Kelloggs Snow

Today after a nice lunch at a tea room with my boss, we went outside and it was snowing white cornflakes! The snow was beautiful.....ginormous flakes. There was a nice accumulation by the time I got off work, but they will be gone tomorrow. The temp is supposed to be in the 40's. The kids are sad about that.

Why does it get so quiet when it snows? Have you noticed that?

A Doozie Cake

I worked all night on this in honor of Doozie....I hope you like it!!

Happy Birthday DOOOOOOOZIE!!!!

Hold on to your socks!

My daughter, my luckiest-daughter-in-the-room, gets to go see these guys at the end of Feb with a friend from school. Don't be jealous.

She is counting the hours, planning what to wear, what to say when she meets them. (Yes she fully intends and expects to meet them) She knows all the words to their songs, and knows every freckle on Kevin's face, every dimple on Joe's face and every curl in Nick's hair. Her walls are plastered with their faces. This should put a smile on her face for a loooooong time.

On a good note, these young men seem to be a good thing. You don't hear their names in the news for "bad behaviour". They have several videos on YouTube that are just hilarious to my teen. All in all, a good group for her to listen to and dream of meeting.

"Anything is possible with God Mom. They might be having a meet-and-greet and maybe we can meet them."

I imagine she would be speechless if she actually met them. Could she think of something funny to say?? Would she go weak in the knees? Would her tongue swell up? Would the room suddenly get very hot and stuffy?

We can only hope.

Mother of the Year Award & Not So Snow Day

Mother of the Year Award goes to Aunt Josefina of Oklahoma!!

Tuesday morning I knew it was going to be cold here in Oklahoma and possibly a sprinkling of snow overnight. I peeked outside first thing to assess the situation. I saw ice droplets on my windshield but no snow on the ground. "OK I thought, nothing to worry about. I'll just warm the car up longer, bundle Carly up and maybe drop her off at the front door. " Off we went, having no problems other than on the front porch which always has a small patch of ice in winter because it gets no direct sunlight. No biggie. On our journey to educationland we pass the two boys I have lovingly named Pocket Boy and Tall Guy. (Pocket Boy never wears a jacket or coat and walks with his hands stuffed in his jeans pockets...and Tall Guy, well that is self explanatory) PB and TG were walking toward home not school. "Hmmm I wonder what those boys are doing, did they forget something?....Haha or their is no school and we don't know....surely not. Wait...there is very little traffic today come to think of it.....OMG there is no one at the school! THERE IS NO SCHOOL TODAY! I am the worst mother! Why isn't there school today? There is no snow and only a little smidgen of ice! What weinies! Great now I am going to be late for work. What are the girls going to do all day? I wonder how loud Uncle Joe will cry when he realizes he has to stay home with the girls another day? I have gotta get a tv in my room to keep up with these things."

So I turned around and took Carly home to her Daddy and sister who were up enjoying a spot of breakfast. They had no clue either. Thank goodness they went to Nana and Papa's later to break up the monotony of being home all day on a Not So Snow Day.

The next day Cassidy called me as I was driving to work. She was upset because there was actually going to be school on Wednesday. She said, "But we PRAYED Mom! We prayed for no school and last year it worked!"

Oh, the joys of parenthood and winter weather in Oklahoma.

I'm just sayin'

Today I went to the bank drive thru and because of the freezing wind chill, my window was frozen shut so I had to pull up a bit and open my door to use the ....the sucky thing that takes your bag. (what the heck is that thing called anyway? vacuum tube receptacle holder Uncle Joe tells me.) Any way I had a full view of the tellers processing my transaction.

I was watching in horror as the teller that counted my deposit kept moistening her fingers on her bottom lip. She didn't lick her finger/thumb like most people, but kept flipping her bottom lip to touch the inside of her lip. I was mesmerized and grossed out at the same time. It looked silly!

Doesn't she know that money is filthy!? Doesn't she know there are horrible germs and dirt on money? Doesn't she know that I don't want her spittle on MY money?? Doesn't she know they make "SortKwik"?

I am sure there had to be some there so why didn't she partake of the SortKwik? Was there some shortage? A SortKwik coup?

How can I annonymously give her some? I would be on tape if I drive through. Maybe I could mail her some.

