Cookies and Candies and Bars indeed!

ArmyWifeToddlerMom has put out a call for great Christmas Cookie recipes. And who am I to refuse a shout-out for recipes?? People who know me would agree, I am all about the snacks.

Seriously.

And I do quite a bit of holiday baking and candy making. I just love walking into my house and catching that faint whiff of cinnamon or chocolate. And then starting the process making the yummy smells and goodies all over again.

This year I will be making Cranberry Orange Bread, Pumpkin Bread, homemade Toffee, and chocolate dipped Peanutbutter Balls.

Oh, and Snickerdoodles... Lots of Snickerdoodles... Those are *my* favorite cookies for sure...

Snickerdoodle Cookies (Christmas Style)

½ C. butter
1½ C. all purpose flour
1 C. sugar
1 egg
½ tsp. vanilla
¼ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. cream of tartar

to dip/roll cookies: 2 Tbs. sugar, 1 tsp. ground cinnamon

For Christmas Cookies I use the Green sugar/cinnamon and Red sugar/cinnamon to roll the dough balls in. You get pretty, sparkly red and green goodness!

Cream together butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla. Mix all dry ingredients (first) then add to butter mixture by thirds. Mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.

To bake, heat oven to 375. Roll dough into approx. 1” balls then roll in sugar/cinnamon mix before placing 2 inches apart on non-greased baking sheet. Bake 9-11 minutes until just golden.

**I usually double or quadruple the recipe when I am making them.

**It is easy to overbake these cookies as the cinnamon makes it hard to tell when they are getting just a tad golden.These cookies are really easy to scorch.

**You can make the cookies as big as you want—I have had great luck even making them dinner plate sized. (You will have to slightly flatten them yourself if you decide to make ‘em big).

**Chilling the dough is nice but not super necessary. You will get chewier cookies if the dough is chilled, though.

**This is a great recipe to make with your kids. I have baked them for years with the girls without much frustration. Well, some - but not a TON anyway... (And wine helps... just sayin'.)

So there you go! More Christmas cheer for everyone via baked goods is always a good thing...

And if I'm smart, I'll take a hint from AWTM and get my holiday baking started this weekend. I got a lotta folks to say thanks and/or Merry Christmas to this year. Happy baking to you as well!

Up a creek!

Thankfully that's just the Brain Bender. Ready to play??

--------------------

What two words, formed from different arrangements of the same six letters can be used to complete the sentence below?

In order to ________ the skill of running rapids, you should start with a gently ________.

---------------------

Running rapids is fun. Not that I have done it in a while, but my Dad had an eight-man raft when I was growing up. Took a four day trip on the Snake River, once... Fabulous...

Anyhoo, you know what to do. The answers will be found in the comments later. Bring a paddle!

Kinda like Cheers...

Sans "Norm" of course, but still.



Either way, it amused me!

Hat Tip Loretta & Dal

Vroom! Vroom!!

Yes I am still racing around, but that doesn't mean that you can't take time to play...

--------------------

Some letters have been removed from the names of the cars listed below. Fill in the missing letters to find out what they are.

• _ U _ A _ _ I
• _ Y _ N _ A _
• S _ _ _ A
• L _ N _ _ A
• T _ C _ E R

--------------------

To be honest, there are a couple of these that I have never heard of (I peeked).
But then again, I'm a girl. And I don't much care about cars. Though a '68 Chevelle SS would be nice...

Anyhoo, you know what to do. The answer will be found later in the comments.

Update: Rave from Quid Nunc is the official Smartypants. Whoohoo!!

Better late than never...

...that's what I always say. Usually when I am late - go figure.

With my folks here visiting and Christmas right around the corner, afternoon activities are a bit more... uh... unplanned/planned than normal.

Know what I mean?

Yeah, me either - but that's what it's like.

Ready for the Brain Bender?

--------------------

In 12 years, Alice will be three times as old as she was 12 years ago.

How old is she now?

