Things that have revolutionized my life....... lately

Now, before I even get started on this short list, please be aware that I am not receiving any compensation for telling you about it. These are only my discoveries, nothing more. Cool?

1. This is the Rubbermaid Reveal. It has a microfiber head that you can throw in your washer. No special fluid needed, just make up your own! With Snips and Fiona constantly underfoot with their muddy feet, this thing is a God send!One caveat: be sure you sweep really well BEFORE you use it. The dog hair tends to cling, making you have to change out the head.

2.  Keurig MINI Plus coffee maker. I have one credo that I live by: Life is far too short to drink old coffee. I used to have to drink my coffee in a hurry because I would make a whole pot and not want it to go bad. Now I don't have to hurry....one cup at a time! The drawback is that the cups are kind of pricey, almost $ .75 a cup. There is an attachment you can get to use your own coffee, but apparently, I haven't figured out the right amount to go in it yet.

3.  Betty Crocker Oven Liner. I recently chiseled, I mean cleaned out my oven and it took three days! My boys love a recipe of mine, Red Hot Apple Pie, which requires a 1/4 cup of red hots. You heat up candy and it bubbles to the bottom of the oven. Not anymore! I actually picked up the burned candy off the liner. It was so cool!

 

4. Redken Color Extend Shampoo. My hair is majorly coarse and hard to deal with. For years, I have been trying to use whatever I could find at the local grocery store. The results, not so good. I tried this on a whim, and my hair has never been happier! In the bottle shown, it can run as high as $15, but I get the huge bottle for $23 and it lasts me almost 3 months.

Top Ten Reasons Why You Haven't Heard From Me

Every time I sit down for even one minute of me time...bam....I have to get up and see who is screaming; find out if there is blood; and then lose my seat at the computer. But I have missed you all, as you are there keeping me sane. Since Michael Jackson's death, there's been a lot going on. So I'll give you my top ten reasons why you haven't heard from me:

10. The Enter Button is messed up, AGAIN. So, when I push it down, it keeps going, and going, and ...you get the picture.

9. I've been completely mesmerized by the media frenzy associated with the death of the King of Pop. I don't know if it's that I got to watch old videos and reminisce or just hypnotized in the masses. Maybe it was the fact that the guy was all of 4 years older than me and it freaked me out! I even watched the memorial service and blown away that it was on the big 3 networks.

8. I keep falling asleep on the couch every night. With the onslaught of summer vacation, The Pickle has been given permission by his dad to stay up past his regular bedtime. That's all well and good for Hunnybunny, but I hang out with kids all day: it would be nice to know that EVENTUALLY I'll be an adult at least for part of the day.

7. I haven't felt I had anything profound to say. Lame, I know. But awfully true. Some of my old blogging buddies fell off the face of the earth because they felt like they had blogged their last. I didn't want to do that. Technically, blogging is a diary. Maybe I don't have anything profound to say to myself. It wouldn't be the first time.

6. I'm consumed with a wedding. My best friend's daughter is getting hitched in 5 weeks! Guess who's the DJ? Moi. Yes, it's been since 1993, but I think I can do it. The music for this shindig is a little...eclectic at best. Hope I can mix it well enough.

5. I've been kind of depressed. Mostly, because my family wasn't all together. Well, that excuse isn't going to hold water because I picked him up Saturday. A little early, maybe, but I think he missed me.

4. My schizophrenic sewing habits have gotten in the way, too. Okay, I'm most definitely a quilter. But, I've been exploring making my own clothes. Am I doing it to avoid quilting, or just simply need something to wear. Hey, I made pleats for the first time in my life this past weekend! Was I stoked! But I keep wasting time, going back and forth.

3. Exhaustion. Enough said there. I leave the house to go Nanny for Jo-Jo and Idgy at 8:00 am. Sometimes Pickle comes along. Most of the time the Diva shows up. It can be anywhere from 2 to 4 kids in a hurry. I leave around 4:30 or so, but then there's supper to make, or I collapse in a chair, or take out Fiona. See what I mean?

2. So many of my blogger friends have left. This really bothers me. I go to read their blog and read, "Blog not found". Then I worry. Say what you want, bloggers are a tight bunch. We pour our hearts out to readers, and we get into their lives via the Internet. I miss them when they leave. See reason 8.

But probably the biggest reason I haven't been a good blogger:

1. FACEBOOK! How addicting is it to find old college and high school friends and give them a synopsis of what we have been doing for the last 20 year? Or maybe one of those stupid quizzes that we can't seem to stop doing. While I enjoy FACEBOOK, I really love the blogging community more.