I think this is one of my pet peeves don't you?? Maybe I am just spit sensitive after working the front desk of a medical facility. I have to touch drivers licenses and insurance cards that people have licked their fingers to get out of their wallet. I grab them on the sides. (and keep the hand sanitizer close by) I have ingested more germs hurled at me via an unprotected cough or sigh than I even want to think about.

I think I need a long hot... very hot shower now, and some Listerine.

Late Night Laughs

Last night, Charlie White Sox Pesednick Joe, our cat got left inside most of the night. I say most of the night because at 3:50am he came to our bedroom meowing.

"Meooow" translated: I need out.
"Meooow" translated: NOW.
"Meow" translated:Grown up lady who lives here, LET ME OUT!

I awoke as did Joe, but since Charlie was on my side of the bed, I picked him up to take him to the door. On my way down the hall, I sleepily looked down and saw a pile of brown. I thought: Great. The cat took a dump on the carpet right outside our bedroom door. Oh well I can't be mad at him because we left him in.... I'll grab a papertowel on my way back and clean that up.

I got said papertowel and was contemplating which cleaner to use and I bent down and picked up a pile of ....tan knee-high panty hose.

I had a good laugh at 3:51am this morning.:o)

Scrub a Dub Dub

I went to the mall at Christmas-time and used a great hand scrub that made my hands soft for 2 days! I wasn't about to pay $40 for a tub of it, so I started googling and found a homemade recipe that I modified to suit my olfactory likes and would like to share it with you.


~SuSu's Salty Scrub~



3 cups Sea Salt (I used Hain, pictured below)









1 cup of oil (I used a combination of the following oils)

~Play with the combination and use your favorites~
2 ounces sweet almond oil
2 ounces vitamin E oil
2 ounces olive oil

2 ounces avacado oil

tea tree oil (just a drop or two)
oil scent of your liking (I used honey almond YUM!)

Stir together and store in an airtight container.

Note: I also tried a blend of epsom salt and sea salt. It was not as abrasive as sea salt alone. I think I like Sea Salt alone, but if you have sensitive skin, epsom salt may be for you.

Use about 1 1/2 teaspoon full and rub all over your dry hands. Rinse with warm water and pat your hands dry. Do not wash. Allow the oil to soak in your hands. This can be used all over your body except your face.

Fabuloso Food and Pharmacy Miracles

This is what I had for dinner. Uncle Joe and I went out for a nice adults only dinner with ourselves. I think that is called a "date". We don't get to do it too much these days, so the idea was kind of foggy.

We went to a local Italian ristorante called Johnny V's. Their food is very good, very affordable and very plentiful. When your meal comes your eyes grow to the size of saucers...."You expect me to eat all that??!!" Immediately you are envisioning your lunch and supper tomorrow.

I had spaghetti carbonara and it was very tasty. The only carbonara I had eaten to this point was Lean Cuisine, so this was a huge treat. Literally. I ate about 1/4 of the plateful of food. We have enough for all of us to eat again for one meal.

We had wanted to go to a movie too, but our wait at the ristorante was quite long and we would have had to go to the late show. Carlyjo was our babysitter and we didn't want to overdo it our first run with her and CassiJo home alone. :o)

I did however squeeze in a short Walmart run. Our family needs several medications on a monthly basis. Let me just say that Walmart is saving me a boatload of money with their $4 perscription plan. If you take a lot of medications it is worth it to check it out. It is great for me because I can pick the rx's up at my convenience and not have to work around the employee pharmacy at the hospital where our rx's are usually filled. Some of our meds had to be changed because our insurance had made them "nonpreferred" or worse "noncovered". GREAT. Our copay's went up too, so the $4 rx fills are cheaper than my copay. That is just wrong. I try really hard not to complain because our premiums are cheaper than other plans and it has been good for us up to this point. (OK I'll shut up)

Have a great weekendn y'all and in the immortal words of Larry the Cable Guy and GroovyMom: GIT-R-DONE!!

All I have to say today is

Happy P.O.E.T.S. Day

and

Everyone seems normal until you get to know them. (Some famous person said that but I don't remember who...is that still plagarism??)

Thank God It Is Friday. This has been a hard weird week at work.


Thank you and now we will return you to your regularly scheduled progamming.

All I have to say today is......

God bless whoever invented silicone ear plugs.

Peeps Choice

Yay to Queen Latifah for pulling off a great show. It took me a few minutes to realize why the show looked so different.....and quiet.

