Nubs

(Photo from the AOL story)

For all the dog lovers in the world. Great story here!

Fast Pants And The Little Cart

Two quick and unrelated stories for you.

So I know many of us grumble about Ebay often but I have to share this positive story with y'all. On Friday night I bid on a pair of yellow Lilly Pulitzer corduroy pants in my fat girl size. I am back on the work-out bandwagon but the likelihood of me fitting into my not-quite-as-fat-girl size any time soon is unlikely. I'm just being realistic. Anyway, I bid on pants. And I won them. So when I found out first thing Sat AM that I won, I of course paid right away. I'm a good buyer like that. But the seller....she is even better. She mailed them what seems like moments after I paid. Then arrived on Monday. Won, paid, packaged and shipped before noon on Saturday. Arrived Monday. I was gleeful! Oh and they fit great so that's a big plus too.

Second story happened yesterday at the grocery store. My market has one little row of the highly desired little carts. Do y'all know what I mean when I say "little cart?" They look like the big carts but for a kid. They are short and double-decker. We don't have the fancy markets like Whole Foods, Trader Joes or Sutton Place up here. But they all have similar small carts in those stores. OK, either you know what I am talking about or you don't. But suffice to say it is a small shopping buggy. Moving on. Well my Price Chopper only has one row of them. So they are usually out when I go shopping. They are highly coveted as they are so much easier to maneuver around the people who think it is perfectly acceptable to place their giant carts side by side and having a long conversation with a friend and ignore you when you say excuse me so you have to leave the aisle altogether. But yesterday, I got a little cart. Perfect as I only needed a few items. So I go about my business and as I am towards the end of my shopping, this little old lady comes up to me. Actually, she came up to my cart as I was grabbing something off the shelf. She starts saying to no one in particular, " Can I have this cart? I want the little cart Can I have the little cart? I like the little cart." At first I didn't even realize she was talking to me as she was sort of just wandering about. Her husband then said that it was someone else's cart and she had to use the big cart. She stood her ground, wanting my little cart. I get it, they are way better than the big carts. I have asked Price Chopper Customer Service multiple times to get more but they just laugh at me and then say that everyone asks the same thing. Um, OK. And while I am sympathetic to little old ladies, I was actually using the cart. What would I have done with my groceries if I had given it to her? After I checked out I saw her again and did in fact give it to her. But come on now, I can't just give you the cart and magically carry my groceries. I hope she enjoyed my little cart though.

And The Season Is Officially Here

Bought this pink pig in high heels ornament at Target today. Isn't she adorable? The first sign that the holiday season is officially here in my household. I also have a coupon for 50% off anything at Michaels. The sales lady said that did not include the fake trees. But the fine print states trees over 4 feet tall. I have every intention to buy myself an under four foot tall pink tree at 50% off this week. I'm skipping right over Thanksgiving this year apparently. Is it tacky to have a pumpkin next to my pink Christmas tree? Well y'all won't tell, will you?!

Juicy News

Last week I bought myself yet another juicer. So far, it is still in my possession and has not been returned. A good sign. Still not my perfect juicer though. I bought the (as seen on TV) Jack LaLanne power juicer on sale from Target (because I practically live there!). It is far easier to clean that the last one I bought (and promptly returned after using once and spending 30 minutes cleaning). But I wish the spout was higher because I can only fit a small juice glass under it. And it does not tilt up when I switching to an empty juice glass, thus requiring me to be quick with my hands. Which I am not.

But I have just felt run down a lot lately. Or always. And realized (duh!) that I don't get nearly as many fruits and veggies in my diet as needed. So a juicer to the rescue (This week anyway. I tend to be flighty with toys/fads like this. Ask me in two weeks if I still juice anything and then we can really talk.). The pup hates it as it is not quiet. She has very sensitive little princess puppy ears. But I don't make her drink my concoctions so I consider that a fair trade off. My dad rolled his eyes at me when I told him that I am yet again determined to be a "juicer." And in all honesty, I feel that is a fair response. As I said, I do not have a great track record with juicers. In fact, I think I own the very first electric juicer I ever had in a box in the basement somewhere. I believe I asked for and received it for Christmas in 8th or 9th grade. So my fascination and good intention goes back to childhood. The follow-through has yet to be found though.

