Flashback Friday

Just like every other kid, I loved getting a free prize in the cereal box.  To make sure that I didn't waste the cereal just to get the prize, I had to eat the cereal before I could get the prize.  After about a week of school morning breakfasts, they would give in and let me rummage in the box for the prize.  Sometimes they would be in a very charitable mood, and would let me open the cereal from the bottom and get the prize out first, but I knew I still had to eat the cereal before they'd buy ne another box with yet another prize.  Yeah, that was strict, but it was just an example of tough love.  I'd like to say that made me a patient person today, but that's not the case.  But I digress. 

Back in the day, you got very cool free prizes in cereal.  Now, they're very cheesy and most of the times, you don't actually get a tangible free prize - you get a coupon for something.  Not so with my beloved Cap'n Crunch.  My favorite cereal box prize ever was a little plastic coin holder that came in a box of Cap'n Crunch.  The outside was red, and you slid the lid off and inside were three slots that each held 3 quarters, nickels and dimes.  When I had that coin holder full, I thought I was rich.  Heck, that was $1.20 -- for a second-grader, that was rich.  I carried the plastic coin holder most of my elementary school years until it finally fell apart.  When Mom or Grandma would buy me a new purse, I'd be very picky and would make sure it had an inside pocket for my coin holder.  I wish I had that coin holder now, and I wish it was full.  That would be about $1.20 more than I have in my purse right now.

Mad Daycare Owner Update

I'm very very happy to report that the situation with the Mad Daycare Owner has finally been resolved.  After procrastinating for over a month because I'm just not a confrontational person, it's all over, and I have two co-workers, RP and JW to thank.  Every morning, when I would get to work, JW would ask if I had gotten my money from the Mad Daycare Owner, and each time I would tell him no, because deep down I was a wuss.  Yesterday, he and RP mentioned this a few times, and RP even offerred to go over and get the money for me.  Not wanting someone else to fight my battles, I told her I appreciated the offer.  She told me "It's time for you to just put on your big girl pants and go get your money."  Well, after a pep talk like that, how could I back down?

I called the Mad Daycare Owner from my cell as soon as I pulled out of the parking lot, and simply reminded her that she still owed me $69.  She said "Oh, I thought they paid you."  I said "They? Who is 'they'?" She then said she'd mail me a check.  I told her no, and that I would be by the daycare in about ten minutes to pick up the check.  I got there, and the check was waiting for me.  I wanted to go off on her, but I didn't want to stoop to her level.  I was calm, and before I turned to leave, I told her "My parents and I only tried to help you out. I'm sorry this turned into such a drama.  But I think we've all learned a valuable lesson from it."

I couldn't wait to see JW and RP this morning when I got to work, to tell them what I did and to thank them for hounding me about it.  We decided it might have been more effective if we'd dressed up like gangstas and went to the daycare and tossed a pair of tennis shoes over the utility wires to show they'd been marked as gang territory. 

The 2007 CPI

                                        

Item

Cost

Cost last year

Partridge	$15	Same
Pear Tree	$150	$130
Two Turtle Doves	$40	Same
Three French Hens	$45	Same
Four Calling Birds (canaries)	$600	$480
Five Gold Rings	$395	$325
Six Geese a-Laying	$360	$300
Seven Swans a-Swimming	$4,200	Same
Eight Maids a-Milking	$47	$41
Nine Ladies Dancing (per performance)	$4,759	Same
10 Lords a-Leaping (per performance)	$4,285	$4,160
11 Pipers Piping (per performance)	$2,213	$2,124
12 Drummers Drumming (per performance)	$2,398	$2,301

 

It's hard to believe that Christmas is a month away.  With the shopping season in full swing thanks to last week's Black Friday frenzy, it's time once again to look at the CPI - Christmas Price Index.  The good folks at PNC bank have been working hard as usual to bring us the 2007 CPI.   According to the 23rd annual survey, the cost of "The Twelve Days Of Christmas" is $19,507, a 3.1 percent increase over last year.  And once again, the rise in prices equaled the government's CPI - Consumer Price Index. 

 

If you want to buy your true love five gold rings this year, you're going to have to pay a bit more thanks to the increase in gold prices. The price of five gold rings now totals $395, a 21.5 percent increase over 2006prices, but nowhere close to 1989 prices, when five gold rings hit an all-time high of $750.  But the big bargains this year are on all of the birds; most of their prices stayed the same as last year. 

