Why I love Tony...

Tony, my 19 year old step son, moved in with us two weeks ago. Up until this past christmas, he and his father havent seen each other for 11 years (long story). So now everyone is getting reacquanted and all honkey dorey. It's wierd going from the occaisonal kid in the house to having a 19 year old (male) there all the time. In some ways i'm glad we havent had any kids of our own yet, so that he and and V. can have all of this time, undisturbed, to get reaquainted and form that bond.

He's a cool kid. Goofy, and very much his fathers son.

1. He likes old black and white musicals.
2. He likes spending time playing play station with his dad.
3. He takes the trash out without being asked.
4. He says 'yes ma'am' which makes me feel old.
5. When i was having a crappy day at work he cleaned the whole house for me.
6. He's not afraid of working for something.
7. He has his dad's sense of humor.
8. He spends more time on aol or texting one of his girlfriends than i did when i was in high school.
9. He called me at 8 oclock on my birthday to be the first one to say happy birthday.
10. He always says thank you when i give him a ride to work.

First tattoo

Well, it took me 32 years but I finally did it.

I've always had a thing about old people with tattoos. They're all faded and wrinkly and saggy. Uch....Been one of those gross pet peeves of mine.

That and that I could never decide on what to get. I've had several ideas. I was even considering a winnie the pooh, but I settled on a cute fairy. It's actually kind of classy in a cute way.

The whole process took 3 hours, and wasnt all that bad. I kept closing my eyes and focusing on my breathing when it would get too bad. (I kept telling myself that labor would be worse and if I could get thru this the having a baby would be a snap). The worst part was the last half hour. During that he was doing the color and the detailing so he was going over and over the lines. Holy crap. That and the fact I had been sitting backwards in a chair for three hours and it felt like my hips were going to pop out of the sockets. When it was done I limped out of there, and not from the tattoo.

Today it hurts, mostly when i sit for a long time and then try to stretch. I'm not sure how tomorrow is going to go, sitting at a desk for 8 hours. Maybe I can get out early.

What I did today...

A man came home from work and found his three children outside, still in their pajamas, playing in the mud, with empty food boxes and wrappers strewn all around the front yard.

The door of his wife's car was open, as was the front door to the house and there was no sign of the dog.

Proceeding into the entry, he found an even bigger mess. A lamp had been knocked over, and the throw rug was wadded against one wall. In the front room the TV was loudly blaring on a cartoon channel , and the family room was strewn with toys and various items of clothing.

In the kitchen, dishes filled the sink, breakfast food was spilled on the counter, the fridge door was open wide, dog food was spilled on the floor, a broken glass lay under the table, and a small pile of sand was spread by the back door.

He quickly headed up the stairs, stepping over toys and more piles of clothes, looking for his wife. He was worried she might be ill, or that something serious had happened. He was met with a small trickle of water as it made its way out the bathroom door.

As he peered inside he found wet towels, scummy soap and more toys strewn over the floor. Miles of toilet paper lay in a heap and toothpaste had been smeared over the mirror and walls.

As he rushed to the bedroom, he found his wife still curled up in the bed in her pajamas, reading a novel. She looked up at him, smiled, and asked how his day went.

He looked at her bewildered and asked, "What happened here today?"

She again smiled and answered, "You know every day when you come home from work and you ask me what in the world did I do today?"

"Yes," was his incredulous reply.

She answered, "Well, today I didn't do it."

