Happy Thanksgiving ya'll

Remind you of anything?

Letter of the day - "L"

Kat posted a fun meme yesterday where you list 10 of your favorite things with a twist. The twist being that it has to begin with a certain letter...her's was "O". The Big "O". How naughty!

I asked her for a letter and she gave me "L"...although the first letter that came up was "Z" she spared me from having to pull my dictionary out. Thank you again Kat!

So last night I sat down and gave it some thought...lots of words came to mind - unfortunately they were things I don't like. Such as Liver & Licorice. Ewww!

After I gagged a little bit, this is what I came up with.

1. Leather - No not whips & chains leather you pervs...but like the smell of Leather in a new car, or when you get a new pair of Leather boots. Mmmmmmmmmmmm...it's clean and musky.

2. Leonardo - DiCaprio that is. I Lusted after him since I saw him on Growing Pains and he just continues to get yummier by the day.

3. Limes - I cannot drink Corona, my beer of choice without a Lime. Period.

4. Lip Gloss - I always have Lip gloss with me. 24/7. My favorite by a mile is C.O. Bigelow in Bare Mint. It's got a little shine, a little color and packs a mint punch just right for those unplanned garlic moments.
5. Lion King - Both the Broadway show & the movie. Long before I went to NY to see it on Broadway, I would watch the cartoon and sing along to "Hakuna Matata". It means no worries for the rest of your days... I couldn't resist Simba's face.

6. Law & Order - "Duh dun". You know they always play that before the text shows on the screen. Well I know that because I've been watching for years - SVU, Criminal Intent, and even the short-lived Trial by Jury. I love them all. Even though nowadays I only catch the re-runs late night on USA and watch new ones when there isn't anything else on.

7. Libras - Yes, one of my favorite things is people born September 24 - October 23. Okay maybe not everyone but since my middle sis was born on October 9 and Lil J was born on October 8 it's obvious why this sign means a lot to me. BTW both S & I are Pieces.


8. Late Nights - I hate getting up early. I'm a night owl. Nuff said.


9. Love - I love Love, what can I say? Love, Lover, Lust, Lube - wait, how did that get in there? Nice.

10. Lemonade - A nice cold glass of Lemonade. And of course, Kat's Sunshine and Lemonade. And Lulaville, that has nothing to do with Lemonade but I still love her place.

Yeah I know I said 10 but I'm a rule breaker. Besides I couldn't forget this new addition to my hottie list...

11. Lutz - As in Kellan Lutz, aka Emmett Cullen. ~swoon~ He's my new favorite *movie* Cullen. Lord have mercy.



Now pick your jaw off the floor and let me know if you want to play. I'll send you a letter and you can share with the world your favorite hotties things too.

Gratituesday

It's been a while since I did a Gratituesday post but I thought it would be appropriate considering Thanksgiving is this week. It always humbles me to actually think of everything I'm thankful for.

I have been blessed to have many great people in my life and to have have lots of nice things, but nothing is more important to me than family. I have a relatively small family, that while not perfect, they have been there for me my entire life at one point or another.

Each day I'm thankful for S and what he's brought to my life, including SS and SD and now Lil J. But before I met him there's always been my Dad, Aunt M, my two sisters and most importantly my Granny.


Granny passed away in January of this year so it will be my first holiday without her here. It will be tough since she was more my Mother than Grandmother, but I still have her in my heart and memories so even though she isn't there I won't be without her.

This year I've been exceptionally blessed to have two precious, adorable, girls added to my family. My first niece was born in May and then we welcomed Lil J in October. I love all my nephews but after 20 years+ of nothing but boys it was a nice surprise to have girls added to our family.



This holiday season I look forward to spending time with all my family and friends and I'm grateful to have so many special people in my life.

I have a confession

Do you ever have so many different blog posts rolling around in your head that it's hard to decide what to post? Or how to focus what you are going to write?

I do that all the time. Only recipes are well planned events here, everything thing else is fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants stuff. As if you couldn't tell that.

The title has been hanging in my head for the past few weeks with a whole different post in mind but in light of my Friday night experience, I feel I need to be honest and let you guys in on a secret.

I wasn't crazy about the movie. Twilight that is.