 

Another major increase this year was long overdue - the eight maids a-milking finally got a raise.  Thanks to the increase in the minimum wage this year, the maids got a 13.6 percent raise.  Which isn't anything to brag about when you consider the raise brought them up to the minimum wage of $5.85.  All I can say is it's about time those milk maids got a raise. 

 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday Joke Time

Several years ago, the Catholic Church required women to wear a head covering in order to enter the sanctuary. One Sunday a lady arrived without her head covering. The priest informs her that she cannot enter without it.

A few moments later, the lady reappears wearing her blouse tied to her head. The shocked priest says, "Madam, I cannot allow you to enter this holy place without your wearing a blouse."

"But Father, I have a divine right," she informs.

"Yes, I see that.... and your left one isn't bad either, but you still must wear a blouse to enter this church!"

File Under: WTF?

I was reading a magazine this holiday weekend - something that I normally don't take the time to do - and an advertisement caught my eye.  It was for deoderant.  But not just any deoderant - this was for "clinical strength" deoderant.  The ad said "For prescription strength wetness protection without a prescription."  I had no idea there was such a product on the market.  I did some research and visited the product's website and found some interesting info about this clinical strength deoderant. 

First of all, it said it was "clinically proven, prescription strength wetness protection."  Now, wouldn't you hate to have been in the lab working on the tests for this product? I'd like to know just how this has been clincally proven.  Did they put people in a room and crank up the heat to about 120 degrees with 100% humidity to make them sweat?  Then, the site said the product has "odor fighting capsules that absorb odor and release a scent all day to keep you smelling fresh and clean." That's some pretty powerful deoderant - if you sweat enough to need prescription strength wetness protection all day long.  Then the site said it had "skin soothing conditioners." So I guess besides giving you prescription strength wetness protection, it also smoothes and soothes your skin. 

This product raised a couple of issues.  Do people actually sweat so much that they need a doctor to prescribe a mega-strong underarm product? I've never actually seen (or smelled) a person like this.  I don't know about you, but personally, I don't want to be around a person who sweats so much that they need a doctor to prescribe a deoderant that strong.  Even if the prescription strength deoderant works, it would still be kinda gross to witness a person sweating that much.  And furthermore, with all of the talks about aluminum in deoderant being linked to cancer and Alzheimers, I think I'll pass on the prescription strength deoderant and just use my Secret. It seems to work fine. 

Link Of The Week

We've got one month and one week before the new year starts, and the end of the year brings us "best of" lists in the newspaper, magazines, TV shows and online.  Sometimes we agree with them, and sometimes we don't.  We all have our opinions of what we think is the best, and unless you have a blog or website, you have no place to tell others on the world wide web what you think is best.  Not any more.  I found a site this week where you can list any person, place or thing as being the best.  Visit http://www.bestfreez.com and get to listing.  You need to register first, but all you need to give them is your email address and you're good to go. 

I registered this morning and already posted.  I believe "Basic Instinct 2" was the best movie of 2007, regardless of what the critics, movie experts and movie viewers say, and now I have a place where I can share my opinion.  When you check the site out please look it up. 

I Shouldn't Have Strayed

Today's journal entry is brought to you courtesy of one of my favorite guest writers, Diva Stacy.  After she told me this tale earlier, I told her she had to put this in TWIT for all to read. 

I have this problem with stress and anxiety.  The slightest little thing can trigger an anxiety attack for me; going to the grocery without my list, a mom screaming at her kid at the MegaMart, even going to a "different" Kroger (I only like one).  For this reason I am extremely loyal to the stores where I shop.  I know where things are and for the most part I know what to expect.  I don't like surprises.  So yesterday when I drove to my favorite children's consignment shop, Kiddie Kloset, and discovered they were closed, I should have just gone on home.  Instead, I decided to drive a couple of miles down the road and go to the bigger, more commercial consignment shop.  Big mistake.
 
Now let me back up a second and tell you that before I went to this consignment shop I met Puddin' at our favorite neighborhood fish and beer joint (also on my list of familiar places). (Editor's note: this joint has the best fish in the 'Ville.  Maybe even in the state.  And I know Diva Stacy will back me up on this.)  Even though they are renowned for their fish, make no mistake, it's a beer joint.  We were there a good hour or so while we visited and enjoyed a refreshing beverage.  So I leave there and end up at the consignment shop.
 
The irony in this story is that I heard more yelling and foul language in the 15 minutes I was able to endure at the children's consignment shop than I heard in an hour at the beer joint.  I kid you not, I heard one white trash dad tell his daughter (who appeared to be about 6) that they were there to buy for her brother and she didn't need any more f-ing clothes (only he didn't say f-ing).  I lost track of how many times I heard someone tell their child they were going to bust their a$$.  And no one spoke softly, everyone was yelling their expletives.  It was amazing to me how no one seemed to care that they were cursing in front of their children, more importantly cursing AT their children.
 
And we wonder why 9 year olds curse at and assault teachers?!?

I Hope They're Happy

Before we had our Thanksgiving dinner yesterday, we watched the noon news and saw a news report that was very disturbing.  They showed people that were already lined up before noon yesterday to be the first in line when they opened Best Buy at 6:00 this morning.  They interviewed a mother and son. They had a canopy, a little heater, 3 blankets and some bottled water and they said that they would be okay, even when the nighttime temperatures dipped down below 30.   The news reporter didn't say what time those people got at Best Buy yesterday; but I'm guessing it was probably after breakfast. 

I thought about that couple last night when I was having a glass of egg nog in my nice warm home at about 8:00, and I wondered what kind of deal would cause people to wait in line that long.  I personally know a few people who waited in line for a couple of days to get some Play Station game system a year or two ago.  If they want to take off from work and go stand or sit in line for days, then good on ya.  But for me and my house, there ain't no way. The older I get, the less patience I have.  I'm not so sure I would have waited over night if they were giving the stuff away.  To some, it might be the thrill of the chase; to others, it might be the sastisfaction of knowing they got a great deal.  To me, it's just not worth it.

Happy Thanksgiving

It's been an unusual Thanksgiving Day for me.  For the first time in years, it was just the 'Rents and me having dinner.  Our good friend Lenora couldn't make it this year, so it was just the three of us.  Even though Mom was a bit under the weather, she still baked the prettiest turkey I think I've ever seen - it was golden brown, and could have been used on a show on the Food Network.  We had all the usual - dressing, dumplings, candied sweet potatoes, etc., and it was an awesome meal.  But it was just a bit different.  It's amazing how much difference having just one more person here for Thanksgiving dinner makes.  Now, don't get me wrong - the three of us enjoy eating dinner together.  We look forward to our 5:30 suppers every night, but we enjoy it even more when someone is eating with us.  It's not that we don't find each other interesting; it's just that we like being able to have someone eat with us who would have otherwise spent the meal alone. 

Lenora called us a few minutes ago after she'd gotten home from her niece's where she had Thanksgiving dinner, and told us that she really missed seeing us today.  We told her the feeling was mutual. 

Thanksgiving Link Of The Week

Everyone likes to get a holiday present, and even though Thanksgiving isn't really a holiday associated with gift giving, I'm giving a present to you, my faithful readers.  I'm giving you a bonus Thanksgiving Link Of The Week. 

Tomorrow, we'll be eating turkey and hopefully will be thankful for the people and things in our lives.  While you give thanks tomorrow, please take a moment to give thanks for the troops serving our country.  What better way to do this than to send them a text message and thank them yourself. Visit http://www.americasupportsyou.mil/americasupportsyou/Content.aspx?ID=44800891 to read about the program.   You have until midnight Thanksgiving night to send a text message to the troops.  All you need to do is send a text message to 89279.  While you're at the website, you can learn more about how you can support the troops.

What Should You Do If You're Kidnapped By Terrorists?

I read an interesting article in a news magazine last week.  The article was titled "What If I'm Kidnapped By Terrorists?".  I re-read the article and thought about how the tips could apply to the workplace.

1.  Run away if you can; stay calm if you can't.  That's pretty much a no-brainer.  If you pull in the parking lot and decide you want to go back home, go for it if your boss, immediate co-workers or anyone in HR didn't see you.  If you were spotted pulling into the parking lot, just stay calm and suck it up for the next eight or so hours until you can make your escape.

2.  Once you're in your captor's custody, remaind courteous and comply with instructions.  Like it or not, you're there, so don't make waves.  Do what you're supposed to do, and be polite.  In other words, suck up to your boss as much as you can.  Offer to get coffee for your boss, and run errands for them in the building.  To help matters, if your boss has a sweet tooth, bring them a Little Debbie snack cake or a Krispy Kreme. 

3.  Don't get hostile or lose your temper; aggression is only likely to result in punishment.  Aggression is also likely to get you: fired, arrested, or sent to anger management classes.  It's just not worth it.

