A little shameless self-promotion for Valentine's Day!

Roses, flowers, chocolate, a little romance -- what do you want for Valentine's Day?

Maybe now's the time to place a few good solid hints. (Of course, if your man is like mine, a hint won't cut it. You'll have to be more obvious than that!!)

I consider myself lucky if he manages to bring me a bag of candy hearts that say what he'd never think to say out loud. A card would be a total shocker!!

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Speaking of CANDY HEARTS....
O.K., that was just a way of easing you into a little shameless self-promotion for my online shop, Splashin. I've got some really cute lovies for the little ones.

I played with the candy heart concept for some onesie for the very young. These were fun to create.Since they seemed a little saccharine-sweet for the bigger kids, I worked some cuddly animals into the hearts and flowers theme.



Now, I'll admit these seem pretty good for the girls but they don't say "I love my little boy!" Hearts, flowers and lace just don't translate well into B-O-Y !!

I do have things boys love - like hamsters, trucks, cars and tools. So if you're in the market for a little outfit to tell the little ones in your life how much they're loved stop on in and take a look around.

Hey! Did'ja know? -- January is National Jigsaw Puzzle Month!!

According to Better Homes and Gardens, January is National Jigsaw Puzzle Month.
This came as great news to my friend, B, and I this week. We just completed a puzzle we began FOUR years ago !!! Actually, it was 4 1/2 years, but what's 6 months when it comes to a 1000 piece puzzle?


Seriously, we started Santa Claws during our annual beach week 4 1/2 years ago. We thought it'd make a great group project. (We share a beach house with 6 couples each year.) Turns out, B and I were more into it than anyone else. Oh, everybody helped a little that first time around. By the end of that week, we had the entire outline done and a little bit of the bottom innards. B carefully packed it up and kept it in one of those roll-up puzzle keepers. Turns out we forgot to take it the next year. (Never occurred to us to get together over the winter to work on it. We only lived 25 minutes apart! After all, it was a beach thing!)
The third year, both of our households had some medical problems and we canceled beach week. Then, this year, B remembered to bring the puzzle. On our second night at the beach, we set up a little table on the side, unrolled the puzzle, poured some wine and prepared to get down to work. That was when it dawned on us -- the box with the puzzle pieces in it was home on the bookshelf in South Carolina. (B moved two years ago.) We were in Nags Head, North Carolina. So much for finishing that puzzle at the beach!!


This weekend, we visited B and her husband. We got right down to working on that puzzle on Friday night. (Okay, first thing we did was open the wine. It WAS a long drive so we did need to unwind a bit first!) We really worked at it all weekend. The Big Guy and B's hubby both jumped in and helped a bit. B's daughter stopped by and added a few pieces and, lo and behold, B and I were able to place the last two pieces by Sunday afternoon!!!

Hallelujah!!


B says she's going to preserve the finished puzzle. I fully expect to find it adorning the guest room wall next time I visit!


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Some Puzzle Facts:


Just for the record, jigsaw puzzles were invented all the way back in the 1700s in England by a map maker. They were originally maps mounted on thin layers of wood. Those were difficult to cut smoothly and were somewhat cumbersome to work with. Eventually, cardboard became the mounting of choice and more interesting artwork was used.


Puzzles came into their prime in America during The Great Depression in the 1930s. Folks found them to be cheap family activities that could be enjoyed at home by the entire family. Libraries were even known to rent jigsaw puzzles in that era.


Working on puzzles develops one's logical and analytical thinking. It encourages concentration and gives a great sense of fulfillment upon completion. Eye/hand coordination improves for those who do a lot of puzzles.


So, other than the great amounts of wine we consumed while working on the puzzle, we were pursuing a pastime that was good for us!!


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B and I can't wait to start a new puzzle this year. (Seriously.)

I'm baaack!!!

Remember that New Year's goal to post daily? Well, I blew it -- again.

I had a good excuse. We were away for 5 days - just lounging around with good friends, eating well, chatting and just enjoying the company. It was wonderful!!!

Seriously, I did think about all of you, my readers. I even prepared some posts that were supposed to run while I was gone. Unfortunately, I ran into some internet access problems Thursday night when I tried to pre-post so only Saturday's post ran. So, sorry.

(Did you ever notice most of our road trips seem to involve snow along the highway? What's up with that?)

We visited some very close friends who, unfortunately for us, moved to South Carolina two years ago. They were our running buddies and are sorely missed. It's a 10-11 hour drive these days so our visits are few and far between. When we get together we savor every moment. This weekend was no exception.

Both halves of this couple are excellent cooks. We ate really, really well! There was jambalaya, biscuits with sausage gravy, lentil soup, cheese tortellini, cheese fondue with all the fixin's, chicken fried steak, cake and more!!!

We didn't do many activities away from the house - we were too busy eating !! There was lots of time to lounge around, relax, play with the pets (a cat for every lap!) and just be together.

I had a great weekend. I hope y'all did, too!!

GO RAVENS !!!! Game Day Menu!!