I realize now that I had such high hopes that I was a little under-impressed. I don't want to use the word disappointed. That's not fair to anyone who hasn't seen it yet...and not fair to the people that made the movie.

For me, the movie moved too quick. Too many crucial scenes were cut short - specifically the Meadow scene when he reveals himself, La Push when Jacob lets Bella in on the secret, Port Angeles during the restaurant scene, even the last fight scene was done at an incredible pace.

Scenes that maybe weren't crucial but added to the characters and why we loved the books so much were not there at all. For example Bella cooking for her Dad, it showed me how she is always thinking of others and instead they ate in a diner in the movie.

Don't get me wrong, I liked the movie because I'm a fan. People that haven't read the books won't get it. There was a non-fan sitting next to me that expected more True Blood, less Twilight because they had no idea what the story was about except that it involved a vampire. Needless to say, they didn't get it and commented throughout the entire movie about not getting it.

The scenes with just Bella & Edward were great. They definitely have chemistry. Most of the casting turned out to be right on point - except Jasper. He was just plain odd looking during the whole movie. And who's an Emmett fan now? ME! He was all sorts of hunky. Plus I like the way the film ended...it left an opening for the next one.

Now that I think about it, I don't know how they could have crammed all that the book entails into two hours on the screen without condensing and deleting. I should have known.

So what did you think? Do you want to see it again? What was your favorite scene that didn't make the cut? And your favorite that did?

Tic Tac Tattoo

Earlier this week S went back to have the color added to his tattoo. He was there almost 4 hours and only got HALF of it done. He goes back in another 3 weeks for the rest.

Last night he pointed out to me that I had not blogged about his tattoo. He wanted me to blog about his tattoo. Hmmmm. Not sure what to say about that but I'm more than happy to show you his body art because it IS amazing.

I have to say that the pictures don't do justice to this piece - I got a little too much glare on most of them right on the cross, which IMO is absolutely stunning. It looks just like stone with all the shading and gray tones that Troy used.

This was the outline:



And then after the color on Tuesday:




When he goes back in 3 weeks, Troy will finish the gargoyles face, wings, the "sky" and the border. Already it looks so good. I can't imagine how great it will look when he's done.

I could see it already but I guess S's fragile, sensitive, little itty bitty back was in too much pain to continue. Poor baby.

Whatev. Be a man! I mean just because it felt like he was "ripping your skin off" (his EXACT words) doesn't mean that you just call it quits right?!

I really hope S doesn't see this until AFTER he picks up my Twilight tickets.

Honey, if you are reading this - I still love you! Even if you are a wuss.

OMG Brownies

These brownies were originally called Chocolate Bliss brownies for good reason, but quickly re-named OMG Brownies by the kids after they tried them. The name stuck because these brownies will make you say OMG!

What you'll need:



18-21 ounce brownie mix (plus ingredients to make cake-like brownies, in my case 2 tablespoons water, 3 eggs, & 1/2 cup vegetable oil)
12 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup salted nuts (I used nut topping, but you can use your favorite nut.)
40 rolos

Preheat oven to 375. Combine brownie mix, water, eggs, vegetable oil and 1/4 brown sugar. Once mixed fold in 1 1/2 cup chocolate chips. Pour batter in a 13x9 pan.



Mix 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/2 cup of salted nuts. Sprinkle over brownie batter. Bake 20-22 minutes or until done. (It was closer to 35 minutes for me.)



While the brownies are baking unwrap a million freakin' rolos. Lick the spatula and bowl while unwrapping - it will keep it from being such a pain in the ass. I just used an entire bag of the smaller ones. Set aside 24 rolos and then quarter the rest.



Take the remaining 1/2 cup of chocolate chips and microwave for 1 minute or until melted. Place melted chocolate in a zip top baggie.



When brownies are done remove from oven and sniff really hard to inhale all the chocolate deliousness that just came out. Immediately press 24 rolos into the brownies.



Then sprinkle with the quartered rolos & remaining nuts. Cut the corner off the zip top baggie and drizzle chocolate over the top.




Cut into squares and serve warm; it's especially good with ice cream. Trust me on this.

Now eat and say OMG!