Rules for socks

I don't claim to be an expert on men, but let me tell you about a recent phenomenon I found....there are rules regarding the wearing of socks. Since Hunnybunny and I married in 2002, these rules have dominated and I was totally unaware of them. Finally, I asked him to break the silence so we can all be educated.

Top Ten Rules for Wearing Men's Socks

1. Socks can match either the shirt or pants.

2. Hunnybunny prefers that they match the pants because they blend in better.

3. You wear causal or dress socks with casual or dress shoes.

4. Never with sneakers.

5. Don't wear athletic socks with casual shoes. (running socks with oxfords)

6. Never wear dress socks with sneakers.

7. If you wear black shoes, then you wear black socks.

8. And if you wear white sneakers, then you need white socks.

9. You can wear patterned dress socks with solid dress suit.

10. And the cardinal rule is: Don't wear tube socks with shorts.

Also here's a link to some style rule commandments.

The Top Ten Reasons Alton Brown Annoys me

You've seen this guy on your tube. As far as I'm concerned, he is the cooking anti-Christ. ( Just a figure of speech, people. Don't email me.)
Oh, he doesn't mean to be. He simply flies in the face of everything you've ever been brought up to believe about the kitchen, cooking, utensils, and procedures. Being the daughter of restaurant owners, sister to a sous chef, and not a half bad cook myself, this guy just grates on every one of my nerves.

Here are the top ten reasons why:

10. Hunnybunny likes him He really admires the way he cooks. Now he's getting more courageous in the kitchen. The jury is still out on if I'm liking that, but he does cook allot more. Now, if only he'd clean up!

9. I really hate the cheesy openings he does. And the gimmicks he does. Hasn't anybody told the guy that most people channel surf until he gets done with that?

8. Most of the time, he talks so fast I can't catch it all. I'm not sure he's a southern boy, but I could be wrong. He does live outside of Atlanta, but he talks like he's from up north somewhere.

7. He makes an entire program out of one food. I'd like to see what he can do making an entire meal....like Rachel Ray.

6. He makes me feel like I don't know what I'm doing in the kitchen. Dude, I grew up in the back of a southern restaurant. (My earliest memory is the smell of the bleach sanitizing dish pan.) I might know what I'm doing, but not when you're on TV.

5. Hunnybunny tells me while I'm cooking, "But Alton says.....". and now we are buying even more kitchen gadgets, like whisks. Whatever happened to using a fork to beat your eggs?

4. He uses "Uh" as a catch phrase. I guess that's not enough to dislike him for. The idea is to get you to watch the show and I'm told that appeals to his male audience.

3. He refers to himself as "The Culinary Bill Nye". Yes, he does take the science of cooking to the masses, but that's quite a boast. Bill Nye rocks!

2.Now we have to watch him every time "Good Eats" comes on, regardless of whether someone else would like to watch something.

1. He cooks so much better than me! As Stan Lee would say, ' Nuff said.

Top Ten Things You Wish My Pastor Would Tell Our Husbands

M.I.A. (Mother in Agony). Actually, it means "missing in action", but that doesn't fit either. Regardless, I have to keep things going around here. Oh, it's just a head cold, but I hate taking antihistamine for it. I'll live, but it doesn't feel that way. Anyway, that's not why I've gathered you all together.


My pastor, Jon Weece, has opened the floor for ladies to tell him what they wish Jon would relate to our husbands. And vice versa. So, I give you

My top ten list of things I wish he would address from the pulpit:

10. Playing the old, "I'm a guy" routine will not make brownie points. You are far too intelligent to use that one.

9. Expecting a parade whenever you clean the kitchen isn't cool, either. Women do that all the time and we usually don't get recognized for it. Oh, wait, we set it up, didn't we? In potty training, you make a big deal out of every effort, so maybe that's where they get it.

8. Ice cream is not a food group. It falls into one, but seriously, we could live without it.

7. Neither is BBQ.

6. Doing taxes ON THE 15Th online is probably a bad idea. Getting mad at the computer won't help, it's most likely bottle-necked from the rest of America trying to file.
5. A Porshe is NOT a family car.

4. Politics is not a taboo subject, but don't think I'm crazy when I have opinions of my own about YOUR chosen party.

3. I honestly don't feel the need to consult Web MD every time our kids get the sniffles. But I'm happy you are so attentive to our kids.

2. Buying my Christmas, birthday or Valentine's Day present the DAY OF is not showing me you thought about me, (especially when you know the date of each Sci-Fi premiere) and the dates in question are locked in.

1. I will never get excited over Halo, paintball, or car shows, but I love you, anyway.

Feel free to leave comments on what you like Pastor Jon to say and I'll pass it on.