-------------------

The good news is that it is dang near cocktail hour. The bad news is that a glass of wine will do nothing to help me solve the puzzle. Thankfully, I know y'all have my back in that department...

Anyway, like always the answer will be found in the comments later. See you then!

Update: Oddybobo is the official Smartypants. Whoohoo!

Odd man out...

Otherwise known as today's brain bender. Ready to play??

--------------------

Which of the four-digit combinations below is least like the others?

• 6712
• 9511
• 7342
• 5543

--------------------

And you know what to do! The answer will be found later in the comments. See you then!

Another "Holy Crap!" moment in my house...

I guess an alternative title would be, "What the heck do you 'spoze they are teaching in schools these days anyway???"

Either way.

Tonight as I prepped the girls' backpacks to ready them for school tomorrow, I flipped to the appropriate page in Sporta's assignment notebook.

I really like these things. It keeps her organized, and keeps me looped in as to what they are working on, what needs done, and what (if anything) special is coming up. She had told me early on that she didn't have any homework this weekend, so it was just a formality and to ensure we were ready for Monday.

As I prepared to add my John Hancock to the page, something a little troubling caught my eye...















Can't see it? Well try this shot...












Uhhhhhh...

So I turned around, shook my head, and looked again to see if I had read it correctly.












Yup. That's what I read.

So as any calm, cool and collected parent would do I called A. into the kitchen and asked her to read the notation to me.

Sporta: "Mooooom.... It says fact sheet sign... Okay???"

Me: "Of course it does... Thanks for clearing that up for me..."

fact. sheet. sign.

Of course...

Hey, at least her spelling (of other words) and penmanship are pretty good, right??

Ya think I'd better go now and write a note for the teacher??

Yeah, me too...

Oh, the weather outside....

...is balmy! But that's not stopping us from beginning the Christmas prep.

Nosireebob.

If anything, it is making "Operation Outdoor Christmas Cheer" that much more pleasant of an undertaking. That and the knowledge that cold weather is on the way... And no one wants to be doing this stuff when it's blowing and snowing out.

No one.

So, that's what I'm working on today. Had to make the arbitrary trip to Home Depot for more portable electrical outlets. Gotta love that - whole isles of extension cordage and all manner of things to plug into them.

Six foot tall inflatable Snow Globes to go in front of your house with all types of Christmas Critters trapped inside. Getting snowed on in perpetuity. Smiling.

I feel a bit sorry for them, actually.

And really, in Florida or other places where snow doesn't happen - I can kind of see the appeal. I can!

"Look honey, I got an inflatable Snow Globe for the front yard! See?? The snow blows all around the cute snowmen inside! Just like it does in real life up North - only we don't have to shovel anything! Isn't it festive??

But here in Wisconsin?? Uh, HELLO! We get snow here! Lots and lots of it. Every. Single. Year.

And it's festive. Right up until January second. And then the countdown begins as to how much longer we are going to have to deal with the white stuff, and what a pain in the a$$ shovelling it is...

But I digress...

Today, I am getting on the Operation Outdoor Christmas Cheer bandwagon. Though my yard will be inflatable Snow Globe free, thankyouverymuch.

But I do have my eye on some illuminated Elk that were pretty fascinating.

That could be fun....

I Won!!

I won! I won! I won!

And (even better) I didn't even know I was playing... Hehehe...

Anyhoo, apparently I was Eric the Straight White Guy's 12,000th commenter. Whoohoo!!!

And good gray grief! I know I have bugged the poor guy left many a comment over at his place, inundating him with with my pithy responses all kinds of snark and occasional shock at some of the things he posts. But now I know that I am most definitely not alone!

There are 12,000 others who have felt the need to type kudos, crap, and occasional awe in response to the postings of the Ambassador of the Blogosphere. Eric entertains a lot of us. Well.

So yay me! And thanks for the Treat you left me, Eric. As you know, that song and that particular rendition is an absolute favorite of mine. You're the best...

The Day After...

And the best part of it all is the knowledge that there is no way I am going to have to cook today. Whoohoo!

I mean, I usually overdo a bit, but this year? I must have been under the assumption that I was feeding whole battalions of people. Good Grief. Tons of Turkey (I will be making *that* the day before from now on, by the way...), dressing for days, there was even more than a bit of macaroni and cheese leftover! Unheard of!

And hey, anybody have any suggestions as to what I should do with about a gallon and a half of leftover gravy?? Seriously....

Anyhoo, while other folks around the nation are out and about loosing their ever-loving minds in a retail feeding frenzy, my biggest plan today is just to finish up the dishes and maybe catch a family movie.

What do you think, Happy Feet? Or The Santa Clause 3??

I am torn between wanting to see the new Harry Potter Trailer all of the cute dancing penguins and seeing Tim Allen be Santa again.

Truthfully, I really enjoyed the first two Santa Clause movies. Probably because they just shored up my own belief in the Man in Red. Ho Ho Ho!!

So anyway, that's my plan. And good grief - they are showing these completely manic shoppers on TV... Can anyone explain the appeal of this? Am I missing something?

I must be... There's a lot of active participants out there. But I'm warm and inside... And I have pie... Nothing wrong with that.

Update: Happy Feet won the toss. Pure eye candy, it had great music, dance scenes, and some definite laugh out loud moments... It was great! And yes, there was a bit of touchy feely environmentalism, but over all, the message (follow your own dreams and talents is what *I* got) was excellent. It's a keeper.

Thanksgiving Eve...

And the first order of business is to get the doggies off to the groomers for a day of beauty. And believe me, they need it.

Also a day to get started on the feast we will all enjoy tomorrow. Pretty traditional fare around here...

• Turkey*
• Mashed Potatoes*
• Dressing*
• Peas
• Macaroni and Cheese*
• Cheesy Mushroom Bake
• A yummy Rice Something (courtesy of Mrs. AkshunJ)
• And a salad via ArmyWifeToddlerMom that she posted ages ago for the Carnival of the Recipes, I think. You can see the recipe in the comments of this post.

• Oatmeal Pie*
• Pumpkin Pie
• Pumpkin Bread (for breakfast)*
• and Cheesecake*

(The items with a * are the things I hope to get prepped and or done today.)

Mmmmmmm.... And I was thinking of maybe a nice BBQ Butter Grilled Shrimp appetizer of some sort. But we'll see.

So as you can see, my plate is full today. And will definitely be full tomorrow.

I love, l ove, love Thanksgiving. It's one of my favorite holidays. I have so much to be thankful for, after all.

Oh! And as per Rachel's request, here is the recipe for the Cheesy Mushroom Bake. (Thanks Aunt Donna!!)

1# mushrooms (sliced)
1C. shredded cheddar cheese
1 6-8oz can sliced black olives
1 1/2 Tbs. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. Accent**
1/8 tsp pepper
1/3 C. half & half
1 1/2 Tbs. Butter (melted)
1 C. breadcrumbs

In a casserole dish layer mushrooms, olives, and cheese two or three times. Blend flour, salt, pepper and half & half and pour over the top. Add the breadcrumbs to the melted butter and sprinkle over the top. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Now, I am not going to use the Accent - MSG doesn't agree with me, but otherwise I remember this stuff to be simply delicious. I had to call my Aunt Donna the other night to get the recipe since I have never made it myself.

Knowing how I stick to recipes (not) I'll let you know if any other changes I make are worthwhile. Heh.

Okay, I'm off. For those traveling today - I bid you safe roads and/or skies.

For those tending the home fires - may you have a warm and blessed holiday with good food, family and friends.

And may we keep our sense of humor intact...
(Thanks Teresa!)














Happy Thanksgiving, y'all.

Halfway through Tuesday...

And I got nuthin'.

Work to do, yes. But nothing of interest to impart. And I don't write nearly as eloquently as Eric does about nothing, so I'll just stop.

It's for the best, I promise...

