Random Tuesday Thoughts

I swore off french fries after seeing the movie "SuperSize Me". It was a long, long, LONG time before I could even walk into a fast food restaurant after that. I was traumatized.

People always told me that you'd get more sleep when your kids got older. Now I have teens, and all I have to say is... LIARS!!!

When the kids were little, they loved me to sing in the car. One of their favorites was the “Where is Thumbkin?” song. This created a problem when it came for “Tall Man’s” turn. I’d try to hide my hand into the steering wheel where other drivers couldn’t see it.

One of my fix-it tickets sent to me today had this in the notes: “paper tray will not go into the printer. like a baby which won't open his mouth for peas.” Who says geeks don’t have a sense of humor?

Becoming a mother is a life-altering experience. I never knew the depth of love I could have for another human being until I held my sweet daughter and looked into her eyes for the first time. The moment takes your breath away.

It’s a good thing teens are so darn cute when they’re little babies. Otherwise, I don’t think they’d live past age 15 or so.

Well, Whaddya Know...

My work sponsored a contest on who had the best low-fat recipe. I entered in a recent favorite of mine that I made up....and I won. So now I will share it with you. It's one of those "throw it together" kind of dishes, and is fast and easy.

Fill a pan with water, about half an inch. Sprinkle in some salt. Sprinkle rosemary in water. Turn to medium heat, and put in a boneless, skinless chicken breast. Sprinkle poultry seasoning liberally on chicken. Allow to come to a boil; turn chicken over. Sprinkle other side with poultry seasoning. Allow to finish cooking (approximately another 5 minutes). When chicken is cooked through, take out of water and cut into small slices. Spoon some of the broth over the cut chicken pieces.

It is REALLY good. And simple to make!

Texting Conversation

Kayla: This car in front of the bus has a spazzy blinker lol its like a hummingbird!
Me: Those are weird blinkers. :)
Kayla: Those blinkers had way too much coffee lol


(Go visit Kayla at her new blog!)

Wordless Wednesday

Random Tuesday Thoughts

Even though it snowed yesterday, and I had to scrape a nice layer of ice off the windshield this morning, I officially declare spring has arrived since allergies have come on full force.

My work has this weird tradition of handing out green bagels to all the employees every St. Patrick’s Day. Green bagels are not that appetizing.

Zits inside of your ears (and nose) really hurt.

So I was going to the bathroom, and happened to be in the back stall. Someone came in, and apparently thought the bathroom was empty, because she sat down on the toilet and started to pee... without closing her door. She started to giggle to herself and said, “I like to try stuff.” Then as I reached for the toilet paper, she realized she wasn’t alone. Her door slammed and locked. Then she hurriedly got up, flushed, and then walked out of the bathroom without washing her hands. This was a person in scrubs, most likely a nurse. Ewwww!!!!

I hate it when my teens text me AND WE'RE IN THE SAME ROOM. Or I run into them in the hallway in the mornings, and they say, "Did you read my text?" To which I reply, "Why don't you just TALK to me right now, while we're both standing here?!?"

Persistence Has Paid Off

Three of my girls have now started blogs over the weekend.

Kayla, age 16: A Blonde Life
Lu, age 13: I'm Blogging!!!
Violet, age 11: CrazieCamper

Swing by and pay them a visit! :)

Speaking of the 80's....

Did anyone else watch 'American Idol' on Tuesday?

Ok, before now, I could either take or leave Adam Lambert. After Tuesday, I am in love with him. :) He has an amazing voice. And it totally takes me back to my 80's alternative rock days.

Remember Simon Le Bon (Duran Duran)? That's him on the right, looking all alternative-y. Loved him. He was SO hot in the 80's!



And now we have Adam Lambert, born in the 80's, following in Simon's footsteps. (They sure are similar looking, aren't they?) He sang, "Ring of Fire", Adam-style, which totally blew me away. It's either a hate it or love it version, I've decided, and I'm in the "love it" camp.

You can listen here for his studio version. Or here, if you want to listen to the live version that was aired on the show.

So. What do you think?

Big Hair

Last night, I was eating dinner when a rerun of "That 70's Show" came on. I totally laugh at the hair, remembering my foray into the Big Hair debacle. Then, my friend and I watched American Idol together a little later, smiling and commenting about the people who are starting to wear Big Hair again on the show.

I've been growing my hair out, mainly because I have no clue what kind of haircut I want. So it's in the annoying inbetween stage, where it really won't do much of anything. This morning, just for fun, I decided to style it similar to Big Hair in the 70's, with the whole feathered back bangs look. Ron and I have been laughing about it.

Then I'm in the kitchen, getting lunches ready, and Lu walks around the corner. "Boo! I scared you!" she says, as she heads into the family room to collect her school stuff. I waited about 5 seconds, and then started in with the "Aaaaaaaaahhhhhh!!! Aaaaaaaaahhhh!" to humor her. :) Then Ron says, "Wow. You really scared your mom-- look at what it did to her hair!"

I start giggling helplessly, while Ron just chuckles at me. As I'm giving him a hug, and we're laughing together, Lu is watching us with raised eyebrows and critical teenager eyes.

Big sigh from Lu. "And to think that I have to live with these people." Cue eyeroll.

Blog Encouragement

So I told Kayla she was "featured" on my Tuesday blog post. She was a little worried about what I'd said ("Not me-- it's what YOU said.") until she had come home from school and checked it out herself. :)

I told her, yet again, that she should start her own blog. Her answer?

