Pass The Tissues

I need some deep consoling. Martha Stewart's TV show got cancelled. She was originally syndicated in 2005 (right after she got out of the joint) and has been floating around to different stations before finally finding a home on Hallmark for the last two years. Hallmark announced earlier that they were going to cancel the show.

I have loved watching her. I have gotten so many great gift ideas from that show. I seriously don't know what I'm going to do without Martha! I've stepped out of my comfort zone and actually canned food! I've finally started cooking with my Mema's cast iron skillet. I'm actually COOKING people! Seriously, what am I going to do without her. I dont' like Rachel Ray. Her voice just gets on my nerves and I can't think of anyone else that has a program like Martha.




She's my favorite domestic goddess and I really am sorry to see her go! I will still get her wonderful magazines (yes, plural - I get two and trying to stop myself from ordering another) and I supposed I'll keep an ear out for her appearances on the Today Show or other morning programs but it just won't be the same when she's gone.

Seriously, this is a sad day for me.

Girl, Yes I Did!

**Ever watch Bon Qui Qui at King Burger from MadTV. When you read the subject line of "Girl, yes I did!" Please hear it in Bon Qui Qui's voice. That's how proud I am of this meal!

Ummm...I would like a parade in my honor because I cooked my most involved meal to date! No, it wasn't hard but it was something I'd never tried before and I did it all by myself. Last night while I was cooking Jeff kept trying to come in the kitchen and I kept having to kick him out. Alas, it was a success and drum roll please....




















Walnut Crusted Chicken! Yes, I even took a picture of my creation. I've become one of "those" people. This was so good and so easy. In the past I would have been intimidated by this type of recipe but I did it. Okay, so what this involved was drying the chicken (never done that before) then dipping it in egg whites, then coating it with the walnut/bread mixture and then browning the walnut/bread mixture for a few minutes. Once the outside layer was browned then put the skillet in the oven and cook for about 12 minutes. Easy, peasy! We ate it with a lovely side salad. I will admit that chicken is a main staple at our house but I've gotten bored with grilled chicken. I would only eat maybe half of it, my vegetables and go on with my night, only to get hungry later and go snack on chex mix or something (not very healthy!) but last night I ate every single bite of this yummy chicken. Maybe I'll even get brave enough to cook it for guests! I'm just so stinking happy with myself for trying this new recipe! And it's healthy and came from my new cook book.

As for the everything else. I'm going to be saying a lot of breath prayers this weekend. I'm home alone. Jeff has gone to Indiana to visit a friend so I've got to put my big girl panties on and stay home. I usually take the opportunity while he is gone to go stay with my parents or go visit girlfriends in a different town but I'm dog sitting this weekend and so I'm going to continue my cleaning up and clearing out. Maybe I'll wear myself out enough to sleep.

Hopefully we all have a wonderful weekend!

Fattoush!

Fa-wha? Fattoush, it's what's for dinner. It's really a salad but that's the name of it. Toasted pita, cherry tomatoes, yellow bell pepper, cucumber, red onion, chickpeas, mint leaves, parsley leaves, red-wine vinegar, EVOO and a little salt n peppa = YUM! Yay! To quote the cookbook "The combination of vegetables, beans, and herbs is excellent for reducing high cholesterol." And it tastes good. Thank you, Julia for this cookbook!

And an update of where I stand on everything else. Today we did yoga when we got home. We you ask? Why, yes. Jeff does yoga. There is a great t-shirt out there that says "Real Men Do Yoga". Whatever. I can give you two simple reasons why guys do yoga, sex & golf. Nuff said.

So, we're trying to fit in exercising when we can. We obviously didn't get up this morning but we took time this afternoon. Yay us! We have eaten healthy Sunday, Monday and today. I don't count yesterday. I'm not sure what Jeff ate since I kicked him out of the house. The soup I made for bunko probably wasn't too bad but the two Sprites and cool whip cake wasn't good for me at all! And the snacks at each table? How can we possibly snack while we play? Don't know but we do! Especially if you make it to Table 1. Table 1 always has gummy candy! Gummy bears, gummy worms. Last night I served Gummy Lifesavers and we ate all three bags...UGH!

On to updates on the other goals...The very first step in the preparedness book I'm reading is to clean out the house. Check, I'm working on that! The kitchen is my next room to tackle. I'm kind of dreading it because I have two junk drawers but it needs to be sorted, cleaned and organized.

