Grab some coffee...

...this is a BIG one, LOL!
The kids are home from their honeymoon at Doe Bay on Orcas Island in the San Juans, and Sam got the discs from the photographer on Monday. It didn't take me long to 'borrow' one, so I could get started on scrapping! Here are some of my favorites from the set:

Oaks Pioneer Church in Portland

I LOVE this one!

They're so cute together...

Sam & her bridesmaids

Dietrich & his groomsmen (and woman)

Soooooooooo much food (it was potluck)!

No comment required...

Ditto...

Silliness

The last week has been really odd...kind of a letdown after all the preparation and scurrying around frantically...suddenly it's over and we're all sort of "what now?"
But life goes on...Jen spent most of this last Sunday night in the E.R. again...she now has some kind of 'new & improved' migraine that the meds she had didn't touch. She woke up with it Sunday morning, but it wasn't until one side of her face started tingling that evening that we decided to go in. So from about 7:30PM till 3AM we sat in one of the Acute rooms waiting for someone to decide what to do with her. It wasn't till shift change and one of the docs she used to work with came on that things finally started to happen...unfortunately, migraines are one of those things determined by 'exclusion' more than anything. After telling them "her dad lost his vision due to glaucoma, and her grandfather died of an undiagnosed brain tumor" they decided a CT might not be a bad idea after all! All normal, so change the migraine med back to what worked before...and Son of a Gun, whaddaya know...some Zomig, a few hours sleep and no more migraine! That's why they call it "practicing medicine"...OY!
Other than that, there's really not much going on here...we've had some sunny days (finally!) but we've got rain again tonight and for the next day or so. But the holiday weekend is supposed to be nice. Maybe I'll even grill something! I finally talked PB into getting a gas grill, so we've got one on the deck now...I did rib-eye steaks with grilled red peppers, zucchini and onions a few days back...YUM! Maybe I'll try just burgers next...I'm new to this, so it's trial and error, LOL. So far, so good...
OK...it's late, and I'm losing my train of thought...so I think I'll head for bed. I want to start scrapping some of those photos tomorrow and I'll try to remember to post what I do. Have a great rest of the week, wherever you are!

May I introduce...

...Samantha & Dietrich F.!

Sam & Dietrich, and Nathan (my grandson, Sam's brother, the Best Man)

Cake from JaCiva's !

Samantha Rae...my beautiful Boo

I wish I had more to share, but I have a lot of shots of the backs of bald heads and other assorted body parts in MY photos! We got 9 out of 10 of the disposable cameras back (we're pretty sure we know who took one, LOL) and they all seem to be full! When I have them put on CD, I'll try to get a couple more photos up...but in the meantime, THIS is what all the work and fuss was for!
Everyone was exhausted by the time we got home last night, and basically just crashed into bed. The newlyweds are spending the weekend and Father's Day with Dietrich's dad, who came back from Peru (I guess he's a bush pilot) for his son's wedding. Then they're going someplace called Doe Bay up in the San Juan Islands for their honeymoon.
So...everyone had a great time, there was SO much food we all ended up bringing some home...the weather was PERFECT, about 74 and beautiful (as opposed to today, it's raining again, LOL!) and poor Jen has to drive the cousins back to Newport today, UGH.
And Yes, her tattoo does say 'Baby'...and the paw print is of the Russian Blue kitty she grew up with. The vet sent them a paw print in plaster with his name on it after he died, and she had it copied for her tat. She also has a treble clef on the back of her right shoulder since she was in both choir and band in school. Some of the girls she was in a cappella with were her bridesmaids, they're all still good friends.
All right, time for more tea...and possibly a nap later, LOL...all that excitement is hard on an old lady!
Have a great weekend all!

I finished up...

...the rest of my contribution to the upcoming wedding, Yay! This didn't take me anywhere near as long as the Guest Book project, though...it was fairly easy, thanks to PhotoShop Elements and paper punches.
I bought a package of 10 disposable cameras from Wal-Mart, then made up little cards for them to go on the tables at the wedding reception.

Hopefully the kids will have LOTS of photos for their wedding album, and lots of neat memories for years to come. They're planning on doing "The Time Warp" from Rocky Horror, ROFL, so I personally plan on taking lots of photos of THAT!
Have a good Memorial Day...we're expecting more rain here all weekend and most of next week as well. But then again, it's Rose Festival! It almost ALWAYS rains during Rose Festival...it wouldn't seem right if it was dry and sunny, LOL!

Basic dignity...