The book says to drink it ASAP and not store it in the fridge. I of course make my own rules in life and say pish posh to that nonsense. So I am juicing about ever three days or so and keep in in the fridge where it seems to be surviving just fine, thankyouverymuch. Take that Jack LaLanne juicer recipe book! Above is my own little treat of a recipe - 1 apple, 1 pear (mmmm- my favorite!), 1 humongo carrot, 1 big bunch of baby spinach, and a knob of ginger. Take that and toss in blender with a bunch of fat free vanilla yogurt and a banana (they cannot be juiced - sad, I know!) and there you have it. Served in a wine glass because it makes me happy. And I think meals should make one happy. Most of my juicing is not this sweet but I felt like a smoothie tonight. I ended up drinking the entire thing with dinner (which consisted only of the 1/2 a too large to eat in one sitting chicken and red pepper pesto panini from lunch yesterday). Just think about how many lovely vitamins and fiber entered my happy body in just this one meal!

I hope my enthusiasm is maintained as it doesn't look like either flu shot is going to enter my body any time soon. And no, I am not mad at the government for over-estimating. It happens. When they get to me, they will get to me. I hope to get both. But will settle for the regular flu shot if that's all I can find. Don't get me started on how insane and irresponsible I think you are if you are one of the people who refuse to get one for any reason other than an actual medical issue. It saves lives. Mine, yours and then some.

They just showed the lab making the H1N1 shots in the US on 60 Minutes. Fascinating. I love stuff like that. Factory tours that is, not medical stuff. Let me assure you that I am not remotely fascinated by anything medical. I turn away from many of the scenes on Grey's. Medical and KK do not mix. (But a big shout out of congrats to my best girl Georgia who just decided to go back to school to become a nurse!! I'm wicked proud of you! Just please do not tell me anything about your studies. Ew.) But I love a factory tour. I can actually tell you the exact moment I decided I loved a factory tour and am curious to know if any of y'all share this same memory. Sesame Street had an episode that featured a tour of Crayola Crayons being made. Right then and there I decided it was completely fascinating. To date, my favorite factory is the Celestial Seasons (yes, the tea company) factory near Denver, CO. The tour is excellent fun but then, the gift shop is fabulous too!

Funny story. So a long time ago when I was in college, my best pal and sorority little sister (or sister daughter as they are now called), Little, and I signed up to do an Alternative Spring Break. You know, the trips where you go volunteer time and work instead of heading to Mexico and Texas. But a week before we were set to head up to Memphis to work at Saint Jude, they cancelled on us. We were both completely bummed and had been so looking forward to working with such an incredible program. So we scrambled. Her grandparents lived in Boulder and said we could come stay with them. So we found tickets and headed out to Colorado to hang with Grandma and Cowboy (she called her grandfather Cowboy- adorable!). We did a little of everything. I am a big fan of skiing so we went to a more local mountain one day. We both took separate half day lessons. It was her first and last experience. I still maintain that if she gave it another chance she would love it. So after lunch she sat in the lodge and I skied solo. Another day, my payback for her spending her day skiing for me, we went to the USAFA to watch them march. Her childhood friend was in school there at the time and she LOVES her a man in uniform. Bad weather came in though and the men and women didn't march that day. We went to the gift shop to buy a sweatshirt for her and they didn't have anything in her small size. So we left crest-fallen. Poor thing. So we headed back home. But on the way home, we passed the Keebler plant. Realizing my love of factory tours (we went to Celestial Seasoning earlier in the week and I have been to many others in my life) and our less than fabulous day, we pulled in that cookie filled parking lot. We were babbling on and on about how exciting the gift shop would be with all of their new products ready for us to test out. So we don't see any signs. Nor do we see any goofy tourists. We find their office though so I hop out to ask where we go for the tour and gift shop. The sweet gal behind the counter looks at me as if I asked to meet Santa Claus. I ask again. She politely says that they don't have a tour. And they don't have a gift shop either. Gasp! Horror! But she did offer me a cookie as they had a trey of them in the back office. How sad and pathetic is that?! Keebler, why no tour of the magic tree house and elves working hard? I would pay good money to see that any day of the week.

I have no real reason I have been blog absent for a week and half. Some days I didn't have anything exciting to say, some I was tired, and some I just never got around to it. It happens. Hopefully my fresh juice will give me more energy this coming week! I cannot believe that there are only two more months in 2009. I have about a million and one things to do before Christmas gets here. Eeks!

What Happened To Cancer Sucks?

Another once bites the dust. Two losses, both Preppy Sue and Cancer Sucks With Lilly Pulitzer On Your Side, in one little week. Sad news times two!

I know Cancer Sucks left Blogville for a private, personal reason that she is not disclosing but I thought she might get a chuckle out of my guesses anyway. She said it was OK for me to post this and I am fairly certain that none of these are the correct guess. Her few and far between hints were just driving my mind wild. I seriously love a good guessing game. Though I've never had one that lasted quite this long.

Here's what I do know; she is not writing a book (but awesome guess, Kim!), her absence will last about a year (maybe more?), and her health is not a concern right now (thankfully!). Knowing only that, here's what I came up with. Let me know if you have guesses too. I know Cancer Sucks is reading and will think this is all rather humorous.


