And If You Place Your Order In The Next Thirty Minutes, I’ll Throw In Some Free Ginzu Knives!

16 May 2007 by

This is totally random but absolutely essential information.

If you happen to have a CVS drugstore in your area, they have a special on Coke products this week:

Five 12-packs for $11.

That averages out to, you know, cheap as can be per 12-pack. Or $2.20. Or, even better, 18 cents per Coke.

ISN’T THAT EXCITING?

I’m going to go BUCK WILD and buy all manner of Coke products: diet Coke with lime, caffeine free diet Coke, Coke, regular diet Coke, etc. I envision having to clear out a special place in the laundry room to store all the Coca-Cola goodness, and THAT MAKES ME SO HAPPY.

And because I love a bargain, I just thought I’d share.

Go stock up, internets.

Memorial Day is just around the bend, you know.

Filed Under: Out Of Control

AI – Top 3

15 May 2007 by

Three songs! Three songs each!

Jordin Sparks –

“Wishing On A Star” – It was great for Jordin’s voice – it’s just not one of my favorite songs, really. It almost seemed like she was holding back a little (it stands to reason – she was first to sing on what was no doubt the biggest night of her life), and I want to see her blow it out of the water on the next one.

“She Works Hard For The Money” – Now I’m a little sad for Jordin, because I think she got a bum rap on the song selections tonight. This song just feels like karaoke to me – it doesn’t matter who’s doing the singing. So even though Jordin did a good job with it, ultimately I just found myself feeling sorry for her that she got stuck with this song.

“I Who Have Nothing” – I thought this was brilliant – and it was a great choice on her part to sing it again. Absolutely her best performance of the night; and hopefully it’ll be enough to push her into the final two.

Blake Lewis –

“Roxanne” – Okay, until I saw this performance, I’ve never thought about the similarities between Blake and Sting…but they actually sound a little bit alike. I have to say, though, that this was sort of weird to me, because “Roxanne” is not a happy song…but Blake sang it like it was a summer beach anthem or something. A little bizarre. But he did sound good – he really did.

“This Love” – I like this song a whole bunch, and it’s pretty much tailor-made for Blake (Jordin should file a protest or something; he got a good, relatively current song – why didn’t she? I’m thinking too much about this. I need to let it go). He did a good job and should thank the producers for picking the song that they did. Unlike Jordin. Who should not be thanking the prodcuers.

“When I Get You Alone” – VERY fun. It’s a perfect Blake song – and I think, with this performance, he may have edged out Jordin for the final two. Because if that were a single? I’d totally download it. And listen to it over and over. Smart song choice on his part.

Melinda Doolittle –

“I Believe In You And Me” – That was perfection. Her best yet.

“Nutbush City Limits” – COME ON, NOW WITH SOME TINA TURNER. Personally, I would’ve rather heard “Proud Mary” (AND I WOULD HAVE DANCED TO IT), but she did a great job with a song that’s no doubt a little outside her comfort zone.

“I’m A Woman” – Did she stumble over the words at the beginning? Because if so, that’s the first mistake we’ve seen from her all season. Even so, she took a song that could be campy in the wrong hands and made it current, fun and catchy. The girl can SANG. Not sing. SANG.

Who should go? – Based on tonight alone, I have to say Jordin. Blake and Melinda were stronger across the board – and part of that is because they had better song choices from the judges and from the producers.

Best of the night? – Melinda’s version of “I Believe In You And Me”

If you wrote tonight’s AI on your blog, feel free to sign the Mr. Linky below and link to your post.

Filed Under: TV Is My Friend

Those Little Ears Are Always Listening

15 May 2007 by

Yesterday Alex had to come home early from Mothers’ Day Out because, well, he threw up. In his classroom. During “circle time,” which is normally quite exciting for the pre-schoolers but takes on a decidedly somber bent when, you know, vomit enters the fray. Funny how that works.

By late afternoon the throwing up part of the virus had subsided, and after some Sprite and crackers, the little man decided that he felt like sitting up and doing something besides watching “Little Bear.” So, in the softest voice imaginable, he said, “Mama? Do you want to play the Wii with me?”

I think my response probably goes without saying.

So I pulled out the Wii-motes, put in the Wii Play game, and the two of us started to play. Alex was leaning his head against my shoulder, but his little eyes were lively for the first time all afternoon. I pulled him a little closer.