...a seemingly lost concept these days. Just read this GREAT blog post on the "human connection", and thought it was worth sharing.

http://www.ordinarycourage.com/my-blog/2009/6/16/this-i-believe-about-basic-dignity.html

OW...I may have sprained something...

...attempting to pat myself on the back, LOL! Seriously though, I am pretty pleased with myself! A couple of months ago, PB brought home a Guest Book from one of those outlet/clearance stores, with the idea of using it for Boo's wedding. However, it was bright red vinyl, with red & black dots on the inside...and Boo's colors are lilac and cream. Um...yeah...not quite right. But she said "Well, we can re-cover it, right?" So we went to the fabric outlet store and found some great stuff for the outside, then we found some 'inside' papers at Joann's that looked good with the fabric...I made some flowers and sparkled them up...and TA-DA!
Here's what the inside paper looked like (I forgot to take a 'before' picture of the whole book)-

Bleh!

 

 

And here's what it looks like now-

I'm very happy with how it turned out, and I hope Boo will be too! And yes, that is (or at least used to be) the dining room table, LOL! It's completely covered in papercrafty stuffs...we eat in the living room in front of the TV...doesn't everyone?! ROFL!
So now I'm completely fired up and ready to start another project! I just need to decide what it's going to be. I've got some stuff to make a "mini album", and a couple of plain wood boxes I want to alter...plus a wall hanging plaque or two (you can see one on the right in the last photo) that I'm already working on. So I'd best get busy and see what else I can do while I seem to have the inclination!

GROW THE F**K UP...

...or step away from the keyboard until you can at least behave in a socially acceptable manner! Wow, it never ceases to amaze me how petty and immature people can be online. These are alleged ADULTS...and astonishingly (to ME anyway) is that when you take them to task for it, their almost uniform response is "It's just the internet!"
I've said before that my daughter spends a great deal of time in internet chat rooms...that's her connection to the outside world. She has two auto-immune diseases, so her body isn't really able to deal with the germs that most of us come into contact with regularly...a cold can put her down for over a month! So she doesn't go out much...it's a giant Petri Dish out there as far as she's concerned.
Some of these "alleged adults" in the chat rooms are the most belligerent, hostile, selfish, rude and just plain nasty people I've ever seen or heard! And their justification...? "It's just the internet!" Holy Shit! That makes it O.K.?! Having internet access is NOT a license to be an asshole!
And I know it's not just chat rooms...a friend blogged recently about a friend of HERS that has started a fight on Facebook.
What is wrong with these people?! Don't they realize that there is a PERSON in front of the screen at the other end of their vitriol? Would they say the same things if they were face-to-face with the other person? Yes, I know, in some cases they would...but the other individual would at least have the satisfaction of being able to respond accordingly...be it to walk away, or to punch them in the throat!
This is not Trolling...an Internet Troll can be ignored, and will usually go away if no one responds. This is often a vicious personal attack from the safety of their home/space, secure in the knowledge that the other person CAN'T reach through and punch them in the throat! I wish we could petition the ISPs of these morons to have them put in a "Time Out" when they abuse the internet! And it IS abuse...there's no other way to put it.
Jen is a Moderator in the chat room she hangs out in, and she's gotten very good at NOT allowing people there to be contentious or abusive there...and if they are, she DOES have the means to put them in "Time Out"! And she uses it. I'm very proud of her, and I guess what I want to say is: We, as parents and internet users, have a responsibility to teach our children and any others who might learn from us that interaction and conversation on the internet should be just as civilized and polite as it would be in our own living room.
That's pretty much how our kids first learn to interact...is by watching and listening to us converse with others. Maybe there needs to be a course in 'Internet Communication' starting in Middle School, that teaches common internet courtesy and respect for others. Yeah, I know...it's pretty much up to US...
OK, I'm getting down from my soapbox now...I've ranted long enough...but DAMN, I do wish those people would grow up!

Local news and weather...

"Portland's rainfall so far in 2011 has measured just over 47 inches. That's 10 inches over the entire yearly average." (Courtesy of KGW.com)
Yeah...it's been a wet year so far...and there's more on the way...sigh... It's hard to be upbeat and cheerful when it's unremittingly cloudy, gray and dark... Good thing I have bloggy friends and interwebby stuffs to make me smile!
I laughed my ass off at 'Stine, she's taken to Pinterest like a duck to water! I think it's possible that she spent an entire DAY pinning! Kind of like me, when she turned me on to StumbleUpon...
So yeah, it's cold, wet and rainy here...but PB's car is fixed and running very well (it WAS the timing belt), so she's happy. I have a touch of some kind of bug...VERY achy muscles and just tired all over. Got to the store, but didn't get my Chicken Spaghetti made...that'll be dinner later this week.
I'm just gonna be a lump, I think...maybe Stumble some and maybe Pin some...have a great rest of the week.

