Thursday, January 31, 2008

Weepy

Actually.....I pee. My Dr. gave me a diuretic yesterday, and hoo boy.....does it tie up alot of your time in the bathroom. Not only does it tie up time...but it sort of comes on URGENTLY....like at the grocery store........ewwww. I have issues with public restrooms (except work...it's like home by now).....they are just nasty, and I avoid them at all costs. But not yesterday....no siree bob. The bladder won THAT battle.

Speaking of public restrooms, we should have a discussion on etiquette. People, be AWARE of what goes on around you....sometimes ladies need a little 'private' time to do their bidness.......maybe we'd like to poo in PRIVATE. So, when you see feet, and the common area is so very still...it may be someone waiting for the restroom to be, let's say, EMPTY???? Fluff your hair later...straighten the already straight hem LATER......let the gal poo in PEACE. Don't chat or have lengthy 'self talk' sessions in the mirror. Oh, and if you should enter the restroom during or immediately after someone mortifyingly has a smelly poo....don't comment on it to your pals......sheesh..........they already notice, and, um...hello....I'm IN THE STALL TO HEAR YOU. Oh, it's also a bathroom.....so sometimes people need to leave a stinky......better there than in your cubicule!! Uh Huh!! Think about it!

Oh, and please don't make eye contact. You know who you are. You're the one that checks out who's in the stall from the mirror, under the pretense of putting on lipstick. You check out the little cracks that the stall doors leave so you can see who's in there. Harrumph. I don't need to feel the need to politely smile at you with my pants around my knees.

Oh, and lastly, don't take photographs while in the stall. It's creepy when sitting on the pot, only to hear someone else close a stall door, then hear the sound a cell phone makes when taking a picture.....you know....'freeze frame' click, click.....what in the WORLD do you need to take pictures of in the potty?

Don't answer that.

Thursday, January 24, 2008

From here to ETERNITY

I am so disappointed. As mentioned before, son #2 and I have been FROTHING AT THE MOUTH in anticipation of the new FOX show 'Moment of Truth' It was FINALLY on last night..........and what a yawn-fest. I finally picked up my book and read. It was THAT intolerable.

The premise of the show is that people are given a polygraph exam in advance of the show asking 50 or more questions designed to provide 'dirt' on the contestants. 21 of the questions are chosen, and the contestant must answer (on the show) all 21 correctly (according to the polygraph) to win $500,000. It's so voyeuristic!!

But, no. It's so BORING. They used excruciatingly long pauses, with 'suspenseful' music playing. The camera pans to the panicked face of the contestant......(ahem, they KNEW the questions they answered during the polygraph....duhhhhhh), it pans to the face of the nervous, sweaty group of family/friends.........then, practically with pliers, the answer is PULLED from the contestant's bowels..........then the audience GASPS...and the entire, everlasting process starts all over. In an entire hour they managed to cover maybe 20 questions..........maybe less........I should have counted, but I was so shocked by the enormous pauses and dead air, that I couldn't believe it......

C'mon FOX.....keep the customers happy..........pick up the pace...get those questions asked and answered; let us continue to pry into the intensely personal lives of strangers!!!

I'll give it another week or two to see if the public feedback resembles mine and Fox gets the show in snappy shape, otherwise, I'll have to find another way to feed the voyeur in me!

Monday, January 21, 2008

Eggrolls

Tonight we are having homemade eggrolls. I must say, I'm GOOD. I came up with this receipe several years ago when looking for eggroll recipes and finding far too many ingredients to cook on a budget. I found a recipe on the internet, with few ingredients and thought, ewww...I bet it will be bland and yukky. I don't know about YOU, but I tend to think that many recipes found on the internet can be bland. What...does a major portion of the population not have taste buds? I don't know, maybe folks are afraid of lots of spices, but with the exception of a few, I must doctor the ones that sound good.

Anyway, we must make the eggroll mixture early in the day to allow it to cool and have most of the juices drain away....I don't know if you've had experience w/ wet eggroll wrappers, but it isn't pretty. So I put the mixture together last Saturday before Teenie and I went out house hunting (for her). Mr. Perfectly put it in the fridge to cool and drain.......then we discovered, quite by accident, really, that he was running a temperature and was sick.....so since he's the 'fry daddy', we thought it best to wait. I froze the mixture and today, it's what's for dinner. I also made crab rangoon. MMMM,,can't wait.

