Disgusted

I can't stand it when I find a recipe in a magazine, make it and it stinks!

1.5 lbs. shrimp for said recipe: $15.00 to buy it. 30 minutes to clean it. 10 seconds to throw it in the garbage can. Nice.

I should have known better. For cryin' out loud, the recipe also called for black beans as a part of the dish....along with the shrimp - ewuuu! Should have tipped me off RIGHT THERE. Turns out that's my equivalent of putting fish and mushrooms together in the same dish! Both MAJOR yucks, in my book.

I'm pretty sure my thought processes went along the lines of "Shrimp and black beans together? That's so odd and sounds so not good it MUST be good, or this very popular with a huge circulation magazine would never allow it to be printed within its covers." My thought processes won't be using that logic ever again. Instinct, baby, that's what to heed, instinct!

Tomorrow I'm thinkin' I'll tell you about our wonderful Sunday Family Dinners (always with Jules and a lot of times with Mental). Those dinners are the best, from the food to the friends and family who always look forward to them. No shrimp & black bean dishes allowed, thank you very much!

~~~
xoabb

Word of the Day

And it's one of my favorites:

Cantankerous

Dated from: 1772

Definition: difficult, irritating to deal with

You could also simply imagine my hubby, GB, who is the walking definition of cantankerous...at times ;-)

~~~

P. S. an "Oh Bother!" update:

Antibiotic
Eye drops. Conjunctivitus
It's gone! Thank you!

~~~

xoabb

Oh Bother!

Conjunctivitis
Right eye is pink, ITCHY
YUCK! Please, GO AWAY!

~~~

P. S. I love this photo! Look at it!
~~~
xoabb

Boy, Do We Have Bloomage!

Above behold our ever-blooming Miss Amaryllis in all her magnificent glory. (I've decided that any flower that's as pretty as an amaryllis must be a girl flower, and no, don't go sendin' me botany lessons, this is just my romantic opinion, 'k?) Though she's still beautiful, she's no longer perfect like she was the first year she bloomed. The blossom, that the first year was purely red is no longer (like this one that Kacey photographed), the four buds on each stalk never bloom at the same time, and some of the blossoms are usually deformed - but still beautiful (to me at least) in their own way. Though I don't remember there being two bulbs, there are now, and the second bulb has two bloom stalks growing out of it. I wonder what color they'll be!

Aren't they just beauteous?

We have other bloomage going on as well. It's a crazy year! The bougainvilla never blooms in the winter time. Guess Miss Bougie up there thinks it's spring - she's covered with blossoms.

I know, I know, I really should trim back this pathetic-looking hibiscus. But nearly every stem has a bud on it...

...and when the flowers are this pretty, I just can't bring myself to trim.

Even Miss Geranium is getting in on the act.

~~~

Flowers in winter.
Aren't they a beautiful sight?
They warm one's soul, yes?

~~~

xoabb

Ah-HA!! Thursday's are to be My Clean-Up Day!

I've decided that on most Thursday's here on the old Tombstone Chronicler blog, it's gonna be a loose-ends, clean-up kind of day. There could possibly be little snippets of info, maybe a WW update (good or bad), some questions answered (if there ever are any). I've also decided to include several of the things I've been told that kids say when explaining why they're visiting the school Nurse's Office each week. That about covers it. Oh wait, whatever else I may think of just might be included as well! Tra-la!

~~~

WW Clean-Up:

I actually could have used the title from yesterday's post for my WW week as I had so wished to be able to do. I actually lost 2, count 'em 2 pounds. Of course, since I started WW, I've actually lost 5 pounds, actually regained 4 pounds and actually lost 3 of the pounds....again. I think this is called a yo-yo kind of way to lose weight. That's not good....not good at all! Uh-oh, just think!! This could be nothing more that water weight gained/lost....DAMN! I plan on doing better in the coming week......of course I always plan on doing better. It seems my execution skills need some work. (Of course, it has nothing to do with my self-discipline ;-)

~~~

Snippets from the Nurse's Office:

Do you remember having a Nurse's Office in your grade school? (This question is mostly directed at my generation, we ~Baby Boomers~.) I don't. I remember the one or two times I got sick in school, I was sent to the principal's office and he/she called my mom. The same if we fell and hurt ourselves - to the principal we were sent where bandaid was affixed to boo-boo. End of story. Today the story is quite different. Just about every school has a Nurse's Office.....and they are very well used! The bumps, tummy aches, paper cuts, etc. are never ever ever-ending! Below, behold some elementary school snippets.

#1 same kid each time:
10:00am "I just know I have a fever." "Your temperature is 98.6"

11:00am "I just know I have a fever." "Your temperature is 98.6"

1:30pm "I just know I have a fever." "Your temperature is 98.6"

3:15pm "I just know I have a fever." "Give it up already! It's time for the bus - outta here, bud!"

#2 "What's your name, lovey?" "Esmerelda." "What's your last name, Miss Esmerelda?" "I do not know what my last name is. My mommy hasn't told me yet."

#3 (Said by a student who transferred from Spain...English is not her first language...)

"I have, what do you say it? Oh yes! I have a head hurting."