Here is a list of the winners in case you missed it.
~People's Choice ~
• Female TV star: Katherine Heigl (I think she is SO beautiful!)
• Male TV star: Patrick Dempsey (I watched Can't Buy Me Love this winter and he has grown up so nicely!)
• Talk show host: Ellen DeGeneres (I don't get to watch her show much, but it looks funny!)
• Scene stealer: Chandra Wilson (How can you NOT love her?)
• TV drama: "House" (I work with a doc just like House. I don't need the show)
• TV comedy: "Two and a Half Men" (haven't seen much of this one either)
• Reality show: "Dancing With the Stars" (A great idea!)
• Game show: "Deal or No Deal" (Howie is the only reason I watch this one. I love the soul patch!)
• Sci-fi show: "Stargate Atlantis"
• Animated TV show: "The Simpsons" ( I may be a stick in the mud, but I don't care for this show)
• Female movie star: Reese Witherspoon (An absolute doll....she will be around a long time.)
• Male movie star: Johnny Depp (That Johnny Depp, he's one fine actor! And easy on the eyes)
• Leading lady: Drew Barrymore ( I would like to see her in more movies)
• Leading man: Joaquin Phoenix (I am glad he has been succesful. He is a great actor. I loved his brother, River)
• Female action star: Keira Knightley (Gotta love Keira, but for goodness sake, have a cheez burger!)
• Male action star: Matt Damon (Looks like the guy next door, who doesn't like Matt? What a smile!)
• On-screen match-up: George Clooney and Brad Pitt (sad to say I haven't seen any of the Ocean movies, but how could you go wrong with those two?)
• Movie: "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" (I must put this on my t0-do list)
• Movie drama: "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" (i have no response to this)
• Movie comedy: "Knocked Up" (glad I aint!)
• Action movie: "The Bourne Ultimatum" (on the edge of my seat the whole time!)
• Family movie: "Shrek the Third" (i don't care who you are, farts are funny)
• "Threequel": "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" (...going to Blockbuster now.....)
• Independent movie: "Becoming Jane" (sounds like a good movie......what do you think Carol?)
• Female singer: Gwen Stefani ( I don't listen to a lot of her music, but she is beautiful......)
• Male singer: Justin Timberlake ( He brought sexy back)
• Group: Rascal Flatts ( THEY ARE GREAT!)
• Pop song: Justin Timberlake, "What Goes Around ... Comes Around" (duh I knew that!)
• Rock song: Daughtry, "Home" (Go Daughtry!)
• Country song: Rascal Flatts, "Stand" (oh yea.....)
• Hip-hop song: Timbaland featuring Nelly Furtado and Justin Timberlake, "Give it to Me" (never heard it)
• R&B song: Rhianna, "Shut Up & Drive" (well ok)
• Song from a soundtrack: "You Can't Stop the Beat" from "Hairspray" ( Hairspray.....it's a good thing!)
• Reunion tour: The Police (I wish.......)
• Funny male: Robin Williams (gets better with age )
• Funny female: Ellen DeGeneres (I loved the American Express commercial with all the animals)

Just doing my part to keep you up to date on what is goin on in the world....with or without writers.

Thank you and good night.

Electric Light Orchestra

Wow we sure paid for the great weather we had this weekend. See Uncle Joes post about it: here

He had gone to Peggs OK, to watch an OU football game with a friend and unbeknownst to them drove straight into a tornadic thunder storm. The storm was so bad they didn't get to watch the game because the weather men were on television the whole time. (they did however have some good snacks!)

Meanwhile back at home, we were watching an electric show. I saw so much lightening here it looked like strobe lights. It was constant for hours. I had never seen it like that. Thankfully there were no damaging thunderstorms here. Poor Cassidy was terrified to go to sleep. She hates thunderstorms. Thankfully she slept through the rest of the light show.

Of course I (and Carly) couldn't sleep knowing our Sweetie Daddy was out in that storm so we were awake until he got home 'bout midnight. I am very tired this morning and don't really feel like being up, but I gotta go bring home some bacon and fry it up in a pan. ........'cause I'm a WOMAN......ENJOLI!!

