It Hurts To Be Beautiful

Ahh, the 1950's. The Atomic Age. Who knew that "radioactive dirt" and Geiger counters could be used as beauty implements?

Cabin Vacation '09!

This is actually going to happen! We booked a cabin and we're going next weekend. I'm really excited. Here are some photos from last year's trip.

Sex Ed Movie Part 1

This is hilarious. I like how the "doctor" looks like an actor from a 1970's porno film. Why exactly is he hanging out in a bowling alley discussing "menstruation?" And is that a beer he's drinking? It sure looks like one. Don't fret - I promise to post Part 2 later today!



Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iP-r-Tb7H78

This Gives Me the Warm Fuzzies

This makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Trip to the Beach

March 2008

Remembering When

Me, circa 1994. Charming, huh?

This Is So Awesome

My friend Amy supplied me with this You Tube clip of David Gergen (love him) cuttin' a rug. Because it is so awesome, I feel obligated to share it. Enjoy!

My Heart Just Melted

Just now over dinner, Miss told me this: "When I grow up, I want to be a firefighter, a doctor, and like you. What else saves?" Too cute.

Hello! Have We Met?

Next Sunday, C and I will have been married for six years. You would think that by now, he'd have a general idea of my likes and dislikes. But last night he seemed surprised when I declined to watch his most recent Netflix request, Death Race. Here is the Netflix description of Death Race:

"Jason Stratham stars in this futuristic thriller as Jensen Ames, an ex-con turned speedway champion who's framed for a grisly murder and forced to compete in a grueling three-day televised car race against his fellow inmates. Sitting behind the wheel of a monster car outfitted with machine guns, flamethrowers, and grenade launchers, Ames is in the race of his life - and the whole world is watching."

Car races that involve monster cars outfitted with machine guns, flamethrowers, and grenade launchers? What would make C think that this would sound evenly remotely appealing to me? But for some unknown reason, C also mistakenly believed me to be lusting after Jason Stratham. (By the way, this was also after he offered me some of his "scrapple"). At this point, I have to assume that he must be confusing me with his other wife.

Visit with Momo

This photo is from last week's visit with my grandma, the kids' great-grandmother and M's namesake.

And Now for Something Truly Disgusting...

Tonight, we had "breakfast for dinner," something we do fairly often since it's relatively easy to prepare and the kids seem to enjoy it. However, for the first time ever, C cooked something truly disgusting called "scrapple," which I had never heard of before.

Apparently, scrapple is the unique creation of the Pennsylvania Dutch. Being from Pennsylvania, I guess C practically wet his pants when he stumbled upon his beloved scrapple at our local grocery store.

According to Culinary Sleuth, "the word, scrapple originates from 'scrap' or 'scrappy' meaning (that it's) made up of odds and ends because that's exactly what it is—boiled, ground leftover pig scraps with cornmeal and spices thrown in."

Perhaps you're wondering exactly what parts of the pig go into the creation of scrapple? I know I was, so I googled it. Again, according to Culinary Sleuth, "after the ham, bacon, chops, and other cuts of meat are taken from the butchered pig, what remains are the fixings for scrapple - including the meat scraped off the head" (sorry, that was just me dry-heaving). Depending on the batch, "scrapple may contain pork skin, pork heart, pork liver, pork tongue - even pork brains."

What's more, scrapple is gray in color.

This image really doesn't do scrapple the justice it deserves - it's far more gray than that.

And as if frying scrapple and eating it at the same table that I have to eat my own dinner at weren't offensive enough, C managed to get scrapple grease all over the stove and my favorite blue pot as well. Now that really pisses me off!

My cute blue bean pot

Baby Fashionista

My Kind of Fun

Sunday morning, my bed, a cup of freshly brewed coffee, and a ready abundance of movies such as these for my viewing pleasure:

Currently on my tivo list:
Some Like It Hot
Double Indemnity
The Big Sleep
Now Voyager
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Sunset Boulevard
Viva Las Vegas
The Miracle of Morgan's Creek
Straight Jacket
Tomorrow is Forever
DOA
Bob, Carol, Ted, and Alice
Queen Christina
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
Roman Holiday
Yojimbo
Mildred Pierce
A Place in the Sun
Blow Up
All This and Heaven Too
Dark Victory

*Note: Needless to say, rain would make this scenario even more ideal.

Christmas '08: Semi-Partial Highlights

This Christmas has been the most chaotic holiday that I can remember in recent years. Here are some highlights (okay, two highlights for now because I'm tired):

Christmas Eve: Rejecting the ensemble that I had selected for her (which was very cute by the way), I overhear Miss asking Bear to find her a "red" outfit, so that she can appear festive when we visit my mom and dad's house. Bear, ever the good brother, dutifully retrieves some red and white clothing from the dresser in her room. Unfortunately, it is a Valentine's Day ensemble, minus the matching skirt. Miss happily garbs herself in the cardigan and tights, with a "Route 66" t-shirt from our trip to Flagstaff underneath. Later when I inform her that she will, at the very least, need to find something, anything, to cover the lower half of her body, she becomes very distressed and insistent that this-is-what-I-want-to-wear-to-the-Christmas-Eve-Party-don't-you-understand-that-this-is-the-"LOOK"-I'm-going-for?!?!

So you know what? I let her go to the Christmas Eve Party without pants, because I'm cool like that. (Also, the party was at my parent's house where the children have been known to do things like stay up all night and eat ice cream and cookies for breakfast in my mom and dad's bed. Sometimes when I pick them up from a sleep-over, they're still wearing the clothes that they had on the day before. With that said, I don't think that it's unreasonable for me to feel that at this point, pants are optional). And besides, just as I anticipated, my mother and aunt gushed shamelessly about how adorable Miss looked, and even had the audacity to claim, "I never even noticed that she wasn't wearing pants!" Hello! The child has no PANTS! Delusional, I tell you. Delusional.

Miss in all her pantsless glory.

And now on the subject of the boy who, thanks to his (many) very generous grandparents, received numerous video games for Christmas, including a Wii Console. I should preface this by saying that my son is a video game junkie. The boy cannot control himself and, if allowed, will forsake basic human requirements, including sleep, hygiene, and nourishment, in order to play non-stop video games. After allowing what I feel is ample time to enjoy his gifts, I have now begun limiting Bear's time playing video games because he was starting to look way to cracked out for my comfort. For the last several days, the minute he rolls out of bed he refuses breakfast, claiming he's not hungry, and instead asks urgently, "Can-I-play-the-Wii-I-gotta-play-the-Wii-when-can-I-play-the-Wii?" This morning I decided that we really needed to spend the day at the park.

Bear, "in the zone," with the Wii.

Here are a few more highlights from this holiday season: