartment to see our son after he was born. I remember thinking that he wasn't what I was expecting Heather's husband to be. He was a quiet, quiet guy - but over time I would realize that he was someone with so much knowledge in his head that he knew to be quiet and only speak what was worth being said.

It was pitch as black. There were no cars on I-26 except a police car that rode next to me for a while and then sped away. My dad talked to me the whole way down and kept me calm. He kept talking about Brad, and he kept telling me how I had to be strong for Heather. He told me God would make sure I made it there safely for Heather. By the time I got to the Cosgrove exit, you could smell the fire/smoke in the air. I told my dad that. He cringed as he knew how far way that store was from where I was at. The wind was carrying the stench of the fire over the Ashley River.

I got off I-26, and again, there were no cars anywhere! Amazingly, I was able to get right to Station 11 and park. There were groups of people. No one was my group. I didn't recognize anyone. I asked someone who looked official where Brad Baity's family was, and he lead me into the station. There was Heather, on the couch crying and crying with someone. I cannot remember who.

When I walked in, Monica took me aside and told me that they had lost 9 firefighters! NINE?!?!!?? What!?!?!?!? That was unfathomable.

I went over to Heather. All I could do was hold her and stroke her back and her hair. There's nothing you can tell a woman who has lost the love of her life in such a quick instant. I held on to her for dear life and didn't let go.

To the families and friends of Capt. Benke, Capt. Hutchison, Earl Drayton, Louis Mulkey, Mark Kelsey, Melvin Champaigne, Michael French, and Brandon Thompson -- that night forever changed our lives and many of the lives of those that we love dearly. The Charleston 9 will forever be in my heart.

Wordless Wednesday - Densel Fly On My Wall

2009-06-17T00:00:00.002-04:00

Virtual Girls Night Out with The Pink Ladies

2009-06-12T15:39:00.010-04:00

Head on over to Ann Again's and join us Pink Ladies (I'm Smokin' Molly) for a Virtual Girls Night Out. This week Ann has us partying to Grease.

I remember that summer of 1978 when Grease hit the movie screens. I think I paid to see it at least 13 times and each time sat through it two or three times in a row. Back then they'd let you stay and watch the next show. The movie was that good. You had to just keep watching it over and over again.

All the girls were mesmerized by John Travolta as Danny Zucko. But personally, I loved Kenicki! Ann is serving Pink Lady cocktails over at her place. I will be serving Pink Lemonades - with vodka,of course. Just mix equal parts pink lemonade and vodka (Absolute, makes it especially delish). Fill up a chilled glass with lots of ice and your pink lemonade. Mm mm. It's so refreshing on this HOT, HOT summer evening!

So what is your favorite scene in Grease? Mine is the Greased Lightning scene. It's full of lots of hot guys doing lots of hot moves!! Geez! I need that Pink Lemonade!

The Days of Black and White

2009-06-10T23:34:00.005-04:00

Tonight there was a TV show on that went to black and white footage for a little bit. My 7 yr. old daughter piped up and asked:

"Mom, back in the black and white days, was the sky still blue?".

I think that has to be the most precious question anyone has ever asked me. And it got me to thinking - do kids really think that the real world used to be black and white before color movies and tv came around?

So Where Do You Buy A Newspaper?

2009-06-02T20:37:00.003-04:00

Well I must live in the most brilliant of all neighborhoods. Or maybe I should say I have the most brilliant neighbors. I come home and there's a message on my voice mail from one of the mom's down the street. Here it is transcribed verbatum:

"Kristie - uh, Hannah has a a project she needs to do for school. She needs a newspaper for it. I was wondering if maybe you had one. I thought out of anyone, you'd be the one to have a newspaper lying around. I don't have one..... and..... actually..... uh ..I don't know how to buy one. How do you get a newspaper?"

I'm horrible. I didn't even call back. If the 7th grade kid of hers doesn't know that you can go to the gas station or grocery store to buy a newspaper, she deserves an F on that project anyway. SO does the mom. Heck! They could steal it off our driveway tomorrow morning!!

I Want My Kentucky FRIED Chicken!

2009-05-29T22:23:00.005-04:00

It was payday today. Usually my silly hubby treats himself to a special lunch on payday. He calls me from his truck after lunch in a bit of a rant. No, more than a rant.

My Silly Hubby: What happened to Kentucky Fried Chicken!?!?!?

Me: I don't know. Did it close?

My Silly Hubby: No! But all they have is that rotten grilled chicken. What happened to the fried chicken?

(Ok, am I the chicken expert? And how am I supposed to know what happened to Kentucky's Fried Chicken?)

Me: Uh, I don't know. Don't they have fried chicken anymore?

My Silly Hubby: NO!!!!! I went in and ordered my usual, and I got this rotten grilled chicken. I told the lady I ordered the original recipe and didn't want the new grilled stuff. She said they didn't have anything but the fried crap. (Ok, that was in his words, not verbatim from her)
I even looked - they had NO FRIED chicken.

(I actually felt bad for the guy cause I know he works hard, and I know how he loves his fried chicken.)

Me: So what'd you do?

My Silly Hubby: Well I had the grilled chicken.

Me: Was it any good?

My Silly Hubby: NO!

Hm.....maybe he should have called 911 to report that Kentucky Fried Chicken had no fried chicken. I'm sure that's what a few other nut cases would have done.

FYI - Don't be alarmed, I'm sure KFC is still serving fried chicken. I'm sure they were just out when my silly hubby arrived.

Where Have I Been? On ebay!

2009-05-28T13:54:00.003-04:00

So I'm sure many of you have been wondering "Where is she?". Well I have finally discovered the fun of ebay. Not sure yet if that is a good or bad thing, but I am hoping it is good.

Someone quickly gave me the advice of "Step away now! Save yourself". She thought I was bidding on all the auctions. But no - I'm selling. I haven't had an auction close yet, but I already have bids! I'm wondering if maybe I'm good at this, or just have beginners luck? No, I'm sure it's more the fact that I have so much ridiculous stuff in my house that others would love to have.

It'll be interesting to see by the end of the week how much money I have raked in.

If you are an ebay seller and have tips you'd like to share, please do. I may keep up with this as I am having fun! And I'm making money!

Learn More about Your WWII Veterans this Memorial Day Weekend - Watch Band of Brothers

2009-05-24T13:31:00.006-04:00

I can not believe it has taken me 18 years to finally sit down and watch the HBO series Band of Brothers. The History Channel was airing it last night and I sat down to watch the first episode. I didn't get up (except for snacks) until I had watched the whole entire series!! It was that good!

I must have cried through most of it. It's incredible how they depicted the events of Easy Company and their trek through Europe during the war. They started out on D-Day at Normandy and ended by liberating a concentration camp. The events these men lived through (and the others died in) are incredible.

If you've never watched this, take the time to sit down and do so. It will give you a completely chilling and different take on WWII.

Here's to ALL our veterans of ALL our wars on Memorial Day:

THANK YOU!

Kris Allen Wins - Best American Finale Ever!

2009-05-20T23:12:00.009-04:00

I was and still am a huge Clay Aiken fan. The Reuben Studdard and Clay Aiken American Idol Finale has always gone down as the best finale. I really think the producers of American Idol did a fantastic job on the finale this season. They had wonderful guest stars, and it was exciting the whole way through.

Here are what my highlights of the 2009 American Idol Finale were:

Thought the gig with Kara and Katrina was hysterical. A bit like the Clay Aiken surprise at the 3rd finale, but Katrina so deserved it. And Katrina actually looked mad that Kara came out and stole the limelight from her. And then when Kara sported her own bikini! Too funny. (I'll admit, I really didn't like Kara this whole season, but I have a little bit different perspective of her now.)

So loved to see Cyndi Lauper with Allison. Could have cared less about Allison, but was really impressed with Cyndi. I've always loved her.For you young uns, this is the Cyndi Lauper I know and love.

KISS totally rocked the house!!! Now that was a nice surprise. I was a huge KISS fan in Jr. High and have always loved their music. It was nice to show my son who KISS was. He kept asking, why are they dressed like that? I told him, "Hey, they were smart. They had their stage life and were able to lead a normal life off stage as no one knew what they looked like." He is now trying to figure out what kind of makeup to dress up as for his band. LOL Heaven Forbid!Of course they had other greats on like Santana, and Rod Stewart, and Queen. The night was just spectacular! Although I'm not sure who let Queen Latifah wear that horendously tight outfit!

But the best moment, of course was that

KRIS ALLEN WON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Never would have expected that. I've had him pegged all season. Actually I've had every winner pegged all season except for Clay (who has gone down as one of the top American Idol stars). I thought for sure Adam had won, but I think America really, really liked the wholesome spirit of Kris Allen.

Way to Go Kris!!
Congratulations!

Wordless Wednesday - This is What my Hubby and I Fight About

2009-05-20T00:13:00.006-04:00

I know this is supposed to be Wordless Wednesday, but you have to agree, that oven mitt above leaves you speechless (which is wordless), doesn't it?

Please help solve the marital squabble:

Vote A: Display the God awful, ugly beast of an oven mitt in my beautiful kitchen. I don't care that my boy gave me it (hubby picked out) on my first Mother's Day when he was just 2 months old. My son is now 11, and laughs cause it's so hideous.

or:

Vote B: Keep it in the cabinet and keep the Queen of the Kitchen (who also feeds everyone) happy.

Hey Mr. Mailman, Are You Too Lazy To Deliver My Mail?

2009-05-18T23:14:00.006-04:00

Mr Mailman,

Just because the garbage man left the garbage can in front of the driveway doesn't mean you DO NOT do your job and deliver my mail. What? Are you too lazy to put the truck in park and walk two steps to put the mail in the mailbox of the people for which others paid such high postage in order to get it to that box?

There are other mailmen who have to WALK their routes all day long. You get to sit in your fancy truck and DRIVE. Whatever happened to "Neither sleet, nor rain, nor snow will stop me". Oh yea, garbage can wasn't in that saying.

Sincerely,
Non-Mail Recipient

*FYI, if a car is parked in our neighborhood or a garbage can is left by the garbage man, or a kid's bike, or a bird is anywhere within 6 or so feet of a mailbox - YOU WILL NOT GET YOUR MAIL! I'll never forget the day my silly hubby had to chase the mailman down the block to get our mail. Now THAT was funny!

Airplane Passengers - The Good, The Bad, The Really Cute, and The Real Gross

2009-05-16T23:16:00.006-04:00

We've all had them, those people who sit next to us on the plane that just about drive us nuts! Like the guy above, who won't shut up, or the screaming baby in back of you. The kid who keeps kicking your seat, or the gigantic person who takes up your whole seat too.

I've had some good seat mates, and I have had some horrendous seat mates. But my worst passenger experience was with just some other passenger on the plane. I have no clue where his seat really was.

So here's my best one. I was flying out to visit some stupid guy for the weekend. I was dumb and in college at the time. I almost missed the flight due to the ignorance of the airline. The real, real (and I mean REAL) cute guy in front of me was in the same predicament. In order to catch the flight we had to RUN with our luggage to the plane. Mr. Realcuteniceguy grabbed my luggage and his and we made a beeline for the plane. Once on the plane, it ended up our seats were next to each other. We talked and talked, and he was oh so perfect. Then it was time to land and get off the plane. Bummer. Oh well, I had Mr. Noshow pick me up at the airport. How embarrassing! The dummy never came to get me at the airport. So..... I spent the whole weekend with Mr. Realcuterniceguy!! (big smiley face) Turns out he ended up getting a job by where I lived, and we had such a blissful summer together. Now he was my BEST airplane seat mate.

My WORST airplane passenger experience is the guy that I have no clue where he sat. I was flying home with hubby and the two kids from my brother-in-laws funeral. Our seats were right by the kitchen and the bathroom was right behind the kitchen. Well some guy clearly needed to use the bathroom, but they were all being occupied. Come on people!! This guy really needed the bathroom!! He never made it to the bathroom. He ended up throwing up all over the kitchen and ME!!! I've never seen that much throw up fly out of a person in my life. And it splattered everywhere!! Especially on ME!!

So what are your good and bad experiences with your airplane seatmates or passengers? Do share.

VGNO - Get Your Sugar Confection Here!

2009-05-15T18:36:00.009-04:00

What do you get when you wrap cotton candy around a black licorice twist?

Lily's Licorice's Sugar Confection!

Tonight's VGNO party game is The Sweet Candy Game. If you'd like to have fun with us for VGNO head on over to Ann Again's and join the party! Based on my first and last name I get to invent my own Sugar Confection.

I'm taking Twizzlers black licorice twists and wrapping pink cotton candy around them. Blue for the boys, of course. It's delicious!! I think I'm going to have my daughter sell these at her lemonade stand next Saturday at our yard sale. Oh! And red licorice with blue cotton candy wrapped around it for the 4th of July will be spectacular!

Happy VGNO - I may be completely ill tomorrow from trying everyone's goodies.

Why I Love Twitter So Much

2009-05-13T21:17:00.004-04:00

Every time I'm excited about something or come up with something new, my friends say "Oh, did you find that on Twitter?". Twitter has become a joke in my circle of friends, yet I'm the only one who "twitters". They have no clue what they are missing. But can you keep a secret? I kind of like that I'm the only one that twitters in the group. It makes me feel like I have something of my own - my own little "Twitter World".

Here's something I have discovered. I don't think I've really seen this on the reviews of why people twitter. This is WHY I love to twitter, and I'm sure it's the real reason why others do too:

-You meet some really neat people - people just like yourself, who if you lived where they lived you know you'd be friends. I have some twitter friends who I converse with quite frequently. They come into my home each day, and I don't even have to clean! I don't have to feed them either.

-Watching TV has never been so much fun. Hubby LOATHES American Idol. This season I've had the funnest American Idol season tweeting amongst other tweets as the show goes on. @burgmom624 knows I want Kris Allen to win, and I know she wants Adam Lambert to win. We've pegged them to be in the final for weeks now. So if it weren't for Twitter, I'd be watching American Idol by myself. I'm sure you're all thinking to yourself "Well she is watching American Idol by herself", but it's different sharing it with twitter pals each week.

-If I have a question - I go to twitter now. Funny I twitter it before I google it now. I get so many wise answers - especially from other moms. After all, it is us moms who are the wise ones.

- If you have a crisis going on - your twitter pals are there to back you up. The night my son had been prescribed too much meds and was halucinating, it was @lauratoogood who told me what to do and kept me calm while hubby was on the phone with the pharmacy. FYI she was way faster at giving us info than getting in touch with the pharmacy. Unlike the rat race I live in, people care about other tweets on twitter. Twitter was abuzz that night with what was going on, and it was my twitter pals who wanted to know how my son was the next day.

-I also found @paintermommy on twitter. She is the brilliant designer who did my blog header and button for my Usborne Activities blog. What she did was so cool! If you look at the header design she has my daughter actually painting her own penguin painting that she did. At some point I'm going to have her spruce up Lily's Licorice a bit.

So for all of you who think twitter is some dumb thing where you post your mindless thoughts in 140 characters or less, think twice about it. Try it. You just might like it.

If you'd like to follow me on twitter you can do so here. I'm UzzieMom on twitter. And if you'd like some decent tweets to start following besides the ones mentioned above, I recommend: @ohMariana, @sugarkisses, @haysdewy, @mommy_grrl, @zrecsmom, @chicmom, @shalomcharlie, and @dragonblogger. The dragon blogger is a poet and he puts out tweets asking for one word and writes poems out of what is tweeted back. He's a brilliant writer/poet!

Come on and follow me!

Wordless Wednesday - Staircase at Ponce Inlet Lighthouse - Yes I Walked All The Way Up To The Top!

2009-05-13T00:00:00.001-04:00

Here's More Info on the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse

Spaghetti Tacos - Lily's Way

2009-05-11T20:09:00.008-04:00

I thought my son had come up with a brilliant idea today. I was making spaghetti for dinner, and there was a box of taco shells on the counter. He jumped up and down and exclaimed "We can make spaghetti tacos!". I thought he was brilliant. Turns out they make spaghetti tacos on iCarly, but hey, I had never heard of them before. I have no clue how they make them on iCarly, but here's how we made them. They turned out quite interesting, yet surprisingly delicious!

Spaghetti Tacos- Lily's Way

Cook your spaghetti sauce and noodles the way you usually do.
Mix the noodles and sauce together.
Spoon into hard taco shells.
Top with shredded parmesan or mozarella cheese. (Personally, I liked it better with the mozarella cheese.)

Whallaa!!! You have your spaghetti taco (which is way better than a fish taco - yick!).

The Mighty Flea vs. The Cricket

2009-05-09T00:14:00.008-04:00

Hubby spent many years in the US Coast Guard. The guys nicknamed him The Mighty Flea for a very good reason. He's small in stature, yet very strong. You'd be amazed what this little guy can do!

Last night there was a cricket chirping outside my daughter's bedroom window. She came in complaining about how this cricket was keeping her up. Now I don't know what it is about crickets in South Carolina, but they are THE LOUDEST in the world.

I remember another night where there was a cricket chirping really loud out her window. My daughter, myself, and even my son were up all night with that dang cricket. According to my son, the cricket is just looking for his mate. Well he doesn't need to keep me up all night looking for a mate. I have mine sound asleep in my bed. Cause as you all know - WWIII could be happening outside our bedroom window, yet hubby would NEVER wake up.

Well I have to tell you ... there was a time when something would wake my silly hubby up. Back before we had kids and lived in "the apartment" there was this goofy cricket who would chirp outside our bedroom window each night. One night he was exceptionally LOUD!!! All of a sudden hubby threw off the covers and ran out of the bedroom. Well I thought he was going to the bathroom. All of a sudden I hear all this racket out the bedroom window. "Take that! You stupid cricket!!" There was hubby out on the deck, yelling at the cricket with pots of hot water that he was throwing on the poor cricket. (I'm crying laughing just remembering) It took LOTS of pots of hot water to shut that beautiful cricket up. Hubby was a mad man! Yelling and throwing water at the area where the cricket was chirping from.

Finally we no longer heard the poor cricket chirp. Clearly he had been drowned by the pots of hot water. So sad. But all I could think about was --- SLEEP. So we went to bed. And then...

CHIRP!

Thank God It's Friday! Thank God for Virtual Girls Night Out! This Week - Wardrobe Malfuntion Edition

2009-05-08T13:42:00.006-04:00

Ah, it's Friday again, and time for another evening of VGNO. Join us please! Hop on over to Ann Again's and sign yourself up.

Ann is serving Mom-osas which sound absolutely delicious. Once I saw her recipe I knew I had to have Bellini's for this evening. It's been SO hot, and I'm trying so hard NOT to turn the air on. These are just the perfect thing to cool me down. I'll have to wait for the festivities til AFTER I get my daughter from gymnastics.

I was first introduced to these Bellini's when I went to visit my college roommates. We had such a fun evening in a tiny little hole in the wall bar in the middle of a corn field. I couldn't begin to tell you how many we had. All I know was that Tammy could no longer speak properly (although she never really makes much sense anyway lol), and we were up all night going to the bathroom from all that juice, and ice, and champagne!!

I don't know the real recipe to a Bellini, but here's how I make mine. It's my staple drink on New Year's Eve too.

Fill up a champagne glass with ice.
Fill with equal parts Champagne, Peach Schnapps, and OJ. The OJ usually ends up becoming a splash at the end. As the night wears on the OJ ends up staying in the fridge. Mix and enjoy!!! A fresh peach slice would be a nice added touch.

Wardrobe Malfuntion Edition: We're supposed to mention a time we did something utterly embarrassing like leaving our shirt tucked into our underwear. Hm... I always do embarassing things. I do have two wardrobe malfuntions to share with you tonight. One is my mom's - just so you know where I get my goofiness from.

1. In high school I had these overalls that zipped in the back. Who has pants that zip in the back? So I never would remember to zip those pants up. Thus I was showing my cute (plain white) undies for the whole high school to see. There was one nice gal who would always come up in back of me, whisper in my ear, "You forgot to zip your pants again", and zip them for me. How embarrassing!

2. My mother was maid of honor at her sister's wedding. This was back in the 50's. Her fancy satin dress had a big bow in the back with two long strands of material coming off the bow. Silly mom decided she better go to the bathroom right before they started down the aisle. She forgot about the long strands of satin and they went right in the toilet along with everything else!!! She had no clue and walked down the aisle for all to see the wet, icky strands of satin! Too funny.

Do share about your own wardrobe malfuntions. And have a Happy VGNO!

What A Great Day I Had Today!!