*Yawn*

Beware This a LOOOONG (and likely boring) Post

I wasn't really tagged by anyone but Leslee invited anyone who wanted to play to join in, so I did. I don't want to be left out. Apparently the month in which I was born says a lot about me. I agree with Emma that the month I was conceived in says more. I was born exactly 8 months and 2 weeks to the day from when my father walked in the door from basic training in the Army. He jokes and says "The second thing I did was put down my bags."

Any way here goes:

FEBRUARY:
Abstract thoughts. Nope not really
Loves reality and abstract. I know this: I hate reality shows.
Intelligent and clever. I am a little of both despite what people say about me. I may be intelligent, but it is cancelled out by ditzy.
Changing personality. Oh yea. I feel like a chaotic person inside sometimes. I wear lots of different hats for what ever the occasion requires. I like to fit in so I can change to mingle a bit easier
Attractive. Well there must have been something attractive about me at some time in my life because I married the sweetest man I had ever met.
Sexy. I like to call myself "A Closet Naughty" (but I cannot talk dirty....it makes me laugh)
Temperamental. Who Me?? I feel tempermental, but try to keep it in.
Quiet, shy and humble. If I say I am humble doesn't that mean I am not??
Honest and loyal. I try very hard to be honest. I am a terrible liar so that makes it pretty easy.
Determined to reach goals. I wish I was more determined. I have good intentions but have a hard time seeing things through to the very end.
Loves freedom. At my job I love the freedom I have to do what I think needs to be done, but I also like having guidelines and deadlines.....structure to keep me on task working towards the finish.
Rebellious when restricted. Well come to think of it. Once when Uncle Joe and I first got married we were 'rasslin and he got on top of me and held my wrists down so I couldn't move. I think I turned into a tazmanian devil when I couldn't move. We laugh about it now......
Loves aggressiveness. Exept for when I can't move (see above)
Too sensitive and easilyhurt. Oh yes! It isn't as bad now, but I do get hurt very easily especially by the ones I love. Most times it is perceived.
Gets angry really easily but does not show it. I will refer to the Corn Muffin Incident of 2006. Joe and I had had a "discussion" and I thought we were done. Well I got alone with nothing but my thoughts and they overtook me. When I came back into the room where he was I was mad again and couldn't really say anything.....so I threw a corn muffin at him. I felt much better after that.
Dislikes unnecessarythings. After having 2 children who love little bitty toys of all sorts I have become a disliker-of-unnecesary things like the 800th pair of Barbie shoes or the 78th Happy Meal toy...you get the idea.
Loves making friends but rarely shows it. I love friends and I love making friends. (my old friends are like my favorite quilt) I don't get nearly as many opportunities that I would like to though.
Daring and stubborn. I am my father's daughter......and he is as stubborn as the day is long. I am not daring though. I am very cautious and make calculated moves.
Ambitious. Not enough. I could stand more in my opinion.....but I am a hard worker.
Realizes dreams and hopes. Not really.....but it is fun to have them any way.
Sharp. I am very curvy and soft.
Loves entertainment and leisure. You have got to be kidding. Of course!! My GNO with Carol two weeks ago was SO great. We leezed and entertained for 26 glorious hours! (next time there will be mani/pedicures and a long soak in a hot tub at her house!)
Romantic on the inside not outside. I have all these grand romantical ideas but feel silly about them now. I am too old to be acting that way! When I was woo'ing Uncle Joe we made each other all kinds of sweet romantic things....letters pictures, activities and services. *sigh* Remember Joe??
Superstitious and ludicrous. Aren't they some rap singers? I can't rap.
Spendthrift. Ask Doozie, Clarence is my best friend. I know where he hides in all my favorite stores. He always has good deals for me.
Tries to learn to show emotions. Well I actually need to learn to show my emotion more constructively and without fear of rejection. They are my feelings and I am entitled to feel them right?

Let me see what the month of Joe's birth says about him in my opinion.