I'm not working on my project closet until all the other rooms in my house are cleaned up and cleaned out so that's not happening for a long while! As for the better neighbor, I have written three thank you notes for some recent things. That's a habit I kind of got out of for some reason. Time to stop neglecting good manners! I'm still working on that child like faith. That's going to be a long haul project. As for the childlike wonder for life and enjoying the small things. I think I was pretty darn successful about that last night at bunko. We've got a very diverse bunko group, 4 "girls" are my age and the other 8 are my mom's age (or older...shhh...don't tell!). But when you put all 12 of us in a room with 9 dice magic happens or should I say we try to break the record for laughing and loudness (yes, there are some ladies louder than me!)! It's a good time!

Hopefully I'll have another successful recipe to report about tomorrow night. Chicken...cross your fingers!

Whoa...One thing at a time!

Well, I think I have some ambitious goals for this year and while I do think they are all achieveable my body needs me to rest! I guess.

Saturday I cleaned up and cleaned out. Sunday I did the same thing. Monday I ran errands and got my house ready for bunko. I guess that's where the need for rest came in. I stayed up late on Monday night because I was still trying to get the house ready for 12 women and I just wasn't used to going to sleep early after staying up late all weekend. Yesterday I had to get up early and start my soup in the crockpot. I wasn't going to get up any earlier than that to exercise before I start the soup. I'm motivated...not crazy! So, last night was bunko and I think everyone was ready to play because we were a loud and rowdy bunch. So, after all the women finally leave I clean up the house, put away the tables and put the furniture back in place. After all of that I'm not sleepy! I'm still pumped from having a house full of people and winning a prize at bunko! I just watched the clock tick by last night. That's so rare for me. I'm usually asleep before my head hits the pillow. Well, I slept awful last night. I kept waking up for whatever reason. And of course, I wanted to be ambitious today so I set my alarm to go off at the same early time so that today I could get up and exercise...Yeah, that didn't happen! I slept for another hour.

Lesson learned: Maybe I should just focus on eating healthy first and getting the house deep cleaned. Deep cleaning, moving furniture and such is plenty of exercise. I can try to add in morning walks or yoga (or both) after I get done with the house, right? One thing at a time!

2012 Goals & Off to a Great Start

I really don't like the idea of "resolutions" I always feel like I've failed at New Year's Resolutions. However, I have set some "goals" for 2012 and I feel like I've gotten off to a pretty good start! Of course, my poor hubby has been sick so I haven't had much of a choice but find things to do around the house. So far I have cleaned out 4 closets and 3 rooms. I'm talking serious deep cleaning. I removed all the furniture from the room and cleaned the room from the top down (ceiling fan, door frames, shelves, etc.) and I've cleaned each piece of furniture before I put it back in the room. I'm trying to just clean one room a day so I don't get burned out. I've never deep cleaned my whole house before. I will even admit that I've never even cleaned the windows at my house. So...I'm trying to make some changes. I've already taken one load of stuff to Good Will and I'm working on a new pile now. I hope to have the whole house deep cleaned very soon!

As for my goals, they aren't that hard and maybe if I write about them on here I will be slightly more accountable than I typically am about goals. I want to eat healthier, I want to create a home emergency kit and the big things I want to do are: 1. Finish the many unfinished projects around my house; 2. Be a better neighbor; 3. have child-like faith; and 4. have a child's delight in the world.

What do I mean by this? Well, I'll tell you!

As for the eating healthy, I've already started! For Christmas I got the wonderful cookbook Power foods which says it has 150 recipes with 38 of the healthiest ingredients. I went to Kroger today and bought ingredients to cook out of this cookbook every night this week. Tonight I started slow and easy! Egg Salad Sandwich. Sounds simple, right? It was!! To quote the book, "Egg salad sandwiches are often loaded with mayonnaise, but this version relies instead on ricotta and yogurt for creaminess. Watercress and whole grain bread are other healthful updates. Eggs, of course, provide high-quality protein in addition to a variety of other nutrients, such as choline." And...it was YUMMY!! The recipe made enough for 4 servings. We each had a sandwich tonight and we'll both have another for lunch tomorrow. Hopefully this will help my confidence in the kitchen and with healthy cooking!