Thankfully I still have the Brain Bender to post. Ready to play??

-------------------

How many common English words can be made from the letters below, using all five letters once in each word? What are the words?

A E M S T

---------------------

Okay! You know how to play. The answer will be found later in the comments! See you then...

Well, I made it out alive....

But it wasn't pretty, folks. Not pretty at all.

And now I have to put all of this stuff away! Boo.

Anyway, that shouldn't stop you from wasting time at work playing. Ready for the Brain Bender?? And let's have a twofer since I missed Friday....

--------------------

What do all of the following words have in common?

• STATE
• BANDS
• PORED
• CHAMPION

and...

A line from a famous song has had all of it's vowels removed. What is the line?

W L L L V N Y L L W S B M R N

-----------------------

All righty then... You know what to do! The answers will be found later in the comments. I'll be in the kitchen if you need me...

Fortune Cookie Wisdom...

...from lunch yesterday.

Good beginning is half done.

So basically the cookie is telling me that I am behind, right? Or have I made a good beginning??

Hard to say at this point.

Huh. So either way having an unsolicited day off from work today is an advantage, in my book. I am going to finish cleaning (scrubbed the kitchen floor yesterday and steam cleaned the carpet - that feels good) and make The Trip.

The Trip to the store to gather the rest of the supplies that I will need for a fabulous Thanksgiving Feast. The least enjoyable part of the whole experience, in my opinion.

Really.

People start to get a little crazy out there this time of year and tensions can run high. I think I'll make my trip a little early today so as to avoid the most conflict. But now I have to decide where to go...

Do I take my battle to the tried and true ginormous Woodman's Market with it's dingy overcrowded isles and a decent knowledge of where things are??

Or do I brave the bright and shiny newness of the just opened Super WallyWorld Land where patrons wander the store, eyes glazed over from the sheer joy of having more Wal-Mart. Bigger. Newer. MORE...

Hmmmmm... We shall see...

Either way, I am going. If I am never heard from again you will know that I have been lost. Lost to the isles of the Super WallyWorld Land... Eyes glazed over...

MORE...

(Heh. Just so long as I don't forget the mushrooms, I'm all good.)

Mmmm..... Pie......

Heh. While I spend today getting this place ship shape for the upcoming holiday, this is quite appropriate! Via Michele at Letters from New York City, pie...

You Are Apple Pie

You're the perfect combo of comforting and traditional Those who like you crave security

What Kind of Pie Are You?

I really like apple pie too! Especially warm with vanilla ice cream. I never did understand the whole putting cheese on your apple pie thing, though. Even living in Wisconsin (hello! land of cheese!) it sounds kinda gross...

Anyhoo, I am not planning to make my pies today, but this helps put one in the mood!

So a little pie survey - I am going to make a couple of Oatmeal Pies for Thanksgiving. How about you?

Lifeus Interuptus...

Hey, it happens...

Happy Friday y'all...

Say what? Thanksgiving??? Christmas?!?!?!

Well, at least I'm not the only one who got snuck up on by the holidays.

Holy crap...

And today I have household and Good Mother stuff that need to be done as well.

For example, I need to...

• Prepare 25 cups of "dirt cake" (basically chocolate pie filling with crushed oreos and gummy worms) to take in to A's class tomorrow
• Fix K's brand new winter coat - the zipper came off,**
• Get WxMans shirts prepped for the rest of this week into next
• Scrub the kitchen floor
• Address the hamster cage (Precious the Hamster gets to go to school as well tomorrow, God help me)

Along with all of the regular household/cleaning/feeding everybody stuff.

What do I want to do??

Take a nap. Because 4:15 comes early tomorrow too...

Oh well. That's the way it goes.

And looking at that list, I'd better get crackin'. And get my list going for the weekend. Sing it with me!

You'd better not shout!
You'd better not cry,
You'd better not pout.
I'm telling you why....

There are only 37 days to get your sh*t together, by Christmas...