Here's the recipe for those of you that are interested:

1 lb lean ground pork
1 pre cut pkg of cole slaw in a bag (hey, it's already got cabbage and carrots)
1 large handful bean sprouts
1 bunch (or more to taste) of green onions
3 (or to taste) cloves of garlic.
1/2 c soy sauce
1/2 lb salad shrimp or small shrimp--uncooked, no tails
1 pkg eggroll wrappers

Brown the pork, while browning, add the green onions and garlic. When browned, there shouldn't be lots of grease, but if there is, drain it. Add soy sauce (you may find you want to add more-don't worry, it gets drained off, so use as much for flavor as you want) and all the veggies. Cook the veggies til crisp tender, add shrimp and cook til just cooked through.

If you have enough time to allow the mixture to come to room temperature while sitting in the juice (to absorb flavor), go for it. If not, just skip on to the next step.

Place the mixture into a colander which is sitting in a large bowl. Put into the fridge most of the day until cooled and drained. You may want to come to the fridge a couple of times and press down on the mixture to help it drain.

When cold and drained, wrap the filling in individual egg roll wrappers, and deep fry. Serve w/ rice, sweet red sauce, hot mustard and soy sauce (for dipping...each individual will want to choose their dips....don't mix them up).

The wrapping can take 30 min or so, but really, overall, this is quite simple, and the filling really takes no time to cook.


Crab Rangoon:
1 pkg cream cheese (softened)
1T garlic powder
1 4 oz can (drained) crab meat
won ton wrappers

gently mix all ingredients, and put small tablespoons of filling in the middle, fold into triangles, and deep fry.

And my 'cheap' version of a Cosmopolitan:
1 oz gin
1 oz triple sec
4 oz White Cranberry-Strawberry juice
4 oz Diet 7up
serve over ice

Please note that these are my own concoctions......not everybody will like them, and not everyone will like my recipes. I posted them there because my family and I love them, (except the Cosmo--my kids haven't tried it...)

Enjoy!!!!

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Larger than Life

Ok, I'm disgusted and TOTALLY fascinated with 'American Idol'....those poor people who are exploited for entertainment value. OH, THE ENTERTAINMENT VALUE. The female 'Willem Dafoe'?? OMG.....that was just..........well........funny!! And can anyone say Temptress Brown? The 16 yr old FEMALE middle linebacker? That wanted to provide care for her ailing mother? And Paula that hugged the mother? Were there enough kleenex to COPE with the moment? I mean c'mon....I know I'm slightly sensitive to those 'heavy' issues, but people don't' TOUCH fat people..........the average person is GROSSED OUT by flab....but this quite large mother of Temptress, that is ill and needs care was singled out and hugged................sniff sniff.

And the tension tonight with Celebrity Apprentice. The tension, the ARROGANCE.

When I was 11 years old and met Ph.D., she ran on the 'wild' side. She came in the school, being new, knowing about a girl named Julie that was 'popular' and she originally thought I was Julie.....I was HOOKED on my new friend (I'd never been thought of before or after as 'POPULAR'). Anyway, Ph.D. introduced me to Hard Rock -n- Roll, Slam books and soaking toothpicks in gin (weren't we brave little farts?). WE loved the rock band KISS. Loved them. I knew all their songs (to listen to an 'oldies' station these days, I can STILL sing the KISS classics). And Gene Simmons....wooooooo what a gross out guy. I liked Paul Stanley--and Ace Frehley....they were 'cuter' (good god.....are any of KISS cute? Even sans makeup?). The blood spitting demon was, well, kinda SCARY.

When I turned 12, I had a 'bunking' party (rural language for a slumber party) and most of my friends were 'goody two shoes' and then there was Ph.D. and "Fox"...they were the cute, fun REBEL girls. Ph.D. and my goody friend, Leila, were up on our fireplace holding a mock KISS CONCERT......and broke a hand made hurricane lamp that my great uncle AJ fashioned w/ his own hands....out of a beer or soup can or something...he cut the metal and twirled it like quilling to make a holder for a glass lamp for a candle. And Leila broke it in her zeal to be one or the other member of KISS........Damn.....the concert never finished.

Anyway, fast forward 30 years..........I learn about "Gene Simmons Family Jewels" on A & E.........and I'm hooked....he's so ARROGANT, and SCARY and FUNNY and.....well, WARM AND FUZZY. His son is an absolute hoot---and I'm addicted ONCE AGAIN to something KISS related. Sigh.

So, what about the arrogance of Gene Simmons against Donald Trump? OMG. Gene can out arrogant the 'Don' any day. It actually makes Trump look like a nice guy.....sheesh.......so my Genie got fired for being insubordinate to the boss. I'm sad and relieved at the same time. Maybe I can bond w/ Marilu Henner or Steven Baldwin or something. It re-opens my loyalties.