The second thing I mentioned was creating a home emergency kit. I know this may sound silly but its not. We now live in "dixie alley". The most dangerous tornado path in the US, even more dangerous than the original "tornado alley" in the mid west! In the month of May for two years in a row our area has experienced heavy rains and flooding and...ever hear of Reelfoot Lake? Yeah, that place was created by an earthquake and we live on a major fault line! Possibility of another major earthquake? Likely! I don't want to be considered a "crack pot" about preparedness. So, why the sudden change of heart? Easy, the tornadoes, floods & people constantly talking about the likelihood of another major earthquake in our area. Also...Decoded. Ever watch it? It comes on the History Channel. For anyone that enjoyed the book or movie "The Da Vinci Code" then you'd love this show! There is a crew that constantly investigate myths, rumors and legends much like the Dan Brown novels. So, a few weeks ago the episode was about the Mayan Calendar. The episode was freaky, I won't lie but I don't believe it all of that. However watching the show did make realize that no matter what emergency happens in my life we are grossly under prepared! So, I would like to make a home emergency kit. I'd rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it. So...that's on the to do list.

Okay now for my big four. First up was finish the projects around my house. I have a project closet in one of my guest rooms and it continues to grow! Since I am on a clean up and clear out mode I've got to take care of this! The most frequent "project" is making picture albums. Some other craft projects are in there, too. Once I get done deep cleaning the rest of the house I'm going to start on that closet. I'll try to take some before and after pictures when I finally start. Wish me luck!

My second goal is to be a better neighbor. That's my generic term. To quote a movie, "I want to give my highest self". And I don't always do that. To quote a great writer, Hunter S. Thompson, "Anything worth doing is worth doing right". So, I guess I better start living right. I used to do a lot more volunteering but for some reason I've gotten out of the habit. I've gotten out of a lot of good habits. I'd like to try to be a better friend, better volunteer, better donor, better person...aka better neighbor. Example: Today I was at Kroger buying a mountain of groceries (it's bunko at my house on Tuesday, too!). I was in the dairy section reaching for the milk at the same time as someone else. As I look up to smile and give an apology for getting in that person's way, I turn smile on my face to see a burn victim. My mind immediately wondered if he was a war vet. He looked to be about my age. For whatever reason, God was with me in this moment. I continued to smile, I didn't flinch or show any signs of sympathy. It seemed to be exactly what the guy needed. He smiled at me and HOLY COW! His smile lit up the place. We exchanged pleasantries and went on our merry way but I must tell you his smile, above and beyond his injuries has stayed with me. My small smile to a stranger did more for my heart and I like to think his than anythign else I've done today. That smile didn't cost me anything and our pleasantries did take any time away from my day. I hope to give more smiles in 2012 and receive a few, too!

My third goal is to have child like faith. Ever read the book, "Heaven Is For Real?" In the book the father is a preacher, a man of God, and he said that one of the best experiences he gained from his son getting sick was regaining a child like faith. I know it may sound silly but when my mind goes to panic mode I can stop myself by chanting over and over again, "Child like faith" and what I mean by that is to put it all in God's hands and stop trying to control my situation whatever it is. As soon as I do that I instantly find peace. I need to have more child like faith in my life, not just in my panic moments but in all moments and that is something I want to work on this new year.

My final goal is to find that child like wonder for life. All my friends are having or have recently had kids. For them I'm sure they all rediscover things through their children and I've gotten to experience some of that with them. Why do we have to become jaded, boring adults? When do we forget about the zest of life and just go with the grind? I want to find the joy in the small moments as well as the big ones. Right now I'm laying in the bed, watching a favorite show, sipping a mug of hot chocolate, my tummy is full and I've got clothes in the washer and dryer. That is a luxury that most folks don't have. Instead of thinking of my life as boring and I'm not doing anything exciting on a holiday weekend I am very happy to be warm, happy, full and blessed.

For the few that read this I hope I get to hang out with you all in this new year and that we create wonderful memories...and remind me to bring my camera so I can record all the great memories!

3 for 1!

This weekend I was laid up on the couch with a sinus infection. There's not much to do when you're not feeling good except watch movies and read books. I did both! This weekend I watched three movies while I made sure the couch didn't move and Hank made sure I was warm all weekend.

