The toaster oven and I are not friends. Lately it seems as though whenever I put something involving a piece of bread in the toaster oven I burn it. Last week I prepped some pretty awesome looking garlic bread, complete with butter I made flavored with Italian seasoning and Parmesan cheese, popped it in the toaster oven, turned on the broil, then next thing I knew it was burnt. Sigh...
Today I was heating up a left-over pasta dish for lunch and thought I would make some toast to go with it. I ended up burning THREE pieces of bread. Evidently toast is a very difficult food to make. .
I guess I just cannot be trusted with a complicated kitchen appliance like a Toaster Oven.
This whole disorder may or may not have something in common with the fact that I almost always burned one side of the kids' grilled cheese sandwiches when they were growing up
I know I have gushed and gushed and gushed (and gushed) about my hubby on this blog. I know that gives the impression we have a peachy-keen marriage. (Yes, I used the term peachy-keen.) So what I have to say may come as a shock to some of my readers.
Sometimes our marriage is kinda like a moldy peach. (Oh, these fruit analogies just might not be working.)
What I mean to say is, sometimes our marriage can be ugly.
Earlier this week was an example of that. I won't go into detail. That's not something I do. (We both remember advice we were given during our premarital counseling sessions to be aware of how we speak about each other to other people.)
I'll summarize it by saying we had a fight and I pouted. A lot. For too long. The next day I knew I needed to apologize. I was out running errands and thought I should leave a candy bar with a note in his car at his work. As I was thinking about what I would write, an idea came to me.
Here's the note with the candy bar I left on the front seat of his car:
(The note reads: I'm sorry for being such a turd.)
Please, some one out there tell me they know the movie from 1980 that involved this candy bar being mistook for something other than a candy bar... anybody?? Go to this link to watch the scene and tell me if you know.
By the way, Hubby says it made him smile and agreed that it was the best apology ever. He ate the candy bar and thought about it being a turd the whole time. :)
When I was a little girl I thought I had magical powers. Powers to make the little blue light on the dashboard of the car to appear and disappear.
Let me explain.
We made a lot of road trips when I was little, and with four kids, my parents tried all sorts of ways to keep us entertained:
Looking for White Horses (and got a dime for every one we spotted that was verified.)(I also learned the definition of verified on a road trip)
The Alphabet Game
Looking Out The Window
Sleeping
Playing with my Etch-A-Sketch
Reading
Learning the difference between Herefords and Angus cattle
Singing great songs like "There's a Hole in the Bucket, Dear Liza"
Magic Light On, Magic Light Off
The last one? Oh , it was magical!
When we would drive after dark, I would notice a blue light on the dashboard going on and off at random times. Somewhere along the line I decided it was a Magic Light.
(Back in the day my parents had a car that was a regular 4-door sedan. Two bench seats. With 6 people in the family we would ride three in front, three in back. Being the youngest, I most often was in the front seat between Mom and Dad. From there I had a great view of the dashboard.)
Somewhere along the line I thought I had the powers to control that light. I'd say, "Magic Light on!" and it would come on. I'd say "Magic Light off!" and it would turn off. My dad's hands would never move from the steering wheel. Amazing stuff.
Today I saw this video. That was it. I knew The Force Was With Me when I was a little girl controlling that Magic Light.
In preparation for our move, I've been trying to use up the food we have in the freezer. I had two items I thought I would combine. A frozen pie crust and two cups of shredded zucchini. I searched around on the Internet until I found a recipe I thought sounded good.
A Zucchini Quiche. Perfect!
It would use up some of the eggs I have on hand as well. The recipe also called for a herbed mayonnaise I thought sounded really good. After I mixed all the ingredients together, I was having second thoughts.
I was right to have second thoughts. It was awful.
It tasted like baked mayonnaise with Swiss cheese and a little garlic. We both tried a couple of bites and oh, how I wish I had a picture of my hubby's face! We were laughing so hard, the tears started coming.
So this is what we did next:
We headed to the grocery store to find Plan B.
Yeah for PFChang's frozen meals. It was much better.
I love to try new recipes and I'm not afraid to try them when we have company. The quiche is one meal I'm glad I didn't try for company.
I am sad to say that I found a video that describes my brain lately. Please watch this short video, then you will understand. (Sorry that the screen is chopped off, I think you get the gist of it still. You can click on the bottom part of the screen and it will jump you over to YouTube if you want the full effect.)
Today is my birthday. Only a couple of hours left. I thought I would post a picture of my favorite and most unique present.
Yesterday a friend asked me if I was missing a skeleton key. I said yes and started laughing. This key went missing about 10 months ago from a side table we have in our entryway. It turns out that her 3 year old took it last winter when they were here for a potluck one night. They came across it the other day as they were sorting through their toys in their house. My friend asked her three year old where it came from and she remembered right away and said, "It's Judy's key!"(You know, it's just the right height for a three year old to look at and get curious about.)
I was handed the key all wrapped this morning at church.
I have been collecting pictures of funny or puzzling signs for several months.
Yes, I am always looking for ideas for a blog post.
It's a gift and a curse. (And kind of fun.)