It's not my fault...

...it's Kristine's fault! Seriously! I've seen references to StumbleUpon around forever, but had never bothered to go check it out until 'Stine recommended it. Holy Crap! I've been all OVER the interwebs for the past week or so, and it's eating up HUGE portions of the day just sitting here clicking away, ROFL! And then I had to go and join Pinterest, so you know, there's another chunk of hours gone...OY! I think I may have an addiction problem. BUT...I now know how to make my own liquid hand soap from bar soap, and I'm having my neighbor make me one of these, and I've got loads of new recipes to try and...well, you get the picture. Plus there was a sale at Michael's, and a trip to Craft Warehouse in there as well...and some crafty playing too.
I did manage to go get Boo's wedding napkins (lilac with their names & the date in black) ordered, so that's done. Then I think I going to order these to put on the tables at their reception. The wedding date is creeping up on us at a ferocious rate!
Sunday my poor sis's car broke down on her on the way home from work (graduation weekend at Univ. of Portland) and she had to walk about a mile or so home...because her new cell phone was dead and she couldn't call anyone to come pick her up! I beat her and made her find the car charger cord and put it in her purse! LOL! It does NO good to have the damn thing if it isn't charged...ACK! We had the car towed (Yay, AAA!) to Kate's...her boyfriend/thing is a mechanic, and he's pretty sure it's the timing belt and will fix it over the next couple of days. PB had Monday off, but works Tuesday then has the rest of the week off. She's driving Jen's van to work Tuesday, so that leaves my car here for a grocery run. We need milk, plus I want to make Pioneer Woman's Chicken Spaghetti and I need a couple of things for that...nomnomnom!
So, have a good week...and I'll try to force myself to break away from StumbleUpon and Pinterest long enough to post here again soon.
And here's a LOL for ya'...

Everyone needs to smile...

...and here's a good reason to:

http://thepioneerwoman.com/confessions/

Be sure to click on the link in the post, too.

If you've ever been owned by a cat...

...you'll appreciate the clear and elegant depiction of Solange by Brooke McEldowney. He creates one of the funniest and most thought provoking cartoons around...9 Chickweed Lane. It can be found on the web here:
http://comics.com/9_chickweed_lane/  I highly recommend it.
In the meantime...here are some of his "Hallmarks of Felinity" from over the years:
http://www.student.ipfw.edu/~osbodr01/hallmarks/hallmark00.html
Enjoy!

In case you haven't caught it yet...

There's a new Simon's Cat video...

And I've been challenged! 'Stine, over at Kristine's Place wants me to do the list of Four Things. I think I'm up to it, LOL.

Four Places I Go:

1. Craft Warehouse - Papercraft junkie that I am...
2. Michael's - Ditto
3. Powell's City of Books - Dangerous! Too many choices, not enough $$$!
4. Dollar Tree - Cheap kitchen/bath stuff and the occasional good deal.

Four Smells That I Love:

1. Sandalwood & Amber - The shop where I used to have my own personalized scent made is still there, I just drove by it the other day!
2. Bread baking - I should start making bread again!
3. Lemons & Oranges - Limes too, actually...that sharp citrus tang just smells 'happy' to me.
4. Wildwood Recreation Area - On the slopes of Mt. Hood...when you walk down to the Salmon River amongst all the trees and natural undergrowth, there's a clean, clear, green scent that is so fresh and inviting.

Four Favorite TV Shows:

1. Warehouse 13 - Between seasons now :(
2. Haven - Ditto
3. Ghost Hunters - Love Jason and Grant!
4. Dirty Jobs -  Mike Rowe, need I say more?

Four Favorite Movies:

1. The Fisher King - Jeff Bridges & Robin Williams...I can't explain why.
2. Boondock Saints - Um, yeah...
3. Boondock Saints II - Same reason...
4. Iron Man/Iron Man II/Sherlock Holmes - Yeah, I'm ALL about Robert Downey, Jr....even if he could be one of my kids...sigh...

Four Recommendations: 


1. I Can Has Cheezburger - At least one smile a day, if not more.
2. Pioneer Woman - Because she ROCKS!
3. National Geographic - Amazing photos and so much more.
4. Pandora Radio - Kinda like StumbleUpon for tunes...

Four People...Seriously, I don't know that many people to 'tag' with this. If you feel like it, go for it!

