SICK is my middle name

How in the world did I get sick so soon after my Holiday O'Influenza??!!
I'm down again, but this time I get aches so bad it hurts to use the potty.  And a fever of 102.  You could cook an egg on me, but please don't because every inch of my skin hurts.  I had read that Hot Toddies are good for this, so I mixed up a bit of tea, honey, lemon, hot water, and whiskey.  It tasted like compost juice, but I drank it down.  Just felt sicker and a bit stupid.

I've been laying on the sofa slipping in and out of conciousness.  Property Brothers and Mike & Molly have entered my sick dreams, where coworkers insist that I choose the granite for the new office space even though I'm clearly in my pajamas being arrested for smelling so vile.

I need a magic immune system bullet.

Pasta e fagioli chases away winter

This soup kicks winter's ass!

The photo was found here.

But this is completely my own recipe.

Good olive oil - 1 - 2 T
One onion, chopped
6-8 garlic cloves, chopped fine - add more if you like, it's a free country!
1-2 celery stalks, chopped
1-2 carrots, chopped
Italian seasoning - 1 or 2 T
Crushed red pepper - a pinch
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 cups chicken stock or Better then Bouillon mixed with water.
1 large can of crushed tomatoes
Canned white northern beans - rinsed
A small box of SMALL pasta - mine was 7 ozs
Parmesan cheese for grating.

Put a large dutch oven on, and heat the olive oil on med high heat.  Add the onions and cook a bit - maybe 3-4 minutes.  Then add the garlic, celery, and carrots. Cook for another 2-3 minutes.  Then add the seasoning, crushed red pepper, salt, and pepper.  Add the stock and the crushed tomatoes.  Bring this all to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer until the veg are soft - mine took about 30 minutes.

Then add the beans - you can add more stock if it seems low.  Then add the pasta, and cook until the pasta is done.  Serve right away with FRESH grated Parmesan.  Any left sitting will get soaked up by the pasta and it will become more like stew.  But still delicious!!!

Motherhood is not for weenies

If you think . . . .

you are a reasonably likeable person, with an adequate level of skills and talents. 

you have attracted some great people into your life because you are a good friend and enjoyable company.

you are logical and mature about life's problems, and have a good sense of what's worth a fight and what isn't.

you have reached a level of self-comfort and self-confidence in your place in the world


Then go ahead and raise some teenagers, because they'll let you know in no uncertain terms that you are completely wrong.

Cookie Day 2014

Cookie Day today!

Making my Mocha Chewies, Peppermint Kisses, some rolled cinnamon bun cookies I found online, and cream cheese Spritz cookies - if I can find my cookie press that is.  It's not as much fun without MG - but schedules didn't align this year.

Not really feeling it this year - probably because I'm still suffering the effects of influenza a week later!  Nasty nasty bug going around and it just sucks all the energy right out of it's victim.  Like hanging around with Dick Cheney on your birthday.

The NY Italians are coming so I'll be feeding 13 adults in the world's smallest kitchen.  Shouldn't complain.  My Grandma fed 7 kids and a hard working husband with no indoor plumbing, a wood stove, and barely any money.  But she didn't work 30 minutes from home all day long either.  So maybe Gram and I are even.

Comfy Beans

Beans, beans, the musical fruit . . . .

Here's a great crock pot recipe for those cold nights.  Unless your kids don't like ham, and they remind you of that in that snotty 15-year-old way.  Or maybe that's just me.

1 lb dry white beans
1 ham hock
2 t. onion powder
Salt and Pepper
6 cups of water

Rinse & drain the beans.  Put the ham hock in the crock pot and dump everything else on top of it.  Add any extra seasoning that strikes your fancy.  Cover and cook on low for 8+ hours.

Winter . . . again

I must be getting old.  The years are just flying past me at the speed of a Republican voting to repeal the ACA.  I haven't yet recovered from Spring of 2013, when it snowed into MAY, then the miserable Winter of 2014 and the polar vortex of torture.  Summer seems to last about a week in my world.  And now Winter is back, with snow and cold and it's not even Thanksgiving yet!  Today might top out at 21degrees - as cold as Joni Ernst's heart on her better days.

This week I'll make chili, ham & white beans, and beef stew to ease my shivering bones.

I truly love Minnesota, and MOST of winter.  But only between December 15th and February 28th.  Outside of that winter can bite me..... which it does . . often.

Mia Famiglia - when we won the 5K costume contest after Thanksgiving, by dressing as a blizzrd.

REAL Wedding Vows

After nearly 24 years of marriage, I've learned a lot.  

I've learned this is what people should be promising at their weddings . . 

I promise first of all to fully commit to this new family we are creating.  I promise to keep my vows and to view this promise as sacred.  I promise to look past all this fluff, flowers, and window dressing to realize I am promising that the rest of life will occur at your side.

I promise to watch out for the little problems, for they are what can wear us down.  I vow to watch for the magic of making you laugh.  I will marvel at the fact that you come home to me every night.  And when I find myself wallowing in the bills, the weather, the home repair, the groceries, I will take you into my arms and be thrilled that you are alive, and here to share this life.

I promise to realize that sadness, loneliness, anger, frustration and disillusion are a completely normal part of any adult life, and to not immediately assume it means our marriage is wrong.  I promise to look at my own behavior and attitudes for change, and not to blame all my negative feelings on you.  I also promise to remember that life changes frequently, and that our marriage can survive any storm if we decide it will.

I promise that our marriage will always be a priority - above my hobbies, my job, the car, and the house.  It will be more important than any material thing we own.  I will remember that keeping our marriage alive is the best gift we could give to any kids.

I promise to balance that priority with outside interests, because I also promise to HAVE outside interests.  I will keep my friendships strong and will work to cultivate my own world apart from you.  Because I will not expect you to fill my every need for companionship and entertainment.

I promise to defend you against my family, your family, or even our own kids.  I will tell the world that if you mess with one of us, you mess with both of us.  And when I can't defend you, I promise to let you know and why.  And together we will work it out.

I promise that when I'm ready to walk away, or have an affair, I will use that signal to enter counseling and take it seriously.  I will give our marriage every effort in world.  I promise to never destroy your dignity with infidelity.

As we age, I promise to watch our decline with loving eyes.  To remember that every winkle, every pound, every gray hair, is a symbol of our lives lived in the sun, raising children, laughing, smiling, and loving.

I promise to remember, day in-day out, all my life, that you have agreed to be my partner.  That you have put aside your freedom to stand at my side.  That you have chosen me.