We started playing our favorite game, Find Mii, which is basically a timed matching game. We were making pretty good progress, but then we got to the part where we had to find look-alike Miis who were swimming underwater in a pool (I recognize that this sounds like a bunch of crazy talk. I do. You can see a demonstration of what I’m talking about here if you need a visual).

The timer was steadily ticking down toward zero, and Alex and I were both trying to figure out where the match was. With about ten seconds left, he looked up at me with those big blue eyes, and in the hoarsest little voice I’ve ever heard, he whispered, “COME ON, NOW, SON.”

I was so busy smiling at him that the timer ran out. We didn’t find the match, and we lost the game.

But make no mistake: I totally got the prize.

Filed Under: Family Fun

Oh Sweet Mercy It’s Good

14 May 2007 by

This morning I added a little thingy to my sidebar (see? over there? to the right?) called “What’s For Dinner?” I did this because I figure that I need some serious accountability in the cooking department, and it’ll be good to know that some people are checking up on my meal-planning progress. Plus, since y’all were kind enough to share around a hundred recipes with me last week, I thought that a few of you might like to know what we’re trying.

And by “a few,” of course, I mean the two of you who actually care.

I’m hoping to sit down every Saturday or Sunday and plan what I’m cooking for the next week, type it all out here – and then I’ll link to the source of the recipe. If I were a really thorough person I’d go back afterwards and tell you what we thought of the meal, but that probably won’t happen because it requires a certain degree of follow-through, and I think we all know that I’m far too busy thinking about chocolate and watching HGTV to make that type of commitment.

Also: I am lazy.

But I just have to tell you about what I fixed for supper tonight, because I really do think it’s the easiest meal I’ve fixed in, oh, forever. And on top of that – it was absolutely delicious. Insanely good, in fact, when you consider that it took 15 minutes to prepare. FIFTEEN MINUTES.

The original recipe is here, by the way. I decided to make it because D. wandered through the living room the other day when I was watching “Everyday Italian,” and he thought everything she was making looked delicious. However, the pasta recipe on that particular episode had about 14 different kinds of mushrooms, so I decided I’d look for something a little more simple ingredient-wise. Hence the chicken parmesan.

I also only made the recipe for four, not eight – because if I make anything for eight during the week, the leftovers will stay in the refrigerator until they grow feet and try to escape from their frigid prison in the middle of the night. Plus, four chicken breasts fit perfectly in my cast iron skillet, and a one-dish meal is always appealing.

So here’s my version of Giada’s Chicken Parmesan:

4 chicken breast cutlets (if you have regular boneless chicken breasts, cut them in half and pound the devil out of them)
2 Tbs. olive oil, divided
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried sweet basil
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. lite salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. paprika
3 Tbs. butter, divided
1/4 cup Italian blend shredded cheese
1 jar Classico Cabernet Marinara sauce
1 box Healthy Harvest whole wheat thin spaghetti

Preheat oven to 475. Put one tablespoon of olive oil and one tablespoon butter in skillet over medium heat. Put salted water for pasta on the stove (MAKE SURE THE WATER IS IN A POT, SILLY).

Brush chicken with olive oil, then sprinkle one side with half of all seasonings.

Place chicken seasoning side down in skillet – and while it’s cooking, sprinkle the other side with remaining seasonings. Cook for two minutes per side – then remove from heat. Pour 3/4 jar of marinara over the chicken and place 1/2 Tsp. of butter on top of each chicken breast. Sprinkle cheese over all, and put the skillet in the oven for about 6-8 minutes.

Once you get the chicken in the oven, your water for the noodles should be boiling. Add spaghetti – and cook for 6-8 minutes.

Drain the noodles once they’re done – then remove skillet from oven. Serve chicken and marinara on top of pasta.

IT IS SO STINKIN’ GOOD AND EASY.

I just did a green salad on the side, but some fresh French bread would have been mighty fine indeed.

I think Alex would have loved this meal, too, if he weren’t under the weather with a stomach virus (a for-real virus – not an I-don’t-like-the-new-whole-wheat-bread virus), but he did eat some plain noodles like there was no tomorrow in addition to drinking about 32 ounces of Sprite. So I think he’s on the mend.

Bon appetit, y’all!