One bird, two fish

My sister called me the other night just bawling her eyes out. Her husband and two sons (11,8) were out of town skiing, so of course at first i was like what the hell is wrong? After a few minutes of heavy crying, i understood the word bird. The boys have two pet birds, and amazingly they complimented their personalities. There was the quiet bird and the loud bird. Well, the loud bird had died and the quiet bird was pecking it trying to wake it up. This was freaking my sister out even more. She is deathly afraid of birds, so the thought of scooping out this dead bird and disposing of it was up there with plucking her toenails out with pliers. Just wasnt gonna happen. As luck would have it i hadnt gone to bed yet, was just in my jammies. So off i went to help my younger sister out, as we older sisters do. When i got there, there was a cat up on the roof just meowing its head off. All of the dogs in the neighborhood were barking (wasnt a full moon) and i guess being night it was afraid to jump off the roof for fear of there being a pack of hungry poodles below. So i positioned my car to shine the lights directly under where he was so he could jump to safety. This of course did not help my sisters mood.
After collecting the deceased bird and disposing of it, we had to go to walmart to get the other bird some food and treats. Again, i'm in jammies, a sweatshirt and grubby keds. Now i used to do this when i was in my early 20's, just go to walmart in the middle of the night in my jammies, just because i was lazy and i loved the stuck up looks i got. Now that i'm in my early thirties, a mom, and getting to the point that bed is calling me by 9:30, this was new to me. I still got the looks, but hey, what can i say. They were cute bingo flannel jammies at least.
She decided to get him 2 beta fish to replace the bird. Not quite the same, but we found a cute tank that seperated them (i had no idea that you couldnt have beta fish in the same tank or they would kill each other. makes sense to me). A boy fish and a girl fish. And off we went.
The next evening I called my nephew to see how he was doing and he was taking it really hard. I froze for aminute. What do you say to a 8 year old who's bird just died? Some how 'i'm sorry sweetie' just doesnt seem to cut it. I began to panic. I didnt want to seem unsensitive, i mean this bird meant alot to him. It would sing with him every night for an hour while he practiced piano. How were the fish going to sing with him? There are certain questions that i think only a mom can answer, and for me i took the weenie way out and my phone lost connection.

Stomach Bug and stress

I havent written in a few days due to feeling extremely exhausted. I'm not quite at that sick point, but not well enough to feel like i have the energy to do anything. Fortunatley, last night and tonite Vinnie opted to eat out. Last nite we went to Memphis Championship BarBQ, one of my favorite places, and all i could eat were 2 potato skins and half a bowl of cream corn. They did have the waiters bring over a strawberry shortcake and sing happy birthday, which was unexpected and nice. I think they were both feeling a little bad about how i kept going on and on about how nice my family birthday party was sunday, which neither one of them attended. Tonite, all i wanted was a baloney and cheese sandwich. It's like mashed potatoes and gravy from KFC. When i'm sick and not feeling well, that's all i want to eat. I usually try to be a trooper and not let feeling bad keep me down, but everyone can tell how i'm feeling by what i'm eating. Funny how food tells alot about you. Whether your'e weight or health concious, lazy, sick, or even what time of the month it is. Find a woman eating half a roll of ready made cookie dough just out of the wrapper and you know to be on your best behavior.

I've been in a bit of a rambling mood today. I had to pick Emily up from the airport and i swear i talked for 30 minutes nonstop. Of course, she hasnt been here for a week and i had alot to get off my chest. She's pretty much my only sounding board, as most girlfriends go, and is really good at just letting me vent without saying a word. Men always think that when your'e ranting and raving you want answers, help to solve your problems. No. What i want is to talk, have someone listen, a sounding board, a sympathetic ear. I think when men realize they dont have to fix everything, there might be a peaceful relationship. Anyone lucky enough to find that?

5 O clock in the morning

Who is it that decided that anyone up that early would want to listed to talk radio? I've had to take Tony to work all week, which means we have to leave the house at 5 am to get there by 6 am. And at that hour all I would like would be some music to crank up to wake me up. But no, there are people TALKING on the radio, having all kinds of witty discussion. And of course being that early I forgot my Sirius thingy. Owell. Hopefully by next week his car will be fixed so he can drive himself to work and I can get a few more hours sleep.

Creamy Chicken and Noodles

I got this recipe out of a Gooseberry Patch book. Very easy, dispite quite a few ingredients, but simple, warm, and filling. Serves 4

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 Tbs olive oil
10 3/4 oz can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup mayo
1/4 cup milk
1/4 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp poultry seasoning
4 oz can mushrooms, drained
salt and pepper
1/8 tsp dried parsely
egg noodles

1. Saute the chicken and garlin in the oil until juices of chicken run clear when pierced with a fork.
2. Add the remainin ingredients, except the egg noodles. Heat until hot. Cook noodles as directed on bag. Drain and add to chicken mixture. Stir, mixing well until warmed. (I let this simmer while i cook rolls, gives the noodles time to soak in some of the sauce).

Italian Baked Pork Chops

I got this recipe from Sandra Lee's semi homemade book. I cant watch the woman on tv, something about her just bugs the heck out of me, but her cookbooks have alot of good recipes in them. This one is super easy, quick, and delicious. Great for those days where you only have 30 minutes to cook and if you have to use one extra braincell, that vein in your forehead is going to pop.

Ingredients

1 tbs dijon mustard
1 tbs oilve oil
1/2 tsp italian seasoning
4 pork chops
salt and pepper
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 400'. Line a baking sheet with tin foil.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together mustard, oil and italian seasoning. Rub mixture all over both sides of the pork chops, season with salt and pepper to taste, and sprinkle the cheese on both sides, smooshing into pork chops. Place on baking sheed and bake for 25 minutes.

serves 4

Cookbooks and Ebay

I have over 200 cookbooks. Why, you ask? I guess you could say i'm a pack rat kind of person and it was just the cookbooks turn. It started simply enough, as most addictions/hobbies do. I got my first one 10 years ago, and would one or two every year or so. Then last winter I discovered you could buy cookbooks used on ebay in bulk. Well, it was on then. I would by them 20-40 at a time, most of them coming from estate sales. The days they would arrive I would spend hours going thru each one. Not that I marked any of the recipes that I might want to try. There were just too many books for that. Then I might really look like a crazy person. Some of my favorites were the ones from the 40's and 50's. They were all cracked and stained, but they had handwritten notes from the previous owner. Priceless. One collection of books came with a shoebox full of handwritten recipes, newspaper clippings, and appliance manuals from a lady who lived in Georgia. The earliest date I could find was 1954 and the last date was 1984. I sat and read all of these, just bawling the whole time. This woman's whole life was in this box. 'George likes this with more butter'. "Dont forget to bring the to cards thursday'. It was a window into another time, home, and way of life. I have them all in plastic now, in a new box to protect them. That's one treasure that I will cherish, keeping it right next to the box that i'm working on for myself.

Menu Planning

I am almost anal when it comes to planning my menu. I hate not knowing what we're going to eat. The question of 'what's for dinner' is enough to give me a headache. So a while ago I started planning a two week menu. My sister and I use every other saturday as our grocery shopping/girl day, so I try to get EVERY thing I might need on that day. Preparing the list is the hard part. Mostly because, being a list person, there are usually a minimum of 10 lists floating around the kitchen that I have to hunt down to make into a master list. Then there's the comp pricing. Ever since I found out that SuperWalmart will match any sales price I have been like an addict going over those ads every other thursday night. If it's on my list and it's on sale then I have to find it. And if I have a coupon plus a ad, then it's just a happy dance kind of moment.
The other hard part of preparing the list. I live with very picky eaters, not to mention one of them being a diabetic, so figuring out what we're going to eat is hard. I have a good list of the ole' standby's, but trying something new would be like bringing home a live animal and askign them to kill it and cook it themselves. But i try to do at least one new recipe a shopping period. V calls it guinea pig food, so i make sure to have backups in the freezer. Alot of support in my house, eh? So when planning my menu I pretty much just copy what I had the week before, subsituting a few for what ever is on sale or for a new recipe that I think I might be able to get away with. Pretty boring. For me the most exciting part is going over the sale prices. For some reason when it's on sale AND I have a coupon that just makes my day.

Follow the clues...