"But I have nothing to write about. What would I say? 'Today I went pee. It was amazing!'"

Then she asked me if it was true that people eat about a pound of small jumping spiders in their lifetime, while they sleep. She heard it on the radio. And then proceeded to act it out. LOL!

Maybe one of these days I'll convince her to start up her own blog. :)

Wordless Wednesday

Random Tuesday Thoughts

Today's Random Tuesday Thoughts are brought to you by Kayla, age 16. These are some quotes I've been quietly collecting over the past month or so.

• I think spiders try to torment me on purpose. Jumping spiders are the worst to try to kill-- it's like playing ‘Whack-a-Mole’.

• The heart is stronger than any one man's will.

• I'm just very talkative when I have a lot to talk about. Which is all the time.

• I love ponies! They're so cute and stubby. They are the midgets of horses.

• I frickin' LOVE that store! I want to marry it. Goodbye, paycheck!

• Life isn't about finding yourself. It's about creating yourself.

• I love strawberries. If Jesus was reincarnated into a fruit, it would be strawberries.

• Something is wrong with me. I think my whole body is dislocated.

Texting Conversation

From this morning...

Kayla: I almost thought i forgot my phone lol i would of died!!

and...

Kayla: wow i got so cold this morning. The stupid bus driver decided to not show up til it was way late!
Me: Maybe he had to go pee.
Kayla: For ten minutes? He has issues lol
Me: Too many prunes.
Kayla: Ew

Chicken Casserole

Here's an easy easy easy dish to prepare. Tastes good, too. Perfect for those nights when you just need to get something in the oven and go on to Better Things while dinner cooks.

Chicken Casserole

1 box stuffing mix (like Stove Top)
boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 can cream of chicken soup
shredded cheese (mozzarella or cheddar/jack mix)

Prepare stuffing according to directions. Spread across bottom of casserole dish. Put chicken on top of stuffing. Spoon soup over chicken (thin with a little milk, if necessary). Cover and bake at 350 degrees for about an hour. Uncover, and sprinkle cheese on top. Put back in the oven until cheese is melted (I like to broil it for about 5 minutes-- fast).

That's it.

I like to use a stuffing package from a Costco sized box of Stove Top, six chicken breasts, and 2 cans of soup. And lots of cheese. :)

Comfort food, all the way. Yum!

Conversation

Lu: Can I have some of your Vanilla Hazelnut tea?
Me: Sure.
Lu: What does it taste like?
Me: Like vanilla and hazelnuts.
Lu: But how will it taste?
Me: Do you know what vanilla tastes like?
Lu: Yes.
Me: Do you know what hazelnuts taste like?
Lu: Yes.
Me: Well, it tastes like vanilla and hazelnuts.
Lu: But does it taste like nuts?

Wordless Wednesday

Random Tuesday Thoughts

In a stunning display of my awesome klutziness, I managed to smash my head on the cupboards above a desk at work. And I mean smash, as in just-about-knocked-myself-out kind of smash. Now I have a dent in my skull.

Torture is coming home to a teenage daughter pulling freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies out of the oven....when you're on a %#@&*! diet.

Thank you so much, Mister, for carefully pushing phone buttons in the middle of the night, just so you could wake me up --and not believe me-- that you DIALED THE WRONG NUMBER.

I’m thinking of taking the LSAT cold, no prior studying. Is that stupid? I’m a really good test taker…

I’m still coughing from this stupid whateveritisihave. The doctor said, “It has all the symptoms of the flu but the high fever, so it’s not the flu. But I don’t know exactly what you have.” I had to pay a lot of money for the doctor to give me a prescription for cough syrup.

Texting Conversation

Lu, sick in bed today... her new bedroom is beneath the kitchen.

Lu: Violet is extremely loud :(
Me: Ask her to be quieter. :)
Lu: I don't wanna get up :-(
Me: Put a pillow over your head. LOL
Lu: Already did that. She's lifting up chairs and dropping them. :-(
Me: Hazards of a basement bedroom!
Lu: More like the annoyness of having a little sister :-(

Prescription Cough Syrup Haiku

foul tasting liquid
full of codeine happiness
makes my legs tingle


(Inspired by Joe's recent post)

Wordless Wednesday

Random Tuesday Thoughts

I've been really sick since Friday. As in, I-swear-I've-only-got-half-a-lung-left-as-I've-coughed-up-the-rest-of-it kind of sick. So the only random thoughts I have today are sick ones. (No, not that sort of sick ones.)(Sicko.)

I don't know about you, but I really hate sick dreams. They're full of stupid weirdness that you have to endure when you finally fall asleep inbetween coughing fits.

At least I don't have a sinus infection with this, even though like Grant, my head has become a mucous factory. I credit the good fortune of no sinus infection to my loyal neti pot. I should write an "Ode to the Neti Pot" in another post. Love the thing.

I hate that my work lumps vacation time in with sick time, so all you have is "personal time off". I hate using sick leave when I could be off camping somewhere instead.

And for those still wondering, both my gelatin and ibuprofen allergy tests came back negative. So the other night, when I had such a horrible headache, I took two ibuprofen. The test LIED. Two swollen eyes this time. Ewww. No more ibuprofen for me!

Now I'm going to go back to sleep. I hate being sick.