MAY:
Stubborn and hard-hearted. YES
Strong-willed and highly motivated. YES
Sharpthoughts. YES
Easily angered. YES
Attracts others and loves attention. YES and NO
Deepfeelings. VERY DEEP
Beautiful physically and mentally. Of course! ( I love to watch him in his Batsuit)
Firm Standpoint. YES
Needs no motivation. well.....sometimes.
Easily consoled.
Systematic (left brain). actually no he is right brained
Loves to dream. YES
Strong clairvoyance. FREAKY YES
Understanding. He is the one all people go to for advice.
Sickness usually in the ear and neck. Not so much......
Good imagination. The girls used to love him to "tell a story from your mouth" when he put them to bed. His stories are funny!
Good physical. Hellooo....Batman!
Weak breathing. Except when he snores then he can peel the paint off the walls
Loves literature and the arts. I will say yes
Loves traveling. We don't travel near enough but he is up for a good road trip
Dislike being at home. Nooooo....he has gotten used to it by now.
Restless. No he is restFULL
Not having many children. Two is plenty right?
Hardworking. Fast working I hear.....
High spirited. Sometimes
Spendthrift. Except when it comes to shoes and guitars

Here is Carly:
NOVEMBER:
Has a lot of ideas. YES
Difficult to fathom. She is a teenaged girl...duh.
Thinks forward. Especially about the boy that sits in front of her
Uniqueand brilliant. YES!!
Extraordinary ideas. YES
Sharp thinking. hope so
Fine and strong clairvoyance. not important
Can become good doctors.
Dynamic in personality. yes
Secretive. Teenaged girl....yes
Inquisitive. Mom? Mom? Mom? OH MY GOODNESS HOW MANY QUESTIONS CAN YOU ASK ME IN ONE DAY CHILD?
Knows how to dig secrets. She is relentless
Always thinking. Aren't we all?
Less talkative but amiable. I think she is very talkative
Brave and generous. We are working on overcoming fear and she is pretty generous with her friends, just not her sister.
Patient. HELLOOOO!!! Teenager!!
Stubborn and hard-hearted. Stubborn yes. Hard hearted? NO
If there is will, there is a way. OK
Determined. Only what SHE wants to do.
Never give up. ditto
Hardly becomes angry unless provoked. Her sister can provoke her with one word.
Loves to be alone. Nope. She is attached to me at the elbow.
Thinks differently from others. Yes. She isn't like her friends in many ways.
Sharp-minded.
Motivates oneself. I would say NO since I have to drag her kicking and screaming to the kitchen to do dishes.
Does not appreciate praises. She has difficulty accepting praise
High-spirited. We used to call her a High Maintenance Chick.
Well-built and tough. She is well built but kinda whiney
Deep love and emotions. Very deep
Romantic. YES
Uncertain in relationships. She is only a teenager. so yes
Homely. No. She is a dark haired beauty!
Hardworking. ummmmm no.
High abilities. yes except for diving. we are still working on that
Trustworthy. ......still working on that one too.
Honest andkeeps secrets. a work in progress
Not able to control emotions. yup
Unpredictable. yup

Lastly Cassidy
DECEMBER:
Loyal and generous. yes
Sexy. UCK she is 8yrs old!
Patriotic.
Active in games andinteractions. She loves to play and play hard!
Impatient and hasty. yes
Ambitious. yes
Influential in organizations.
Fun to be with. You better get your ears rested up first though!
Loves to socialize. She will talk to anybody.
Loves praises. YES
Loves attention. YES and will steal it if you don't offer it willingly
Loves to be loved. who doesn't?
Honest and trustworthy. no. a secret for her is like soda under pressure.....she told UJ what I was getting him for Christmas!
Not pretending. She is a Princess Dancer Singer Mommy Skater Doctor Teacher
Short tempered. Very short
Changingpersonality. She can turn on the charm or turn you off in a heartbeat
Not egotistic.
Take high pride in oneself. I wish she took more pride in herself, but she is a kid and not prissy or conceited. She is who she is and doesn't care what you think.
Hates restrictions. Don't all kids?
Loves to joke. YES
Good sense of humor. As long as she is not the butt of the joke.
Logical. Whatical?

There you have it . If you have made it this far you deserve a prize.
You win a lifetime supply of air. Breathe in for your prize delivery......

My Thai

I found this great recipe of all places in Woman's Day magazine. I tried it recently and loved it. (we did have to add a little bit of Thai spice after cooking it, but otherwise it was great!)

Thai Chicken Curry

1 medium onion thinly sliced

1 medium red bell pepper thinly sliced

1 can (14oz) unsweetened coconut milk

1/2 cup frozen petite peas

2 tsp red curry past or 2 tsp curry powder

1/8 tsp ground red pepper (cayenne)

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups sliced cooked chicken

1 cup torn basil leaves

Coat a large nonstick skillet wiht nonstick spray. Saute' onion over med-high heat 3 minutes or until golden.