The first movie I watched was Brothers. It's got Tobey Maguire, Natalie Portman and Jake Gyllenhaal. I love all three of them and watched the movie mainly because of those three actors. Well, I got my socks knocked off. I've never seen Tobey Maguire play a psycho before but there's no other way to describe his character. He's a marine that goes to Afganistan and his helicopter is shot down. His family thinks he's dead and they try to move on with their life. What really happened was he survived the crash and was taken hostage. Months later he returns home and he's just "not right" after that. It's another side of war that we don't see very often, the PTSD and other psychological problems and how the families have to deal with this when these soldiers return. It is a very hard and harsh movie. It is a very intense movie. I really enjoyed it but I also know this isn't a movie for everyone. Watch at your own risk.

The second movie I watched was Birds of America. Same as the first, I watched it because of the cast. Matthew Perry (LOVE HIM), Ben Foster, Ginnifer Goodwin, Lauren Graham, and Hilary Swank. I know I should probably quit watching movies because of the actors but then...I probably wouldn't watch all the movies I do and besides what else would I do when I'm home sick? I had already cleaned out the DVR and I'm almost finished with my Instant Queue on Netflix. So...Birds of America. Matthew Perry is the older brother of Ben Foster and Ginnifer Goodwin. Their parents die when MP is 18 and he is left to raise them. He never has that wild and crazy college experience like so many of us do. He had to become a responsible parent very early in life. He loses touch with his younger sibilings and really doesn't understand where he is in his own life (probably something we can all related to...how did I get here?). Well, he bonds with his younger brother and sister and starts to find a new direction or at least a backbone. How the movie got to that conclusion is SO WEIRD! Again, not a movie I would recommend. This story has probably been done better (Beautiful Girls!) and not nearly as strange. It was funny in a strange way but the strange really is the major factor in this movie.

The last movie I watched was Just Go With It with Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston. It's a little more touchy-feeling than any of the other Happy Madison productions but I still laughed out loud a lot. I would highly recommend it if you're a Happy Madison fan. I'll never forget the summer between my freshman and sophmore year in high school. We watched Billy Madison so many times we literally broke the tape. Ah, good times. I guess we all have to grow up a little and so is Adam Sandler. Trust me there is still plenty of Billy left in him. Fun movie, two thumbs up. Oh! And I was seriouly surpriesd by two cameos. I won't tell you. I'll just let you be surprised, too! Funny!

Heeeelllloooo Johnny Depp!

You know how the MTV movie awards have goofy or strange categories like "Best Kiss"? Well, I've never really cared about what was nominated for the Best Kiss category until now. Monday night we skipped Halloween and went out to eat and went to the movies (more on that later). We went to see The Rum Diary with Johnny Depp. It is the first movie that ever made me want to ask for a time out while I grab my husband! HAVE MERCY! That movie has the best kiss in it ever and now I have a Johnny Depp crush! Whoo! It's been two days and I still get a shiver just thinking about how awesome that kiss was!

The movie was really funny. Not in a Hangover kind of way but in a Hunter S. Thompson kind of way. P.S. Am I the only person familiar with Hunter S. Thompson? I've talked about this movie with two different groups of people and when I say the movie is based on a book by Hunter S. Thompson I am met with blank stares. Come on folks! How can this be? It really makes me sad. How can you not know about a guy that had his ashes shot out of a cannon? Johnny Depp was actually the guy that set off the cannon by the way. How is it that I am the only one that knows about this?

Anyway, the movie was great. I told Jeff that it would be trippy because it was based on HST's book and I don't think he really believed me until the trippy stuff started happening. I don't think anyone on earth could have played the part better than Johnny Depp. Yes, I now have a new celebrity crush. I swear I still get goose bumps thinking about the most perfect cinematic kiss I've ever seen. I give this movie two thumps up! I loved it!

And I'm sorry if you think I'm horrible for skipping Halloween. Can I explain now? I honestly don't mind trick-or-treaters. When we first moved in our house I was so happy to finally live in a neighborhood with kids and get to participate in Halloween. All our neighborhood kids came by the house fairly early and we would visit with everyone for a few minutes but as the night grew later the kids got older and bigger. Kids that weren't from our part of town started coming to our neighborhood to t-o-t. I felt like I needed Jeff standing with me to hand out candy and decided then I probably don't need to be answering the door. And the sad truth is I felt more like these "kids" were casing my house instead of enjoying a fun holiday. So, we turned off all the lights, locked the doors and went to eat pizza and watch a movie this year.

Thank you Halloween for my new obsession with Johnny Depp and his kissing skills! YUM!