4.  Stay alert.  Another no-brainer.  Don't fall asleep at your desk unless it's your lunch time or break.  You don't want to get caught sleeping by your boss and get fired, and you sure don't want to miss your lunch or breaks because you were sleeping.

5.  If it becomes clear that you're going to be in captivity for a while, try to establish a routine.  Mark off the days on your calendar.  Even convicts in prison make hash marks on their cell walls to keep track of the days.

6.  Take your time performing tasks.  This is a tricky one.  You don't want to work so fast that they give you more work to do, and you don't want to work too slow that they'll fire you.  You'll have to use your own judgement on this.

7.  Do your best to establish a rapport with your captors.  Try to see their side of things.  For example, how would you treat yourself if you were your boss?  Would you fire yourself, or would you give yourself a raise? 

8.  Ask for things to make your more comfortable, so your captors will be aware of your needs.  First of all, I'd ask for a nice, comfortable chair, since you probably hope to do a lot of sitting.  Second, I'd ask for a new thin, flat screen computer monitor - the bigger the betters.  That way they'll think you're quasi-interested in doing some work. 

My iPod Top Twenty List For November

1.   Highway To Hell - AC/DC
2.   Rock Me Gently - Andy Kim
3.   Don't Misunderstand Me - Rossington Collins Band
4.   Magic Man - Heart
5.   All I Wanna Do Is Make Love To You - Heart
6.   Train Train - Black Foot
7.   This Is How You Remind Me - Nickleback
8.   Rhiannon - Fleetwood Mac
9.   Just Someone I Used To Know - Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton
10. Baby Got Back - Sir Mix A Lot
11. Willing - Linda Ronstadt
12. When You Love Someone Like That - Reba McEntire and LeeAnn Rimes
13.  Taking Chances - Celine Dion
14.  Because Of You - Reba McEntire and Kelly Clarkson
15.  Black Horse And The Cherry Tree - K.T. Tunstall
16.  Bring Me Some Water - Melissa Etheridge
17.  Ain't No Other Man - Christina Aguilara
18.  London Bridge - Fergie
19.  Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana
20.  Viva Las Vegas - Z Z Top

Link Of The Week

Tis the season.  No, not the Christmas season that is just a little over a month away.  I'm talking about the cold and flu season.  For the past two weeks, I've battled a bad sinus infection and strep.  But it could have been worse; thank goodness I didn't have the flu. I came across a very informative site at the CNN website this week about this very topic -- colds and the flu.  Check out http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2007/cold.flu/ and you can find out all you ever wanted or needed to know about the flu and colds.  Take a few minutes to check out this information, and please take good care of yourself and stay healthy.

A PAT In The Making

After all of the talk about the 'Ville this week about the Hughes family's new home courtesy of "Extreme Home Makeover", there was another newsworthy story to discuss at the office yesterday.  On Thursday, a 9 year old boy at a local south end elementary school threw a chair at his teacher and hit her in the face.  It started as a "verbal confrontation" but escalated when the PAT-in-training picked up a chair and threw it at the teacher.  The teacher tried to restrain the punk, and got punched in the face.   The teacher said that she's not sure if she will press felony charges againt the PAT-in-training or not.  I know I sure would. 

The news channel interviewed the boy and his mother, and just showed their shadows to protect their identities.  In what seems to be normal style, the boy and his mother said that this was basically not his fault.  It reminded me of the interviews with older teenage or twenty-something criminals who were killed in a drug deal gone bad or in a gang related shooting -- it was never their fault according to their families. 

I talked to someone who teaches at this elementary school, and she said that this wasn't the first time this kid has shown such violent behavior. I wonder what's going to happen to this kid when he gets older.  If he's not brought under control now, we'll see him on the 11 o'clock news some day after he went on a rampage in a convenient store. Evidently, this kid's mother doesn't care, because she said it wasn't really all his fault.   At this time of Thanksgiving, I am very thankful to have friends who are great parents and who give a damn about their kids, and who don't make excuses when they act up.  I'm thankful moreso for my friends' kids, who are very cool, caring and considerate little people. I hope that one day when they're adults, they'll be thanking their parents for giving a damn. 

Flashback Friday

                  

Track listing:
      
1. Second Hand News
2. Dreams  
3. Never Going Back Again 
4. Don't Stop   
5. Go Your Own Way   
6. Songbird    
7. The Chain    
8. You Make Loving Fun   
9. I Don't Want To Know    
10. Oh Daddy  
11. Gold Dust Woman

aoljpictureUpload, aoljpictureUpload_1

Extreme Home Makeover Update

News reports are still coming in over our local TV stations, and tonight will be the first night that the Hughes family spends in their new home built by ABC's Extreme Home Makeover crew.  The family saw the house for the first time yesterday afternoon at about 4:00, but since their episode of the show won't air until some time in February, they have to keep quiet about the details of the house.  We've seen lots of news footage of the outside of the house, but the family is sworn to silence about the inside of the house and other details. 