Add bell pepper, cover and cook 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onion and pepper are almost tender

Stir in coconut milk, peas, curry and salt; bring to a boil. Add chicken; simmer uncovered 1 minute or until sauce is slightly thickened and vegetables are tender. Remove from heat; stir in basil.

Serve over sticky rice.

Double yum

UPDATE: I had Carly read this to me when I cooked it this week. I had so many typos it was funny....i had written: "remove from head" Ummmmmok

Fourth, a Friday

Wow I am glad it is Friday. For a short week this was a stressful one. We had month-end things to and not a lot of time to do it in. Blah blah blah....we're done.

I bought the new Mercy Me cd last weekend and love it. I have been listening to it in my car on the way to/from work. I need to put it on the ipod so I can really concentrate on the lyrics and sing real loud to annoy and embarrass my family.

The administrators of the clinic I work for got the staff a cappaccino/hot chocolate machine for a belated Christmas gift. Each of them has agreed to buy two cases of mix per quarter so we can have have cappaccino/hot choc all year. Pretty cool huh? We will all be fat and caffinated!

In other news, Shelby The Dog Who Chews Up Everything On Earth ate off the arm and foot of CassiJo's brand new singing Island Princess Barbie. Barbie, now that she is a paraplegic is in physical therapy. We are hoping for a recovery tomorrow when she will be reintegrated into the Barbie population of CassiJo's room.

News from the other side of the house: CarlyJo has decided to take up the saxophone and retire her flute. Over Christmas break she was practicing in her room and Cassi opened the door and said, "Sissy you REALLY need to turn that thing down!" ~ Carly has already learned to play a scale on it, and hopefully it will come easy to her since it is more of what she wanted rather than what I wanted her to do. :o)

Here is something sweet: My friend, Beverly, who got a divorce for Christmas last year has reconciled with her exhusband and expects to remarry some time this year. It makes me misty when she tells me about it. Beverly had a hard childhood and when she had a medical crisis 2 years ago, her personality changed. It is a long story, but after being apart from her husband and dating a string of jerks realized that her ex really did love her and she loved him. All the while she was dating these other men, when they would hurt her she would always go back to Scott for advice. He must have been taking notes on "what NOT to do" because he is a changed man. He has made lots of changes in his attitude, his actions toward her and it has paid off. Maybe it is true that absence makes the heart grow fonder. Maybe they needed to be friends before they could be lovers again. They needed to see each other in a new light and through different eyes. In any case Beverly gives God the glory for this restoration. She said He spoke to her about it, and I am so glad she heeded His words. Her marriage is recovering, her children will not grow up in a broken home and THIS time SHE gets to propose to Scott. :o) We will have fun planning a small intimate wedding soon. I can't wait.

Have you heard any good news lately? I heard, through the bloggie vine that Someone has a bun in the oven. (A very sweet bun too!) Hmmm, now how are we going to have a Blogger Baby Shower?? We must brainstorm about that.

Is anyone else watching Journeyman on NBC? We are addicted to it here at the House of Joe. Thank goodness for DVR on DirecTV! UJ has it set to automaticaly record all the episodes so we don't even have to think about it.

Well it sounds as if WWIII is about to break out in my living room. I better go try to restore peace to the world.

Pandora Radio

My friend, Slick turned me onto this website called Pandora.It is a "radio" station that only plays the type of music you love. Enter an artists name and the program will select only music that is similar. Listening is free, but there are upgrades. You are at the mercy of the program for song selection and you can forward to the next song, but cannot repeat a song. I love it for work days when I get tired of the real radio.

You can find it here: http://www.pandora.com/

Go check it out and start making a play list of your favorite musicians.

Here are some of mine/ours: Michael Buble', Carrie Underwood, Suzanne Ciani, Enya, Phil Keaggy, Kutless, and Third Day. What ever mood I am in I can find something I like. As the albums display I learn of new artists I would like to know more about. I think I listen to Michael Buble' Channel the most. I really like some of the older music believe it or not. :o)

Pandora. It makes me happy.

AJ's Quick and Easy Chicken Noodle Soup

I know it sure is cold here and this sure does sound good! It is very easy and very good.