That's it for me...have a great weekend, all! And Hoppy Easter!

It ALWAYS makes me laugh...

...every single time...

I swear, I just blinked...

...and this happened!

Boo at about a year....

 

 

 

 

 

...her engagement ring, that she designed...

 

...her wedding dress fitting...

My Boo-Boo, my first grandchild and ONLY granddaughter will be 21 on Tuesday (4/19)! This can't possibly be right...it seems like only a little while ago that she would come to my place for sleepovers and we'd take the bus into downtown and spend all day window shopping and having lunch at Newberry's or Woolworth's counter. We would spend an entire day just hangin' out together and having a great time. We were BFFs...
Now she's all grown up and getting married in 2 months. I'm happy and excited for her, yet I'm sitting here typing this with tears in my eyes...I miss you, little girl...

Nor did it work...

...at least not on the cat...

I'm really kickin' myself now...

over what could have been a HUGE money-making opportunity! Or possibly not...
See this? They're selling it in Germany at 4,95 Euros per bottle...
"Anti-Monster-Spray unter das Bett, auf das Kopfkissen und in dunkle Ecken sprühen."
(Anti-monster spray under the bed, spray on the pillow and into dark corners.)

When Booger was about 3, he was having terrible nightmares and night terrors. He complained of monsters in his room and under his bed, in his closet, etc. So on my way to Jen's one afternoon I stopped at Dollar Tree and picked up an empty spray bottle from the cleaning supplies section and a small bottle of Plumeria after-bath body spray.
When I got there, he told me about how scared he was at night. I told him I had JUST the thing! Umma's Magic Monster-Stay-Away Spray! I mixed about half the (small) bottle of body spray in the larger spray bottle, filled about halfway with tap water, and shook it up thoroughly. I told him that monsters could NOT stand the smell and that they wouldn't come anywhere near where it had been sprayed...
Needless to say, he led, and we covered ALL the bedrooms and closets, cubbys and corners where there could POSSIBLY ever be a monster lurking! And it WORKED! Another 'spritz' now and then when the scent faded...but no more monsters. They used it in the new place when they moved, too, and it worked just as well there.
So why didn't I think of putting it in cute little bottles with a cutesy label and selling it at 5 bucks a pop?!?!?! Really, it's a rhetorical question...I have no idea why. But I don't think it ever occurred to me that anyone might actually BUY something like that...I can't help but wonder what their sales are like. Are there more monsters under German beds?
I missed out on the Pet Rock thing too...sigh...

Yes...yes it does...Happy Friday!

No Crocodiles were injured...

...ever, in the making of 'Alicious Crocodile...promise!
When my daughter Jen was pregnant with her twins, she had lots of issues that involved sudden trips to the E.R. and sometimes overnight stays to get them resolved. When that happened, I would watch her oldest for the duration. Quite often, I would leave work and head to the hospital, pick up Booger Bear and take him back home to their place, make him dinner, keep him entertained and then get him to bed before Jen & her (ex, now) hubby got back home. He was about 2 and a half when he renamed this particular dish...Jen had some chicken thawing for dinner before she had to leave, so I just decided to make Coffee Chicken, somewhat of a standby in our family for years.
So I made dinner, and we sat down to eat...and a few minutes into it, Booger announced "Umma, this is 'alicious!" (he couldn't pronounce Grandma, so I've been Umma since he learned to talk) and a little later, while gnawing on a chicken leg, he said "We're eating croco-DILE!" and had this HUGE smile on his face. So...therefore...it's been "'Alicious Crocodile" ever since.

So here's the recipe for it, also known as Coffee Chicken...it sounds odd, but believe me, it's GOOD! It's also one of those things you can easily adjust for the number of people you're feeding...just add more chicken and potatoes as needed.

You need pieces of cut-up chicken, we like legs and thighs at our house (we buy the family packs and freeze them in bags of 4 to 6)...you need potatoes, however many it takes to fill up YOUR particular bunch...we use LOTS! And you need a pot of coffee...freshly made is best, but this morning's leftovers are fine too. Just DON'T use flavored coffee!! Oh, and Nature's Seasons too...can't cook without it, LOL. That's it.

Brown the chicken thoroughly...you want a nice color on it, as the last bit of cooking it'll get is actually steaming. We just brown it in a bit of Pam and season it with Natures's. Peel and quarter however many potatoes you need and throw them in a large pot...we use the all-purpose Dutch Oven. Pour brewed coffee over the potatoes to the point where some corners of them are sticking up ABOVE the liquid level, and season liberally with Nature's. You want your chicken to rest on top of them and not be submerged in the coffee, if possible. Place the browned chicken pieces on top of the potatoes in the pot, clap the lid on, bring to a boil...reduce the heat and cook till the potatoes are done, and there you have it.