The folks here in the 'Ville are still thrilled over ABC giving this deserving family an extreme home makeover; I'm sure the buzz won't die down for quite awhile.  But now that the house is built and the family has moved in, I have a request for the crew.  If they have a few days they can spare, I wish they'd come over to my neighborhood and lend a hand on finishing the Super Wal-Mart.  We were hoping it would be opened by Black Friday but we're having our doubts.  I'm sure the Extreme Home Makeover people could work their magic and have it open by next Friday with no problem.

New Product Review

                                   

Ordinarily, I write the New Product Reviews for TWIT, but today I'm deviating.  Please welcome my friend, co-worker and faithful reader SH who will be bringing us the New Product Review. 

For a special holiday (and limited edition) treat this Christmas, try the new Gingerbread flavored Pop Tarts.  The pastry is (of course) gingerbread and the inside is a creamy white filling.  They also have 50 (but who's counting) different images of gingerbread people on them.  My husband and I split a package last night after the kids had gone to bed and both of us agreed that they ROCKED!!  We're secretly hoping that the kids will turn up their noses at them (no frosting on the outside is a major no-no on their Pop Tarts).  If you like gingerbread, these convenient pastry treats are sure to please your holiday taste buds.

We are happy to give Limited Edition Gingerbread Pop Tarts the TWIT Seal of Approval, even though Puddin doesn't like gingerbread, but her Dad does. 

Another Sign Of The Apocolypse

I witnessed something last night that was one of the most bizarre things I've ever seen.  It was bizarre, even by our VFW post standards.  In fact, even today I'm having a hard time believing that it actually happened. 

I met our Auxiliary treasurer at the VFW post last night so she could go over the procedures and reports for counting/processing the bingo money so I can fill in for her next week while she's out of town for the Thanksgiving holiday.  We counted the money and had it all back in the safe, and went out front to visit with her husband for awhile.  We were sitting there chatting when three VFW members came in, just getting home from a day of fishing.  They hadn't even sat down on the barstools when one of them asked the bartender for the remote control so he could change the TV channel.  It was a little after 9:00, so we assumed he was going to change the station to ESPN for Monday Night Football.  Boy, were we wrong.  He changed the channel to ABC so they (meaning, those three guys) could watch "Dancing With The Stars."  It's not like those three guys are sissies; they're manly men - and are veterans and avid hunters and fisherman.  One of the guys was a semi-pro race car driver, too.  I guess they just wanted to watch "Dancing With The Stars" in hi-definition. 

Link Of The Week

The Link of the Week is a day late due to yesterday's Veteran's Day entry.  But better late than never, that's what I always say.

I'm sure everyone is familiar with "Extreme Home Makeover" on ABC.  The crew picks a very deserving family, and they tear down their exisiting house and build a new, improved house in one week.  Since last Thursday, the Extreme Makeover crews have been in the 'Ville building a house for some truly deserving people, the Hughes family.  This has caused as much commotion as when Larry Birkhead and Dannilyn were here during the Derby.  Please check out http://www.eliteextremedream.com and you can read all about the Hughes family and their awesome son Patrick, and you can see all of the progress done on the house so far.  Wednesday afternoon at around 2:00, the family will be arriving back in their Buechel neighborhood and will hear the magic words "Move that bus" and then they'll be able to see their new home. 

Happy Veterans Day

TWIT would like to wish all of the veterans a very Happy Veterans Day, and would like to thank you for serving our country and all of the sacrifices you made. 

I just got home from a Veterans Day celebration at our VFW post.  We held a dinner to honor the WWII veterans.  We had over 200 people in attendance - 53 WWII veterans and their spouses, significant others and children and grandchildren.  Among the 53 WWII veterans were two women vets.  Now, how cool is that? 