This sign is in downtown Lawrence, KS. I just don't understand what a "Magic Carpet Traveler" is. Any ideas?
This was found in a major department store. I really don't know what Men's Collections and Furnishings are...
These two restaurants right next to each other and the run-on signs make me laugh. I wonder what kind of food they serve.
I know this isn't really a sign, but it fits in this post anyway. (Besides, this is my blog and I can make up the rules!) Caleb and I like to check out the TV guide to see what interesting combos come up. (Yes we are entertained easily.) (And I'm perfectly fine with that.) So on this TV screen shot are a couple of good ones: Titanic: The Dog Whisper, and my personal favorite: What Not to Say Yes To. (I think that could be a show that could have some potential.)
From a rest area/gas station/convenience store in Kansas:
I hope you have been thoroughly entertained this Monday morning.
When the hubby and I went on our mini get-away for out anniversary, we did a little wandering through a few stores. Hubby even went to a quilt shop with me! He's a gem.
I found this awesome sign in a home decor store. I laughed when I saw it and had to grab my camera. When we were kids we would watch The Wizard of Oz every year on TV. (Note I said every year.) Every year the moment the flying monkeys came on my dad would come yelling and running down the stairs and every year we would jump and scream...
I am a huge fan of Mary Engelbreit and her art. Over the years I have bought many of her monthly calendars and the 365 daily calendars. I have a hard time parting with some of the pages from the calendars. My bulletin board in my sewing room is basically framed in them. The following has got to be my all time favorite:
If I did not wear torn pants, orthopedic shoes, frantic disheveled hair, that is to say, if I did not tone down my beauty, people would go mad. Married men would run amuck.
I parked behind this car when I wet nt to the grocery store last week. I am quite puzzled. Is someone out there such a fan of beef jerky that the WHOLE car needs to be covered in this? I'm baffled. :)
Last time we were in Lawrence we ate at a Thai restaurant. We stood there looking at the menu kind of wondering was what in each dish. Some we could basically figure it out, you know, Chicken w/ Basil Leaves, Scallops in Garlic Sauce.
Then I saw #93
Any ideas of what exactly would be in a Happy Family dish?
A few weeks ago I watched a friend's kids for a couple of hours. I was trying to read some books to the very busy three year old to keep her from getting into trouble. One of the books she handed to me was Hansel & Gretel. What kind of a children's story is this? There is child abandonment, kidnapping, murder, stealing, cannibalism. Not to mention a father who was not in control of his family. Have you read Hansel & Gretel lately? Go here to read it and imagine reading it to a three year old. I found this play-set on Amazon.UK. Really? A toy to promote child abandonment, kidnapping, murder, stealing, cannibalism? Just so strange to me. What on earth were the Brothers Grimm thinking when this became a children's story?
I guess you can tell I never read those stories to my children.
After we were done, I told my little that was a silly book and to find one that was happy. So we read a book about Elmo. Much better. Whew. A red fuzzy.....ummm....thing. (What is Elmo anyway?)
So I guess my theory on not being able to function well enough to do laundry early in the morning isn't always true.
I put a load of laundry in today at 10:30am (when the brain is supposed to be awake....) and about an hour later I realized I hadn't put any soap in. So what was my excuse this time???
I've been thinking about the saying, "The early bird gets the worm." I am doubting that it really works that way. It certainly doesn't for me.
Not that I'm looking for worms or anything.
I have yet to see the advantage of getting up early. The other morning I was up by 5:30. (oh-dark-30) Just couldn't sleep any more. Now any of you who know me, will find that VERY strange... I love my sleep more than the next person, especially to sleep-in in the morning. So since I was up, I decided to get a jump start on the laundry and maybe have it done before noon. So I tossed a load in. Not until after the whole load was done, after I had taken a nap because I was tired after getting up so early, did I realize that I never put any soap in the washing machine! So I had to run the whole load again. I think I was done with laundry that day by 3 pm.
So much for getting things done early.
Does the early bird really get the worm? Or is she so foggy-brained that she forgets what she doing out there hopping along the grass and stops for a nap? I can't even begin to count how many times I have forgotten to tell my kids something important before they go off to school. It's inevitable that about 10am I remember everything, but it's too late since the kids have been in school for 2 1/2 hours. 10am is the magic hour for me. My brain finally clears and I'm ready to conquer the day, unless of course I've gotten up too early and have to take a nap before lunch...
One who is nerdy, and not in a bad way. A goof and fun to joke around with. Someone who is just slightly off kilter enough that it makes them fun and adorable.
So there. I am allowed to make up my own definitions to words. :P
So why is it that the one morning in the last week it would have been okay to wake up early, I sleep until my alarm instead of waking up at 4 or 5am like I have been doing? Frustrating. We are headed to Kansas today to visit Caleb at KU! Megan is going to do a college visit to see of that's where she wants to go to college. And we get to visit two of my favorite people, Pete's aunt and uncle. Should be a fun weekend! Now if we could just shorten the 8 hour drive.... Maybe I can sleep in the car. Maybe I'm smokin' something. :o)