It's taking over

Twilight has taken over my town, the high school, the internet, the television, the radio, twitter and my life. I am anxiously awaiting Friday's premiere...and there are millions like me.

I bought my tickets yesterday - Friday @ 8PM I will be staring at Twilight on the big screen. ~swoon~


They were talking on the radio this morning about the sold out midnight shows - more than 500 showings are already SOLD OUT! Fandango reports that 86% of the tickets they are selling are just for Twilight. That's H-U-G-E!

Unfortunately I will have to wait an additional 8 hours to see it, but there was no way in hell S was going to see this movie at midnight. It's okay. He doesn't get it.


There are dozens of websites dedicated to nothing but Twilight...these are a few of the more interesting ones:

Custom Scents Online - selling scents of Twilight (Spoiler Alert! If you haven't read all 4 published books - DO NOT go here!)
Patrice Wright's Etsy shop - Twilight inspired bookmarks
Chasing the Frog - One of a billion sites selling Twilight shirts
Twilight Teez - Sells shirts, hoodies and replica of Bella's bracelet.
Designs by Laurie - Twilight shoes

If you are looking for Twilight enhanced jewelry go no further than Etsy since searching for "Twilight" brings up 162 pages. They even have something called Glimmer mist. Guess it's for when you want to add a little sparkle to your favorite guy.


I told you about two Twilight giveaways here but if you want the real scoop on this movie go visit Julie. That lucky lady got to go to a special screening for the Cast & Crew and let's just say I'm green with envy.

Am I the only one that still gets chills watching the movie trailer?

Good Morning Part Deux

This is what I woke up to this morning. I promise I'm not milking the "picture out the window" thing but I was shocked to find snow on the ground this morning.

And I wanted to share because I'm a giving person...

I'm a giver

Since I'm such a nice person I want to share a couple of giveaways with you all...

First, my pal Kat is having her 3rd Weekend Giveaway. This week she is concentrating on Twilight by giving away the same movie companion book that I won from Lula, and lots of other goodies including chocolate and hawt pictures of Edward/Robert Pattison. ~swoon~

In case you aren't counting we only have THREE days left till the movie premiere.

A Daily Dose of Toni is counting down the days by having a Twilight Extravaganza. That means she is giving away a different Twilight item every day until the 21st. Today is Bella's bracelet and you have to see it to believe it. Simply. Stunning.

And since it's Tuesday that means it's time for another Girls Night Out with Mommy Gossip! Tonight's topic is Giving Back so they will be having a virtual food drive, a live auction and door prizes. So go HERE to RSVP and join us tonight as we chitchat about charity and how you can help this holiday season.

I may be a little late because SS has a concert tonight but I will be there!

Good morning!

From my window:












Every morning I look out my back window. Whether it's sunny or cloudy, raining, snowing...it doesn't matter - I'm compelled to look. And some days I'm drawn to the colors of the sunrise; this morning it looked like the sky was on fire.

One fiery sunset reminds me of so much more.

Sick people...

Tattooed Minivan Mom blogs with some sick ass people. And now I find myself answering their questions.

1. Would you rather eat a cockroach or a bull nut?

Cockroach - it's smaller and I could probably swallow without chewing. I don't think the bull nut would do down as easy.

2. Would you rather not shower for a month or not brush your teeth for a month? This was my question.

Damn. Not brush my teeth - I would stock up on gum and mints though.

3. Would you rather....have to have sex everyday for a year straight or go six months without it?

Everday...I could go a few weeks but 6 months is a long time

4. Ashley wants to know all kinds of good stuff: Would you rather find true love or 1 million dollars?

If I didn't already have it, I would have said True Love. Since I got that then I'd go for the cold hard cash.

5. Would you rather always have to say everything on your mind or never speak again?

Say everything on my mind. I do it most times anyway...and it's impossible for me to be quiet all the time. Just ask S.

6. Would you rather know it all or have it all?

Know it all. By knowing it all, I could have it all, no?

7. Katie wonders: Would you rather have extremely bad tourettes or uncontrollable orgasms?

Orgasms. No explanation needed.

8. Would you rather skip Christmas for a year or skip your birthday for a year?

My birthday. Hell I'm getting old anyway.

