M-I-C-K-E-Y......

Ugh....not going to go into details, but today was "one of those days".  I'm sure you have been there too.  Instead of sitting in my sorrow, I decided to flip through some pictures, and I came across this one.  This one makes me smile, but also makes me a bit sad because she is no longer this little girl.  Sure, she gets excited when we see Mickey Mouse, but she will never be as excited as she was this day.  This was taken January 2007, and it was her 2nd trip to Disney World.  You just can't bottle this type of excitement!

Not My Proudest Moments......

Alright...I am going to admit five things that I have done and that I am not all that proud off...but at the same time, I'm not ashamed of them either.  Think what you want people.  Who are you to judge?    
  

1)     I have played the “I Had Cancer” card to get better seats at a Bruce Springsteen concert.  I even showed the usher the scar on my neck to drive the point home.  It worked – we got great seats for one of his last concerts at the Spectrum.

2)    I have played the “I’m Pregnant” card to get better parking at a Phillies game.  Granted, I was seven months pregnant at the time, but I was in perfect health.  I just didn’t want to have to walk to the stadium.  I gave the parking attendant a sad look, and he waved us through to the handicap lot.

3)      I have played the “My Mom Passed Away 8 Weeks Before My Wedding” card to get a better deal on a new car. 

4)    I have played the “I Had Cancer” card to get others to do my dirty work.  Dirty work in this case means I didn’t want to walk to the bar to get a beer.  I was simply being lazy, and asked my cousin “F” to get me a beer.  He said no….I said the word cancer….and off he scurried.

5)     I once wore a knee brace at Disney World, which enabled me to jump to the front of the line after a cast member expressed concern that I would be standing too long.  Disclaimer: I did this for one ride, and felt so guilty, I took the brace off and dealt with my pain for the rest of the day.

Everyone has moments like this.  Now is the time to come clean…..

Tasty Thursday

Brother-in-Law #1 LOVES this dessert.  Brother-in-Law #2 HATES this dessert.  I'll let you decide. 

Peanut Butter Pie

1 graham cracker pie crust
1 container Cool Whip, thawed
1 block cream cheese, softened
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup creamy peanut butter

Mix cream cheese and milk until well combined.  Add peanut butter, and continue to mix.  Add cool whip, and again, mix until until combined.  Pour mixture into the pie shell.  Freeze for 4 hours.

Super easy, right?  I'm telling you....my husband's family loves this. 

You wanna know what I love?

Love him.

Come Back Urkel...I Miss You

What the hell happened to family television? 

Why am I forced to watch iCarly, and Wizards of Waverly Place, and Good Luck Charlie?  Why is is okay to portray kids as being smarter than the adults.  Every adult character on those shows are morons.  Why are we okay with that?

Are teens having as much sex as the characters are on The Secret Life of the American Teenager? That show is like soft porn for high school students.  I'm not a prude by any means, but my word.

Reality shows blow.  I hate American Idol, America's Got Talent (although I will watch it now that Stern is a judge), Dancing With the Stars, So You Think You Can Dance, The Voice, and so on, and so on, and so on.  I despise all reality shows....except for Extreme Couponing and Dance Moms.  Yeah, you caught me.  Those are my secret vice.

Why aren't there any family shows on from 8-9 pm that my entire family can enjoy together?  What happened to Uncle Jesse, Urkel, The Seavers, Kevin and Winnie, and the Keatons?  Where is John Boy?  How about Cousin Larry?  Remember when the Huxtables would put on a show for their grandparents anniversary?  Alf and Willie?

I guess I just have to wait for them to come on air later today on Nick at Nite.

Tasty Thursday

You might know Thursdays as "Thisty Thursday" but I'm calling it "Tasty Thursday".

My mom made terrific spaghetti sauce, using tomatoes that she grew in our backyard.  She grew tomatoes, green peppers, and cucumbers in our city backyard -- so don't ever use the excuse that you don't have enough space to grow fresh food.  You can use my excuse...rabbits.  We don't have a garden because the damn rabbits and ground hogs in our yard.  Ask my husband what happened the first time I saw a ground hog in our yard.  It happened the day we moved him.  Go ahead and ask him.

What was I talking about?  Oh yeah, my mom's sauce.  It was so good, and I never learned how to make it.  I never stood next to her at the stove to see how she did it. I'm pretty sure that she would say I was in her way.  I found a recipe in a church cookbook years ago that I adapted for my family, and I make that often.  But it's not my mom's.  I never learned how to make her "chicken thing".  It was a casserole made with chicken breast, noodles, soup, and some other stuff.  You might think you know how to make it, and invite me over to try it.  I'll politely eat it and tell you it was tasty, but it won't be the same.