2009-05-06T22:09:00.020-04:00

It's my dear friend Sherry's birthday today! Everyone wish her a belated birthday as this post won't really hit til the day after. So Happy Birthday Sherry!!! She's the ripe old age that I am.

So it's Sherry's birthday, but somehow I ended up having such an absolutely fabulous day! I hope my birthday will be as good for her.

First I woke up to a wonderful award from Mrs. Cooper.

It's the One Lovely Blog Award. The kids are so proud. At least someone is proud of me.

I'm so tickled to get another award. I'm sure Lily is too. I'll go get her a bone tomorrow to celebrate. Anyway, I'm supposed to pass the award along to some new blogs, that are NEW to me. Blogs I have recently discovered during my never ending blog clicking. Here is that list of new blogs to me that I think are pretty neat. I certainly don't want to hog them all for myself, so I will share them with you. Here goes:

Black Olives On My Fingertips
Five Flower Mom
Frogs In My Formula
SAHMSue
and Ann Again. Ann Again and her VGNO has spruced up my Friday evenings!! I get to be the life of the party again, just like in the old days! Thanks Ann!

If you're on this list, grab your award, link to who gave you the award (muwa) and pass it along to those newly discovered fantastic blogs that you love.

Then I took my son (only 11) in for his root canal. We finally got it all taken care of today. He was such a man!! I am so proud of him! You'd never know he even had any dental work done, let alone a root canal! I remember when my silly hubby got a root canal and he was not this up to par. Son - you did so good today!!! So I award you this:

Then I had a nice rest of the day planting flowers with my daughter. And then found out there is lots of interest in my Summer Read-A-Thon. If you'd like for your kids to read this summer for pledges and earn some free books for themselves, let me know, I'll send you the info on it. Email me at kristie@usborneactivities.com or post your email in the comment section here. This is a great way for home schoolers to build up some great curriculum for the upcoming school year too.

Then Kris Allen made it through to the final three on American Idol. I just love him. Love his style, his talent, and he actually looks a lot like my silly hubby, so I think I'm a bit partial. Ok, he looks a lot like my silly hubby did back when he was Kris's age. Although hubby has aged well. Much better than I have. And my silly hubby sings to me with those same dreamy eyes!!

Then last but not least!!! I won the exact thing that I wanted to win on The Bantering Blonde's 100th post blog give away!!!

Whooo Hoooo! I never win anything and if I might say so myself - I so deserve it! I'm already planning a wonderful party for Lily's Licorice's 1st Birthday, so stay tuned. It's not til August, but I like to plan ahead.

Hope you all had a glorious day too!!

Wordless Wednesday - Sleeping Lily: This is When Lily is So Sweet and DOESN'T Eat My Stuff

2009-05-06T00:00:00.006-04:00

And yes, this is the real Lily of Lily's Licorice fame.

Parents! THINK Before You Name Your Kids!

2009-05-03T15:56:00.006-04:00

There are so many kids in this world that have to suffer their whole life because their parents just do not THINK before they put the oh so important name on their kid's birth certificate.

Here are some names of real people that I have known in my life:

Mary Cox - I went to high school with not one, but two girls named Mary Cox. The boys had a field day with them.

Jim Shu - just plain dumb, but of course he wasn't.

Tim Burr - you always knew when he was walking down the hall at school cause you'd here "tiiiimmmmmbbbeeeerrrrrrrrrrrr"

Rose Dick - our study hall teacher in high school. Goodness did she get the rude comments, especially from the rotten boys. (I guess her parents aren't at fault for her name. She is the one who married a Dick.)

This is the worst one: Harrison Richard Hunter. Very cute guy in college, but unfortunately his name meant Harry Dick Hunter. No one could quite get over that. Especially the girls.

Do share what goofy named people you've known in your life.

What Do You Do When A Pregnant Women Is Crossing In Front Of You In A Parking Lot?

2009-04-30T21:42:00.003-04:00

You swerve around the car in front of you and just about hit her husband. Yea! That's what you do!!

Ok, well, that's what you're NOT supposed to do, but the idiot in back of me in the Food Lion parking lot today did just that! I couldn't believe it.

Here I am stopped because this very pregnant lady was crossing in the path in front of me to enter the store. It was quite obvious she was pregnant, because she looked like she was about ready to give birth at any moment. Her hubby was following behind her.

Well Mr. Jerkinbackofme, who was oh so impatient, decides he just can't wait anymore and starts wailing on his horn and was yelling and waving his arms (I could see all that from my rear view mirror). Then Mr. Jerkinbackofme swerved around my car still yelling at me. Now he's looking right at me yelling instead of looking ahead in order to see that he is about to plow the husband right over. So I start yelling at him that people are there! So he has to slam his breaks on! (Gee - can you feel my blood boiling!?!)

Geez people. If the car in front of you is stopped - they are probably stopped for a very good reason. I don't just sit in the aisle of a parking lot for no reason!

Here's a previous LL post about more rotten and rude drivers: Please Don't Flip Me Off When My Kid's Are In The Car.

At Least the Home Schoolers will Still Be in School During the Swine Flu Outbreak

2009-04-29T22:02:00.012-04:00

One thing I am very thankful for with hearing the reports of this swine flu epidemic - WE HOME SCHOOL.

At least I don't have to worry about my kids hanging out with 700+ other kids each day passing germs around from Lord knows where.

Also, schools are closing all over the place. Newberry Academy in South Carolina is closed because they have suspected cases. Ten kids from that school just got back from a trip to Mexico and are exhibiting symptoms. The Forth Worth, TX ISD has closed all their schools til May 11th. Schools are closed in CA and MN, and schools are closed nationwide in Mexico. The list of school closings grow by the hour. At least our kids are still able to have school each day. And they are able to have school without the threat of contracting the virus.

Although, believe it or not, home schoolers are very social people and we go out and do things with lots of other people. Most home school kids hang out with lots of other kids throughout the day and at weekly activities. So in all actuality home school parents need to be just as precausiois about the Swine Flu as those parents whose kids attend public or private schools.

So with that in mind, here are tips I'm doing with my family. They are also steps that the CDC is recommending. Hubby thinks I'm nuts, but it's worth the precautions. I found the following on Kivitv.com.

"How can I protect myself from swine flu?
You can reduce your risk of swine flu the same way you prevent seasonal flu. Follow these six steps:

1. Wash your hands properly:

Wet your hands with warm water and apply soap.

Rub your hands together for 20 seconds, or about the time it takes to sing the "Happy Birthday" song twice. Make sure to get between your fingers and underneath your nails.

Rinse hands with water.

Dry hands using a disposable paper towel. Turn off the faucet and open the door to the restroom using the paper towel as a barrier.

Wash your hands before:

Preparing food

Eating

Caring for someone who is sick

Wash your hands after:

Coughing, sneezing or blowing your nose

Using the bathroom

Changing diapers

Caring for someone who is ill

Touching an animal or animal waste

Taking out the garbage

Use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer when soap and running water is unavailable.

2. Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you sneeze or cough. Then throw the tissue away. If a tissue is not available, cough or sneeze into your hands and wash your hands right away.

3. Do not touch your eyes, nose or mouth. This is how germs are spread and how you can get sick.

4. Avoid contact with sick people. You have more of a chance of getting sick if you are around people who are ill.

5. Consider a facemask. If you live in an area where swine flu has been identified and can't avoid crowded settings or close contact with others, the CDC suggests the use of a facemask.

6. Have healthy habits.

Sleep seven to eight hours each night.

Exercise regularly.

Try not to stress.

Drink plenty of water.

Eat a healthy diet."

Momsworld.com has a neat survey about the Swine Flu and your kids at school. If your child is exhibiting symptoms DON'T send them to school. DON'T send them to day care. Even Barack Obama today urged employers to be lenient with parents who need to stay home with sick kids.

Again, I think we all are susceptible to the same germs. It only takes being in the wrong place with the wrong person (someone with the GERM) one time, and for a very short time, to contract the illness.

Be Safe! Wash Your Hands!

Wordless Wednesday - Hubby's Favorite Fishing Hole

2009-04-29T00:00:00.000-04:00

Please Help Me Send My Silly Hubby To Hawaii!

2009-04-26T11:00:00.017-04:00

Not sure if you all know, I am a supervisor with Usborne Books and More. They just announced the new travel incentive trip - a 7 Day Cruise to 5 Hawaiian Islands! Now hubby has SO been wanting to go to Hawaii. By reading the posts about my silly husband, I'm sure you all can agree - This Guy Needs a Nice Vacation!

It's so simple to help send my silly hubby to Hawaii. And you know what you get just for helping out?!? FREE Usborne Books for your kids. Yes that's right - FREE books for your kids.

Three ways to help:

1. Host an online E-show. This is a great way to earn LOTS of FREE books. Register for an e-show, then send it out to all your friends and family. You earn FREE books based on the amount of sales for your show. It's very simple. No cleaning the house, no cooking, just send an email. Register for an E-show here.

2. Join My Team! I'd love to have you on my team. You could earn the trip to Hawaii for your hubby too. What fun that would be! You can also earn some decent income and build that home library. Here's more info on the Usborne Books business opportunity.

3. Purchase Usborne Books for your kids, grandkids, nieces or nephews. They make great birthday presents for kids too. If your order is 85.00 or more, you start earning FREE books. Purchase books here.

If you have any questions, please email me at kglasusb@yahoo.com.

Thanks for helping! Can you imagine the silly stories I will have for Lily's Licorice after he spends a whole week in Hawaii!

*available to U.S. residents only

Scrambled Eggs That Are Sure To Cure Any Hangover!

2009-04-24T00:00:00.003-04:00

I purchased a delightful cookbook published back in 1953 at our local Timrod Library sale this fall. I just love it! It's amazing how they cooked everything with alcohol back then. Women must not have had much else to do, if you know what I mean.

For those of you who will be left with a hangover tomorrow morning after VGNO here are some eggs that are supposed to fix it for you. Sure wish I knew about this back in college.

"Often on Sunday morning comes the problem of the HANGOVER. The medical profession offers no solution other than the completely unacceptable one of not drinking at all. Bartenders have done better on this problem -- at least in giving a temporary lift to sagging spirits. There is no solution. But eggs in beer offer a glimmer of hope --and they will get your eyes open if you drink the beer with them.

2 eggs
1 bottle of beer (I prefer Bud Light)
Celery salt, pepper and tabasco to taste

Place 3/4 cup of beer and seasoning in an individual bowl. Bring to a boil in a 450 degree oven. Drop in the eggs. Do not stir. Cook in the oven for 6 to 7 minutes. Serve while very hot and stir the eggs at the table. Serve the remainder of the bottle of beer with the eggs. Serves 1."

Cited from The Dorn Cook Book,Henry Begnery Company, Chicago, IL, 1953 pg. 63 -64. Also republished from Karene's Kitchen.

Week of the Young Child - Paint with Your Child. Tips to Keep Painting a Fun and Clean Experience for your Kids and for You.

2009-04-22T10:47:00.004-04:00

So many kids do not get to paint at home because the messy paint is too stressful for some moms. Kids LOVE to paint. I feel so bad for kids who tell me, "My mom won't let me paint." Those kids are missing out on such wonderful creative experience.

I leave the paints out on a shelf at kid level for my kids. They can grab the paints any time they wish and paint away. I love the paintings I have on my walls, all painted by my own artists. Creativity flows in this household. How on earth am I not afraid to keep the paints out for my kids to use? I taught them early on about how to paint properly, and how to have fun with it, without making a mess. And people who know me know I am not an anal person. I am not a clean freak. And I certainly don't pressure the kids to be either.

So what can you do to help your kids have a clean - free painting experience? Here are my tips:

1. Put down newspaper or paper on the table or floor. My daughter loves to paint on the floor. I do have a vinyl cloth for her to paint on. When she uses her easel, we put the easel on it too.

2. Make sure you have a fresh cup or two of water to put the brushes in to clean them off. Have the kids dab the wet brushes on paper towel to clean off left over color and excess water.

3. Use one color at a time:

a. For younger kids - have them paint with one color. Then let that color dry. Get the next color out. Have that color dry. This way you don't have a bunch of paint out at one time, and by letting each color dry, their painting comes out looking the way they envisioned instead of one giant blob of brown ick.

Put just a dollop of paint on a piece of paper for your child to dip his/her brush into. If they are allowed to dip their brush into the big bottle of paint, they will end up with way too much paint on the brush - hence how big paint messes are created.

b. For older kids - let them put a "little" bit of different colors of paint on a paint palette. A little bit of paint goes a long way. Make sure they clean their brushes as they change colors.

4. Each of my kids has a painting shirt. They use the same shirt every time they paint. This way, mom, you don't have to worry about paint getting on that new shirt you just bought. The kids like their paint shirts too because it shows all the paints and different colors they have used.

5. Wash your paint brushes with soap and water when done. Let them dry before you put them away. If you keep them in a cup, store them with the brush tips facing up.

Happy Painting!

How Do You Spell Lemonade?

2009-04-20T19:04:00.004-04:00

The sign my silly hubby made for our daughter's lemonade stand this past weekend.

The Sandwich Incident - What I Won't Do For My Hubby

2009-04-19T00:46:00.005-04:00

When hubby got home from work today he wanted an Italian sub from a particular grocery store we have here. The wonderful wife I am, I went out immediately to go get it for him.

When I got there, I was so thrilled that there was NO line at the deli counter. Usually it takes awhile to get your sandwich if there's a line. So I stood there. And I stood there. AND I stood there. AND I STOOD there. AND I STOOD THERE! Three employees were in the back doing everything but helping, mwua-the customer. I couldn't take it anymore. So I piped up (which is something I would not usually do -- believe it or not - I'm very shy) and said, "Excuse me. Can someone help me?"

Dumb Employee: No we're busy. You might want to come back in 10 - 15 minutes.

Little ol' nice me: Ok. I'll go do the rest of my shopping and then come back.

I'm sure you're all laughing at me thinking "boy is she a pushover." But I gave them the benefit of the doubt. Although, I'm sorry, one of those three certainly could have helped a customer.

So I do my shopping and go back to the deli. Of course now there is a line! That's ok, I waited patiently. The numbscle in front of me had to order a Philly Cheese Steak so it took Ms. Slowpoke a real long time to cook his sandwich. It was crazy!

Still, I waited patiently. She finally got smart and decided to start on my sandwiches while his cooked. So she made mine fine. Then we get to hubby's. First she started to put it on wheat bread. I NEVER order wheat bread. She had to argue with me, and insisted that I said wheat. Uh, no I didn't. Then she got the meat out for hubby's Italian sandwich. There was mustard all over it! It came out of the fridge that way. Clearly it was from some other sandwich she had screwed up on earlier.

Little ol' nice me: Uh, can I have fresh meat on that sandwich. That meat has mustard all over it, and there isn't mustard on Italian sandwiches.

Dumb Employee: Well what's wrong with mustard? It's just a little.

Little ol' nice me: Are you kidding me? Why was all that mustard on the meat? Where did it come from?

Dumb Employee: You don't want mustard?

Little ol' nice me: No, he just wants oil and vinegar on it.

Dumb Employee: Do you want new meat?

Little ol' nice me: Yes. That would be nice.

Dumb employee: Do you want new meat?

Little ol' nice me: Yes.

Dumb employee: Are you sure you want new meat?

Little ol me: OMG! Yes!

So she finally gets the new meat. Ugh!!

Then she goes and finishes the Philly Cheese Steak for the guy in front of me. She used a big knife to make sure all the grease, beef, cheese, fried onions, and peppers stayed on the sandwich. Then she placed it in the sandwich to help it close and then used it to cut the sandwich. So by the time she was done with that knife, it was a MESS full of grease, beef, melted cheese, onions and peppers. She gives Mr. Guy Infrontofme his sandwich.

Then she goes to cut my dear hubby's sandwich with that knife! That nice Italian sandwhich with just Italian meat and oil and vinegar was about to be assaulted by grease, beef, cheese, onions, and peppers. Hubby had worked hard all day today. I wanted him to have a nice, clean sandwich to eat.

Little ol' nice me: Can you use a clean knife to cut that sandwich.

Dumb Employee: DEAR IN HEAD LIGHTS STARE

Little ol' nice me: Can you just get a clean knife to use to cut that sandwich.

Dumb Employee: No.

Little ol' me: What? That knife is filthy. I'd like you to use a clean knife.

Dumb Employee: There's nothing wrong with this knife.

Little ol' me: Yes, there is. It's filthy with all the stuff from the other sandwich. I just want you to cut my sandwich with a clean knife.

Dumb Employee: DEAR IN HEADLIGHTS STARE

Ol' Me: You're not going to get a clean knife?

Dumb Employee: NO

Big Me: Well then forget it! I don't want your dirty food!

I was so ticked off!

So I left and went to the lunchmeat counter so I could just buy the lunchmeat and make his sandwich for him myself. Well then I got to thinking - what on earth is on an Italian sandwich besides salami?

Well that did it! I'm not one to complain, and I'm not one to go tattle on employees, but I wanted that dang sandwich for my hubby. I was bound and determined to get it for him. So I went up front and asked for the manager. I explained the situation very nicely and asked him if he'd go get me the sandwich. All I wanted was the sandwich.

He was so nice! (hence the reason why I am not divulging the name of the store) He took my sandwich order, and went and made it himself. He was furious about the non clean knife incident. And hubby was thrilled he got a free sandwich.

A Lotta Bloggy House Keeping - Karene's Kitchen Moves to Lily's LIcorice

2009-04-18T10:23:00.000-04:00

After much thought, I have decided that I need to merge my Karene's Kitchen blog into Lily's Licorice. It's just too taxing trying to keep up with both while still keeping track of my Usborne Activities for Kids blog, home school, run a business, keep my dear hubby out of trouble with his escapades, and clean up after this crazy dog!

So what does this mean for Karene's Kitchen readers? You will still find all the great tips, cooking, cleaning, recipes and whatnot that you found on Karene's Kitchen. I so loved all that I wrote on there, and will transfer some of those posts onto Lily's Licorice every so often.

What does this mean for Lily's Licorice readers? You will get to learn all sorts of good tips and recipes with a Lily's Licorice twist. Don't worry, this isn't turning into a kitchen blog. Karene's Kitchen is full of some good reminiscent times. My mom is also full of crazy stories like my silly hubby's. No wonder they get along so well.

So with that let's all welcome Karene into the crazy mix of Lily's Licorice!

I Got the Giggles at the Wrong Time!

2009-04-16T00:19:00.001-04:00

I made the mistake of taking my 7 yr old daughter with to the grocery store today. While checking out, I could feel her tapping on my arm. I looked up and there she was giggling and pointing at the lady in the next checkout line! Mind you, the lady just about looked and was dressed like the lady above, but still. I was mortified! I whispered to her to stop pointing and told her it wasn't nice to laugh. Well she had the giggles so bad she couldn't stop. And you know what happens when someone has the giggles. They are contagious!!

That reminds me of a wedding I went to once. The bride's cousin sang. Obviously she was asked to sing because she was the cousin, not because of her beautiful voice and singing talent. Not sure I've ever heard anyone SO BAD! I was trying so hard to keep my composure. Unfortunately there were two 12 yr old girls sitting in front of me. Well they got the giggles. I just couldn't help it. I got the giggles too! Then the people next to me and in back of me got the giggles. Then it spread throughout the church!!

Please share with us. Tell us all when you got the giggles at the wrong time.

Wordless Wednesday - Oops! Look What Happens When My Hubby Is The Captain of the Ship.

2009-04-15T00:11:00.001-04:00

Shakespeare's Insults

2009-04-12T13:06:00.015-04:00

One of my hubby's favorite books is Shakespeare's Insults ~Educating Your Wit. There are some very amusing quotes in there. They get really funny when one of hubby's friends comes over and they share a little too much vino and cigars on the back porch. Those two can sit there and quote all these insane Shakespearean quotes. You really should join us out there some evening, it's quite entertaining.

Here are some of their favorites that fly on the back porch every so frequently:

"He has not so much brain as ear-wax." Troilus and Cressida

"Fair lady, do you think you have fools in hand?" Uh, yes I do. Twelfth Night

"We know each other well, and long to know each other worse." Troilus and Cressida

"You're a fusty nut, with no kernel." Troilus and Cressida

"You are as loathsome as a toad." Titus Andronicus

"Not all the whips of heaven are large enough for you." Timon of Athens

"If I hope well, I'll never see thee more." Timon of Athens

"You are a small grey-coated gnat." Romeo and Juliet Hubby's nick name is the Mighty Flea, so the guys laugh and laugh over this one. They are just plain goofy.

"Oh teach me how I should forget to think." Romeo and Juliet I think they already have forgotten how to think.

"I must discontinue your company." Much Ado About Nothing Yep, that's what their ramblings are about - NOTHING!

"You candle-wasters!" Much Ado About Nothing Hm... I guess that would have been like telling someone they were not conserving energy back then?

"The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers." Henry VI Ha! They wanted to get rid of all the lawyers even back then.

"Eat My Leek." Henry V

I can't take it anymore! I'm sure you can't either. So sorry to have bored you with this drivel. But at least you get a taste of some of Shakespeare's Insults and what I have to put up with over here.

Ok, lay the insults on!

*Shakespeare's Insults-Educating Your Wit, Wayne F. Hill & Cynthia J. Ottchen, MainSail Press, CA, 1991.

Look What the Easter Bunny Did to My Dog!

2009-04-11T12:00:00.002-04:00

This is my favorite Easter photo of all time. I was such a mean mom and instead of getting my son an Easter Rabbit for his basket one year, I got him this adorable Easter Basset. We had a basset and I couldn't resist this adorable stuffed dog with rabbit ears for my son. I thought it was cute!

So Easter morning, out comes my son to see what the Easter Bunny had brought. Above is the response we got. That boy cried and cried and cried! He thought the Easter Bunny had turned his precious dog into a stuffed dog with rabbit ears. It was one of the funniest things I had ever seen! (I'm such a nice, caring mom, aren't I?)

Dad had to go wake the real dog out of a deep sleep to come show our dear son that NO he had not been turned into a stuffed dog with rabbit ears.

My Silly Husband Spent the Day on the Roof

2009-04-09T20:06:00.010-04:00

My husband was drawing with my daughter the other night. This is one of his masterpieces from that evening. The more I looked at it I realized he had depicted himself on the roof, my son in the tree, and myself and my daughter in the kitchen window. As soon as I noticed him on the roof in the picture, I immediately was reminded of a very funny incident that my silly hubby pulled. Of course, it's silly - what else would you, my readers, expect from him!

Hubby was home during the day on a weekday. My son had lost "Stripey", his stuffed cat that he liked to throw around. Stripey had ended up on the roof of our house, go figure. Our house was fairly new back then, and we had yet to get a ladder. So hubby shimmied up the post of the front porch to jump up onto the roof. He rescued Stripey, and threw him down to my son. Then it was time for hubby to get down. Well, now that he was all the way up on the roof he realized how high that roof really was! With no ladder, he wasn't getting down, and he couldn't get back to the post to shimmy back down it. I was laughing my petuti off.

Ding-a-ling told me to go find a neighbor whose ladder we could borrow. Turns out that EVERYONE works during the week in our neighborhood. Even the moms. NO ONE was home. All kids were at school too. There was no live person to be found. So hubby sat on that roof all afternoon until Mr. Dale came home from work. Oh, was Mr. Dale laughing his petuti off as well! Luckily Mr. Dale had a ladder for my dear, sweet, silly hubby to use to get down off that roof.

Cell Phone Usage 101

2009-04-07T10:23:00.010-04:00

I so wish restaurants would make you check your cell phone in at the front desk before the host or hostess seats you. Some restaurants make you wear a tie and jacket and will provide those if you show up without one. So restaurants certainly could provide a basket for everyone to place their cell phone in while eating.

Could you imagine the noise in the "phone room" with all those cell phones ringing. Hey, here's a new job for people. Someone could actually sit there and take messages for all those important calls that everyone gets while they are in the restaurant.

Cell Phone Receptionist (CPR): Hello, this is Mrs. Oliver's cell phone, how can I help you?

Mrs. Shuller: Uh, who is this? Holly, is that you? What are you doing?

CPR: This is the Cell Phone Receptionist at the Pump Room. Mrs. Oliver is currently eating Cedar Plank Roasted Salmon. Is there something you needed her for? Is this an emergency? I can take a message and give it too her promptly.

Mrs. Shuller: Oh please do! I'm at Macy's and I need to know if I should buy this sweater in fuschia, white, or melon. She always knows what color looks good on me.

This is the kind of crap I get to listen to every time I go out to eat. It's never an emergency on the other end, and it's always just nonsensical babble about NOTHING!

The other night hubby and I went to a Chinese buffet for dinner. This nutty woman was actually dishing up her plate at the buffet while talking on her cell phone. They need to put a sign next to the "Children Need to Be Accompanies by a Parent" sign - "Please Do Not Talk On Cell Phone While Dishing Up Dinner". Her conversation was just so interesting. All about what to put in the kids Easter baskets. Now that's an emergency. Ok, if it were the Saturday before Easter, maybe. Anyway, it's very hard not to eaves drop. You try so hard to tune it out, but people tend to talk way louder on their cell phones so it's hard not to hear it.

Another thing, when you are on your cell phone, it's like other people don't exist around you. This lady at the Chinese buffet stood there with the spoon for the sweet and sour pork in her hand for I don't know how long. And I wanted some of that sweet and sour pork! I was about ready to put that cell phone of hers in that sweet and sour pork!

I sat down and it was my hubby that started talking about it. Then we noticed 8, yes 8 people in the restaurant were on their cell phones. One poor lady literally ate dinner by herself while her hubby conversed on his phone the whole time they were there. And no, that was not me. My hubby would never do that to me - he went out to dinner with ME, not with his cell phone friends.

One last observation. I see so many mom's out eating with their kids. Many of moms spend the whole time talking on the phone instead of conversing with her child. I so want to ask that child to sit with us so they have someone paying attention to them. Moms! When you are out at a restaurant with your kids, it is a primo time to spend time with them and teach them something and find out a little about your kids. Goodness! Do you know how bored that kid is listening to how great a manicure you got at Lucious Nails. Spend some quality time with your kiddos.

Ok, that's my stump speech for the day. Remember, when you are out at a restaurant, I don't care if it's McDonalds or the Pump Room, please forget about the cell phone. Unless the person you are eating with is choking and you need to call 911-then by all means dial up that cell phone. But if you are on your cell phone and your dinner partner is not choking, you are not only being rude to your dinner guest(s), but you are also being rude to all the people around you in the restaurant.

Hang it up!

My First Date with the Coroner

2009-04-01T19:23:00.016-04:00

I dated this guy for a while who was quite a character. He was his own Forest Gump. He was a paramedic, very into politics, owned a whole street of Main St. in his little town. He rented out apartments, was part of the historical society, you name it he did it. He even owned a liquor store. Some how he ended up the coronor of the county too. (The town finally made him sell the liquor store - conflict of interest)

I didn't know he had all these distinguished qualities before I went out on that first date with him. All I knew was he was cute.

So he picks me up for that first date. We're driving on the highway and all of a sudden a loud NERWWWRRRRWWWWRRR goes off in his car. It was so dang loud!! Then there was all this crackling talking on the radio, scccrrwwwcssshhhsrewsc. Next thing I know we have a red light and a siren going on top of the car, and we are speeding down the highway! "Hang on!", he yells "Some guy just had a heart attack." And why the big rush?, I was wondering.

We get to the point of the heart attack. I guess the poor guy was sunning himself in the hot summer sun and died right there in the chair. Had been gone for part of the afternoon til someone noticed. Again, poor guy.

So Mr. Coronor leaves me in his car, and when he gets back he has a little styrofome cooler with big red markings and the word EYES on it. I had to ride back with him with the dead guy's eye balls in the car! I swear this is no joke. It was such a small town, this guy was probably the dr. too and I didn't know it.

We dated off and on for quite some time, but every date was such an escapade with him. I knew life would end up silly and lonely if I married him. Good thing I didn't. Look at all I would have missed out on with my silly hubby.

Lawn Mowers, Lawn Mowers, and More Lawn Mowers

2009-03-30T19:02:00.004-04:00

It's that time of year again. The grass is starting to grow, and the grass needs a trim. Our neighbor mowed his yard this week, so of course, now we need to.

So last week I kept telling my hubby, "Get the lawn mower out for me and see if you can fix it so I can mow the lawn." He insisted it worked just fine. Well, I knew better. I knew that the thing wouldn't start right last year, cause I remember having to pay some guy to mow the yard last fall! "It works, it works fine," he kept insisting.

So Sunday he gets the lawn mower out. He was going to be nice and mow the yard himself. Ha!! What do you know - it wouldn't start. The cord doesn't move! Nada! Nothing! The thing don't work!

I don't know how long a typical lawn mower is supposed to last. I do know that my dad has the same lawn mower he had back from when I was a kid. My friend claims her hubby bought theirs in 1991. Hm, 1991 was 18 years ago right? We've lived in this house 11 years, and we are on our 5th, yes 5th lawn mower!

Can you sense the frustration? I want to go out and get myself one of those "green" lawn cutters that just cut the grass with no electric and no gas. I could just tool around the yard whenever I wanted, and our yard would be looking nice all the time. I just don't have the strength to pull that cord on those gas mowers to get it started. Plus I don't like the gas.

Hubby thinks I'm nuts to want a "green" grass cutter. I think it'd be neat. I don't think I'd let him lay a hand on it either.

Yes Ma'am

2009-03-29T18:25:00.004-04:00

It's amazing how those two words, "Yes Ma'am", can send two boys into a hysterical fit of nonsense for hours!

Last night my son had a friend spend the night. While getting ready for bed, my son's friend was very polite in answering back to my hubby. "Yes Ma'am", he said. When he realized what he had said, he was in uncontrollable laughter for 45 minutes. Then there was no hope of getting those two boys to bed cause they just could not get over the "Yes Ma'am". Everything was "Yes Ma'am", "Yes Ma'am".

So funny how two quite silly little words can make two boys' night an evening I'm sure they will never forget. We won't either - we got NO sleep.

What a Difference 11 Years Make

2009-03-25T21:03:00.008-04:00

Well today is my son's 11th birthday. Happy Birthday dear boy! As I think about this momentous day, I can't help but think of that very day, 11 years ago. My silly hubby and I both always agree that is was the funnest day of our lives. Here's a look back - it's funny to think how things have changed so drastically since then.

Early in the evening of the 25th of March, my contractions were really close together. We called the dr., and went to the hospital as directed. There at the hospital, we were told we could stay or go home and rest for a while and come back in the morning. This was at 1 am. The fools we were decided, "heck lets go home"!