Baltimore born and bred, I remember the Colts literally sneaking out of town in the middle of the night. It was devastating to this sports town. This town has not forgiven them yet. So believe me, even though we will be away from home, we will be flaunting our purple pride and tuned in for the match between the Indianapolis Colts and Baltimore’s indomitable Raven’s!

Whether your team is playing on Saturday or Sunday, chances are, you’re planning to watch one of the football playoff games this weekend. So you will definitely need food to maintain your sustenance for all that screaming, yelling and jumping around. Thought I’d share a recipe or two that we plan to make.

Along with the usual menu of wings, chips and beer (Baltimore IS a beer town!!!), we may just make up a batch of these jalapeno gems!

FRIED JALAPENOS

Prepare 6-8 jalapeno peppers by removing the stem end, and, using a pointed paring knife, remove the seeds and veins from the pepper. (The pepper’s heat is contained in the seeds and veins. We like the heat, so I usually only remove about half of the seeds from ours.)

Cream together:
1 ½ oz. cream cheese
1 - 1 ½ oz. shredded cheese of your choice
(mozzarella, cheddar, taco mix, etc.)
1 oz. mild or hot salsa (How hot do you want these?)

Beat 2 eggs in a small, deep bowl.
Blend ½ cup flour with ¾ cup seasoned bread crumbs in a cereal bowl.
Use canola oil to prepare a deep fryer to the fill depth or a frying pan to about a 2” depth.
Using a spoon, fill each pepper with the cheese mixture.
Dip each stuffed pepper in the egg bowl and then roll in the crumb mixture, coating completely.
Dip a second time in the egg and again in the crumbs.
Carefully place the peppers, a few at a time in the oil.
Fry till golden brown.
Serve warm.


We might even serve some ribs!!!

OVEN-BARBECUED BABY BACK RIBS

(Since we don’t own a real charcoal smoker, I developed this recipe to make my ribs in the oven. They can almost convince you they were smoked on the grill. These are “dry ribs” which means they are cooked without sauce, just a seasoned rub.)

2 racks of baby back ribs
½ cup dry rub to coat both sides of each rack
8-10 oz. apple cider or apple juice to spritz ribs while they cook

Remove the transparent membrane from the back of the racks of ribs before cooking. Generously apply rub to both sides of the ribs.
Place the ribs on a raised rack in a roaster pan.
Bake at 225° for 2 ½ hours, turning the ribs after one hour.
Spritz ribs with apple cider at that time and raise the oven temperature to 350° and continue cooking for 2 more hours, spritzing ribs about every half hour and turning after one hour. Finish the ribs off with 10-15 minutes under the broiler to brown them up.
** If you don’t have a small spray bottle to spritz, you can spoon the juice over the ribs just as you might baste a turkey.

This process should produce flavorful F.O.B. (fall off the bone) ribs!! If you must, add the bbq sauce of your choice.



GO RAVENS !!!!!!

Bits 'n' Pieces

Cougars & Cubs ...

Wow! Sometimes I just feel so “out of it!” I’m familiar with the term “cougar” - you know, the older woman going after younger guys. In fact, I’ve known a few of these gals along the way. I guess my true feeling about that is “More power to them!”

I learned a new word to go with that one tonight, though. I never realized the young guys these women preyed upon were referred to as “cubs.” Cute. But then, talk about a weird image surfacing in my mind! When I hear this, I kind of imagine a grown man wearing a Cub Scout uniform with an attractive woman looking like she borrowed clothing from Mama (as in Mama’s House). I guess I’ve watched way too much Saturday Night Live!!

Anyways, I learned this term when I saw an article about Carnival Cruise Lines turning away travel agencies wanting to book Cougar & Cubs themed cruises. Apparently, there was one aboard a Carnival ship last year and there were no problems or obviously questionable activities taking place but Carnival feels such a theme deters from their “family image.”

Well, I’ve been on ten Carnival cruises over the years and I’ve got to say, I’d be less concerned about the Cougars and their Cubs (Unless, of course, they are dressed as naughty Cub Scouts!) than the elderly and/or paunchy men parading around the deck in nothing but a skimpy Speedo with all their family jewels clearly visible! Believe me, there are a LOT of those guys on most of the cruises!

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Most of us have heard about Joan Rivers’ being pulled from her flight home from Costa Rico last week due to “security concerns.” (Sure, Joan Rivers can be scary, but a National Security risk?!?) Apparently this was triggered by her possession of an “AKA Passport.” These are passports held by folks who have legally changed their names from their birth names or who use a professional name different from their legal name. They are not highly unusual and should not pose a problem for most travelers. (Whoopi Goldberg, aka Karen Johnson, also has such a passport.)

Joan has now been making the talk show rounds doing her best to taint the reputation of that particular airline and to shine yet another light on the flaws in airline security. She’s questioning how they determine who to detain when that name is NOT on the No Fly List . Just who is making decisions to hold back elderly women in wheel chairs, nursing mothers, etc.