~~~

Other business Clean-Up:

Hmmmm.....there isn't any, oh wait! Yes there is! I was tagged once again by that Mental friend of mine for another meme. This one is different - it involves a book. Read below the rules and my book response.

1. Pick up the nearest book of at least 123 pages.
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the 5th sentence.
4. Post the next 3 sentences.
5. Tag no one or 21,000 people, whatever floats your boat (or as my great-aunt used to say, "whatever blows your skirt" Never did understand that one.)

So here I go. I picked the nearest book in my bookcase, that's located downstairs in our family room, which I really loved, and then decided I liked page 51 MUCH better than page 123, so I'm doing the 3 sentence thingy from page 51. Don't like me bending the rules?? Tough nuggies, my friends, tough nuggies!

P. S. - This is from Bill Bryson's most excellent book, A Walk in the Woods

Here it is from page 51:

"She was from Florida, and she was, as Katz forever after termed her in a special tone of awe, a piece of work. She talked nonstop, except when she was clearing out her eustachian tubes (which she did frequently) by pinching her nose and blowing out with a series of violent and alarming snorts of a sort that would make a dog leave a sofa and get under a table in the next room. I have long known that it is part of God's plan for me to spend a little time with each of the most stupid people on earth, and Mary Ellen was proof that even in the Appalalchian woods I would not be spared."

Same book. Here it is from page 50:

"We seemed to be looking out for each other. It was very nice. I can put it no other way."

Actually, those above three sentences and their sentiment are just exactly, perfectly right. That's how I feel about my best........

~~~
xoabb

I LOST! I LOST!! I LOST!!!*

I am completely inconsolable. Bereft. Depressed. I don't think I can bring myself to talk about last night....Ok, I can, but it's going to be so so hard to do. And a little embarrassing, unfortunately....(sigh)

The fairy-card goddesses were good to me and I messed it up all by myself.

I lost at bridge last night and I should have won just like last time, but I didn't keep an accurate count of the cards in my hand vs. the dummy hand and ended up with 6 cards in my hand and 4 in the dummy's. DUMB DUMB DUMB, DUMMY!!! Especially sad since I had the Ace through the Jack, all in hearts! (I think that's called a ~Grand Slam~. {{UPDATE at 4:26pm on 2/6!! Mental just told me I had HONORS - duh!}}) I tell ya, if anyone else in our group had had that hand(probably anyone else who plays bridge), they would have counted correctly while taking every trick (THAT would be a Grand Slam!)! (Hey! I'm just a beginner here! Oh, and by the way? I plan on staying a beginner for at least the next 5 years.)

That Mental friend of mine won the whole dang thing!

(I just know she cheated.....I'm just sayin'.)

Oh, and the junk-snacking was much better as you can see from Miss LaLa's picture. This time around, we dipped our carrots and celery....and potato chips (nobody's perfect)....in garlic or pesto hummus. We topped off our much better food evening with a delicious low-calorie Costco chicken pot pie. Just look at the pie's nutrition facts below! See? It's nice and low-cal. A true diet food. Low in sat. fat and salt. Have two servings! Won't hurt 'cha a bit. Not one bit!

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 1 serving (about 6 oz.)

Amount Per Serving

Calories 484
Calories from Fat 262

% Daily Value based on a

2000 calorie per day diet

Total Fat 29.1g, 45%
Saturated Fat 9.7g, 48%
Polyunsaturated Fat 4.5g
Monounsaturated Fat 12.5g
Cholesterol 41mg, 14%
Sodium 857mg, 36%
Total Carbohydrates 42.7g, 14%
Dietary Fiber 1.7g, 7%
Sugars 7.8g
Protein 13.0g
Vitamin A 46%
Vitamin C 3%
Calcium 3%
Iron 11%

I AM just sayin'...

~~~

*title of my next WW post, and don't tell me that's wishful thinkin'!

~~~

xoabb

It's Bridge Night!

Tonight we're at that Mental Mama's home. I sincerely hope to be reporting back later that my winning streak is continuing. Those fairy-card goddesses were sure good to me last time. Do sit on my sholder again....please...F-C G's?!

And do let me repeat the hopes and dreams for last bridge night's junk food consumption we all so miserably failed to heed:

I'm also hoping to be able to report that our consumption of junk food was reasonable this time. Of course, that would be a first. (Refer to this Mental Pause Mama post. See what I mean??) HA! Do ya think we'll do any better this time? I'm taking bets!

