Home Stretch

27 more days

Start thinking!

Tomorrow I will write down all of my 2009 resolutions. How about if you get yours together and we see what we come up with?

Love

28 more days

Miscellaneous Stuff

I forgot to say that I also got the new Martha Stewart Cooking School book from our daughter for Christmas. Also, a very cool chocolate brown hoodie with the sheepskin-looking lined hood from Atlanta. It was quite a nice surprise and guess what? It fits! I love it.

This Christmas weekend (which included Christmas Eve, Christmas Day), I focused on the actual meaning of Christmas which is the day that Jesus was born. I made it a Holy celebration for me and it felt rather good. The regular trimmings and hoopla associated with Christmas were not there for me this year and that part really sucked. We had no decorations, no tree, no party, no one for dinner, no spirits, no special food, no family. It really sucked. We were trying to figure out when our family could ever come together for Christmas and the answer always ended up as "not a chance". It would be next to impossible to pull that off. I just have to resign myself to the dreary facts and know that our grandchildren will probably never come for Christmas.


So - next year I am going to have a Goddamn Christmas party.

Complete with a big lighted tree, music, lots of food and drink, decorations up the wazoo. We will invite our friends and neighbors and anyone else who wants to come. That should take some of the edge off and it will keep me busy. And - I will have someone in this house that appreciates my cooking.

That's another story. Do you know how frigging boring Ralphy is?? Can you even imagine this notion?? He doesn't like alot of foods because he has a "weak system". If I want to cook something really good that is going to take some time, he "doesn't want me in the kitchen so long". If I want to read at night instead of watch the 50th repeat of Seinfeld, he gets pissy. If I come back here to my little corner of our world and sit at the computer, I hear "Honnnnnnnnnn, what are you doing? I thought you wanted to watch TV?"

NO!!!!!!!!!!!!! I DO NOT WANT TO WATCH THE GODDAMN TELEVISION.

I do not say that, of course, because I try very hard not to curse in the house. I swear like a drunken sailor, but try to do it only in my head.

I have an entire 8 ft. closet full of stuff that I have been waiting for a chance to get it all ready for Ebay and try to get rid of it, all while having some fun with the bidding. He says "Are you sure you want to devote all that time to doing something like that?" What the hell else do I have to do? I have been reduced to making frozen quesadillas.

I hate this weather. I hate OHIO. I want to move to Memphis or somewhere that doesn't have harsh seasons. We love Atlanta. We could see our grandsons regularly. That would be in my dreams. It is so hot there that I would literally sweat to death. And, it's not even that it is so hot - it is SO hot for SO long! Impossible living conditions for me. I would love Baltimore where we could see our other three grandchildren. That would also be in my dreams. Ralphy would be like a fish out of water in Baltimore. There he really wouldn't know what the hell to do with himself. You see, I can keep busy every minute of every day. I love everything. I love cooking, washing windows (yes, you heard that right), knitting, computer, reading, book club, walking, hiking, having a fricking dog, everything you can think of - I like. Ralphy has no hobbies. He has me. Period.

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OK - I have vented. I have failed to mention that I am spoiled beyond belief. I am denied nothing. I can buy what I want, go where I want. Truthfully, I have absolutely nothing to complain about. I can buy any electronic stuff I want, any clothes, crafts, books. Take any classes. Go out with friends. I am loved more than life itself. I am pampered to beat the band. I was just having a selfish couple of moments because I miss all the kids so much.

On a happy note, guess what?? I am now an OFFICIAL permanent part-time employee of Target. I received a letter in the mail telling me how much they enjoyed having me and that they would like me to stay on beyond the seasonal dates. I am to give my reply by January 2. We are very pleased. This is a good company to work for. I have to say that the folks are the nicest that I have ever dealt with.

Another over-the-moon happy note is: We are having a new baby!!!!!!! It is a boy and he will be our 4th grandson. He will be beautiful like his mother. He will have black shiny eyes and thick black hair and look just like his brother. His name is Mack. I have to wait til Feb. 11 to see him but that's OK. I want to see a little meat on him. I want to hold him up on my neck and smell his perfect little head. I want to see my son and his wife and their two boys in their beautiful home and totally in love with their little family. There is nothing like it, folks. Also, I get to play and run with my older grandson there and hug him half to death.