**Oh, and if anybody knows how to get the zipper thingy back on a coat so the coat will... you know... ZIP. Please let me know. It's been kicking my ass so far...

Jessica and Matthew sitting in a tree....

...trying to make us figure out how freeking old they are!

Yes I know it doesn't rhyme. Blame the Brain Bender.

Ready to play??

--------------------

Jessica is now twice as old as Matthew was five years ago. In five years, Matthew will be three times as old as Jessica was five years ago.

How old are they now??

---------------------

Darned if I have a clue, but I'll bet you do! Like always the answers will be found later in the comments. See you then!


Update: We have a speedy Smartypants today. Whoohoo, Tuning Spork from Blather Review! And here is your official OFTR Smartypants Sticker...

Well, not surprising I guess...

Though I scored higher than I thought, the way the questions were reading. Hmmmm....

Your Quirk Factor: 43%

You're a pretty quirky person, but you're just normal enough to hide it. Congratulations - you've fooled other people into thinking you're just like them!

How Quirky Are You?

Found over at Tammi's World and she found it at Leslie's Omnibus where I saw this!

Your Expression Number is 6

You have an outstanding sense of responsibility, love, and balance. You are helpful and inclined to comfort those in need. You have many artistic and creative talents, but you only use them to better others. You are loving, friendly, and appreciative of others. You have a depth of understanding that produces much kindness and generosity. Openness and honesty are apparent in your approach to all relationships. Sometimes, you can be too demanding of yourself. At times, you tend to sacrifice yourself for the welfare of others. At other times, you have trouble distinguishing between helping and interfering.

What's Your Expression Number?

Yeepers! That's a bit disconcerting, to say the least.

How did they get me so wrong??? Or maybe I just don't know me very well... Huh.

(And I'm totally kidding. They nailed me. Scarily accurate, actually.)

Tweaked...

My back, anyway. That doesn't mean we can't play though....

-------------------

Fill in the blanks to complete the word below.

A _ _ M _ _ E _ _ Y

------------------

Okay! Not that anything I do will fit that description for a while. I'm off to take more advil and tackle the laundry.

Well, maybe not tackle... More like move gingerly around while trying not to take deep breaths while folding. Yeah. That's it.

Anyhoo, you know what to do. The answer will be found later in the comments.

Update: Rave from Quid Nunc is the official unofficial Smartypants today. Whoohoo!

Update II: I didn't see it before, but cudos and a smartypants sticker go to Tuning Spork at Blather Review for coming up with the "official" answer!

Keeping the home fires burning...

Well, at least now we are better equipped to do it!

This is what WxMan decided to get me for my birthday....

Cool huh?? (Or I guess a better description would be "hot," Eh??)

So last night we just had to try it out.

It fits on my patio beautifully! Well, not on the patio per-se but it sits in the middle of the stump cover raised flowerbed where my fountain goes in the summer time.

Perfect. And WxMan had a great time playing in tending the fire trying to get it just right...

So for my birthday dinner, the girls had a little weenie roast while WxMan and I enjoyed cocktails by the fire. It was quite something.

I foresee s'mores and hot cocoa on Christmas Eve if we play our cards right. (And since I'm the dealer I think I can hedge my bets.)

Patch!

Oh no.... That's not it. But that was the first answer that jumped into my head when I saw today's Brain Bender.

Ready to play??

------------------------

Replace each letter below with a digit to make the math correct.

MEND x I = DENIM

------------------------

See??? PATCH! It would totally work! Or not... Oh well. Anyway, the real answer will be found in the comments later. See you then!

Well, this works today...

Ready for the Brain Bender - Birthday edition??

------------------------

Richmond was having a birthday party. She sent a special invitation to Jane, her mother's mother's only daughter-in-law.

What relation is Jane to Richmond?

-------------------------

Heh. Aren't families fun?? Anyhoo, you know what to do. The answer will be found later in the comments. See you then!

Update: Oddybobo is today's official (and speedy) Smartypants! Whoohoo! And she gives really good presents. Just sayin'... Thanks Oddy!