* You are prego. Now I am fairly certain you said this was no longer possible but on the off chance I am wrong (because let's face it, I am wrong frequently!), prego baby doc told you to blog no more because you are high risk.

* You are filming a show for TLC. Your adorable family was begged to replace the never filmed Kate Plus 8. This is actually the guess that seems most likely in an odd sort of way. I'll watch. And not just because I watch all the TLC shows. You know I love me some TLC.

* You are going on a speaking tour. Talking about your story from cancer and back again. Book not in the works but soon to follow for sure.

* Lilly Pulitzer hired you to be their spokesperson/supermodel. And you get to keep a sample of every design. If this is it, I am not sure we can be friends as I would be crazy jealous. But happy for you too.

* You are running for public office. I'd move just to vote for you.

* Hub's job is requiring y'all to move for a year. Hopefully somewhere fabulous like London or Switzerland.

* You are going back to grad school.

* And my second best guess is that you are adopting. And taking time off to bond.


So there you go, that's the best I can come up with. I wish you and the family the very best, Cancer Sucks!. It's a sad week to lose both you and Preppy Sue but I totally understand that family needs must come before blogs.

Just Say No

Have y'all read this post by Jill? I am the opposite. I have had a chronic case of The Yes since childhood. I sort of function better when I am slightly over-scheduled. But I also tend to lose my mind a little. It's a six of one, half dozen of the other sort of thing. I'm happiest when I'm busy but it makes me crazy and sometimes sick at the same time.

Well I've been feeling run down lately. Does anyone else sort of feel the pre-sickies a few days before real sickness (cold, sinus, flu, whatever) sets in? Its like my body's way of saying, "hey KK, here's your 48-72 hour warning to eat leafy greens, vitamin C and get some quality sleep in you before you will be forced to suffer in bed for a week." So today, I took note. I was asked to help with all these last minute things that I usually say "yes" to, even though it is completely rude to expect me to be at your beck and call. But I am addicted to yes. I think Jill wrote that post yesterday for me, though. Today, I said no. I said it politely of course. And offered to meet next week if needed. But this week, I have a lot on my plate already. And I just don't think it is wise to add anything extra. This quick change to cold weather is wreaking havoc on my sinuses. And I've yet to go get my flu shot. So it's early to bed for me this week. No extras. No, no, no. But with kindest regards. No.

Also, I finally remembered to put my heated blankie on my bed last night. I actually use it under my fitted sheet to warm me from the bottom up. I cannot believe I never owned one until last year. It's like a crockpot for my bed. (y'all know about my crockpot love!) Keeps me perfectly warm all night long. In high school, I had a teacher who used to give us the same bonus question on ever test. She wrote "happiness is ....." and all we had to do was fill in the blank. It was only worth one point but even if you bombed the test, you got that bonus and left the room feeling a bit happier. So my lovelies, happiness is my heated blanket. What is your happiness today?

Footies

Sorry for the tiny photo but I took it on my blackberry and I don't know how to make it larger. Actually, this was the first time I used a phone camera, so I felt very proud of myself just making it this far! Can you tell what you are looking at? Adult footie pajamas hanging up in Target! As a kid I LOVED footie pajamas. But as an adult, it gives me the shivers to think about how cold you would be as you stripped down to use the restroom in the middle of a cold winter night. Burrr. The blue or purple colored set is a sock monkey and I forgot (and can't see in the tiny photo) what the pink is. Made me laugh though.

Monster Monday

When I was 16, on July 03rd to be exact, I left my Satan's house for good. Until that point, my father had always insisted that no matter how terrible she was, it was important for me to maintain a relationship with my mother. God bless him. Not many ex-spouses would do that for the sake of their child. And even though I went through hell, I think the fact that I left entirely on my own accord had a major positive impact in my life. My father was actually out of the country when the straw finally broke.

I bet you are wondering what the major catastrophe was that lead to this. Well like so many things in life, it was a nothing event. My mother said that she and Satan would refuse to help me with my luggage (they were picking me up at the airport from a 2 week church tour through Europe) if I didn't hug and kiss him. I refused and so did they. So they stood there as family after family greeted their children with hugs and love and excitement to hear about their fabulous experience. They did nothing. Well told me how terrible I was, but they sure as heck didn't help me with any of my major teenage luggage, pillow, shopping bags, backpack and all the other crap that I had with me. At the time it felt like major drama. Looking back, I see that it was not really that big of a deal. It sucked but I managed. I faked a smile just like I always did. Ironically, the older I get, the worse I am at the fake happiness. If I am tired or unhappy or sad, it show. Clear as a crystal ball. Sometimes that's annoying but overall, I think I like that my feelings show so easily. It makes me feel more honest. Isn't that life though- the little things set you off? It was the straw that broke the camel's back. Right there in the middle of the airport. That lead to screaming and yelling and tears.

