November 27, 2015

A post about nothing at all...really.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, if you celebrate.  Ours was great, we had friends over, which was nice.  Except for the fact that the wife had to work and wasn't able to join us.  That part wasn't so nice, but what can you do?  We made sure to send her a huge plate of leftovers and dessert.

The Husband made a fabulous meal and GIANT mess in the kitchen - which he claimed he didn't understand how that happened because he was cleaning as he went along.  He may have, but my theory is that when you produce a huge meal such as the traditional Thanksgiving dinner you are bound to have a huge mess at the end of it all.

As I was the only female in the house yesterday, after dinner was done I sent them off to watch football while I tackled the mess, for which the Husband was so very grateful.

Man-Child headed back up the mountain around 8:00 pm yesterday as he was scheduled to work the early shift on Black Friday.  He has a job at Sears this year and is really enjoying it.  Well, until he realized that he couldn't come home early on Wednesday as he was scheduled to work until 7:00 pm.  And when he started to crab about having to work on today, I reminded him that he has not been scheduled to work at all during his Christmas break and to be grateful for that.  At any rate, his plan was to work from 6:00 am until 2:00 pm and then drive back home to spend the remainder of the weekend with us.

The Husband also had to work today.  So once again, I found myself alone and after almost a full week of it, I was getting pretty tired of my company.  But then a friend of mine invited me to join her, her mom and daughter to visit the Christmas Art & Craft festival; I jumped at the opportunity, even though these types of things aren't really my cup of tea.  But we went and had a great time, she even found a gift or two.  Afterward, we had lunch and it was nice to spend a few hours with someone other than myself or someone who would rather be watching the game.

The weather here has been so unseasonable that it's beginning to border on ridiculous...today the high was 67 degrees sunny and gorgeous.  Tomorrow the high is expected to hit 71 degrees - that's flip flop weather!  Not that I'm complaining, because by Monday the high is only supposed to be 49 degrees and rainy...what a lovely way to start the week, not.

Well, that's all I've got for today...I warned you that this post was about nothing at all.  Just chit-chat.

Have a wonderful weekend!

November 25, 2015

Nothing says Thanksgiving like Lemon Pound Cake

Three posts in three days?  I know, I'm as perplexed as you are...

Well, actually, I'm off work this week and am trying to get back into the whole blogging groove.

All my Thanksgiving chores, with the exception of ironing that pesky tablecloth (which will be done tomorrow).  Including the last dessert, the Lemon Pound Cake.  Speaking of which, I just found a glob of cake batter in my hair - how did that happen?! *sigh*

But, the cake did turn out lovely...

Isn't it pretty?

But I expected nothing less with this particular recipe.  So here is my Thanksgiving gift to you - this recipe never fails to turn out the most amazing cake.  And, bonus?  It's EASY.  So if you are ever in need of no-fail, crowd pleasing dessert, here you go.

Lemon Pound Cake

1 box yellow butter cake mix (Duncan Hines Butter Golden)
1 cup plain flour
2/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup milk
3 eggs
8 oz sour cream
1 stick butter (softened)
1 teaspoon lemon flavoring

Mix together well and bake at 350 degrees for one hour.

Lemon Glaze

1/2 stick butter
1/2-3/4 cup sugar
juice of a lemon
lemon grind (grated)
confectioner's sugar

Boil the butter, sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest for a few minutes, stir in powdered sugar; pour over hot cake.

If you are using a fancy bundt pan with lots of ridges, etc it is important to spray the pan generously with Pam, the kind that has flour in it.  And by generously, I mean GENEROUSLY.  This will help the cake slide right out of the pan without to much damage.

Now, I realize that Lemon Pound Cake isn't a traditional Thanksgiving dessert but Man-Child requested Lemon Bars.  Now Lemon Bars, in my opinion, are a very casual, summer-y dessert, so I went with this recipe instead - and he will be over the moon when he gets home and realizes he's getting this cake, in addition to the pumpkin and apple pies.

