I feel the need to make a sign.

I started blogging because I really like to cook and share recipes.  Recently, I have been sidetracked by the new addition to our family.  Abby is a stinkin' cute golden doodle and she is a smart dog.  We have had/trained a fair amount of dogs in our 36 years of marriage.  We are pretty smart humans but this puppy's house breaking is kicking our butts!  I do not get much done except tending to the dog.

However, yesterday we had our first accident free day!!!  YIPEEE!
Blessedly we seem to have had a breakthrough. If you are familiar with  military installations they almost always have a sign that says how many days the base has gone without an accident....much like the ones I would think you would see in industrial settings. So, I think we may be able to make THIS sign instead of the Ooops I was considering.

I am certain we will have setbacks, but looking at this face every day makes it worthwhile.

I can't wait for the wedding announcement!

I was enjoying my Sunday morning coffee and papers (yes papers, we get two on Sunday) while The Big Man was making my breakfast.  He makes me a delicious breakfast every Sunday, but I digress.

I got to the engagement notices section inside the Sunday Style of the Washington Post. "Mary Jones" and "Joseph Smith" are to be wed in June of this year.  I got past the Mothers and Fathers part and then became mesmerized/stupefied by the rest. "The engagement follows a wonderful romantic trip to Ireland...then all I started to hear was the voice of Charlie Browns teacher WAH, WAH, WAH...You know the sound he hears when the teacher speaks??? I "came to" just before the end....."Armed with the delighted approval of her parents, Joseph surprised Mary with a proposal and an engagement ring during (this is the part that just slayed me) what is destined to become a "Smith" family tradition of cutting ones own Christmas tree."

Really?  SERIOUSLY??? I think I need insulin.....I just think this is the most ostentatious saccharine announcement I have ever read.   I may even have to get my pearls out of the safety deposit box and become a wedding crasher My mind is swimming with ideas on how the wedding will be. I am marking my calendar for June so I do not miss the wedding announcement.

I have found a picture of the "perfect" wedding cake.  About the size of "ones own Christmas tree"

I just can't imagine one of our girls "putting on a show" for their wedding...a la Kim Kardashian.  We all know how well that worked out......

I have no idea who these people are, I kinda feel sorry for them. I know after 36 years of marriage, life is NOT a fairy tale where you have traditions of "cutting ones own Christmas Tree". They probably do not know it is hard work and hopefully, along the way (if you are lucky) you build some great memories of fun times that you have shared.  I am still crazy about the Big Man, my heart still goes pitter-patter when he comes in the door (if any of you tell that secret, you are toast). We have built a wonderful life but it has never been like a fairy tale or a script of a Hallmark movie. Good Luck Mary and Joseph...you are going to need it.
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I really need to "vent"

Okay....I reserve the right to add to this list of things that make me crazy..but today I was out and about and there were some driving/car issues....I really need to vent.

#1.  If you drive a big honkin' SUV (in today's case an infinity) Locate the skinny pedal.....AND USE IT. If you are trying to get better gas mileage drive a smartcar. PLEASE.

#2. If you are a man driving a big bubba truck and insist on backing it in to a parking space, DO IT IN ONE PASS.  If you can't,  just pull it in forward. It is just embarrassing.  Or give me the keys and I will do it. PLEASE.

#3. DO NOT text and drive. You cannot multi-task, really you can't. You also must be dumber than a box of hammers because you have not seen all the public service ads that TELL you you are putting yourself and others at risk. PLEASE put the phone away.

There may be more rules but I certainly feel better now that I have vented.
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Faces like this........

Faces like this suck you in.  Yesterday, I was going to sell her to the Gypsies...CHEAP. She is so stinkin' cute but she also is a 13 week old puppy with the attention span of a gnat. I honestly ask myself daily..."What were we thinking?" AND then she does something so adorable I forget what a chore housebreaking is. The Big Man is so smitten by her and he does all work when he is home so I figured he might miss her if I sold her.  I just hope her learning curve is F-A-S-T! 

I stand corrected

Recently, I blogged about how self serving Tiger Woods' ex had been after Elin Nordgren razed her 12M oceanfront house.  I said she should have let a charity (like Habitat) get things from the house before demo.  Well, it turns out she did..this is according to the January 23rd issue of People Magazine. (And we all know what a journalistic authority it is). Seriously, they did quote the local Habit's director of deconstruction.

I stand corrected.

Abby Cadabby is the reason no cooking is getting done!

NOT Martha Stewart's Banana Bread.

I like to cook and bake but a lot of people do not and I think it is because people like Martha Stewart make it seem waaay too complicated. (Remember she also makes her own paper..and has a huge staff and LOTS of money) Most things can be made simply.  Below is a great example.  Martha Stewart's recipe starts with sifting the flour........and it goes on forever.

This recipe is YUMMY....quick and easy.

Banana Bread
1/2 C margarine, softened
1 C sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 C mashed bananas
2  C flour
1 t baking soda

Cream margarine and sugar. Add eggs. Add bananas. Mix together flour and baking soda then add it to banana mixture. Mix well.

Bake in a preheated 350 oven in a greased and floured loaf pan for about an hour.

I am so glad to be taking a break from the rehab of Chateau Stinkbug and doing a little blogging...My feet are glad too!  And cleaner!

How much money is too much?

The news just did a story about Tiger's ex......(isn't it scary that in our pop culture everyone will know who I am talking about with just that brief reference?) It seems that she has torn down a 12 million dollar mansion (part of her divorce settlement) in Palm Beach so she can build her "dream house".   SERIOUSLY??? How utterly wasteful and indulgent. She could have allowed Habitat for Humanity to "harvest" anything of value inside for their Restores (just one idea) She should get some bad press for this decision. She should be embarrassed.
It may be one thing to break a few dishes or knick-knacks as a "I will show you" about a divorce but this is so over the top I can't really wrap my head around this one. Maybe it is because I live a rather middle class life? Or maybe it is because I was raised by a father to all too well remembered the Depression? Or maybe I never could think that "big"?   I would like to believe that if I had that kind of money I would be as careful with a lot of money as the little bit we have now. I think the EX  Mrs. Woods has provided the definitive answer for the question "How much money is too much?"

All Purpose Food (actually a casserole)

This is the holiday recipe that NEVER fails to get rave reviews.  Our girls say it is "all purpose" You can eat it at breakfast or brunch, use it for a holiday side dish...it even can be dessert! It is SO easy, everybody likes it and it is cheap to make. 

Pineapple Casserole

1 can (20oz.) crushed pineapple drained.
1/2 C sugar
3 eggs
2T flour
1/2t salt
1 stick margarine
5 slices of white bread, cubed

Beat eggs and sugar.  Add flour ,salt and pineapple. Pour inot greased 8X8 baking dish.
Melt margarine toss into cubed bread. Top casserole
Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

*you can double the recipe and just bake it in a 9X13 baking dish.