My car was at my dad's house though. They were supposed to take me to get it the following day as dad was out of the country on business. I called one of my best friends, Doc, hysterical, as Satan and his wife recorded my phone call. They recorded just about every phone call I ever made. Saying that they didn't. But I wasn't deaf. And later they admitted it. Stating that they never trusted me or my dad. They for sure recorded ever call I made to my dad while they were in the house. Anyway, my friend Doc and her family didn't quite know what to do. They knew many of the details of my life but taking me away from family was different. I ended up packing up anything I thought I might need (wasn't much- I never really kept much there- the majority of my clothes and belongings were always at my home- my dad's house) that night with my door locked. I told my mother and Satan that I would never return to their house. I went on and on about how this was my final night in their house. After I was done, my mother threatened me saying that if I left I was not welcome back in Satan's house. I literally laughed. I said, did you not just hear me, I am not ever coming back! The next day they dropped me off at my dad's house. I can't remember if I said anything but I doubt it. I am excellent at giving the silent treatment. Doc and her boyfriend and Florida's-now-hub came to get me that afternoon (it was July 04th) and we spent the afternoon/evening with friends at the beach. I was traumatized but it was actually a good way to get my head sort of on straight. They actually were not out of my life for good but it was the last time I was ever under their control. And I didn't speak to her for about a year. Like on the phone speak to her. It was the spring of my senior year of high school before I willingly saw her again.

Leaving Satan and his wife is still today the most significant event of my life. All because of luggage. I think it's funny now. There is nothing in my life about which I feel more pride! It takes ever ounce of your being to walk away from family. I have such conflicted sympathy for women like my mother. On one hand, I understand how impossible it feels to walk out that door and never look back. On the other hand, it was her job to love and protect me. She failed miserably!

But it was the very best decision I've ever made. Many judged me. Many still do. But that was the moment I grew free. It was a horrible night but I smile when I think about it. That night changed my life for the better!

Head Egg

Last night I had this sore spot on my forehead, just between my eyes. It was raised too. I thought, great, a zit. Because that's fun in my 30's. I put cream on it and went to bed. I woke up this morning and it is now a huge egg. Not a zit. Perhaps a bug bite, but I can't see a bite mark. It hurts like heck though. Sometimes I wake up with bruises on my legs that I don't remember getting. But that's fairly normal, right? And they don't usually hurt. This egg on my head thing hurts like no other. And I can put concealer on it, but it's hard to hide a huge lump between your eyes. I don't think I got clunked in my face and forgot about it. That's the sort of thing one tends to remember. During Phys Ed in junior high one day we were playing volleyball. I went to get the ball, missed, and the darn thing hit me right smack in the face. That was like 18 years ago and I still remember. In the fourth grade, I was playing outside in the school yard and did a high kick (I like to pretend I'm a Rockette!). I was standing on cement. My other leg came out from under me. I fell flat on my ass. The wind got knocked out of me. I still remember. But this darn head egg, that hurts like crazy, no idea where it came from. Hello, annoying. And ouch!

Berry Good Time

This is what I did on my Friday and Saturday night. I read Lera's tales of the goodness that is blueberry and strawberry butter several days ago. And I knew immediately that I needed to make a batch myself. I knew I would be able to get the strawberries on the way cheap - one of my local dollar stores sells the normal size bags of frozen either plain strawberries or mixed berries for a buck. I don't drive out that way often but it was worth it for big shopping bag of berries. This entire project, including the jars, came to about $15. I figured it out and I spent about $1.00/jar. Cheap, easy, fun and yummy. I made 12 little baby jars and one and a half big pint jars.





The recipe requires very little effort but a whole heck of a lot of time. It took me about 25 hours, start to finish. But about 24 hours of that time I did nothing. The crockpot did all the work for me. Also, the recipe had me scared out of my mind that it would splatter to the high heavens. Mine didn't even splatter on the lid. I took each bag of frozen berries, cut a slit in the top, and popped them in the microwave individually for about a minute or two to soften them up. Then food processed each bag while the next was in the microwave. Easy peasy. I was hoping the stunning red color would last but alas, in the end it is a reddish version of an apple butter color. That deep reddish brown. The flavor is just this incredibly intense strawberry flavor. I doubled the recipe and only used about a 1/4 of the sugar. I figured I could always add more but I judged correctly. Once cooked down, it is only about 1/2 of what you start with. I didn't need more sugar. Perfection! Oh and I don't need to tell you how amazing my house smells after having strawberries cook for 24 straight hours!!