Another fabulous weekend...

Am I on a roll or what?!?!

More good food, and more good friends to share it with - it just doesn't get any better.












Though a bit fast and furious (and planned on the fly) it was great way to celebrate my getting another year older.

Who better than girlfriends to help you age gracefully?? Or at least make you giggle about it?? Thanks gals, for making the trip!

And thanks to my friend Roses - who came up with a Happy Birthday to Meme (which I read Me!me!). Heh.

November 13th ...is my birthday!

This year, when I blow out my candles, I will wish for... Holy crap, sky's the limit! I am really going to have to think about this one... I'll let you know.

If I didn’t know how old I was, I would guess that I am... 35 years old. Even though now I am older, I have *always* felt 35. I have no idea why.

Hanging out with friends... makes me feel younger than I really am. (It is fun to be silly sometimes.)

Parenting ...makes me feel more mature than I really am.

Before my next birthday, I would like to... take a trip somewhere fabulous. Preferably without having to drive through South Dakota.

Whoopi Goldberg ...shares my birthday! As does Robert Louis Stevenson.

( bloggers I know ) have birthdays soon, too. Please visit and wish them well!
Well, I don't know about soon, but Shoe and CalTechGirl just celebrated birthdays. So Happy Birthday, ladies!

It's been quite a year. I have celebrated and I have mourned, and I certainly haven't been bored.

What is that double edged proverb??

Oh yeah... May you lead an interesting life.

I'm pretty sure I have that box checked.

What's with all this wierd SPAM linkage??

I noticed it just now in Christina's post. All of these highlighted word links that don't seem very...well... Christina.

And again when I left a comment over at Harvey's place.

And once more on a post I am working on and had saved as a draft... And I know that *I* didn't include a link to anything.

WTF?

What gives? Does anyone know?

And how do we make it go away?? I do not want to even inadvertently leave comment spam...

That sucks...

Update: Well apparently I am insane. Or it was just a one day thing. Weird - all of the links are gone now... But it was strange to begin with - just various words (service, America, job, phone) were hyper-linked and highlighted in a light green color.

Now they're gone.

Strange...

Veteran's Day

And like Oddy and Tammi I am going to keep it simple.

Thank You. Thank you all...











Later today I have a few calls to make. If you have any veterans in your life I recommend that you do the same. Saying thank you is an easy thing to do - and if anyone deserves a thank you it's a Vet.

T.G.I.F.

Whoohoo!! Friday!!! ::happy dance::

And even with crappy weather to deal with, it still feels good. Ready to play?

--------------------

What two words, spelled differently but pronounced the same, mean exactly the opposite. : erect and tear down?

--------------------------

The English language is a strange thing, no? And like always the answers will be found in the comments later. See you then!

Nothing like making a good first impression....

I met the new neighbor this morning.

Me: No makeup, Don King hair, grungy sweats sans bra, looking like I slept on my face - dashing off to take A to school.

"Good Morning..."

Him: Looking like a human.

eyes widening "Good Morning to YOU!"

Ugh... I think I'll go back to bed now...

Update 10:50am: For once this appearance may have come in handy, though. I just scared two pimply LDS Missionaries off my front porch.

Think I'll go take a shower...

Thinking on a Thursday??

Well, sure! Gotta keep those braincells happy don't we??

-------------------

The scores on the math test were posted. Xenia's score was not the lowest. Neil's was neither the best nor the worst. Robin was beaten by Neil. Xenia beat Vera. Vera scored better than Robin and Neil. Will beat Vera but not Xenia

Who scored the highest?

-------------------

And who is going to lose it on Prom Night and take out half of the Senior Class?? Huh?? I think *that* is a much more important question to answer at this point. Don't you??

Anyway, like always the answer(s) will be found later in the comments. See you then!

Update: Rave from Quid Nunc is today's official smartypants. Whoohoo!

Feathers??

Ummm.... Okay.