We usually have some green beans (with bacon grease and onion, of course) alongside this, but spinach is good too...we love canned spinach, LOL. This is one our favorite ways to have chicken, and if you don't tell them, guests will never figure out what that yummy broth is that the potatoes cooked in.
Try it, you'll like it!

Where I go when I'm discombobulated...

Cooking by the seat of your pants...

...as blogged by a dear ifriend (http://jodianncates.com/weblog/) is one of those things that has saved my sorry ass many times over the years. Even if my girls did sometimes poke what was on their plate with a fork and ask "What was this when it was alive?!" Working full time and having 2 growing kids and a diabetic husband to feed called for some creative cookery...and not a whole lot of time to get it done sometimes.

I learned to cook from my Mom, and she grew up on a farm in Minnesota...so there were a lot of plain "meat and potatoes" meals, but I also remember that she went to county extension service classes and brought home recipes for Pennsylvania Dutch cookery among many others. She also went to the county fair every year and picked up every recipe she could from all the "associations" represented there.

Dad wasn't thrilled about any variation from the regular fare, but us kids (me, 1 brother and 1 sister, plus various foster kids over the years) looked forward to some of the new and interesting offerings. We had chickens and ducks for eggs, plus the occasional stew hen (our ducks ran away from home, to live with someone else, LOL)...and we also raised goats for a while...they cleaned up all the blackberries around the property, then we ate them! I was heartbroken when they slaughtered them...they were my FRIENDS! They were, however, very tasty...sigh...even now I'm conflicted...

I don't think anyone could have been more excited than me when the CrockPot hit the market...what a concept! But Jeez! You had to plan ahead and have things ready to go into it first thing in the morning...and I'm not really a morning person...nor a planner-aheader...(see paragraph one)...but, when I DID plan ahead, we could have some great meals!

We currently have 2...one 6 quart, and one of those oblong ones for bigger roasts and such. I love, love, LOVE them! Soup, stew, beans, cheap cuts of beef or pork, chicken...yup, gotta love what it does. Between them and the microwave, it's SO much easier to put a good meal together...then I can spend all day playing on the interwebs and stuff, LOL!

One of my favorite dinners is a recipe Jen got from one of her friends, and then I "modified" it a couple of times. It's called Iowa Pork Steaks, and is found all over the web in numerous variations, usually baked in the oven.
But here's MY version:
 Brown some medium or thick cut boneless pork chops till they're nicely colored all over & set aside.
In the crockpot, mix 2 cans of Cream of Mushroom with Roasted Garlic Soup (I sometimes add about 1/2 a can of water), 1 packet of dry Onion Soup Mix, 2  good 'glugs' of Worcestershire Sauce and a cup or so of sour cream. Mix it all up together.
In the same pan you browned the chops, throw in some butter and a box or 2 of sliced mushrooms and cook them till they smell so good you want to eat them right NOW...pour them into the crockpot with the rest of the sauce and mix them in. Plop the chops into the pot, and try to make sure they're sunk into the 'gravy'. Spoon some over the tops if needed. Clap the lid on and cook for 6 to 7 hours on LOW. Serve up with some mashed potatoes or buttered noodles. OMNOMNOMNOM!!
This recipe also works extremely well with boneless skinless chicken breasts...but I leave out the Worcestershire and add some whole roasted garlic cloves (there's no such thing as too much garlic in our house).

I should probably also tell you that the seasoning of choice here is Morton's Nature's Seasons, I honestly don't know how I ever cooked without it! So...there you go...try it, you'll like it! Tomorrow I'll give you my recipe for 'Alicious Crocodile!

Squish...

...squish, squish...it's gettin' kinda soggy here... This was posted on one of our local news websites (KATU) :     " By the way, if you're counting 23 out of 24 days this month have had rain. At  27 days it will be a new record for most number of rainy days in March."  And it appears that we're well on our way to making that record...guess what's in the forecast???
Oh well...Spring in Oregon...one long wet season...I've got pork chops to stick in the crockpot, and I think I'm gonna make a cake. So dinner will be comfort food and SUGAR! LOL...
I decided NOT to go to the Scrapbook Convention...I've got enough stuff for now, and Boo has her money tied up in her wedding, so it's just best all around if we stay away from temptation!
Have a great weekend, try to stay warm and dry wherever you are!