We had my sister Emma (12) and my autistic brother Stevie (who will be 18 next week) spend the night last night. We try to do that at least once a month. We used to have just emma spend the night, give her some one on one attention. Then one day Stevie was like well when can i spend the night? I never thought he would want to so i had never asked. It's so hard to tell what he's really thinking about sometimes. Half the time you would swear he's not listening to you and he's lost in his own world (in fact if you ask him he'd tell you he's 'thinking') but then he'll come up and answer something you asked four hours before. But we both love having them both over here. So last night i pick them up while Vinnie is rearranging the living room. Every 4-5 months he gets a bug up his butt and rearranges the whole house. Normally this doesnt bother me, but seeing as how we're getting new carpet in a month and have to move everything out so they can install it i thought it was a waste of time, but what do i know. So we get home and i teach Emma how to make homemade burritos. Not that hard to do, but new to her. We watched 'Barnyard' or whatever it was called. That new animated movie with the cows. It was cute, some hilarious parts, some so so. Glad we waited for dvd. The 'kids' (the 2 plus Vinnie) stayed up til 1:30 playing games on the xbox, which is the real reason Steve likes to come over. He likes to have some real compition on a game. Today we decided to play clue. Emma and i had played it over christmas when Brittany was here, but Steve hadnt played in a while. So we taught him while we played. It was cute cuz he would ask a question, like i think it was Mr. Green in the Library with the rope and when you showed him a card he was like 'oh sorry'. I thought he was getting the hang of it til he was like 'my card is getting full'. I told him that meant when he had them all full except one box that that one box was the right answer. And he did that 'nonononono' thing he does and showed me his paper. I hadnt been paying attention and I guess everytime he had aked a question he would mark all three things, not just the one shown to him. So we started over, and he won! I was so proud, and he was so tickled. During the game the movie "clue" was brought up, so after the game was over we put that on. They both got a kick out of it. I had forgotten how much fun board games were. When Vinnie and I started dating and we were going thru a real poor peroid that was our entertainment. After dinner every night we would play a game. I miss that. I wouldnt give up my cable tv or internet but i'd like that quiet alone time again. Maybe i'll have to institute a weekly game night, where the tv and computer never come on. I might be able to get him to go for that.....

Homemade Burritos

I just love having this for dinner. It's easy, quick, and everyone seems to love it.

Ingredients (serves 4-6)

3 lbs ground beef
1 jar taco bell taco sauce
1 tbs garlic powder
1 tbs minced onion
pico de gallo
sour cream
shredded colby jack cheese
shredded lettuce
2 cans refried beans
tortillas

1. Brown the ground beef in a pan, adding the garlic powder and minced onion. Drain grease, add the taco sauce and let simmer, covered, while you lay everything else out.

2. I just warm up the refried beans in the microwave and viola, dinner is served.

What I've learned from my dogs

Every man I have ever been with has told me that I was going to be a horrible mother because I hated dogs. They scared the living crap out of me. They were huge, slobbery beasts that I knew at any moment would bite me. I used to get furious at this acusation. I grew up the oldest of 7 kids, all of my friends have kids, have babysat since I was 12, so I've never NOT had kids around me. So how is it that if I was going to be such a horrible mother that i've never killed or seriously harmed in any way any of the kids around me? (okay, so my nephew when he was three was playing with his hotwheels and stood his purple car that coincidentally looked alot like my car, made it crash into another car and said 'oh sh$#!'. does that make me a bad mother??) I've met alot of women in the past ten years that i've known more about how to handle babies and kids than they did. What in the heck did me hating dogs have to do with it. Well, Vinnie loves dogs. Especially rotweilers. Talk about jumping into the shark tank. So I agreed, with the condition that we get one as a baby, so as it grows up hopefully it will realize that i'm the mommy and not a chew toy. So we got our Daisy, who is now a year and a half and my little cow. She is so affectionate and sweet. She loves to cuddle and licks so much that you'll need at least 3 showers to get off all the slobber. I never expected my reaction to be as strong as it did, and i think i shocked Vinnie when, 7 months later, I told him I wanted to get a companion dog for Daisy. So we got Duke. (get it?) It is now 15 months later and I can definately say to all those men who claimed I would be a horrible mother, HAH!! I have learned patience (standing outside in 30 degrees with a puppy who just had to find that perfect spot to pee at 2 in the morning), compassion (when my stepdaughter left and Daisy spent two days wandering around the house whining looking for her), humor at the little things , letting the little things go, and how i get a panicked feeling in my stomach when i think something might be wrong with them. Yes, my dogs have taught me to be a better mother, they've matured me, and made me learn to love with more love than i thought possible. Now I cant' wait to have a baby to share this house of love with.