~~~

xoabb

A Salute to a Very Nice Man

Yep, you read that right (sigh). This is another tale of a miracle happening in the life of my son, Bly, and his poor beleaguered wallet. As you might recall, in the very recent past, Bly lost his wallet and it was returned to him by a very nice and honest woman with everything intact. Read on, dear friends, read on - the saga's only getting better!

About a week ago, as GB was driving Bly to the train, he asked his dad for some money.

"Why do you need money?"

"For train fare to the city." MOS replied.

"Why do you need that when you have a monthly pass?"

"I, uh, well I must have left my wallet on my desk at work."

Of course, the two of them then had that very special father-son exchange I'm sure many of you are familiar with. I won't go into detail here other than to say I'm quite sure sarcasm and swearing was involved.

Fast forward several hours later when GB returned home. Well, looky there! Just look at what was waiting to be discovered!! Why, it was a brand new, just sent, never been read, fax. Imagine that, it was a fax from some unknown person asking that he be contacted as HE was in possession of a wallet which belonged to a GB, and he would like to return it. (I just knew this had to have been the exact moment GB began to mutter under his breath: "Dammit, and with this kid's unbelievable luck, his damn wallet will ONCE AGAIN be returned with every damn thing in it!" GB later confirmed to me that this, in fact, was quite true.)
Since both husband and son share the same name, GB quickly checked just to reassure himself HIS wallet was in his pant pocket - and of course, it was. (Considering the fact GB hasn't been commuting to the city by train for many many years, don't you think he should have just known this and not had to check? I'm just sayin'!) GB then jumped to the brilliant conclusion that Bly, aka GB the Younger, had once again lost his beleaguered wallet.

GB the elder then put in a phone call to Bly, aka GB the Younger, to tell him that once again he was the luckiest luckiest human on earth. Of course, once again, the two of them had that very special father-son exchange (sigh). Again, I won't go into detail here other than to say this time I know sarcasm and swearing were most definitely involved.
Bly called Mr. P. and they arranged to meet at the gentleman's office in the city the next day. Of course, the wallet was given back to him............of course with everything in it.
I'm thinking we're going to start calling it The Miraculous Boomerang Wallet, no more beleaguered wallet, because it's obviously not!

As was written before:

Nice, decent folk still exist! That's so lovely, don't you think? Thank you Mr. P. for being good to my very very lucky boy. You're the best!

~~~
xoabb

It's a Sad Day In Bean Town

Too dang bad!....

In honor of Peter, son of my co-bud, Jane
and Connor-Man, my nephew:

YOU ROCK, GIANTS!!!!!

YOU'VE WON THE SUPER BOWL!!

GIANTS ROCK ROCK ROCK!

......at least this year......

GB is fervently hoping that NEXT YEAR is
~THE YEAR~
the BEARS bring it all home
and win the whole dang thing.

All of this I really don't understand.

...Oh well.

~~~
xoabb

My First MEME!!

I've been ~memed~ by that Mental Pause Mama, my lovely friend Ms. Lauren. I'm quite new to this and was thankful that both she and the person that meme'd her, Wine on the Keyboard gal Kacey, supplied some rules and guidelines to this new thingy (to me at least) we're doing.

Below, behold the meme rules:

(1) Link to the person that tagged you.

(2) Post the rules on your blog.

(3) Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.

(4) Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs. (In my case, I probably won't tag six people as I'm pretty darn sure I don't know six bloggers well enough yet to tag them.)

(5) Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website. (Or do as Kacey did and don't tell the folks you tagged. Let them find out when they visit your website!)

Hmmmm............6 random facts about me.......hmmmmmmmm.

AH-HA!

Below, behold the randomness:

1. I can't stand to go to bed if the kitchen's a mess. The rest of the house? Couldn't care less!

2. I always read the first and then the last chapter of every book before I read the middle chapters. If I like those two, I'll read the rest of the book.

3. I'm a mush that has easily lowered myself to crying over every Hallmark card commercial I've ever seen. My friend, Jules, does too. She is a bigger mush than me. That makes me happy. Her two daughters think we're both nuts. They could be correct.

4. Like Lauren, I also either cut or burn myself every time I entertain. I'd say that it must be a Southern thing, but it happens to Jules, too and she's from the Windy City.

5. I cannot abide fish and mushrooms in the same dish. It is gross.

6. I want to know the end of the story. Now. The story, whether it's my life, my family's/friend's life, a movie, a book, whatever, I want to know the end of the story NOW!

7. (I know, there's supposed to be 6, but I was just talking to my seeester and she told me I had to include the following because it is so how I converse with her.) On a fairly regular basis, Care will tell me "ANN, you're channeling William Faulkner again! STOP IT!" She accuses me of ~speaking~ in a "Stream of Consciousness" kind of way. She also claims it's quite annoying. Hmph!

Tag, you're it! (a note from 7/16/16 - all the folks I originally tagged are no longer blogging, so no reason to link to them!)

~~~
xoabb