Then, in March, I get to fly to Baltimore to spend a few days with the others! I will faint with delight.

Also, my son-in-law will be home from Iraq in 29 more days. Count them with me. January 27 is the day that my daughter will have her husband back for good. This is his 4th and last trip to hell and back. He will be home and they can begin a wonderful story with their family.

GEEEZ - I guess I have talked myself right out of a sucky mood.

Thanks for listening, my good friends.

Love

Curious minds want to know.....

I bet you are all wondering what I received for Christmas. First, I will tell you what I asked for.... This was my first choice - my little Carmine.

Western boots - no go. Camera - nowhere in site. And just for the hell of it, I asked for an orange and navy Mini Cooper. I didn't get that either.

Well - first of all - Ralphy woke me up at 8:30. I walked out into the living room that we never sit in. He had the little white lights on our ficus tree turned on. My coffee was poured and in a huge mug just waiting for me on the coffee table. Christmas music was playing quietly in the family room. I had a big beautifully wrapped package and one little one. The first one was this great laptop bag that I had been eyeing. Then, a 1-hour massage because he knows how much my arms, back, and shoulders hurt everyday. A gift card to the book store because he knows how much I love to read.
I didn't get the puppy or the car. No camera or boots, but, it just doesn't get any better than this perfect morning.

A soft laptop case - really nice. A Borders gift card. A 1-hour massage at my favorite salon.

Love

still working on this damn spacing issue

Merry Christmas Everyone!

I hope you all have a very Merry and Blessed Christmas.

Please remember to pray for all the women and men around the world who are protecting us!

They are always there.

Love

Way Yummy!

The other night Ralphy and I were looking for something quick to fix for dinner. I started going through some sites and came upon something that looked really good and fun to make. It is adapted from Emeril's recipe of German Apple Pancakes. Here you go!

German Apple Pancakes

4 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 C. whole milk

1 C. flour

1/2 teas. vanilla

3 T. butter

2 large apples thinly peeled (I used Fugi)

1/2 t. cinnamon

1/8 t. nutmeg

pinch of salt

1/3 C. packed brown sugar

confectioners sugar

maple syrup (Oh yeah!)

Put eggs, milk, flour, and vanilla in bowl and whisk until just blended - do not overmix. Set aside to rest 20 min.

Set oven to 450 degrees.

Using an ovenproof 12-inch frying pan, melt 2 T. butter. Add the apples, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and cook until apples are soft and lightly golden around the edges. About 6 minutes.

Pour the batter evenly over top of the apples - spread it around. Transfer the pan to the oven and bake until pancake is golden brown - around 15 min. or so. The pancake might puff up over the pan - that's OK.

Remove pancake from oven (don't forget your potholders - I did!!) and serve immediately. Sprinkle w/confectioners sugar and slap on the syrup.

This recipe was more than enough for the two of us, with one piece left over.

It was fluffy, sweet, delicious and filling. I also had some breakfast sausage ready to go and some cinnamon applesauce on the plate.

This was a really nice dinner with a fresh cup of coffee.

On a different subject, we are leaving in the morning for a very exciting weekend. We are going to Virginia to Miss A. Sue's and will be seeing the grandchildren, my brother, nieces, and we will meet Miss A. Sue's new additions to her family.

Meet Bill and Jazz - both hell on wheels.

They are spending their days ripping down the Christmas tree and hiding the ornaments all over the house! Sounds like my kind of cats! I can't wait to meet them.

Will be back next week. Have a great weekend everyone and watch your spending!

Love

Say again?

An excerpt from my latest book club book, "The Enchantress of Florence", by Salman Rushdie:

"As the Sc'athach made her way past the Horn of Africa and the isle of Socotra, and while she took on supplies at Maskat and then left the Persian coast to port and, blown along by the monsoon wind, headed southeast toward the Portuguese haven of Diu on the southern shore of the place Dr. Hawkins called "Guzerat," so Lord Hauksbank of That Ilk slumbered peacefully on, "a sleep so calm, praise God," according to the helpless Hawkins, "that is proves his conscience is clear and so his soul, at least, is in good health, ready to meet its Maker at any time."

WTF??

Love

Do I add one?