In typical post fashion, things were very chaotic, and there were quite a few frustrating moments, but everyone that worked there at the dinner will agree that they did it for the veterans.  About half a dozen auxiliary members were there at 9:30 this morning and we decorated the back hall and got the tables covered in red and blue table cloths.  Then we had about a dozen auxiliary members and a few post members to help with the dinner tonight.  As I write this, the 'Rents and I are worn out; we were even too tired to stop at Taco Tico on the way home to get something to eat.  Now that's tired.  We didn't eat at the dinner because we were afraid the food would run out.  We all said a silent prayer for a loaves-and-fishes miracle, and low and behold, when the meal was over, we had maybe 8 chicken wings left.  So thanks to the Lord that the chicken held out.  And we had green beans and carrots leftover, too.  So all in all, it was a great time.  Dad and I both said we wished we could have sat down with each of the WWII veterans there tonight to hear some of their stories.  We owe them a huge debt of thanks.  I'd like to paraphase a bumper sticker I saw in a magazine:  "If you can read this, thank a teacher.  If you can read this in English, thank a WWII veteran."  Nuff said.

Special Request Saturday

I received a few emails in the past couple of days asking if I would share the recipe for the infamous Office Lunchroom Hash Brown Casserole.  Always happy to accommodate my faithful readers, here it is.  The recipe is from my best friend in the world, Diva Stacy.  She gets rave reviews every time she serves it. 

Hashbrown Casserole ala Diva Stacy

 

1 bag frozen shredded potatoes, thawed

1 16 oz. carton sour cream

2 cups shredded Colby Jack

1 stick butter, melted

1/2 onion, chopped finely

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

 

Combine all ingredients except potatoes.  Stir until well blended, then add potatoes and stir until well mixed again.

 

Preheat oven to 350.  Coat 13 X 9 glass pan with cooking spray.  Pour in mixture.  Bake until golden, usually 45 minutes to 1 hour. 

Flashback Friday

                                          

I happened to notice a co-worker's Velcro tennis shoes the other day, and they reminded me of a shoe that I hadn't heard about in over twenty years: KanraROOS.  In case you don't know or don't remember, KangaROOS were basic tennis shoes that had a Velcro or zipper pocket on the side of the shoe. They were popular back in the 80's.  Back in the day, the KangaROOS were mainly Velcro or lace-up tennis shoes, but apparently they're making a comeback, because today they come in very stylish running shoes and cool winter boots. 

KangaROOS first came on the market in 1978 with their patented pocket design.  They were aimed at joggers - giving them a place to carry a house or car key or a couple of dimes in case they needed to make a phone call.  They were popular in New York City and other areas with subways, because the pocket on the shoe was the ideal place to put an extra subway token.

I didn't have a pair of KangaROOS, but I do remember seeing commercials for them on MTV.  I was in college and working part-time, so I didn't have alot of disposable income at the time, so every spare dime I made went towards a new pair of Calvin Klein jeans or else I would have bought a pair of KangaROOS.  I looked at the KangaROOS website and have to say that their fall 2007 collection are very cool, and if they come in wide widths, I just might have to buy a pair. 

 

Cooking At The Office

Yours truly caused quite a stir at the office yesterday.  Ever since we had a catered lunch two weeks ago for the office, my co-workers in my cubicle and I have been craving hashbrown casserole.  The two helpings that we had a the catered lunch didn't quite fill us up, and we'd talked about the hashbrown casserole ever since.  Even though I don't cook, I decided to make one and bring it to work.  I didn't want to cook it the night before and then have to warm it up at work, and I sure as heck didn't want to get up even earlier and fix it before work.  So I had the brilliant idea to mix all of the ingredients together before work, put them in a disposable aluminum pan, and bake it in our very cool convection/toaster oven in our lunchroom.  And it worked great.

I was the talk of the first floor.  People first noticed it before lunches when they would come into the lunchroom for coffee.  Then it caught the attention of the early lunch group, who all wanted to know what I was cooking when I came in the lunchroom to check on it.  The smell was awesome, and I have to say that it looked pretty, too.  The convection oven browned the top of the casserole and it looked like something that should have appeared on the front of Paula Deen's magazine. 

My co-workers gave me two thumbs up for my first attempt at hashbrown casserole, and they even gave me a great suggestion, too.  They said that I should put together a proposal for the Food Network for a show about cooking in the office lunchroom.  I'm working on it already.

File Under: WTF?

