Off to See the Wizard

the Wizard of the food network that is....Paula Deen!! She is going to be at the Cleveland Food Show and my best friend and I are going to see her. She will sign cookbooks so I am taking the one my husband bought me a long time ago as a surprise. I marked all the recipes I want to try while I was sitting in bed yesterday after the worst vertigo attack I've ever had.
Paula Deen is an admirable woman. Her marriage ended, she had agoraphobia, and she started a little carry out business from her home called The Bag Lady. Her two sons were her helpers and they went on to open the Lady and Sons restaurant in Savannah, GA. She pulled herself up by her bootstraps and she is full of piss and vinegar!! I always liked her but to go see her cooking demonstration was 50bucks and sorry, but nobody is that good!! So we will see her son, Bobby, demonstrate instead. Her sons adore her and put up with her antics(at least on camera) so I am excited to see him too.
There is so much food to taste at this Expo that last year we were stuffed to the gills just from all the little tastes we tried. There isn't any big meal or anything but it was eating all day--it really fills you up!! I have Tylenol and Tums with me just in case we overdo it!!
My best friend is a real foodie. She is always trying new things and so she really loves this show. Since she is my friend, I go too.
Well, it was all worth it! Paula was really nice and signed my old cookbook and her son had his show but she was his guest and so was her husband so we got to see all of them. She was out in the audience so you got a real good look at her. She is a lovely woman and the TV doesn't do her justice!!! She is just as feisty though!!
I have never seen so many salsas in my life. I ate a ton of junk on a pretzel from mustard to some kind of apple cinnamon stuff. We sat down and had some water about halfway through things and it was a good and needed break. All that free food and water was 3.50!!! Isn't that funny??
I bought a few gifts and got a lot of cards and websites. I'm sure I won't remember what most of them are. At the time you think you won't forget but by the time you get home.............well, you know, I forgot!!
Anyway, it didn't inspire me to cook tonight my husband is out getting food now!! As long as it's not on a pretzel, it's all good!

When in Doubt, Go to France

You know how much I love my soaps. Lately I've been getting a big kick out of them since as soon as a character seems to have their share of troubles and there is no way to get out of the mess, they hightail it off to France. (this is mostly because they don't know what else to put the poor character through). Usually, Paris, but not necessarily. So if you go to France there will be an overly large population of people from Llanview,PA or Pine Valley, Wherever!
I went to France a long time ago and barely met anyone who spoke English let alone were from the States and had big problems. It must have been before this trend started.
So, my question is, once you get to France are all your troubles over?? They seem to have many business opportunities and many mental health facilities so maybe that 's the draw. Unemployed?? Vive LaFrance!! Having a breakdown?? Parlez-Vous Francais!! I really had no idea.
There is a division of Cambias Corporation and the European division of the lingerie company that Dorian's daughter started with her friend. There is also a luxurious facility for mental health problems that has a courtyard and everything! Sounds delightful, doesn't it? One of the girls today lost her baby she was supposed to adopt and when her husband asked her where she was going now(they are estranged) she said she didn't know--bet I do!!
Apparently it is really cheap to get over there too. Must be a special airline so these people(those who don't own their own planes that is) can jet over there on a whim. And of course everyone on the soaps has a valid passport in their pocket just in case the need or the urge to go to France descends upon them.
I'm sure France is thrilled with all the free publicity they get from these soap characters and they must have a booming economy to entice so many businesses over there! I would love to go back to France someday but I am waiting until the soap characters have taken over so I can speak only English while I am there!