You know what I learned to make from her?  Meat Loaf.  You know what I hate more than anything in the world?  Meat Loaf.  Several months before my wedding, I asked her to show me how to make the meal for by future husband.  I wanted to be able to cook for him just like she cooked for me, and he liked meat loaf.  We spent a Sunday afternoon in the kitchen together, cracking eggs, adding breadcrumbs, mixing the meat with our bare hands.  Yuck.  I took that gross mixture and formed a football size mound on the pan, and surrounded it with potatoes.  After an hour of waiting, we sat down for dinner, and you know what?  It wasn't bad.  I knew that I would be able to make at least one meal for my man.  I looked forward to more Sundays like that -- learning more recipes.  Unfortunately, that didn't happen because as you know, my mother passed away suddenly before my wedding (ask me about how I used that to get a deal on a new car....no lie).

The last time I made mom's meatloaf?  It was that particular Sunday.  I didn't want to deny my man meatloaf, so I found this recipe.  This one was in the rotation quite often, and I would even eat it.  It's not my mom's, but it's mine.  And someday it will be my daughter's.  Someday it will, and someday probably means in 20 years.  She doesn't eat anything right now except noodles.  But we'll leave that for another day.

Cheeseburger Meatloaf 

• 2 lbs ground beef
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup worcestershire sauce
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup crushed butter crackers
• 10 slices white bread
• 8 slices American cheese
• Salt, pepper, and garlic (to taste)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Mix all ingredients except the bread slices and cheese slices well.  Place the bread slices on cookie sheet.  Shape the mixture into a football, and place the football on top of the bread slices.  Bake for 45 minutes.  Remove, and top with American Cheese slices.  Return to move, and cook for 15 more minutes.  The bread soaks up the grease and should be thrown away before eating.  This is really good with tater tots.

Give it a try, and let me know how it goes over in your house.  I'll also be waiting for invite to try your "chicken thing".

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie

When we bought our house nine years ago, the first thing we wanted to do was finish our basement.  We had huge plans.  We wanted a home theater, game room, and a bar.  We debated whether we wanted a bubble hockey table or a pool table.  The home theater was going to have large leather recliners, and the lights would dim just as the movie started.  Our bar would be a gathering place for everyone, and my husband would pour from the tap.

We finished the basement just about the same thing our daughter was old enough to get large and cumbersome toys.  Remember that game room we dreamed about?  It’s full of Barbies, Disney Cars, and Tea Cup Pigs.  No hockey or pool table.  Just toys.

The home theater?  We were fortunate enough to do that.  It doesn’t have recliners or lights, but we do have a kickass projector and screen.   Here’s the bad thing: We don’t use it. 

The bar is awesome.  My husband and my father-in-law did a great job.  There is enough room for four people to belly on up.  Plus there’s the pub table that invites two people to sit and enjoy a drink.  It’s the perfect room.  What’s the problem ?  First, we rarely entertain, and when we do, people stick to the kitchen.  No one ventures to the basement.   This could be the reason we are currently redoing our kitchen. Second, it’s decorated with Eagles paraphernalia – none of it current.  There’s a McNabb cut out in the corner, a poster of Dawkins on the wall, a photo of the 2004 team taken at the Super Bowl.  It’s a room full of losers (and I’m pulling out of here to win).

Want to know what the bar gets used for the most?  Storing Girl Scout cookies.  There are currently 40 cases of cookies sitting on top of the bar, and 20 more on the floor.  If you wanted to share a beer with us, you would to get a cold one out of the fridge in the garage, walk down to the basement, climb over pigs and dolls, and then find a seat in the theater room.  You want some Thin Mints with that Miller Light?  It’s $3.50 please.

The kitchen remodel is under way.  It already looks great, and I know once it is complete it will be beautiful.  I also know that once it’s complete, everyone will start to go to the basement to hang out, and my husband will be on to fix up the next room.  It’s like the kids book “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie”…..”If you remodel the kitchen, then you are going to want to remodel the family room.  And if you remodel the family room, then you will want to fix up the living room”.

Seriously – you want a box of cookies?

Cookie Cocktail

½ cup ice

1 oz coffe liquer

1 oz peppermint schnapps

Scoop vanilla or chocolate ice cream

Add all ingredients to your blender, and blend it until everything is smooth.  You can add some milk or more ice cream to adjust the thickness.  Top with a Thin Mint, and enjoy.

This Post Brought To You By The Number 15

If I woke up 15 minutes earlier each day, I would be able to flat iron my hair.  That's all it would take.  Instead, I hit snooze 3 times and struggle to go back to sleep.  I rush to get a shower (shave or not shave?) and allow my hair to dry on its own.  That means I allow it to become a hot mess.

If I spent 15 minutes each night making lunches, I wouldn't be rushing around the kitchen each morning with a a wet head.

I lost 15 pounds last October, and I am pretty sure I just found it this week.  Damn pants....

If I woke my daughter up 15 minutes earlier each morning, I'm pretty sure our hair brushing arguments would be kept at a minimum.

I spend about $15 each month on magazines -- all kinds and all varieties.  Cooking magazines?  Got 'em.  Sports?  Love 'em.  Mens?  We get 'em, and I read them before the hubby does.  My kid just got her first issue of Girls Life.  This month's was pretty good.

I own 15 Phillies baseball hats.  Actually, I'm sure I have more but I stopped counting at 15. 

I am 15 minutes late for (that place which should not named) each day.

School House Rocks lied.  3 is not the magic number.  It's 15.