So we go home. I stay up, wide awake on the couch with contractions. You know what my silly hubby did! We went to bed! Well at least that's one thing that hasn't changed! When WWIII breaks out, he will miss it, cause he will sleep right through it - even if it is in our back yard.

So I stayed up and who lays on the couch with me with his head nestled on my tummy but my dear sweet dog. NO! Not crazy Lily (of Lily's Licorice fame), but my sweet beagal/basset. Saddest part of how things have changed in 11 years is that he is no longer with us. Now I've got this Crazy Horse!

By 6 am it was time to get back to that hospital. Our birthing class instructor gave us utterly ridiculous instructions about what to take to the hospital. Or maybe we just took her too literally. Who knows. All I know is we brought WAY too much stuff. FYI new parents about ready to give birth: Just go to the hospital. You don't need anything! Here is just some of what we brought with:

1. 2 Pillows. Heaven forbid you use the ones at the hospital! Birthing instructor said it'd make you more comfy. Bah! Drugs are the only thing that is going to make you comfy that day.

2. CD Player with 10 CDs. You will want to listen to music you like, said the birthing instructor. You don't want music at that time! Who hired this lady anyway! Oh right, the hospital! Anyway, I only wanted to bring one CD. The Violent Femmes. Yes, my child was going to be born into this world with Gordon of the Violent Femmes serenading him! Hubby hates the Femmes, hence the reason why 9 other CDs were brought along too.

3. Stuffed Animal of my dog. This was the soothing item we were to bring along per the birthing intructor. Sorry lady, my hubby was the soothing item I needed.

4. New Nightgown, New Robe, and New Slippers. The mamma has to look good. For who? The baby that won't remember? The doctors? The nurses? I didn't need to look good for my hubby. I probably looked the worst I ever did that day, yet he couldn't have loved me any more than he did that day!

5. Books and magazines. You will need something to do. We had books, magazines, crossword puzzles. It was ridiculous. What time did we have to read and do puzzles?!?!

I think we brought way more stuff, but it never came out of the 3 duffle bags we brought so I can't remember what the other crap was. All I know is my silly hubby got ticked off cause the nurse yelled at him to clean up the room! Too funny.

Anyway, it's been 11 glorious years with this child. We now live in a house, I listen to talk radio instead of the Femmes (still love them though), we have another child, I have a different business, we are older, yet we are still very much the same and still very much in love.

The Case of the Missing Math Homework

2009-03-24T14:50:00.005-04:00

My dear son pulled a fast one on me today. He claimed he did all his math work. I knew he didn't as I had heard no fussing coming out of his mouth. So he sat in the kitchen supposedly doing all his work. Then he got up and said, "Ok, I'm done. You gonna check it?"

There was not one thing on the page! Boy did I fuss! He insisted and insisted he had done all the work. Yea, right! The pages were blank with no answers to any equation. I was about ready to have a heart attack with all his nonsense - then he pulled out a little light.

There were all his answers (only one wrong) written in invisible ink! I so wanted to smack that boy, but had to chuckle.

Six Degrees of Randomness

2009-03-23T13:51:00.011-04:00

My buddy Amanda from Moving Forward tagged me only about 19 days ago! I think this is her way of making me keep Lily's Licorice alive. I have to admit I've been so insanely busy with Em's meet season, that poor Lily's Licorice ended up a bit neglected. Luckily the real Lily didn't! I'm still here, and thank you to all of you who have "begged" for more goofy posts. I'm glad I can brighten up some people's days.

So for Six Degrees of Randomness I am supposed to do the following:

*Link to the person who tagged me: Amanda

*Post these rules

*List 6 Random things about myself:

1. I'd rather be happy than have lots of money.

2. I'm very sentimental (as you can tell by my Karene's Kitchen blog - which also needs some extra love from me right now!)

3. I gave up a successful business to do my Usborne Books business - it's even more fun and way less stressful!

4. I married the most amazing, silly guy on the planet.

5. There is no better place to live in the US than Charleston, SC.

6. Filet Mignon is my favorite meal.

7. I absolutely love the Renaissance era. I should have been a history teacher.

Ok, anyone who truly knows me knows I'm bad at math. I know that is 7!

People who I am tagging (if you've already done this you can do it again, or just ignore me like most people do!): Alison K, Lidian, The Fly.

Oh, I guess now I need to go comment on their blogs and let them know they have been tagged. You're It!

Adios! (that's about all the Spanish I know)

Ingrid Newkirk's Unique Will - More Proof that Peta Followers, or should I say Founders, are Nuts

2009-03-21T13:26:00.012-04:00

I really thought this was a joke, but seeing as Ingrid Newkirk is the President and cofounder of PETA, it must not be. I understand and respect people who donate their remains to science. But why on earth would you donate your remains to PETA? Is that even legal? I mean can I just pick an organization to donate my dead body to? Hm... I can't even think of who I would want to lay that burden on. I'm thinking of the organizations I'm involved in and I think they'd be pretty perturbed with me if I did that to them.

One thing she states that she would like done with her body is to have a human bbq! I sure hope they use some KC Masterpiece, but since Virginia is in the south, I think Maurice Bessinger's bbq sauce would be most appropriate. Hm.. is it even legal to bbq humans in the US? This activity may have to happen on another continent.

Ms. Ingrid also wants her pointy finger given to the circus. Her finger will end up just like all the other animals she is wanting to protect - 0n display. Somehow I think the animals will be better taken care of than her finger.

The nuttiness goes on and on. You can read the full will here.

I just wish I could figure out what organization to donate my body to. I think I will let my family determine that , but I'm sure they will chose the more traditional route on a normal burial.

Why Do We Call It A Wake When They Are Already Dead?

2009-03-19T18:31:00.012-04:00

"I'm going to a visitation today." That was a tweet I saw on twitter today. That tweet got me to thinking. There are so many different terms for "going to a visitation". When I was a kid it was called going to a "wake". Down here in the south it's called a viewing. There are some interesting tidbits as to why we call these adventures of "paying respects" the terms we call them.

Wake - originally people sat up and watched the dead person to make sure they really were dead before they buried them alive. It just so happens that quite a few people have had that misfortune so family members would sit vigil to make sure their loved one didn't wake up. I'm sure they would have been thrilled if they did wake up. Hence the term "wake". A little side note: Many were buried with hammers so they could tap on the casket or try to dig their way out if they "woke up" after they were buried. Could you imagine being in that situation!?!?

Now the Irish, as I have witnessed with my hubby's oh-so Irish family, have an Irish Wake. This lasts from the time of death until the funeral. The purpose is to raise a ruckus in order to wake the dead person. The ones causing the ruckus would watch the dead person to make sure they really were dead. I've never been to such parties as I have when my in-laws died. The Irish sure know how to "send one on".

Viewing - Clearly one goes to "view" the body. If you think about it, it's a bit of a morbid practice. My sister insists she does not want a wake, viewing, whatever it is you call it. She doesn't want people looking at her. Me? I just want to make sure I'm in my pajamas.

Visitation - Yes, we go to visit, the deceased and pay respects to them and their family and friends. Many times this is the only time we see those rotten cousins who broke our toys when we were younger, or the aunt who insists on pinching our cheeks. If if weren't for visitations some families may never see each other.

Oh, and the cartoon above cracks me up! That is so my mother at a wake. She would comment to the family at the casket and the whole way home about how the funeral home "did such a good job" on whoever was in the coffin. "They made her look 20 years younger!" mom would say many times. Or "Oh! They put way too much makeup on her." There is always a critique of the body, the makeup and the hair. She should have been a mortuary beautician.

Whatever you call it in your family or locale, we all do the same thing. We all go to show respects to the family and to say goodbye to a dear loved one. What is it that your family does?

Flying Horses in the Barn

2009-03-14T19:46:00.004-04:00

My 10 year old son was due to have a root canal (due to a dentist not filling a cavity properly years ago) this past week. So the dentist gave him a prescription of meds to take the night before and the morning of. So the night before his root canal, my hubby gave the two prescribed pills to my son as directed. I was surprised he swallowed them so easily.

A bit later, he came into our room to tell us he was dizzy. He was more than dizzy. He looked like he was falling down drunk! Then he starting sobbing like a baby and was wondering why he was in a barn full of flying horses! Obviously something was not right! So I ied up and got dressed while hubby called the pharmacy. My dear pals on twitter that night directed us the same way I was thinking and the pharmacist was thinking - to the hospital!

Turns out my small son who only weighs in the 60 lb range was prescribed doses twice what you would give an adult!! Crazy! Needless to say, he did not get that root canal that next day. Actually I think that poor kid had a major hangover the next day.

I think from now on I will research more on what is prescribed instead of just trusting the dr. or the pharmacy. We were lucky, it could have been worse.

You Know You're From Chicago When . . .

2009-02-02T17:53:00.005-05:00

I was fortunate to grow up in Chicago. A friend of mine who still lives there sent this to me today. I was laughing my head off at some of them, especially the ones about the chairs in the streets. I've seen people "beat" over those darn things outside my grandma's house. Anyway, for those of you from Chicago enjoy. For those unfortunate souls who aren't from Chicago, here's a taste of what it's like to live in that great city.

YOU KNOW YOU'RE FROM CHICAGO WHEN....

You say "Wanna go with?" when you mean "Do you want to come with me?" (No wonder nobody in South Carolina understands me!)

You know what Kennedy, Dan Ryan, Eisenhower, Edens, and Bishop Ford have in common and curse one of them daily.

You can name three or four extra taxes nobody else pays.

You know the difference between Richard J Daley and Richard M Daley.

You say Chicaaago.

You think going to a Bears game in single digit temperatures with a wind off the lake (and freezing rain) is fun.

You expect corruption in local politics.

You go to the Dells in the summer to get away from the other 20 thousand that followed you. (We went there EVERY summer. What fun!)

You've been caught speeding in Wisconsin because you had Illinois plates.

You guard your shoveled parking space with an old chair and unusable broom.

You know why they call it the "Windy City".

You know dead people who have voted.

You've never ever considered the idea of hiring non-union laborers.

You know a good gyros joint.

You know what Giordanos, Lou Malnati's, and Gino's have in common.

You know when the last time the Cubs won a pennant.

You know exactly how many cars are "legally" allowed to turn left after the light turns red. (You HAVE to know this! It's very dangerous not to.)

Your idea of relaxing and getting away from it all is Ravinia (with 10,000 others who have the same idea).