Santa's Little Helper

I just waded through all the gifts I've bought during this year for Christmas presents. I organized and sorted and got rid of plastic bags that were messing up my craft room. I feel pretty good about what I've bought so far. Boy, "bought" looks so funny to me right now. Like I didn't spell it right or something. Anyway, all those trips out and about sure paid off!
I love picking out gifts. I love spending time finding little things I know a person will like. All the kids in our family are getting older and don't need toys or anything like that anymore so I even have fun picking out the gift cards. I always try to find a little something to put with the gift card that reflects the person. It keeps me on my toes and I visit a lot of different stores to find them.
I always tell my own kids that there won't be many presents under the tree since they are adults now but it always ends up being a huge pile anyway. I'm not sure what happens-I guess Santa spurs me on and I just keep finding things they would like. I know what I want. I already left a huge hint at my husband's chair at the dining room table but he might not see it. Kinda like the tie dyed sheets. I don't really need anything anymore but there are a few things I would like.
As much as I love to shop for gifts I am not really much of a wrapper. Those gift bags we have now are a godsend to me. I love picking them out and making sure I have a lot of tissue so they look pretty. All the taping and corners we had to make back in the day were beyond me. I always managed to mess up a corner so it looked like a diaper or else I had shorted myself on paper and I would have to start all over again.
I still have some shopping to do and I will do it gladly. I will hohoho my way through the mall and Target and Kmart and Walmart and Marshalls and TJMAXX and............................ jingle all the way!!

It's Raining, It's Snowing

Geez, could the weather get any weirder around here?? Only last Thursday, I was in short sleeves and flipflops(it was great by the way) and now today I needed a heavy coat and almost boots. Luckily, I have shoes that can serve as both. We have about and inch and a half on our driveway. Not quite enough for our snowplow service but by the end of the day, who knows?? It is wet and sloppy and the kind of snow you hate to change lanes in cause it looks so slippery and it will blob up all over your car.
Fluffy snow on a day you can stay home...that I like. Sloppy damp and wet snow I can't stand!
It is only November 10th, surely we could have had some days that were in the 40s and 50s --Oh wait, they are probably around the corner!!

Whose Life to LIve?

It's not easy to be a soap actor or actress. One actress who is only 16 years old had to act out being pregnant for the last six months.(before that she wasn't showing) She couldn't stop touching her stomach(in wonder or horror, I'm not sure). It must be hard to pretend to be pregnant when you never were but compared to some of her colleagues she got off easy.
Our old friend, John McBain(not to be confused with the other John of a similar last name) had to fake hang himself in a jail cell so he could bust out and save the woman he loves who he thought was dead for the last year. He even had to twitch so the jailer would come in and try to save him. What do you think that poor actor thought when he read that script? Say, whaaaaaaaaaat? I wonder if he had a little,uh, discussion with the powers that be? If he did he caved!!
Another actress had to sit in a bed for about three months and act from there. She is supposed to have been crippled in an accident a year ago(guess who she is...see above paragraph) and was stuck in bed. She is finally up and around. She must be so relieved.
One girl who was pregnant with her dead husband's baby delivered it with the help of a figment of her imagination(that is such a long story, I won't even try) and now is off to the hospital to trade it in for a live one(no, I am not kidding).
However, the height of humiliation had to be for the poor actress on ALL MY CHILDREN who died and at her funeral there was a closed casket as her very young child was there(very discreet that poor little actor is only around 4 or 5 years old) and after all leave but the husband, he opens the top of the casket and there's that poor young girl laying in there!!!!!!! Not only has she lost her job but they make her climb into a casket to boot!!! How would you like to have been her when she read that script?? DO you think she just said okay and went off to perform?? I'm betting not. Talk about adding insult to injury!
So, see, you probably thought that being a soap actor was glamorous and exciting. Well, I hope I've shown you the other side of the coin. All your children may have only one life to live but it can end abruptly and you may have to make some BIG concessions along the way!

