Miss

Miss is the word for Manic Monday: I TOTALLY missed posting on Monday for Manic Monday.....

Some totally random things come to mind when I hear or see the word "miss".

First and foremost in my mind: Janet Jackson, "I miss you muh uch...M-i-s-s-u Much..."

Then I think how calling someone Miss always seemed derogatory to me. I HATE it when someone calls me that. It's almost like they think I'm a little kid or something. When I was single and teaching I always had my students call me Ms. not Miss....not that there's a whole lot of distinction between the two....I just didn't want them writing out my name with Miss in front...UGH! It makes me think of some little old maid lady with grey hair and lots of doilies in her house. Probably a retired librarian....

Of course Mississippi is in my thoughts as well. MISS being the old postal abbreviation. My grandparents lived in Miss. and my grandmother's family is all from there. Yes, there is even a old platation owner in my past.....sorry but it's' the truth...my family had slaves. I had no control over it so please don't hold it against me. I would feel quite a-miss if you did.

Swiss Miss hot chocolate...Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. I can feel the warmth in my hands and smell the warm scent of cocoa wafting up to my cold little winter red nose.

Lastly... things I miss. I miss Arkansas and the south. I miss my family, my dogs, my cat Helen who lives in Texass now..poor thing. My pre-baby figure. Being able to go to movies, sometimes teaching....lots of things...

Anyway that's my post for "miss"....

I'll Give it a Try.....Something New For Me to Do

I am working on a story for you guys to read. Don't know how it's going to turn out.. It's kind of dorky where it stands now, but I got an idea and I'm rolling with it. I'll get it up sometime soon.

Thinking I'm going to join the Manic Monday writing thingy... If you read E-Dog's Everything Page then you know what I'm talking about. If you don't read then heres the linky-poo. Manic Monday

I need something to get me more creative again. I need to get the muses talking to me again. I've just gotten so lost in "Mommy-world" that I've got to do some things to get me out of it sometimes. I think maybe Manic Monday will help. Who knows..... a story and a challenge. What's the world coming to?

I've also been reading a lot of people's blogs with recipes. Diner Girl has quite the La Ti Dah site going with her French Laundry blog. Fine dining at it's best if you live in her neighborhood. I REALLY wish I lived next door to her. I also read blogs with recipes for things with no eggs and nuts. *Lyanna's allergies*...Gotten some good ideas from those as well... AND... I have been cooking up lots of good veggie dishes with the bountiful harvests from the garden this year.

SO...I thought what the hell. I'll start putting up some of my favorite recipes. Now they aren't going to be gourmet dishes. Most of them are going to be just good ole homecooking *more than likely southern dishes*. They aren't fancy but they are good and you can make them yourself at home without anything too out of the ordinary.

I'm going to start ya'll out with my recipe for homemade salsa. Almost all the fresh ingredients are out of my own garden. I'll even give ya a picture of the finished product. You must try this at home! And please.....go ahead and double the batch, you'll be glad you did.

Homemade Tomato Salsa

Ingredients:

6 Plum Tomatos, Seeded and Diced
1/2 Cup Diced Yellow Onion
* 1 Jalapeno, Seeded and Diced (Cover Your Hands!)*
2 Cloves of Garlic, Minced
2 Tablespoons Chopped Fresh Parsley
1 Tablespoon Minced Fresh Cilantro
1 Teaspoon Crushed Dried Oregano (I use fresh out of my garden)
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon Red Wine Vinegar
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/8 Teaspoon Black Pepper

I use a food processor to dice the tomatos first.
Put the diced tomatos in a medium size bowl, large if you double the recipe.
Then I dice the onions.
Add them to the tomatos.
Finally I use it to chop the garlic, parsley, cilantro and oregano all at once.
Add this mixture to the tomatos and onion.
Mix in the oil, vinegar, salt and pepper.
You can eat it immediately but it tastes oh so much better if you refrigerate the salsa for at least an hour.

Serve it up with chips, veggies, tacos...etc.

*Hot peppers contain oils that can burn your eyes, lips, and skin. Cover one or both hands with plastic gloves or bags. Be sure to wash your hands thoroughly before touching your eyes or face!!!*

My peppers from the garden are so hot, that I have to hold my breath while cutting and seeding them or I end up in a coughing fit.


Anyhow...that's it. Yummy yummy yummy! I can't hardly keep any in the fridge we eat it so fast. If you try it, please let me know what you think.

Just Stuff...Again

Alright...so not feeling like I have much to say tonight. Brad has gone to Arkansas for his 20th class reunion. I stayed home because I have things to do to get ready for Bible School at church next week. That should be interesting, but I refuse to talk about it here on the grounds that I just don't want to talk about church stuffage here. So there...

Took the girls to Mc D's, known in our household as "Boys", to wear them out so they would go to bed tonight. It seemed to have worked well. They are both passed out cold upstairs and I'm having some nice quiet time. I don't know why they call Mc Donald's "Boys". That is what Kenzie has called it since she could talk....wierd I know. She also thinks Grimace is Henry the Octopus from "The Wiggles"....go figure...she's two.

In my quest to lost the hideous baby fat I put on since having two babies in less than a year...I joined Weight Watchers. This will be my second full week. I go for weigh in tomorrow. I did pretty well the first week and lost a whole pound and a half....I don't know about this week. I didn't do as well..... made cup cakes for the girls and ate one.... *big sigh here*.... sometimes you gotta go for the pink frosting.

I am diligently exercising every day during the week. Doing pretty well, and have a whole routine in the mornings now. I rotate between aerobic and a combo of aerobic/weights. I am determined to get back my pre baby figure!!

One week til we go to New York to see The Police at The Garden. I CAN NOT WAIT!!! This is the summer of concerts for us....here is our list for the summer..ending in September:

1. Rush - Pittsburgh

2. The Police - Cleveland

3. The Police - New York

4. Dave Matthews - Pittsburgh

5. The Wiggles - Colombus *I'm counting them for the girls*

6. Scorpions - somewhere close to Detroit

Pretty good summer...I tried to talk Brad into going to some more but he said no way..besides it's too hard to make sure we have a sitter each time... I can't wait til we can start taking the girls with us to some of these...besides "The Wiggles". Ha!

I don't think I've put up any pics from any of the concerts yet. I have one of Brad and I from the Rush show...I'll leave you with a couple of those.

Where's a Doctor When You Need One?

I am disgusted and frustrated with the doctors in my area. It is a disgrace how they handle things here.

My OB/GYN moved to California shortly after Lyanna was born. She recommended two doctors at the same hospital but that was about it. I have tried for two years now to get in to see either of them. It has been impossible. One receptionist tells me every time I call to call back in three months.....after doing this 3 times and still not getting an appointment, I hung up on her today. The other one says she is booked til NEXT JULY!!! A whole year.....how ridiculous is that?!?

Her receptionist did tell me that I could keep calling back every day and if there was a cancellation I could get in then.... joy. Now, the really sad thing is: if I was pregnant they would get me in immediately. I thought I might lie to get in and see one....and then just say I must have been mistaken.

I don't really want to go see any of the other OB/GYNs around here because I just haven't heard that great of recommendations about them. One clinic is just a group thing and you never see the same person...it's just the luck of the draw. The other prominent doc is too into C-sections and inductions and I'm just not all about that. So....who knows what I'm going to do...for now I guess I'll just put my phone on speeddial for the one.

In a bleh mood tonight. The girls didn't take a nap today so I'm a little mentally tired. They get really spastic when they haven't had a nap and I get irritable. There is only so much screaming and crying and craziness a person can take in one day... Kenzie and I did make cute pink frosted cupcakes tonight. Too bad I can't eat any.......