1 T butter
1/2 c. chopped onion
1/2 c. chopped celery
4 - 15 ounce cans chicken broth
1 - 14.5 ounce can vegetable broth
1/2 pound chopped cooked chicken breast
1 1/2 c. egg noodles (or what ever noodle you prefer)
1 c. sliced carrots
1/2 t. dried basil
1/2 t. dried oregeno
salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot over medium heat, melt butter. Cook onion and celery in butter until just tender...approx 5 minutes. Pour in broths and stir in chicken, noodles, carrots, basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes before serving.

Yummy for your tummy.

Warmness for your hummy.

Mmm good.

Soup. It's a good thing.

Especially when you are freezin' your bootie off like we are today!

The Greatest Cookies in the World

I made some yummy cookies the past two weeks and I would love to share the recipes with you.

The maiden cookie voyage for the Batman Mixer was Snickerdoodles. I found a great recipe and oh.my.goodness. These cookies were so good they made you want to do a cookie dance.

Prior to making these cookies make sure you have a nice cup of coffee to dip them in. :o)

Aunt Jo's Snickerdoodles (yes I can name them after me!)

2 cups sugar, divided
1 cup Butter Flavored Crisco
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons cram of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Heat oven to 400 degrees F

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine 1 1/2 c. sugar, Crisco, eggs, milk and vanilla. Beat at medium speed until well blended.

In a medium bowl combine flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt. Add gradually to shortening mixture at low speed. Mix just until blended.

In a small bowl combine remaining 1/2 cup sugar and cinnamon. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. (I used a MEDIUM cookie scoop) Roll in sugar-cinnamon mixture. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.

Bake 7-8 minutes. (since I used bigger balls I had to cook mine longer)
Cool 2 minutes on baking sheets. Place on cooling racsk to cool completely.

In the words of Rachel Ray: YUMMO!!

Aunt Jo's Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

1 1/2 c sifted all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 c butter flavored Crisco
3/4 c firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 c sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon hot water
1 cup chopped pecans
1-12 ounce package semi sweet morsels
2 cups uncooked oatmeal (not instant)
1 teaspoon vinlla extract

heat oven to 375 degrees F

Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt and set aside.

Cream together the shortnening and the sugars. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture, together with the hot water. When mixed well, add the pecans, choc chips, oaties and vanilla

Drop by teaspoonful onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes. (Again I used a medium cookie scoop so I had to bake mine a lot longer.)

Both were a hit and I plan on making them again......

It's Just Not Fair

You know, it's just not fair when friends drive all the way from FORT WORTH TEXAS to go eat at Sam & Ella's and when you get there they have run out of dough!! NOOOooo!! We had all starved ourselved all day in anticipation of the best -pizza- ever -made: Rock Island Red. Our friends, Terry and Sharon even wore their S&E shirts and still nothing....even though there were pizzas sitting on the counter waiting to be served and delivered. We thought about a pizza heist but decided against it if we ever wanted to go there again.

We settled on some other not-so-great food. The fun company made up for the food fiasco, thank goodness. Terry keeps us entertained and Sharon tries, unsucessfully to keep him in line.

We may have to have a Sam & Ella pizza run later in the week- just for us. :o)

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Cassidy is feeling under the weather because her tonsils are 'itis-d. She has a raging case of tonsillitis. Her tonsils are huge and covered in blisters. You can hear it in the difference in her voice. Good thing Sweet Dr. E. was still at work when I called. We closed early and he was there finishing up his charts. When I arrived at g-mom's to pick Cassidy up she was napping. This kid never naps unless she is sick, so I called and he was kind enough to wait for us to come back for a short exam. He is so good to us. We have antibiotic, Chloroseptic and Tylenol to keep her comfy today and hopefully tomorrow she will feel like going to school. (I don't think it will take much to keep her home do you?)

Carly went to a Youth Group New Year's Party last night. I was so tired when she got home I didn't even hear how it went.

I laid down with Cassidy and fell alseep while Terry, Sharon and UJ were visiting. When I woke up it was 12:15 and UJ had to go fetch Carly from church. I tried desperately to stay awake on the couch, but my eyes must have been made of lead because they would not stay open. I was a terrible hostess for our company! (I am sure they understand though)

Now I am getting ready to fire up the Kitchen Aid mixer again for some killer cookies to take to Nana and Papa's Mexican Feast today.

Happy New Year!