Can somebody please explain the appeal of this???








For those who cannot tell, it is a feather tree.

A feather Christmas tree.

A pink pre-lit feather Christmas tree.

WTF???

As Mom and I bopped through Michael's yesterday, I noticed that they had a whole display of various feather trees.

A.whole.display.

Many, many feather trees. All in various shapes and colors and ranging in price from $39.99 on up. What is this trend?? When did this happen??

Having been stunned into submission looking at all of the feather tree choices in Michael's (and looking for pictures to illustrate this post) I discovered that Tarzhay has a whole selection of feather trees as well.

Again I ask, when the hell did this happen??

Am I supposed to like the idea of mutated featherdusters in my house all in the name of Christmas cheer??

Or is this a new general decorating trend that I have just not been privy to?? Why would you want ginormous clusters of feathers imitating trees to begin with??

Maybe it's a fetish thing.

Maybe the chickens and roosters of the world felt the need to contribute more to society.

Maybe Martha Stewart has been hitting the sauce, and thinks we won't notice that this is a really dumb idea.** ('Course Martha would have us raising our own chickens for the feathers and making the trees ourselves, sadist that she is....)

All I know is it times like these that I am so grateful to not be a slave to fashion. Good grief...

'Course, I guess I could just go with the handy-dandy feather wreath instead.




I wonder if it molts....




**Apologies to those who own, plan to own, and/or like these feather forests. We here at One for the Road do not intend to offend any feather lovers out there. There are just some things beyond our comprehension. And that's okay.

God save the Queen!

Or at least give her a tissue...

Ready for today's Brain Bender??

--------------------

What four words, formed from different arrangements of the same seven letters, can be used to complete the sentence below?

When the Queen's ________ caused her to sneeze as she walked through the ________, she acted so ________ that it went ________ unnoticed.

--------------------

I blame feathers. But that's just me.

Anyhoo, you know what to do. The answers will be found later in the comments.

Fingers crossed...

I *might* have tommorrow off..

From work, mind you.

Not from life.

But OFF.

Off would be good.....

Update: Oh yeah... Got the call at 4:50am. You'd be amazed what a few extra hours of sleep will do for a girl. :-)

Election Day!

Definitely a day to use your noggin. Ready to play??

--------------------

What two words formed from different arrangements of the same six letters can be used to complete the sentence below?

The ________ of the charity group had formed their club to carry out their ________.

-----------------------

Sounds pretty noble to me.

Okay, Mom and I are off to have lunch and I need to vote. Like always, the answer will be found later in the comments! See you then!

Update: Rave from Quid Nunc is today's official smartypants. And I assure you, she's one of the ladies in this world who has ideals. Whoohoo!

Monday, Monday...

...all day long.

But after such a great weekend, I cannot complain. Ready for the daily Brain Bender?

---------------------

Each of the words below has had a single letter removed several times. (Different letters have been removed from each word.) Can you find the original words?

• FILE-FALE
• NCTOS
• UNRNWD

---------------------

Of course you can!! And like always, the answers will be found in the comments later. Happy Monday!!

Update: And the lovely and talented SarahK from Mountaineer Musings is our official smartypants today. Whoohoo!

Fabulous weekend...

Oh yes it was.

Can I just say how terrific it was to spend the weekend with Oddybobo and her darling (source of endless energy) little boy. What an absolute delight they both are. She was everything I had anticipated and more - and I feel like we have been hanging out for years. I can't wait to have the opportunity to do it again.

Friday was great. Oddy and I had ample time to visit and her cutimous little boy kept my girls on the run! My Pop was so very charmed by this delightful woman that he just followed her around asking all sorts of questions. I think he may be ready to adopt!

Then on Saturday afternoon it was too cool to get to hang out with a few other folks. Tammi managed to find my house (with only a teeny bit of whistled help) and Harvey and his Beloved Wife TNT were charming as they always are.

And I do mean ALWAYS.