New Addition to the Family

I have added a new link in the "Hey Look What I Found Section"

Eliza---you are gonna flip on this one.

Carly Elizabeth Mayer is my cousin Lana's new baby. She was born the 18th and is so very cute! Ya'll can go look at the cute baby if you want, but mainly I put the link up so I don't forget where it is...I do that sometimes.

"O My God"

So went to see a little group called THE POLICE Monday night in Cleveland.

The concert was AWESOME!!

I still can not believe I was there, that I saw them, and that I heard them live....I have managed to see the #2 group of my list of bands I never got to see!

I had chill bumps when the lights went down and being the total dork that I am...I cried when they came on stage and started playing. It was a very emotional concert for me...

I suppose it's because I had always thought I had missed my opportunity. I would never get to see The Police in concert. The concert was a lifetime wish come true. I know that sounds so goofy...but it's the truth. When I got my first CD player for Christmas way back when, Synchronicity was one of the three CD's I got with it.

The concert reviews had all been sort of negative up til now. They all complained that the songs were too slow, the guys weren't playing together, they didn't seem to be enjoying themselves...

Not this time: The Cleveland show has gotten rave reviews. Everyone who had been to previous concerts said the Cleveland show was the best so far. I know I thought it rocked!! It was also Stewart Copeland's birthday. Everyone in the crowd seemed to be on their feet the whole time, the guys played pretty tight, only a couple of screw ups and I think once or twice they were messing with each other. Stewart is awesome on the percussion, if you get a chance to go to one of the concerts you have to keep your eye on him.

I stood up when the lights went down and never sat back down til we got in the cab to go back to the airport. So depressing that it was over.....

Here's the set list for those of you interested:

1. Message in a Bottle

2. Synchronicity II

3. Walking On The Moon

4. Voices Inside My Head/When The World Is Running Down

5. Don't Stand So Close To Me

6. Driven To Tears

7. Truth Hits Everybody

8. Bed's Too Big Without You

9. Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic

10. Wrapped Around Your Finger

11. De Do Do Do De Da Da Da

12. Invisible Sun

13. Walking In Your Footsteps

14. Can't Stand Losing You

15. Roxanne

16. King Of Pain

17. So Lonely

18. Every Breath You Take

19. Next To You/Dead End Job

I am sooooo happy that I am going to see them again in New York. I can't wait!!!! *said while mentally jumping up and down* It's like being 15 again.....

I don't have any pics for you because we don't know how to get them off the camera. Hee Hee! I'll do better for the New York concert.

And the Beat Goes On....

My husband found this video on one of his old high school classmate's blog. I had to share it with ya'll. I laughed so hard I gave myself a stomach ache. I hope you think it's as funny as I did.

Enjoy!


The Evolution of Dance

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Rites of "Passy"ge

Well, I am finally back and have some time to write. We had a marvelous vacation on the Gulf Coast. We went to Dauphin Island, AL on the "Redneck Riviera". The girls had a blast and LOVED it so much they didn't want to come home. I will elaborate more on vacation later...

Today we are discussing milestones and rites of passage. On Tuesday, we got rid of all the pacifiers in the house. In honor of this momentous occasion we held a "Passy Party". What, you may ask, is a "Passy Party"? It was our way to make a big deal out of getting rid of the dang things without too much fuss and screaming.

It included all the classic rituals: The Putting of the Passy's into the Sacred Baby Bag, The Sharing of Cake and Sherbert, The Singing of Songs Made Up on the Spot, AND...the most important..... The Trading of the Bags in the Mailbox.

Basically, we told the girls that all the passys had to be given to the new babies at the hospital and that the new babies would give them a present for their passys. Kenzie seemed to accept this story, and hasn't fussed too much. Lyanna has no clue what has happend and is still pretty pissed off when she doesn't get her pass for bedtime.

For a few chuckles here is the festive occasion caught on video.







r:#330099;">This video is about five minutes after the Passy Party.....poor little things.