Have a very happy and safe Thanksgiving and know that I will be counting you among my blessings tomorrow.




November 24, 2015

Thanksgiving prep...

I am grateful, as I am every year, that I don't have to produce the Thanksgiving feast.  My dear Husband is in charge of that end of the day.  If it were left up to me, the whole thing would be catered because I am not about to attempt to cook a turkey!

My duties for Thanksgiving include dessert making...

Two down; one to go!


Decorating...to that end the napkins and table runner are ironed and ready to go.

Wrinkle-free!!

If it weren't for the fact that our only dining room table serves as a desk and a place to eat, I would have ironed the table cloth and set the table.  But since this table is currently in use as I type this quick post, it will have to wait until Thursday, where I am positive I will forget to take a picture because that's how my brain works.

Actually, the whole decorating the table thing is usually a moot point because once dinner is ready to be served, the Husband will look at the table and kindly ask that I "remove all that hair" from the table so that he can sit the serving dishes on the table.  *sigh*

But at least for a short while, our guests will have the pleasure of knowing that I set the table especially in their honor.

Tomorrow I will figure out the centerpiece ("the hair") and do the majority of the cleaning (another one of my chores that I do, not quite so happily, but with a smile as it's just another reason I don't have to do all the hard work that Thanksgiving entails!!).

Today was quite the productive day, as it found me cycling through pie making, ironing, a little bit of Christmas shopping, a little bit of cleaning that ended with the standing on my tippy-toes (quite unsteadily, I might add) on top of Man-Child's bed attempting to clean his ceiling fan.  I think, from now on, that particular ceiling fan will be delegated to someone who is at least two inches taller than me.

As I take a break to type this, the Husband has come home and is now slaving away in the kitchen trying to get his Thanksgiving prep underway.

So how is your Thanksgiving prep coming along?

November 23, 2015

Things that are making me happy right now...

As it appears that building a house with that particular builder on that particular lot is probably not going to happen (we are not in agreement regarding price points) and since it is the week of feeling grateful for what we have, I figured we should talk about a few of my favorite things.

Swistle recently mentioned that she loved The Last Tango in Halifax on Netflix.  I looked it up and it sounded intriguing, so I hit play.  She was right...it's wonderful.  It is a BBC television series that focuses on a couple that reunites after fifty some odd years and their grown children's lives.  I LOVE it.

DJan mentioned some time ago that she really enjoyed the Grace & Frankie series, also on Netflix, it also sounded like something I would like, so I hit play (granted this was months ago - but I loved that one season so much I've since watched it twice!).  Now I am anxiously waiting for Season Two to drop into Netflix some time next year.

I'm currently in love with two scents; both from Bath & Body Works - Leaves, which Jennifer from The Daily Connoisseur mentioned about a week or so ago.  In addition to smelling heavenly, it came in a beautiful container...

Leaves 3-Wick Candle - Home Fragrance 1037181 - Bath & Body Works
Hmmm, it appears this candle is now on sale! Nope, not a sponsored post.

And Golden Cinnamon - which also smells divine!  Two perfect scents that capture the fall season beautifully.  Actually, I've burned these two so much over the past month or so, that I'm now in ration-mode, as I'd like to use one or the other through Thanksgiving.  After that, I will find something to capture the Christmas season.

That rug I mentioned in my last post?  It continues to make me happy.  It is blue and white and lovely.


And for some reason, is appearing sideways...

Actually, it has me giving the side eye to the other rugs in this house....I just might be in the market for a new one for the front door.  But if I do that, there is bound to be a snowball effect...which probably isn't a good idea considering all the Christmas presents I've yet to purchase.

Despite declaring a fatwa on CoverGirl for retiring my very favorite lip color, I have discovered a second best.  Yes, I did scout out others to make do during my temporary boycott - but I quickly realized that they did not go the distance that Outlast does.  So I'm back to CoverGirl, but this time I've settled on Brazen Raisin.  It's a far cry from the Timeless Ruby that I loved so much, but it will do until CoverGirl comes to their senses and brings Timeless Ruby out of retirement or creates its clone.