You can recite many of "The Blues Brothers" lines and know where they filmed certain scenes. (They filmed some of the chase scenes right in our neighborhood)

The "Living Room" is called the "Front Room".

You don't pronounce the "s" at the end of Illinois. You become irate with people who do.

You refer to anything South of I-80 as "Southern Illinois".

You refer to Lake Michigan as "The Lake".

You refer to Chicago as "The City".

"The Super Bowl" refers to one specific game played in January of 1986. (And what a great game that was!)

You buy "The Trib".

You think 35 degrees is great weather to wash your car!

You know what goes on a Chicago Style Hot Dog.

You know what Chicago Style Pizza REALLY is.

You understand what "lake-effect" means.

You have ridden the "L".

You respond to the question "Where are you from?" with "WEST SIDE", "SOUTH SIDE", or "NORTH SIDE." (I'm from the North Side. Obviously I'm a Cubs fan.)

You know what the phone number is to Empire Carpet! (588-2300 EMPIRE!!!! Haven't seen a commercial in over 20 years and still know the jingle and phone number - great advertising.)

You wear gym shoes, not sneakers. (Hubby totally makes fun of me for this.)

You are STILL a Bulls fan........ (and always will be)

You have made a special trip downtown because you had a craving for Garrett's caramel and cheese popcorn.

You drink at bars called "Bud on Tap" or "Milwaukee's Best" -- no names, just beer signs out front.

It's January and you see someone's kitchen chair in the street, and you know that if you're a responsible citizen and bring it back to the sidewalk you will be shot on sight.

You live two miles from work and it takes you two hours to drive there. (This is one reason why I no longer live there.)

You don't flinch when you pay the fifth toll of your 45-minute car ride on the highway.

You've taken the Red Line past the point where all white people get off and all black people get on -- or vice versa.

When you refer to "LSD" you don't necessarily mean the drug.

You still claim that the Sears Tower is the tallest skyscraper in the world.

You would prefer it if New York just kept Macy's.

You actually get these jokes and pass them on to other friends from Chicago.

In Honor of Barack Obama's Inauguration - Obama Cartoons

2009-01-19T23:39:00.015-05:00

And who says Barack Obama brings us no comedy? I beg to differ.

Yes YOU Did! Congratulations President Obama. I wish you all the best in this challenging endeavor you have taken on.

The Dollar Store Doesn't Have Cat Food or Toilet Paper

2009-01-19T00:31:00.005-05:00

Poor Ashley was out of cat food. And us poor humans were in need of more toilet paper. So when my silly hubby said he was going out to Wal-Mart I asked him to pick up some cat food and toilet paper. He goes to Wal-Mart to get some item for his precious TV. Then he calls me from the Dollar Store to report that he is so shocked that the Dollar Store doesn't have cat food OR toilet paper.

Can someone please tell me who drives all the way across town to purchase cat food and toilet paper at the Dollar Store when you were already at Wal-Mart? And who buys toilet paper and cat food at the Dollar Store anyway?

Since hubby was so bewildered that the Dollar Store didn't have cat food and toilet paper, I told him to go next door, a whopping 300 feet, to Piggly Wiggly to get the stuff. Gee, I'm so brilliant!

So tonight I go to feed the cat. I ask hubby where the cat food is. "Don't you remember, the Dollar Store didn't have any." he said. OMG!

Please Don't Flip Me Off When My Kids Are In The Car

2009-01-16T22:58:00.007-05:00

Why is it that every time I just about get run out of my lane or someone just about hits me they are the ones who flip me off? It seems like it's always crazy women too who go burzerk and start screaming at you on the road. Just today this was my experience:

I'm in the drive-thru lane at McDonald's. The lady in the little blue car in front of me kept backing up. So I kept backing up so she wouldn't hit me. It got to the point where I could no longer back up otherwise I'd run right smack dab into the big white van that was in back of me. She still tried to back up so I honked the horn. What would you have done? (Now I'm thinking maybe I should have just floored it!) Anyway, so I honked the horn and she slammed her breaks on. Gee, my horn honking saved my own van! Yippee!! Well she rolls her window down, puts her left arm out the window, gives me her sweet little "birdie" finger and then puts her head out, turns around and starts screaming her head off at me. I'm still wondering what on earth I did that was so bad that warranted that kind of response. (Mind you, I had two kids in the car with me.)

Then later in the day, I'm driving merrily down the road towards my house and another lady, who clearly cannot turn right onto another road and stay in her proper lane, comes barreling into my lane!! I had to swerve to the left (luckily no cars were coming in the oncoming lane otherwise I would have been toast). Again, I honked my horn so she knew I was there. She rolled her window down so darn fast and got that arm and middle finger out so fast it wasn't even funny! She was screaming too, but I couldn't hear what she was saying cause her muffler was so loud. What's even worse with this person (I cannot call her a lady) was that she proceeded to follow next to me and kept flipping me off and yelling out the window! Again, I had two kids in the car with me.

What is up with these crazy women anymore? Do they not know that it is extremely unladylike to be yelling at people and giving them the "bird"? Also, any of you who do this, men and women, can you please refrain from doing that!! Especially when there are kids in the car that you are flipping off!

The Mouse and the Heart Attack

2009-01-10T22:46:00.004-05:00

Here's another adorable picture of Zoo Zoo, my son's mouse that Santa had brought him for Christmas. Unfortunatley Lily, our lab, decided she needed chase and wrestle the darn cat right in front of Zoo Zoo's cage. Poor Zoo Zoo must have been so scared and had a heart attack cause she keeled over right in her food dish!

I guess a big dog, a cat, and a mouse just aren't the right mix, eh?

Lily's Trek in the Swamp

2009-01-07T21:21:00.007-05:00

We headed down to Florida for a much needed getaway for a few days after New Years. Silly us decided to bring Lily along on her first road trip. Lily, is our big enormous lab for those of you who are new to Lily's Licorice.

Amazingly Lily traveled very well. She was so well behaved! Hm.... I knew she must be up to something if she was that good. She must have been plotting, trying to figure out what on earth she could do to us on this trip.

We took the kids out to to go hiking. Of course we thought Lily would enjoy the hike too, so we brought her with. Boy did Lily enjoy that hike. She found some huge animal to chase right into the river in the swamp! She has figured out how to get her head out of her collar if she really wants to. So there stood my silly hubby, in the middle of a swamp, with a leash and collar with no dog attached!

I'm truly amazed at how fast a dog can traipse through the foliage of a Florida swamp! We thought for sure we would be heading back to SC Lilyless. Yes, I would have been sad, believe it or not.

Luckily, my silly hubby was extremely smart that day, and was very quiet in following her. And luckily that dopey dog loves my hubby dearly and actually came back to him after much romping in that swamp.

Poor Lily, she probably had a blast that day, but she will never go to that or any swamp ever again! I couldn't bear the thought of actually losing that dog.

Oh, and when I told my friend the story, she reminded me of all the alligators that were probably waiting around to eat Lily up! I totally forgot about those! Yick!

Wordless Wednesday - Aurora Borialis from Space

2008-12-31T00:00:00.000-05:00

Big Plans Rearranged, As Usual

2008-12-29T00:17:00.004-05:00

My silly hubby is having some MAJOR dental surgery tomorrow (they even have to cut a part of the jaw bone out). So I make all these arrangements for myself not to do my usual stuff tomorrow. My daughter is going to her friend's house and spending the night and so is my son at his friend's house. Plans have been made for a month. Hubby has been home for two weeks on vacation and we've talked about this many times.

So this afternoon I asked him what time he wanted to leave tomorrow morning. "What? My surgery is on Tuesday."

So who wants to hit him for me?!?

Meet Zoo Zoo - Lily's New Best Friend

2008-12-26T20:32:00.002-05:00

My son begged and begged Santa for a Fancy Mouse for Christmas this year. As Santa is such a nice guy and usually doesn't have kids not get their Christmas wish, he left one under the tree for him.

Zoo Zoo is the mouse's name. Amazingly Lily pays no attention to the thing. That is until Zoo Zoo gets out. I'm sure Lily would think she's just a light snack since she's smaller than her large Milk Bones.

Good Ridance!

2008-12-25T19:18:00.002-05:00

OMG! Remind me next year NOT to put that Christmas countdown widget on my blogs. They drove me absolutely nuts. I've never been so stressed out trying to get ready for Christmas cause I had how many days I had left to get ready staring at me constantly on the computer. I will leave the Christmas tree countdown up for one more day - my kids are so excited to see what it looks like tomorrow. Gee, I bet it says 365 days left til Christmas. Uhg!

2008-12-23T23:15:00.001-05:00

Santa's Elves - The Big, The Bad, The Ugly

2008-12-22T20:35:00.007-05:00

A friend of mine called in a rant today because Santa's Elves called mall security on her. I kid you not! I so wish I could have just posted a recording of her rant and rave about their visit with Santa today.

Turns out that she was taking her kids' Santa photo and moved off the RED X that you have to stand on in order to take a photo. That red x is marked 20 feet away from Santa. "All I was trying to do was get a decent shot cause they only let you take one!" As soon as she stepped off the red X to get a slightly closer picture she was whisked away to the mall security office. My goodness, the elves turned a childhood ritual into an almost criminal act. What? Were they afraid she was going to throw her shoes at Santa?

Leave it to my friend to demand where it states in their Santa Rules that they have to stay on the red X. Nowhere does it state it, per the manager of the store. So the manager let her go back with her kids to get the "right" photo taken. Me? I would have left. Not her though - she went back.

So the Big Elf saw her and said quite rudely "Oh, it's you again?". "Yep, it's me again, and I'm going to get my kids picture taken with Santa." The Bad Elf still made her stand on the red X! After she started protesting again - SANTA himself brought the kids right in front of the red x and posed with them for a beautiful picture. That rotten Elf couldn't tell Santa to go back and sit in his chair.

It's a shame that even going to see Santa is such a trying experience anymore. You have to wait for hours in line, the Elves are crabby, Santa is crabby, the kids end up crabby,and they don't even have the fun elaborate Santa displays anymore. The big, bad, ugly adults are just ruining everything for the kids anymore. Grownups need to remember what it was like when they were a kid.

The Gift of Lily

2008-12-20T17:31:00.005-05:00

Why? Oh why, did my husband think we needed another dog? Lily has been so good lately. Unfortunately today she proved to be the most rotten dog ever! We went out to finish up all the Christmas shopping and when we got home Lily had opened up a bunch of presents! I just about died! For some reason she chose all of MY presents to open. She couldn't have picked her own could she have?