OK - so this is my birthday weekend. Does this mean that I have to change the name of my blog since I am no longer 60? Who's to know, anyway? I was talking to my son, the doctor who never calls his mother, last night and I told him that it isn't so much the sixty ONE, it's the nine years before SEVENTY!! Can you even imagine how that feels? Nine more years and I will be 70? It's like a blink of an eye.

So - here I am on birthday weekend and I am sicker than a dog. Ralphy has had this cold/sinus infection/cough thingy and now it has been passed to me. We had great plans to go out this evening with our Birthday Club. I had my clothes ready, got my hair highlighted, was already eyeing up the rack of lamb........ but here I am - in my jammied at noon, just getting ready to go back to bed.

Another sad part is that I couldn't go to work at Target this morning to sell stuff. I have totally lost my voice (Ralphy is ecstatic about this!), I am hacking like heck, nose running. How could I have greeted my customers? How could I have admired their purchases? Talked to the babies? I know it sounds kinda ridiculous, but I actually LIKE my job at Target. There are some really nice folks here. I wonder if they will keep me on after the seasonal rush?

Love

Books: Currently reading The Enchantress of Florence by Salman Rushdie

Oh yeah - forgot this topic...

So - how was your Thanksgiving dinner? Fluffy mashed potatoes, luscious stuffing, smooth flowing gravy, wonderful tart cranberry relish, perfectly prepared sweet potato casserole, homemade chunky applesauce? If this was your dinner, you are SO lucky.

Ours basically sucked. We went to Ralphy's mother's (Big Rita) house for dinner. We walked in and I immediately "smelled a rat".

Me: "What is that smell"?

Big Rita: "That's the gravy!"

Big Jim (Ralphy's brother): "Man, is that good!!".

Big Rita: "Get a spoon and come here and taste".

I go to the drawer and get a spoon and stand over the pan. I couldn't figure out what the hell that smell was - it smelled like bacon and then it smelled like some spice I couldn't quite pinpoint. It was thick and lumpy like it had too much cornstarch. I took a taste and it was all I could do not to throw up. I could not get within 10 feet of that pan again.

Me: "Oh, it is delicious!", I lied.

I figured that I could get by without having gravy, so we all went to the table. I took a piece of turkey, had some mashed potatos, then went for the stuffing. OH MY GOD! The stuffing was a huge casserole dish full of dried bread cubes just stuck together. Skip that. So, I figure - how can you screw up cranberry relish?

Me: "Where is the cranberry sauce", I asked politely.

Big Rita: "Here it is", declared Big Rita as she handed me a plate of canned cranberry sauce.

Man - what a disaster. It was really a lousy dinner. But, ya know what? Even though it was probably one of the worst dinners of my life, it was a wonderful Thanksgiving. We ate and laughed and my brother-in-law, Biggy Mike, told a few of his hilarious off-color jokes. We did the dished together and laughed and I sang a few songs really loud along with my sister-in-law, Vick.

Thanksgiving is all about relationships - not about the food. It's all about the family and the children and reaching out to be kind to one another. It's thinking about those less fortunate than we are and giving so much thanks for our blessings. I hope yours was as nice.

Love

(Damn - I was SO looking forward to a nice plate of stuffing.)

Now I am depressed.....

I was so happy when I got up this morning. I had a whole list of errands to do and I started out early. I skipped right along - a new drivers license in record time, only car at the drive-through at the bank. First person in line at the post office, no one but me at the UPS store. Hardly anyone at Dick's. Then I went to Kohls. I needed a new purse for the longest time. I walked in and browsed around for a bit. I looked at underwear, sheets, baby socks - whatever. Finally, I went to the handbag section and started to scope it out. I peeked inside a bunch of them, felt all the leather, measured the straps, checked to see how many pockets there were inside....... I was in purse heaven. I finally made my selection - see my new purse!!! Isn't it a beaut!

I was so happy to finally find one that I can live with. I even saved my Kohls store credit slip from a previous return just for this occasion. I walked proudly with my new bag and was the first in line to check out. The purse was 50% off today and my return credit was worth $16.87. What a banner day!!! Then it happened. The salesperson looked up and asked "Ma'm, are you considered a senior citizen?" I was horrified. "Yes, I am", I said matter-of-factly (even though I am not - YET, anyway!). She took an additional 15% off of the price making the final price only $6.58. I should have been thrilled with the final cost. The whole day sucks now..............

Love

One of these days I will get the gist of this editing so that I don't have all these damn spaces.