A girl can continue to dream...even if the odds of the dream ever coming true are slim.  *sigh*

I swear it seemed like it rained here for just about the entire month of October.  I'm not even kidding. It was utterly depressing So I wore my hair curly for most of the month.  And I found a new product for when I'm going curly (which honestly, I'm just about getting to the point where I'm tired of dealing with straightening my hair even on sunny days and may just have to learn to live with my hair).  It's Jessicurl Spiralicious Styling Gel.  Unfortunately, this product isn't carried in any of the stores near me, but when I ordered it from Amazon the shipping was free and I think I received it in about two days.  It really does seem to help the curls be curls and not frizz.  Between that and the Mixed Chicks leave-in conditioner - which I can find at Target, my curls were soft and perfectly formed.  Considering it takes me a good forty-five minutes to dry and straighten my hair, I'm finding that more and more I'm taking the easy route and just letting my hair do what it does.  And both of these products make it work.

I'm sure by know you've all heard Adele's latest hit, Hello (if you haven't, click the link and watch the video, it's great!).  And, if you are anything like me, you loved it.  She has an amazing, haunting voice.  Since I like to listen to music old school style - I went and bought the cd - it's fabulous.  So if you needed an incentive to buy it, there you go.

So, other than the obvious family, friends, etc, which are probably making the rounds this week - what is on your list that is making you happy right now?  Share the love, so we can all find new things to make us happy.

November 17, 2015

News bits...of sorts

Lots of has been going on here (where is that sarcastic font?).

I bought a new rug for the entrance from the garage.  It's absolutely amazing how happy this tiny purchase has made me.

I was cleaning this past weekend and took a good long look at the old rug and determined that it HAD TO GO.  Which led me to Marshall's, where I found a nice rug in the clearance section that fits our needs perfectly.

I haven't been buying or replacing anything house related because I've been waiting to find "the" house.  This is a small example of what I meant when I said I was done with living in limbo.  Not only was that rug in horrible shape, it was dark and made the dark entryway even darker.  It had to go.  And yes, I HAVE dealt with all the boxes that were surrounding us.  Every thing that needed to be unpacked is unpacked and everything else has been squirreled away, out of sight.

And, now every time I walk in or out of the house, I smile.  That was an $8.00 well spent.  The Husband thinks I may have lost my mind since every time I've stepped on the rug I have exclaimed how happy it made me.

It's the little things, people.

In other news - The Husband has reluctantly agreed it might be time to consider building a house.  We have found a lot that might work.  He has called the builder who is selling the lot.  She (I love that it's a "she" - if for no other reason than that might mean she might actually have an idea of what makes sense in a house; i.e. linen closets do NOT belong in the hallway) promised to "run the numbers" and get back to us this week.  We are still waiting to hear from her.

Didn't I tell you a year ago that it would come to this?  And if the numbers pan out, it might actually come to fruition.  The Husband even admitted to me that the thought of building "our house, our way" was exciting.  You know, if he would just listen to me from the outset our lives would be SO much easier.  Nearly twenty-five years in and he still hasn't figured that out. *sigh*  I guess, at this point, he will never learn.

I just found out about this Season of Kindness thing going on over at NBC...and while yes, it is a corporate "feel good" thing; it is also truly a wonderful thing to spread.  I mean who can argue that spreading kindness is a bad thing?  You can check out the daily calendar where you can get ideas about how to spread kindness in your little piece of the world and read about the good things that others are doing.  And really, with all that is going on in the world these days - couldn't we all use a little kindness?  To give and to receive?