Beware of the Doghouse

2008-12-17T20:45:00.001-05:00

JC Penney has a great ad for all you men who can't seem to get the right Christmas gift for the lady in your life:

http://adage.com/brightcove/single.php?bcpid=1370868150&bctid=3...
http://bewareofthedoghouse.com/default.aspx

OMG - the video is so frickin' funny. My hubby belongs in the doghouse. Every Christmas I get what HE REALLY wants. What fun is that?

Although one year he did get me the ever so sexy Push Up Bra from Victoria's Secret when they first came out. I put it on, modeled it for him and he laughed his head off! It was the most uncomfortable, silliest looking bra I have ever tried on! He took it back and came home with a red, plaid bra with a Micky Mouse on it. Huh? We were leaving for Disney the next day and he thought it'd be cute if I had a bra with Micky on it. I was 31 at the time, not 3.

I don't think my hubby would ever get out of that dog house.

So what's the greatest (and by that I mean worst) gift your "man" ever gave you?

George Bush is Just a Shoes Throw Away

2008-12-16T00:50:00.008-05:00

Goodness gracious! Someone threw their shoes at George Bush. I know many don't like him, but come on. "You don't throw your shoes at someone unless it's a mean dog that is chasing you." according to my 10 year old son.

D Cagle kept twittering these George Bush Shoe Cartoons and I just had to share:

Do You Need A Good Christmas Tree Light Tester?

2008-12-13T14:41:00.006-05:00

If you need your lights checked before you put them on your tree, DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT hire my silly hubby to do it for you. He did that years ago for the lady next door who had just had brand new carpeting installed in her living room. Silly hubby laid out the lights all over her living room floor. He plugged them all into each other in one long string. Then he plugged them into the outlet! I know - you are shaking your head right now thinking "What a dummy!".

KAPOW!

There was a short and all the lights melted into the ladies brand new carpeting!

The Case of the Fallen Christmas Tree

2008-12-10T11:36:00.002-05:00

This morning I was awakened at 4:00 AM by my husband saying as gently as he could, "Kris, the Christmas tree fell down." He said it as if he were telling me he was going to go to the bathroom.

I jump out of bed to go make sure "THE" ornament was safe. "THE" ornament is an ornament of my grandparents that is almost 100 year old! Whew! It was safe. My son has decided it needs to go on display instead of on the tree in case the tree ever falls again.

So as I picked up about 20 ornaments that were left on the floor after my hubby picked the tree up, I asked him, "How did it fall?" Immediately he blamed the cat. He said Ashley, the cat, was sitting by the door looking as guilty as she ever could.

Hm... well there was Lily, the lab, sitting there too. My theory is Lily, the lab, decided to chase the darn cat and the cat saw a perfectly good tree to climb to get away from the big evil Lily!

This is the cat's 6th Christmas tree in this house. It has never tried to climb it before. So who do you think is the culprit in the Case of the Fallen Christmas Tree? I'm taking votes to prove to my crazy hubby that it's HIS dog that is at fault.

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY LILY!

2008-12-08T22:42:00.004-05:00

Lily turned ONE today! It's amazing she made it to this major mark in her life with all the nonsense she has caused in this house over the past 7 months. It's hard to believe she's been with us that long! She has melted our hearts and we love her so. Happy 1st Birthday Lily!

Don't Let My Silly Hubby Help You Prepare For Your New Washing Machine Delivery

2008-12-06T01:04:00.004-05:00

I'm getting a new washing machine tomorrow. Yippee!! The one we have, God rest it's soul, just doesn't spout out much water any more. It spouts a small trickle and takes all day long to do a small load of wash.

So we finally broke down and got a new one. As the delivery guy is coming tomorrow dear, sweet, silly hubby of mine decided he'd go out and unhook the washer for the guy. Only problem is he didn't turn the water off before he unhooked the hoses!!

Which reminds me of one of the classic stories of my dear, sweet, silly hubby:

The same washing machine wasn't working quite right. No water was coming out at all. Hubby said, "You should call a washing machine fix-it guy to come out and fix it." So I did. The washing machine repair guy had an easy call. He said, "Ma'am, it helps if you have the water turned on."

I paid $70.00 for a guy to turn the water back on to the washing machine!! Turns out my silly hubby had turned the water to the washing machine off that weekend when he was fiddling around rearranging stuff in the garage!!

Serves him right tonight to get saturated in water for NOT turning the water off.

You Have To Fart Two More Times Before You Go To Bed

2008-12-05T01:03:00.002-05:00

THAT is what my son told my daughter tonight! What!?!?! Turns out they are tying to fart Jingle Bells. My crazy son is trying to turn my dear sweet daughter into a farting machine. Why are boys/men so fascinated with farting?

How Have We Become THIS Lazy?

2008-12-02T19:52:00.008-05:00

I was a domestic diva today and made the family fancy frozen pizza for dinner tonight. I didn't make just any kind of fancy frozen pizza, I made Pizza Amore' from Freschetta. Anyway, I take the pizza out to put on the baking rack to make it nice and crispy and the dang pizza is already pre-sliced! So we have become a society so lazy that now our frozen pizza is pre-sliced?

Of course my silly hubby thinks it's the greatest thing since sliced bread! My son, he claims it's just like when the pizza guy brings it! Only my dear, sweet daughter understands where mom is coming from on this one.

10 Reasons Why A Christmas Story is the Classic to Beat All Classics

2008-11-30T00:24:00.015-05:00

OMG! This is one of the BEST movies ever made. I am not one to rewatch a movie, but this one I can watch over and over and over again. Especially on Christmas Eve. TNT established the family tradition for us of watching A Christmas Story non stop on Christmas Eve. It's not Christmas Eve without it.

I finally broke down and bought the DVD of it for my silly hubby for Thanksgiving this year. It wasn't open two seconds and it was already playing on the dvd.

This movie is so dang hysterical because it is so TRUE. Everything that happens in that movie has happened to most of us.

1. Who wouldn't eat most of the rotton food that was put on our plates as a kid? Ok, most of our moms wouldn't have coaxed us into eating by saying "How do the little piggies eat?", but whose mom didn't have to play "airplane" with them in order to get them to eat?

2. Who's dad didn't win something utterly stupid and be proud of it? My dad won a toilet seat once. It didn't "go" with the bathroom so my mom wojldn't let him install it on our toilet. THAT still to this day comes up in heated arguements. "Just like the toilet seat! You wouldn't even let me use the toilet seat I won!" Come on mom - you could have given him the toilet seat.

3. Who was never afraid to go sit on that big lap of Santa's? I certainly was. My son was too. We have proof - pix of him screaming his head off on Santa's lap. And when we were kids, they had the extravagant displays for Santa's visit just like in the movie. Really, they did. I'm not THAT old yet. Nowadays you're lucky to get a decorated tree next to Santa.

4. Who's mom never overdressed them to where you literally sweated in below zero weather with your two seaters, long underwear, pants, snowsuit, ski mask, hat, gloves, and scarf? Oh yea, that's right. Our toes froze off though thanks to the rotton plastic boots we had! Those were awful! Mom never seemed to care about our toes! And NO, you could NOT move with all that crap on.

5. Who hasn't said a bad word in front of their parents? F ......... My son still can't figure out what Ralphie really said. Let's hope it stays that way. I doubt it though. I remember I got in so much trouble cause I said "I'm so pissed off." Heck mom and dad I could have said something much worse like Ralphie did! Didn't Marsha or Greg Brady get in trouble for saying "stinker"?

6. Your tongue really does stick to a metal pole when it is freezing cold outside. My son didn't belive it so my silly hubby set up the whole scene to "prove" it him. What a dope! I totally think my son one-upped his father on that one. And what a great dad he has who is willing to risk his tongue to prove a point.

7. Who didn't have some bully or two at their school who picked on all the regular kids. I so loved when Ralphie beat the crap out of Scott Farkus. I also loved how his mother handled the situation.

8. Fuses DO go out. We could never run the vacuum cleaner unless the tree was turned off. My father would yell just like Ralphie's when a fuse would go. You couldn't run the dishwasher with the tree on either. In fact, we couldnt have heat in the living room because "it'll mes up the icicles". Heaven forbid the wind from the heat tangle the icicles on the tree! No it was better for us to freeze to death! I grew up in the midwest just like Ralphie so our Christmases were just as cold.

9. Who didn't get some silly outfit from some relative that would totally embarrass you if you ever wore it? Granted I never got a Pink Rabbit Suit, but I did get a snazzy sailor dress with an utterly silly sailor hat one year. I cried and cried when my mother made me model it for everyone.

10. Who doesn't love this movie because it reminds them of all the Christmas' past they got to share with loved ones?

Also, for those of you who really love this movie, here's a great site about it: A Christmas Story House.

Here's to making your own Christmas Story with your family this year.

Lily Has A New Friend

2008-11-29T00:22:00.007-05:00

We have had a beautiful tabby cat for the past 6 years. It lived in perfect harmony with our dear, sweet basset hound for 5 good long years. Once the basset died ( that was MY dog - best dog EVER!) Ashley, the tabby cat, became queen of the house. She was in heaven, because before, she had been an indoor/outdoor cat.

So along comes Lily - thanks to my silly husband's stupidity of thinking we needed a horse to move in with us. The cat is about the size of Lily's left fore arm so of course the cat is deathly afraid of Lily. Yet Lily seems to think the cat exists soley for her to play with!

We spent many a night trying to get these two to get along. It never worked. Hubby even got to the point of needing stitches when trying to save dear Ashley from Lily. So the poor cat has stayed outside for the past 5 months.

Fast forward to Nov. It is now starting to get cold in these parts at night. So hubby has been bringing Ashley in. I've been putting her in my bathroom at night to protect her from the big, bad, evil horse named Lily.

So my hubby calls me while I'm out shopping today, "Just wanted to let you know the dog and the cat are curled up on our bed sleeping together."

Aw!!! Lily has a new friend. They just needed to get used to each other.

Thanksgiving Weekend Sale at Usborne Books

2008-11-28T08:33:00.006-05:00

Want to save a lot on some great books for the kids on your shopping list? Usborne Books is having a great sale all weekend long. Many of the titles are ones that I highlighted in my post Top 10 Usborne Books That Will Make Great Christmas Presents For The Kids On Your List.

Happy Shopping!