The one thing I did learn, is that I am going to have to start updating my shoe closet. Holy crap! Both Tammi and TNT were sporting the most amazing boots! Even though I feel confident that I would end up viewing the world from the flat of my back, it would be worth it just to own footwear that looked that good.

Tammi brought fun goodies for the kids (my girls are super thrilled with the camera, Tammi) and many, many yummy snacks were consumed topped off with ice cream (Thanks Harvey and TNT) and Oddybobo's pumpkin pie.

It was all the yummy and then some.

As always it is just great to get a chance to visit with these fine folks. (My mom and Pop were even here to experience a my little mini meet and they were thoroughly charmed). We got to visit with a few others thanks to Alexander Graham Bell but The time went by too quickly.

Like always.

Sunday, Oddy and I had the chance to just hang out again for the afternoon and go to the park to play. It was a gorgeous sunny day that just went way too fast.















Later, we got to chat with another friend who was also missed the day before. I swear, what I would give to own a teleporter some days... (Rave, I would so totally have beamed you in.)

Then, all too soon, it was time for Oddy and "the boy" to head for the airport. : ( I was sad to see the weekend end, but oh so glad that she made the trip all the way to Wisconsin to see the likes of me...

Thanks for making it such a fun weekend, Oddy! I can't wait to do it again! I just hope that you and "the boy" aren't too worn out...

Oddybobo is here!

Whoohoo!! And she brought the cutest little boy with her... What a darlin' he is.

And she brought me the best present... Something I would have never thought of in a million years. Heh.










It's a mousepad. The perfect mousepad based on a picture she used in a meme to describe me. Heh. Observers are worried... True. So true.

And she brought me some fabulous Mary Kay products that I can use to fend off any rabid Mary Kay Ladies I run into. Double heh.

But I know you are wondering... "Richmond, did she make pie?? Did she??"

The answer my friends is yes. Yes she did.








And it is as wonderful as you might expect.

Later this afternoon I am going to play host to a few other bloggers as well! The blogfather, Mr. Bad Example himself Harvey along with his beloved wife TNT are going to come over along with Tammi from Tammi's World. I am hoping that Roses will be able to stop in as well.

Doing my part means that I have some Chicken Tortilla Soup getting yummy as I type. And I figured I'd make Hot Artichoke Dip and Blue Cheese Appetizer Pizza as well. Can't have too much delicious snackage, in my humble opinion!

Good food, good friends and good conversation will be had. And then there will be PIE. Doesn't get any better than that, people. Doesn't get any better.

I need to head back to the kitchen but here's hoping that your Saturday is fabulous as well. And that maybe there will be pie...

Getting ready for company...

Lots of excitement for me this weekend! Oddybobo is coming to town!! Nothing but fun there... Nothing but fun.

So to share a little of the fun I am preparing for, here is today's Brain bender so you can waste time at work play too.

Ready??

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Laura likes peanuts but not grapes, and she likes potatoes but not tomatoes. Following the same rule, will she like radishes or string beans?

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Huh. Well that's interesting. I just hope that Oddybobo like the snacks I'm making! (No radishes or string beans in sight.)

Anyhoo, like always the answer will appear in the comments later. Have fun!

Spooktacular!

Aren't they just the scariest things you have ever seen???

Good thing they morphed back into their angelic selves before school today.

It was cold as hell* last night, but we still had an awesome time. Mini-snickers will cure almost anything, I have discovered. Everything but frostbite...

I almost had WxMan come and get us when we realized that we were six blocks from home and done. But we managed to make it.

The girls are enjoying dressing scarier and scarier every year. And the costumes seem to be more ambiguous as well. Ask them who they are or who they want to be and you get a convoluted explanation of the feeling they want to convey instead.

They are beginning to ooze cool while I wax nostalgic over SpongeBob or Princess past.

It's a trip.

Free candy still rocks, though. I don't think that aspect ever changes. Heh.

*Where do you 'spoze the phrase "cold as hell" even came from?? It's a far cry from the fire and brimstone description...