Damn, caught a cold when chaperoning my son's field trip.  I've tried Sudafed, Benadryl, Tylenol, you name it.  But, nothing has helped until..........Franzia.  Yes, it's what the doctors don't tell you.  Franzia box wine cures all.  (Especially the red kind, whatever that is.)  Two glasses and your throat doesn't hurt, your sinuses no longer throb, your headache has disappeared.   AND, so much cheaper than even the giant bottle of generic Tylenol PM!  Ahhhh, now I can sleep....Goodnight all.

What's on your grocery list?

Just came across this very funny book detailing found grocery lists.  It got me thinking about what I put on my grocery list.  Here are some observations:


1.  I always organize my list based on where the items are in the store.  Therefore, I must always go to same store no matter what, AND, if the store moves items around, I'm screwed.


2. The list changes depending upon who is doing the shopping.  If I send a list with my husband, I have to be very careful what to put on the list so as not to confuse him.  For example, if I need apples, I cannot just write "apples" because he'll get the wrong kind.  (You know, the kind that are already mushy by the time you buy them and no one wants to eat them, and so they just sit in bottom drawer until you smell something bad.)  I must write "Fuji apples in the organic section, but not the kind in the bag - just buy the individual ones", which takes up a lot of space and, who are we kidding, he'll just buy whatever damn apples he wants to anyway.  


3. I always abbreviate embarrassing items, just in case.  It's like wearing clean underwear just in case you get in a car accident.  The list I went out with on the first day home from the hospital after giving birth was a doosey!  (Just a note for all you pregnant ladies out there - Raley's doesn't sell the little doughnut pillows that you sit on.)


4. Write your list in bold dark definitive print.  This way you will not deviate from the list, nor be tempted to purchase impulse items, like the copy of The Star where Michelle Obama had a love child with an alien, or when People magazine did an expose on celebrity cellulite.  (That one did make my self esteem go up a notch, and therefore was maybe worth the guilt of deviating from the list. I mean really, we all knew it was all air-brushing anyway right?  Who could have a perfect ass?  Certainly not someone who has given birth, or someone who has no time to work out because she's busy cleaning up after everyone, or someone who has to do all the x*x~!!@  grocery shopping all the time!) 


5. Lastly, be very careful who you decide to shop with. It is preferable to shop alone.  If shopping with children, be firm.  Hold your ground.  It is you against them!  And we know who is stronger, right?  (And next time you come to a garage sale at my house, don't give me that look when I'm trying to unload a plethora Hot Wheels and Golden Books for 25 cents a bag.)

Dreaming of Pink

   I just have to accept the fact that I live in a testosterone-laden household.  With two boys (and no future plans for another child), I have tried to learn how to embrace Nerf guns, burping, toilet jokes, meat eating dinosaurs, Hot Wheels, and mud on my floor.  Nevertheless, when I see images of pink laden cribs, Barbie, princess playhouses, and crystal carriages with white mice I yearn for the little girl I'll never have.  I must say that when I was little, I wanted to be a girlie girl.  I loved ballet tutus, my tanning Skipper doll, makeup kits, and florescent fushia kitty barrettes.  Yet, my mother was never the super feminine type, and my father encouraged the (very) latent tomboy in me, so over the years I learned to somewhat repress my super poofy lace and satin girlie urges.  Now, as I approach 42, I find that I need that side of me to find expression once again.  I'm determined to find a space somewhere in my home that I can "girlify".  Who knows?  Maybe I'll drag out my old box of Madame Alexander dolls and install a display around my bedroom....I know my husband would be delighted.
(Photos:  Vintage Tiffani Barbie Print, Princess of Monaco Bedding, and Sophie's Magical Windmill Playhouse - all from Posh Tots, Carriage Cake by Jane Asher.)

Halloween decorating???

Yes, I know it is way too early to start thinking about Halloween but.......
"Halloween Night" by Moda Fabrics due to come out this July!

Signs of spring crushed by snow!

I just snapped this photo last week amid 60 degree weather on our front patio. Not only was I clearing dead leaves from around the emerging plants, I also broke apart the last chunk of solidified snow on the bricks of the patio. This week - snow!  I must resist those seed catalogs pouring out of my mailbox for a least another month.  Until then, I will continue to dream of fresh tangy tomatoes....

Party Cupcakes!

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Here's the cupcakes I made for my son's class birthday celebration.  I added gel paste coloring to make the frosting bright blue (food coloring drops just don't do it.)  I then put the frosting in a zip-lock bag, cut the tip and used it to ice the cupcakes.  The dinosaurs I bought by the bag at the grocery store. 

A Return to Cranford

The fog has has not lifted, and I am once again tempted to curl up on the sofa with an afghan and a nice cup of English tea. Fortunately for me, PBS (Masterpeice Theater) has a new series starting Sunday the 10th - Return to Cranford. Based on the works of Elizabeth Gaskell, a contemporary and friend of Charles Dickens, Cranford features a group of spinsters and widows in a quaint English town during the 19th century. The production is full of charming historic detail, and you can almost feel yourself carefully making your way down muddy horse-trodden streets, smelling the scent of fresh bread baking and the coming mist of rain.
If you missed it last night, PBS often replays in during the week, so check your listings. Part 2 will air next Sunday, 9pm (Western time).

Something To Watch

Rent Wuthering Heights on a windy storming night and you won't be dissapointed. If only for the line delivered by Merle Oberon (playing Cathy), "And yet, he's more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same... Ellen, I AM Heathcliff. [thunderbolt]" Perfect.