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Few people have the imagination for reality

so says Johann Wolfgang van Goethe........I had to google 'reality' to find something apropos. I'm really getting a kick out of cutsie titles for these blogs of mine....ANYWAY.....

WOO HOO...It's American Idol time......and almost Big Brother time.....oh, and is anyone else but me RIVETED to the idea of the new Fox show "Moment of Truth"?

I'm a reality TV whore. Actually, I'm a TV whore, but reality is my fave. I have fantasies of being well read, and eloquent, but alas, as much as I wish I were meeting you in a bohemian coffee house, while reading fabulous original poetry, here we are, in a blog, talking about American Idol.

So, since that is where we are headed, lets talk. Will Paula be as nutty as past seasons? Nuttier (we hope)! Will Simon be as snarky and rude? Will we all get some sick pleasure from his pretense of caring? Will Randy say "Dawwwggg" about 751 times per episode again?

If it weren't for DVR, I'd not survive. There's no way to manage multiple reality shows that air on multiple evenings per week without one. Besides, I must record my OTHER favorites.....such as Ghost Hunters on the Sci Fi channel (I never thought I'd watch Sci Fi....and since when did ghosts become science fiction??). I record Paranormal State on A&E, too, but not liking it so much....it's a little ouiji board for me...but I'll give it a few more episodes. Give me ghosts peering over a railing in Florida.......love those Ghost Hunters.........LOVE THEM (she says in a singsong opera type voice). Oh, and Celebrity apprentice? OMG...how much do we love Gene Simmons? I'm FASCINATED by him. Why? Loving KISS in the 6th grade isn't good enough reason?

I've never watched the Apprentice before, since Donald Trump isn't all that exciting to me......I watch too many reality type shows to get roped in, but the Celebrity apprentice???.....it was too tempting to pass...and of course, I'm hooked.

Ok, this is really going nowhere, so I'll go home and make my Jambalya, and settle in to watch round one of the Auditions...........I bet YOU will too!

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Bully for you

Bullies.

Fear.

Defense.

Violence.

What images do these words evoke in you?

Let me tell you a story, then let's talk.

An 8th grade boy is bullied on the internet by another 8th grader. The bullying seemes to have amounted to verbal assaults that seemed relatively minor; if any bullying is minor.

When the insults failed to initiate much of a reaction from the boy, the bully threatened to kill the 8th grade boy's brother, and threatened sexual assault on his mother, with the help of a group of boys.

The 8th grade boy hit the bully.

The 8th grade boy got suspended for school violence.

The bully is in school.

We can discuss how violence isn't the way to handle bad situations. We can say go tell an adult...go tell the principal, go tell the counselor........but in reality, the schools do not have the time, resources, or wherewithal to deal with 'stories' of bullying. Even if they witness it, their hands are tied to a point. If this boy walked away from physical threats to his family and 'tattled', who would do anything? Who would take action on an event that they didn't witness? Who is there for the BULLIED?

Nobody is disputing that the no tolerance policies in place in our public schools are meant to do no harm. In theory, they are a solution to a huge problem in the public school system. The boy is taking his punishment, and the family is not arguing whether or not throwing the first punch is a punishable offense. My issue is that no tolerance is not the answer either.......there's always a situation in the mix that doesn't fit the original no tolerance model................there's always shades of gray in our world that wants everything to be black and white.

My question is this: What should he have done? Nobody has time to investigate a purported 'threat'. Nobody has time to deal with the 'squabbles' of teens. Nobody has the resources to SOLVE the problem at hand. They show success by all the kids that are suspended or expelled for their 'violent' actions. Did anyone try to get to the ROOT of the issue?

Here we have a bully that physically threatened a family, and he's free to attend school, and continue his education, and thinking he's somehow been 'wronged' since he was punched. Whereas a boy is stuck in suspension, and has the stigma attached to his school record of 'VIOLENCE'

It's just wrong.

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

It's hip to be square

I read an article today regarding a mother that took sold her son's car because she found liquor under the seat. Read the story here.

I am in awe of this woman. I have been thinking about this ALL DAY, and I'm not sure if I could do this. I rely on son #1's ability to drive. I know how much it means to him TO drive. As a parent would I be brave enough to teach a lesson in such a loving, creative manner? I honestly do not know.

Here's to all the parents who do the job RIGHT and aren't afraid of facing difficult situations.

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Doo Doo Jeans, parenting, and good cyber friends.

I have to give credit for this blog where credit is due. I visit the public forum at Ivillage.com regarding 'Parents of Teens'. It's a great area for people with teens and pre-teens and post teens to bond and get information and ideas on how to deal with the teens. WOOT WOOT to the folks I talk to there. You all know who you are............ :)

A topic today reminded me of how far we've come since being teenagers, yet sometimes, not so much.........when do you stop being a child to someone and a parent to another?