I was at the VFW the other night to go over some things with our Auxiliary treasurer, and when we finished we went out to the canteen area and chatted for a bit.  There were only three or four other members there; a slow night by VFW standards.  One of the members present was C, a regular.  She was there when I got there, and knowing her, she had probably been there a few hours.  The Treasurer and I had been sitting there for just a few minutes when C got up to leave.  She asked the bartender "Get my bag for me." and the bartender went into the walk-in refrigerator and came out with a plastic grocery bag that was about half full.  C got her bag and started to walk out of the canteen and turned back and said "I'm gonna go home and make me some stew."  She was going to make this stew out of the contents of the plastic grocery bag, which we found out later to be a dead squirrel.  I don't know where she got the dead squirrel, and honestly, I didn't want to find out.  I do know that I will not be eating nor drinking anything that has been refrigerated in the walk-in. 

I Guess I'm Not Dedicated

As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, my boss has been off for four weeks after shattering her ankle and breaking a bone in her leg.  The doctor originally said she couldn't come back to work until January, but being the trooper that she is, she came back to work yesterday with doctor's orders to stay in her souped up wheelchair.  We traded foot surgery war stories, and compared notes about what we did during our time off.  In case you didn't know, back in July of 1992 I was in a big car wreck and had to have my right foot rebuilt.  I was off from work until the middle of December.  In talking with my boss about her foot surgery and recovery, I started reminiscing about my time off from work.  I guess I wasn't all that dedicated because I didn't want to come back to work.

It was frustrating having to walk with crutches the entire time I was off, but honestly I can't say that I was bored.  And getting a fraction of a paycheck for my last month of my time off sucked, but I made the most of it. I had my routine down.  On mornings when Mom had to work, I would sleep in and when I got up I'd hop on over to my recliner where I would have brunch and hold court the rest of the day.  There by the recliner would be a thermos of coffee and a cooler with a sandwich, snacks and some water or tea to get me through the day.  But I would never drink too much; believe me when I tell you that you don't want to drink too much of anything when you're on crutches or in a wheelchair.  After brunch, I'd read the newspaper and then watch TV most of the day. My aunt and uncle or friends would stop by every day to check on me, and while they were there I would have them go with me outside where I'd hop up and down the driveway on the crutches so I could keep my strength up.   That way if I fell, I wouldn't have to lay in the driveway until later in the day when Mom or Dad got home. 

It was during this time off that I started writing my novel.  Unfortunately, I never finished it. But while I was off those months, I wrote every day.  I also took this time to play the guitar more.  In fact, I even bought a new guitar during my time off with one of my insurance disability checks. 

 

Loss? What Loss?

Warning: The following material may not be suitable for Indianapolis Colts fans.

I'm sorry to say that I was beat again yesterday in our fantasy football league at work.  My record is still 6-3, which is over twice as many wins as I had in all of last season.  But I didn't mind losing at all yesterday because the Colts lost, too.  You already know I love the Titans and will root for them no matter what.  I also root for whatever team is playing against the Indianapolis Colts.  So yesterday afternoon, I was pulling for the New England Patriots in their big game against the Colts.  Going into the game, both teams were undefeated.  Not any more.

There's no real reason for me to not like the Colts, other than the fact that I don't like Peyton Manning.  And I don't like his brother Eli either, for that matter. But I digress.  I actually did like the Colts at one time -- back when they were in Baltimore.  I had a Colts jacket and all kinds of Colts items, courtesy of our neighbor's brother who lived in Baltimore.  Whenever he would come to The 'Ville to visit, he'd always bring me some type of Baltimore Colts item.  Then they moved to Indy and got Peyton Manning for a quarterback and that's when we parted ways.

Way to go Patriots -- to us anti-Colts fans, your win yesterday was as big as a win in the Super Bowl. 

Link Of The Week

A few faithful readers know this already, but I am a huge Tennessee Titan fan.  I proudly carry my lunch to work in my Titans lunch bag, and just last week, some of the guys out in the factory gave me a very cool Titans car flag.  And as I type this, I'm wearing my favorite Titans t-shirt in preparation for our game today against the Carolina Panthers.  I support the Titans through thick and thin. 

I know that my faithful readers love NFL and each of us has a favorite team.  Here's a great way to support our team and to help those less fortunate.  For the eighth year in a row, the good folks at Campbell's Chunky Soup are sponsoring the "Clicks For Cans" campaign.  Please go to http://www.chunky.com/ClickForCansVote.aspx and cast your vote for your favorite team.  You can vote once a day, so you'll want to put this in your favorites.  You can also win up to 8 additional votes by playing their "Kick for Clicks" game after you vote.  The deadline is December 15, and the NFL team with the most clicks at the end of the competition will be crowned the “Campbell’s Chunky” soup “Click for Cans” champion, and will receive their official team roster’s total weight in Chunky soup cans for the local food bank of their choice. The team with the “Most Improved Clicks” compared to last year’s competition will receive a donation of 2,007 cans to their designated local food bank.  Let's get to clicking, and go Titans!!