9. Would you rather be followed by a cloud of dust or a cloud of gnats?

A cloud of dust.

10. Would you rather eat a toenail omelet or a hair sandwich?

Toenail omelet. I don't think I could swallow hair. ~I just gagged a little~

11. Would you rather lick the discharge from a cats eye or lick the dried spit from the corner of a teachers mouth?

Depending on what the teacher looked like that could be hawt.

12. Would you rather have dinner with the Obamas or go on a date with George Clooney?

This one was easy - George Clooney. ~swoon~

13. Would you rather be paralyzed or blind?

Blind

14. Would you rather blog or sleep?

Sorry ladies - I'm going with sleep.

15. Would you rather take a cheese grater to your sunburned back, or pour alcohol in a new hole in your toe?

Alcohol in the toe - at least it would stop burning once the alcohol evaporated

16. Would you rather use the woods or a port-o-potty?

Woods. I *hate* using port-o-potty's. Someone always poos in there and it's impossible not to look.

You know you love it

When I talk random!

Before I get too far I need to give a WARNING because I'm PMSing and I tend to be a teensy, weensy bit bitchy during that time.

We have been out every night this week when I just want to be at home snuggled up on the couch watching hours of DVR. Monday & Tuesday I had band booster meetings, Wednesday I went to the high school's talent show and then of course last night was darts. (We won!)

Tonight I will be back at the school getting ready for our annual Craft Show. It's one of our big fundraisers...we sold out of spaces over 2 weeks ago and since it's free admission there is always a ton of people shopping. So tonight we will set up tables and then be back in the morning by 7:15. Have I told you how much I hate getting up early?

It's okay though because I can see a light at the end of the tunnel. This is the last band "thing" until the Christmas parade and then I will get a break until at least January.

That's the good news. The bad news is that I relented and told S that he could be VP next year if he wanted. I know, I know. I've said for months that I was just going to relax and enjoy SS's last year. And I still plan on doing that.

So S if you are reading this (and I know you are!) if you take the job, it's YOUR job, not mine. I've done my duty, paid my dues and I need want to take a back seat. I want you to take a back seat...sit with me at the games and enjoy the fruits of our labor. K? Love you, hugs and kisses!

Speaking of S I think he won the lottery when I wasn't looking. He just bought me a FLIP and then on Tuesday he got me this from Harley Davidson:



He said it was to thank me for everything I do. Awwwwwwwwwwww!

Now onto the bitching segment of this post.

I cannot stand school buses.

There I said it. I get stuck behind this bus every other day and it stops on every FREAKIN' block to pick up kids. High school kids. With all this talk about obese kids, can they not walk ONE block? Instead it stops at each block, sometimes right in front of their house for one. kid. at. a. time.

It drives me nuts and I admit that I curse the bus the entire way down the street.

Speaking of things that drive me crazy - do NOT answer your cell phone during a performance at the talent show. I assume you came to watch the people on the stage but then I think not when you LOUDLY answer your phone while someone is singing. That is why you deserved to be snapped at and I don't feel a bit bad about turning around and saying something to you. IT WAS RUDE. Simply rude that you had the phone on RING to begin with and then to ANSWER it? Over the top.

That wasn't too bad huh?!

Bless you if you are still hanging with me. As a reward I will remind you to go enter Kat's In The Pink weekend giveaway today. And while you are there make sure you jot down this Chicken and Dumplings recipe that was posted especially for ME.

Then pop over to Mommy Gossip - GNO to see the some great holiday recipe posts, most better than mine but that didn't stop them from featuring me again!

Most of all have a great weekend! And leave me some comment love. Lots of comment love. I need it! I am after all a comment whore.

The Countdown...

Let's talk numbers.

First Twilight is only 8 days away!

They are doing a midnight showing here on Thursday/Friday night and I was actually considering it but we are going to take SS and his girlfriend with us so I will have to wait until Friday night.



Thanksgiving is only 13 days away.

I haven't even begun to make my menu yet. There are some dishes that make an appearance every year such as stuffing, green beans (of some kind), potatoes (of some kind) and of course turkey. And ham. Cause we like both.



After Thanksgiving we will put up our trees (we do two) and change out the decorations for Christmas ones. That is once we can all move because after eating. And eating. And eating, it's a little hard to be motivated to put up two freakin' trees. Thankfully, we can eat again after exerting all that energy.

And then there is the biggie. Christmas is only 41 days away.

OMG! I don't even know where to start. I need to make a gift list & budget. Then shop, wrap, decorate, shop, clean, address cards, bake, shop. Did I say shop? I've only picked up a handful of gifts so far...I need to get busy!

Somewhere along the way I will relax and take a moment to enjoy the season. Because more than the gifts I love being with my family, seeing their joy - whether it's from the gifts or the food. I love the lights and sparkle of Christmas decorations. I love the way my house smells when I've been baking.



We always go to my Aunt's house for Christmas Eve. It's become tradition that we play a game before opening the gifts, and each year she buys a new one to try out. Most are "charade-like" and I love to see everyone make a fool of themselves. This year it will be even better because I can record it and share it with all of you!

Christmas morning has moved around during the time we've been married. Some years we went to my sister's to see the kids open gifts, some years we went to my Dads, other years we had the kids so Christmas morning was at our house.

No matter where we start the day we always end up at my Dads. The house fills with family, good eats, gifts and laughter.

To me it's the perfect way to celebrate Christmas.

What kind of traditions do you have? Do you travel or stay at home? What will you be baking this year?

Pretty in Pink

Perhaps you could be Pretty in Pink when you win THIS contest hosted by Kat @ Sunshine and Lemonade. I shared with you last week that Kat would be hosting TEN weekend giveaways with each one focusing on her favorite things.

The "pink package" as I have dubbed it, is only the 2nd one so there are still 8 amazing weekend giveaways coming our way. I can't wait to see what else she comes up with.

If you would like to see a few more of her favorite things, check out this post where she shared them with me during a swap that she hosted. Then head over to Sunshine and Lemonade and enter to win. It's painless I promise.

And I'd say good luck, but I wouldn't mean it. Cause it's mine...all mine!

17...

Happy 17th!




You make us very proud.

And I hope you enjoy your freakin' IPOD Touch that cost more than my car payment.

Let's Talk Turkey

I roasted my very first turkey 2 years ago. I researched the perfect instructions for hours on end until I found Alton Brown.

Man. I love me some Alton Brown. That kid is like the MacGyver of the food world. He can do anything.

Anyway, I followed his instructions to the letter both years and ended up with the most succulent turkey I'd ever tasted. It was browned just right, moist inside and an overall easy process for a newbie like me.

But I've fudged this year.

I bought my turkey from Kroger over 3 weeks ago when they were on sale not realizing what I was getting. Yes, it's a turkey but can you tell what's wrong?



It's buttered. That means I will not be putting it into a brine. I couldn't possibly stick a buttered turkey in a container of brine right?

I feel abandoned and lost. I pray that my buttered turkey turns out equally as good because if it doesn't I will be in serious trouble.

With the impending holidays on our heels, this is the first of many posts regarding food that you will see from me.

I heart food. I heart eating food. I heart making (most) foods. So of course I heart talking about food. And forgive me but isn't that what the holidays are all about?

If you ♥ holiday food like I do, join me and my fellow twitters from Mommy Gossip - GNO while we talk....what else - FOOD! RSVP here and then follow the others to join in on the fun!

Chesty Firespanks

I was preparing my post this morning thinking of how to tell you all about my busy weekend and the beautiful sunrise I woke up to this morning. Then I heard the most shocking thing ever.

Beyonce is auditioning to be Wonder Woman.

I am appalled that anyone would even consider it. While Beyonce can shake her booty like no other, she is NOT Wonder Woman material. Did you see her in the Austin Powers movie? It was awful. Trust me on this.



This image does not need to be tarnished with the likes of Mrs. Jay-Z. Especially now that she's gone off the deep end and calling herself "Sasha Fierce".

It makes me wonder if she did one of those internet games that gives you a name based on your initials or the street you grew up on...do you know what I'm referring to? I did it a few weeks ago and my name was "Chesty Firespanks" but you don't see me going around introducing myself as Chesty.

Let me just be the first to say that I will not stand and let Wonder Woman be disgraced by anyone.

Especially her.



Who would you like to see as Wonder Woman?