She stressed that they deterred her, a 76-year-old woman, giving away her seat on the flight before even beginning to attempt to clarify the situation and then giving her $60 to find a hotel and other necessities to sustain her until the next available flight. Like so many celebrities, she was flying without much pocket cash.

She did use a great line about the experience. She asked how many terrorists call ahead to identify themselves and request a kosher meal !

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Remember when women worried about their significant others stopping off at a bar or “Gentlemen’s Club” on their way home? Maybe we should all start worrying about them stopping to get an espresso on their way to work instead! Be especially worried if the stand has a name like Dream Girls Espresso. In Yakima, Washington, a huge controversy has been brewing [pun intended] over so-called sexpresso stands and latte joints where the baristas wear lingerie and bikinis as “uniforms.”

City officials attempted to have such businesses classified as adult entertainment but settled for changing the indecent exposure laws, holding owners and managers responsible for the attire worn by employees. Male customers have been “ticketed” for pleasuring themselves on and near the premises.

Last week, city prosecutors charged a barista and her boss with indecent exposure when the barista was working the stand wearing a g-string which revealed her bare buttocks. A neighboring city dealing with the same kind of issues, has also been charging the baristas with prostitution.

Ladies, please don’t allow your man to “Stop off for coffee!” Keep your Mister Coffee perking and your man at home!

And this effects MY life HOW?

“So, how does this effect MY life?”
Oh, how I wish I had a dollar (the heck with nickels!) for every time I hear that in my house! It seems to be one of The Big Guy’s favorite answers when I enthusiastically tell him some news of the day I thought was interesting.

On the few occasions when I justify the news with some comment as to how I think it DOES effect his life, I usually get the very dismissive response of, “If you say so.” End of conversation.

This is not to say I haven’t THOUGHT these same responses when he has deemed me worthy of some daily news that impressed HIM. For the sake of domestic harmony, I don’t think I’ve ever actually voiced either thought, though.

So, there I was just sitting there enjoying my mid-morning break on Monday when The View came on TV. They opened their “Hot Topic” segment with the HUGE news that no one could find Tiger Woods anywhere over the weekend!!! How could that be?!?

Okay, so here’s the shocker. My mind immediately came up with, “So, how does that effect MY life?” I mean, I’m not a tall, willowy, gorgeous blonde . I don’t have any financial interest in Tiger and I’m not a friend of Elan’s who is concerned about her life to any great extent. I have had weekends where I preferred to escape from everyone and just go off and be alone and I don’t have paparazzi and such chasing me for any reason. Why can’t Tiger have some time to himself?

After all, will finding Tiger’s whereabouts and reading such tidbits as “he spent a half hour in the hot tub and then had a quiet dinner with a friend,” effect my life in the long run? Assuming someone does find and report on his whereabouts.

“Hot Topics” for me would be more along the lines of “false eyelashes make a comeback,” “reading Janet Evanovich novels helps you lose weight without even trying,” or “housework proves harmful to your health and all women should stop doing any such chores immediately.” Now, those are things that would effect my life!!!

By the way, Barbara Walters made a thought provoking observation, “There seems to be only two people in the world that we can’t find - Osama Bin Laden and Tiger Woods.” Think about that one for a while.

Can't wait to check out today's Hot Topics!

Toss that fruitcake!!! Win a trophy.

The holiday’s over - it’s time to toss the fruitcake. Okay, so it’s actually past the time to do it. The 15th annual Great Fruitcake Toss took place Saturday in Manitou Springs, Colorado. Dang!! We missed it!

Oh yeah, we didn’t receive a fruitcake this year. We’d have had to toss some Ugly Cake! (Those of you who read this blog regularly will get that joke.) No. Wait. They had “rentals” for $1. You could rent a cake to toss!Much like it’s older cousin, the Annual Punkin’ Chunkin’ in Delaware, the Great Fruitcake Toss has become a much anticipated event. Folks plan ahead and scheme to develop the best apparatus to toss the heavy dessert, or they spend months in training working those biceps for the hand tossing division.

There are a number of categories for which shiny trophies are awarded and your name appears in the paper - The Colorado Springs Gazette. You could be famous for simply “tossing your cake.” In addition to the hand tossing and the throwing by mechanical or pneumatic means, there are age categories, accuracy, distance and catching awards, too. There are two weight divisions : heavyweights at 4 lbs. and featherweights at 2 lbs.

Not much of a pitcher? You could enter your fruitcake in the Glamour Competition where prizes are given for the Most Beautiful, Ugliest and Most Creative. I hear tell there’s even a Fruitcake Derby where you can attach wheels and race your cake against others. Local hotels and inns offer specials for the event, including a fruitcake and even some coaching sessions to give you some tossin’ tips and tricks.
By the way, the all-time Great Fruitcake Toss record is 1,420’, set in 2007 by a group of Boeing engineers (Yeah, I’m sure they were a bit geeky.) who created the “Omega 380”, a mock artillery piece fueled by compressed air pumped by an exercise bike! Gives new meaning to the phrase “nutty as a fruitcake”, doesn’t it?

And, you wonder what too much snow can do to a brain?