The transition I mentioned four months ago?...well, it continues to be stressful and I fully expect it will take at least a year or more for things to shake out and for all of us to feel like one company rather than two different company's forced to share the same office space.  When you shove two different corporate cultures into the same space it can make for a difficult transition.  Luckily, my new big boss seems to be a really nice guy...unfortunately, he comes from the other side which is leading to some misunderstandings about how things should be done.  We will get there...eventually.

I keep promising myself that I will devote more time to this blog - but so far, I have done nothing but disappoint myself.  Despite my quest for tossing the living in limbo out the window, this is one area in which I have failed.  But I can place the blame squarely on our current living arrangements; as in this place I do not have anywhere to squirrel myself away and hear myself think long enough to actually produce regular posts about the insanity that is in my mind.  In fact, the only reason I have been able to cobble together this random post is because the Husband is ill.  Ill enough that he has taken to his bed and I have had free (quiet) run of the main part of the house for most of the evening.

Now God knows, I wish he weren't ill but Jeez Louise....I can't tell you how nice it has been to have nothing but quiet surrounding me as I tappity-tap- tapped away.

So, if the above referenced building of a house actually happens, I promise - I will get back to regularly blogging (if only for my own peace of mind) because I will ensure that I have a nice, quiet place to retreat when the world gets to be too loud, as it frequently does in this house.


November 1, 2015

It is a major understatement to say my husband doesn't like working on cars....

I found this far too funny not to share...but then again I've been up since four am, so what do I know?

Of course, to give it context, let me start with the back story...

Probably about a month or two ago, Man Child came home for the weekend and mentioned that his headlight was out.  The Husband spent over an hour in the driveway, cursing like a sailor, because he just could not figure out how to wedge his giant paw into the tiny space.  Eventually, Man Child had to get on the road and promised that he'd get one of his friends to help him.  So he left with a non-working headlight.

A few weeks ago, Man Child was home again and, of course, his headlight still wasn't working (AND we discovered his license had expired...a whole 'nother story).  This time, The Husband, instead of waiting until Sunday, Googled the process on Saturday and was able to fix the headlight. 

And all was right with the world....

Until Friday, when I realized one of MY headlights was out.  So I sent him a text...

I actually giggled as I sent it.  Yes, I know there is no punctuation and that I'm kinda torturing him.

I never received a response, so when I got home I told him.  He was not amused.  Particularly after he discovered that in order to get to this headlight he'd have to remove the battery.  But even so, he felt confident that he could easily get to this one.

So this morning, he decided to fix the headlight.  

The next thing I know, he opens the door and asks me to Google which cable needed to be removed first from the battery, because you can ruin the battery...or something.  At least he knew that there was an order to it, I would have never known that and promptly ruined a perfectly good battery.  So I did and informed him that he needed to remove the negative cable first.  A few minutes later he comes in looking for a flashlight because, according to him, "It was dark as *censored* under the hood."  So I found him a flashlight and headed out to see how things were progressing.

It was not going well, at all.  He had successfully put the bulb in but was now turning the garage blue with all the creative cursing that was streaming from his mouth as he attempted to put the battery back in.  I offered to hold the flashlight and as I was holding the beam so he could see I casually said, "So, I guess it's safe to say, you aren't a car guy?"  The look he gave me was murderous as he took the flashlight back and sent me away.

After a few more minutes, he popped his head back in the door and asked me to double check which cable goes back on first.    In case you are curious, it's the positive.

Another minute or two goes by, he opened the door and said, "You aren't going to *censored* believe this!  I put in the *censored* dead bulb (from Man-Child's car) instead of the new one!"  I resisted the impulse to respond with, "That's why you are supposed to throw things away instead of letting them hang around in the garage."

Instead, I told him he could do it later, if he'd rather since I rarely drive at night anyway.  He exclaimed that no, he would do right then since he now has the experience to do it and went back out the door.

Only to come back in two seconds later to ask me if I could Google which cable needs to come of first.  I died laughing while gasping, "I thought you were 'experienced' at this?"

And here we are hours later and I'm still giggling about it.