Yet Another Food Recall

I'm sure by now you heard that General Mills has recalled over 5 million frozen pizzas this week because of possible E coli contamination.  As of now, the recall is voluntary, and it covers Totino's and Jeno's pizzas with pepperoni.  They think the problem is from the pepperoni on pizzas produced at a General Mills plant in Ohio.  The recall covers pizzas that have been produced since July.  So far, there have been 21 confirmed cases of E coli from people who have eaten Totino's or Jeno's pepperoni pizzas.  Three of those cases have been here in Kentucky. 

The pot pie recall last month didn't bother me too much, mainly because the 'Rents and I don't eat them.  But frozen pizza is a different story.  Fortunately for us, we usually buy Jack's or Tony's brands of frozen pizzas, which are in the clear.  But we do buy Totino's and Jeno's when we have coupons for them or if they're on sale.  All I can say is thank goodness that pizza rolls haven't been recalled or we'd be in big trouble.  Those are one of my family's favorite hot snacks. 

Flashback Friday

                                   

I grew up in a household full of crafty people.  Mom sewed, Grandma crocheted, and Dad and Grandpa did woodworking.  But somehow, the arts and crafts gene didn't make it into my DNA; it was all I could do to complete a paint-by-numbers picture.  Yet I still wanted to make something like Mom and Grandma.  One day, Grandpa bought me something he thought would make me crafty: a small square loom used to make potholders.  It didn't work.  All it did was piss me off. 

The loom was made of metal and was painted dark green.  Since this was back in the day, I wouldn't be surprised if the paind had lead in it.  In case you are totally clueless about what I'm talking about (unfortunately the picture above doesn't give a shot of the loom sans cloth loops) it was more like a metal frame about 6 inches square, and had little metal teeth all along the edge. (The teeth were what you would loop the cloth loops over.)  When I say that the metal loom pissed me off, it was a two-fold reason:  first, because i would get frustrated because I could never finish one potholder.  I'd lose my patience because I couldn't get it to be as neat and orderly as in the picture on the bag of loops, and I'd just give up and have Mom or Grandma finish it for me.  Second, because after I got frustrated, I would leave it in the floor, only to step on it later on as I would be walking through the room. 

I saw the metal loom in the very cool Vermont Country Store catalog last week, and I was very surprised that they are still around.  I'm sure they're made of plastic now to comply with OSHA and FDA standards.  I did a quick search online and found lots of craft books with patterns and instructions to make all kinds of things with the little woven squares - not just only potholders like back in the day. But I bet they're still as frustrating to make, though.

Thank Goodness I Forgot My Coffee, Part 2

It's been yet another bizarre week in the land of TWIT, faithful readers.  This past Tuesday, I had a date to meet a friend of mine to pick up a couple boxes of flavored teas that he picked up for me from a health food store by his office.  I was on the Watterson Expressway, aka 264 East, and had just pulled over into the lane heading to the Bardstown Road exit ramp when less than 200 yards in front of me, something happened that I will never forget. I saw a red car shoot across 3 lanes of highway and ram head-on into the concrete median.  I saw parts flying everywhere, and thanks to the good Lord that I and the other cars around me weren't tailgating, and we were all able to get around the car without running into it or the median.  Then in what seemed an eternity, but in reality was only maybe a second or two, the car flipped over a few times before landing on its roof.  There was no front end left on the car from the impact with the concrete median.   As I said, I was in the lane heading to the exit ramp, and when I got to the end of the ramp and was stopped at the stoplight, I had gained enough composure to call 911 and report the accident.  Believe me when I tell you my heart was beating so fast I thought it was going to jump out of my chest. 

I gave the information to the 911 dispatcher, and then headed on my way to meet my friend, still freaking out inside while driving very carefully.  About an hour later, I received a call from the Louisville Metro Police Department, asking me to tell them my version of the wreck.  I asked if the driver had been killed, and they said they couldn't release that information, which meant they had been.  And I saw it all happen in just a matter of a second or two.  I still can't figure out what happend - the car probably had a tire blow out, and that could have caused it to shoot straight across the highway.  All I know is that it freaked me out bigtime because it was the second time in a week that I saw a wreck happen in front of me and I was luckily spared.  I thank the Lord that I was driving sensibly and keeping safe distances both times.  All I know is this, and last week's narrow escape have made me think.