Curb Your Cravings

Curb Your Cravings was the happy birthday greeting I got from Sparkpeople today. Yes, I thought, curb your cravings--EAT CAKE!!! And that is what I am going to do. However my other cravings I will list here and when I am done maybe they will have gone away! That works for me when I go work out. I promise myself a big treat afterwards and Voila!! when I am done the crave is gone. Hope it works this way too!
I want a mountain of greasy french fries slathered in vinegar and salt. You know the kind you get at the county fair or an amusement park. They used to come in a paper cone..I don't know if they still do but they did when I was a kid.
I want a whole cheesecake to myself. Just plain. I wouldn't eat it all at once--just slowly through the day until I had polished it off!! I love cheesecake and there is just not one low fat version that has ever turned out the way I hoped so I hardly ever eat it now.
I want to jump on a plane and fly to Vegas to visit my daughter and to eat at the Paris Hotel. Not some big fancy meal I just one to go to LeNotre and have all the pastries my little heart desires. I love the presentation of those little cakes and tarts. They are all works of art and we have nothing like that here. I want to go shopping with my daughter and buy whatever we want.
I want a fur coat. It is so politically incorrect I just hate myself for it but there it is. There is nothing like the feel of real fur on your body. I remember my Great Aunts all had some kind of mink or fur coat or stole when we were growing up. They always smelled slightly of the Aunt's perfume and a little musky from the fur. I remember my mom really wanted a mink stole for awhile.
I want to wear stilettos and be able to walk more than 3 feet. Maybe I just want to try some on and see how they look. No, I'm not sure if I can even stand in them.
I want to go on a long vacation--like six weeks or even longer. I would go back to New Mexico and California and Vegas again on my way home. I wouldn't wash clothes or clean the house or cook for the whole time.
I want a huge diamond ring-like three carats. I know that is so material of me but I can't help it. I have loved diamonds my whole life and couldn't wait to get one. I made a lot of mistakes because of that desire but now I would get it for all the right reasons. I think I would want that princess cut and no other embellishments and one of those eternity rings to go with it.
Mmmmm those all sound yummy, don't they??

Random Thoughts on November 5th

Where was that John McCain who made the concession speech last night during the election race???? If he had shown the gracious demeanor he did during that speech during his campaign the result of this election may have been very different. He will continue to serve our country I am sure and I was happy to see a glimpse of the John McCain I remember from before the Oklahoma U speech.
Isn't Obama an inspiring speaker? He has brought hope to a nation that has lived in fear for the last eight years and has brought hope. Of course, he cannot change everything over night and anyone who thinks he can is hopelessly naive, but just a positive attitude toward change and our country's ability to be great without being a bully makes my heart sing.
Now it is time for reflection and attitude adjustments. People who were so dead set against Obama have to take a page from McCain and accept and support him as President. Those ardent admirers who think Obama is just about the second coming need to take off the rose color glasses and let this man and his team do what they can.
Hopefully, we will all contribute to a new attitude of possibility and positive change no longer living in fear that our whole system is about to collapse and that the other countries of the world loathe us because of our foreign policies.
I won't miss Governor Palin and just think for less than three months work she sure got a great wardrobe. Maybe now she will go home and concentrate on her state and her family. I hope she will use her experience as a mother of a special needs child to become the advocate she wants to be. She will no longer be the subject of jokes and cut and pastes on line of her in a bikini. That has to wear on a woman, don't you think??
I won't miss Cindy Lou McCain either. The poor thing looked like she was down to about 85 lbs. I hope she goes home and eats and gets to wear something besides those suits that look to be made of the most stiff and uncomfortable fabric known to man. She won't have to get her hair done into that helmet thing she does on a daily basis. I would think she would breathe a sigh of relief. Just think she would have had to keep that up for four years--she would have been Nancy Reagan junior!!
The one little snake I really won't miss is Joe Leiberman. Yes, I did call him a snake. He won't be skulking in the bushes or whispering in the president's ear. Thank goodness!! Goodbye Joe! I hope you will flourish in obscurity.
I really really won't miss the women on The View screaming at one another over the table. That was getting old fast. Elizabeth Hasselbach was the most stubborn, unyielding young woman I have ever had to endure. Having the courage of your convictions is a wonderful thing but it should be tempered by reason. She is very subdued today and I am glad to see that.
I really really really won't miss all the phone calls. OHMYGOSH! I am so sick of them. Even Joe Biden called me after I had already voted. Of course, the most irritating part of all is that they are all prerecorded and that just ticked me off. I think in the last week, my phone rang every 5 to 10 minutes. SO YAY that is over for a nice, long time.
I do wonder what in the world all the political satirists are going to do now. They still have George Bush to kick around for a while but I don't think Obama will give them as much to play with... but time will tell.