What happens when we punish our teens/kids for things that we find EGREGIOUS, but then turn around the next week and DO THE EXACT SAME THING? Can we laugh with them or do we have a double standard?

The topic was cell phones. Our teens can be SOOO irresponsible with them. They lose them, they wash them, the leave them at the gym and drop them in the loo........they can't seem to RESPECT the fact we have to PAY those bills and replace those phones, right?

What happens when the PARENT runs the phone through the wash? Of course the suggestion was made that of course as adults, when we run our BRAND NEW phone through the wash, the natural consequences are the fact we have to buy a new one or go without.....but if it was your teen, would you do the same thing? Would you make them pay for a new one and let it go? Probably not............maybe we ALL should be intropective and have the same expectations for ourselves as we do our teens. And vice versa

What happens when we become adults and our parents are not incapacitated? Am I the only 41 yr old (nearly 42) that still feels like a kid around her dad? And whose dad tends to treat her like a kid? Yes, I allow it.........

Perfectly's dad is an awesome guy---we have a great relationship. So good that people used to make FUN of Perfectly because I hung out w/ my dad so much. I dare say, if I shopped, vacationed and ran with my MOM on a daily basis, nobody would think it odd......but somehow people think I'm weird for hanging w/ my daddy.

My mom lives 300+ miles away and we are close too, but she's not around here--so I can't run with her. So, I have an extrordinary relationship w/ my dad. He's close w/my husband and boys, too. Which is a great segue into how the post regarding adults washing their cell phones is so funny and hits home.

Perfectly's dad has cattle. He'd been out dealing with them and was knee deep in mud and (as I said on ivillage) in.....um...........'doo' and undressed in his garage so as not to get the 'doo' in the house. After he had put different clothes on, he threw the doo doo jeans in the washer..........with the cell phone in his pocket. Of course, even though I'm 41, I found hilarity in the situation, because had that been ME or one of my boys, I'd have gotten the 'lecture' about checking pockets BEFORE inserting clothes in the washer.............It doesn't get much better............ As it turns out, one of the few male members of this parenting board did the same thing. He said that his daughter is jokingly using the situation as a 'get out of jail free' card so when SHE does something stupid, she can hold it over her dad's head to get out of trouble!

I agree......we all should let up a little on ourselves and our kids.......none of us are perfect parents, employees, spouses or even children.......

Perfectly's dad ended up buying a phone, which is his TRUE punishment. He' has to figure out how to USE it......man......just when he was getting used to his 1 1/2 yr old one!!!

Monday, January 7, 2008

Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore.

Well, Missouri..........it's NEXT to Kansas, right?

There are TORNADO WARNINGS in adjoining counties to mine. TORNADO. WARNINGS. IN JANUARY. JANUARY, people!

This is just crazy weather. Our temperatures were in the high 60's and in some places in the low 70's this past weekend. It's in the low 70's where I live right now, and there are storms coming this way. Tornadic Storms.

In May of this year when I write about snow and ice, I'll know that Missouri is officially BASSACKWARDS.

Friday, January 4, 2008

It's a cold, cold world

I have a cold. I don't ENJOY having a cold. Some may even go so far as to say, I'm not very pleasant to be around when I have a cold (If I catch anyone saying that, I'll be pissed). I'm not even relly THAT sick......I suffer from allergies in a major way, so you'd think I'd be used to the symptoms, but guess what? I'M NOT.

I wish I were as eleqoquent as some of the bloggers I read. I want to have a 'following'. People who can't WAIT to hear what I've got to say. Alas, it doesn't seem to be happening. My husband and friends (maybe) are the only ones who read this. I've not given the parents the address, because, you know, I may say something that I dont' want them to know! Also, I haven't been a very good blogger--mainly by not blogging more regularly......and being sort of, well you know, BORING.

We went out for New Year's Eve. We NEVER go out. If Mr. Perfectly had his 'druthers' we'd never leave home. But, we had a really, REALLY nice evening. We played board games and ate. It was all very relaxing and easy--a bunch of people that we know and truly LIKE. We didnt' stay til midnight, since we had a kid that can't drive yet at his GIRLFRIEND'S house....Mr. Perfectly picked him up and we all settled in for the night. Whooee. Aren't we an adventurous crew?

Well, I'm not a resolution person, but let's see if I can keep the blog thing going, and post more often. I'll commit to putting comments on others blogs in hopes that the interest will grow here as well. I've really gotten a kick from linking to different blogs from my standard favorites. I've read some REALLY funny, and cool people!

Hope to see you here or on YOUR blog!!