Filed Under: Cooking

Good As New

14 May 2007 by

In the spirit of my pledge to offer you yay, even MORE boring information (YOU JUST CAN’T GET THAT KIND OF PROMISE ANYWHERE, PEOPLE – OH NO YOU CAN’T), I would now like to talk to you a bit about Alex’s clothes.

I’m not even kidding.

Because recently – just since his 4th birthday – Alex has grown approximately five feet. Give or take a few dozen inches.

And the little man, who was a perfect size 4T back in March, has now morphed into a child who needs a size 5 in every single thing he wears. Which, under normal circumstances, could get a little expensive.

If I didn’t have the bins.

Stay with me.

Back in 2004, when Alex was a little over a year old, we went to Memphis to visit my brother’s family for a week or so. Because they had recently moved into a new house with a whole new decorative “look,” they pretty much opened up their attic and told me to take whatever I wanted, and I am not kidding you when I say that I had to rent a U-Haul trailer to get it all back to my house. It was so much stuff that I actually hummed the theme song to “The Beverly Hillbillies” as I pulled out of their driveway – I felt like Ellie Mae Clampett, only with sassier hair and absolutely no trace of midriff showing.

And, you know, my car had a roof.

And I didn’t have a pet raccoon.

And also: I was not wearing a piece of rope as a belt.

But of all the things that I brought home that day – rugs, breakfast room chairs, an ottoman, even a king size bed (I AM NOT KIDDING) – the very best treasure of all was enclosed in about seven plastic storage containers.

Because inside those storage containers? My nephews’ “gently worn” hand-me-down clothes (thanks again, Janie and Brother!).

And so, once I got home, I emptied the containers and sorted everything on the dining room table according to size.

Here’s what it looked like at the time:

[picture removed because of cropping issues – will return shortly]

As you can clearly see, Gap exploded in my dining room.

After everything was sorted, I washed the clothes, folded them, and put them back in “the bins” according to size – 18-24 months, 2T, 3T, 4T, and 5.

Which means that this past Saturday morning, instead of going to Old Navy or Gap or Kohl’s or wherever and having to spend a bunch of money to get Alex outfitted for summer (underwear, swimsuits, t-shirts, shorts, church clothes), I walked into my garage, pulled out the size 5 bin, carried it inside the house and went shopping in my living room.

It was SO MUCH FUN. And it didn’t cost one dime.

Yesterday afternoon I washed everything again, put away all the size 4 stuff that was in Alex’s closet, and LOOK!

[picture removed because of cropping issues – will return shortly]

It’s a size 5 paradise!

And by the way: if you had told me, before I had a baby, that the sight of a colorful wicker basket filled with an entire summer’s worth of shorts would make me want to jump up and down just a little bit, I would’ve rolled my eyes and quickly resumed watching the “Real World / Road Rules Challenge” marathon while simultaneously painting my toenails and talking on the phone.

But now?

Well.

I think the fact that I took pictures of the inside of my child’s closet says it all.

ISN’T IT EXCITING?

And did y’all notice that I’m not crying about the fact that there’s not a “T” behind his clothes size anymore?

Because I totally think I should get some kind of certificate for that.

Filed Under: Out Of Control

How Thoughtless Of Me

13 May 2007 by

I’ve been so busy boring y’all with pictures of my summer clothes that I’ve completely forgotten to bore you with pictures of the goslings!

They’re getting so big…

[picture removed because of cropping issues – will return shortly]

[picture removed because of cropping issues – will return shortly]

Really, I should be ashamed that I don’t offer you a wider variety of boring material from which to choose.

Please know that I will try to do better.

Also, a couple of people have emailed me to ask what my favorite kind of white t-shirt is.

And while I would love to tell you that I rely on some super-secret fashion find to carry me through the summer months, I cannot.

Because I am all about what Sister and I like to refer to as THE WHITE STAG COLLECTION.

You can find it exclusively at your local Walmarts.

Look for the t-shirts on the shelves – not hanging up – and for about $7 a piece, you can find some cute (and durable) white t-shirts with just a hint of stretch to them. They’re available from XS to 5X – something for every size of the fashion rainbow.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I COOKED AGAIN, so I’m going to serve supper to my family. Tonight I’m making Maria’s crockpot chicken, and I threw a couple of cans of black beans in a few minutes ago because I am a little obsessed with black beans right now and believe them to be nature’s most perfect food with the exception of the sweet potato.

That is all.

Filed Under: The Nature
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