Hmmmmmm...............

Just before I left the house this morning, I saw a lipgloss in the draawer and thought " Okay..that works." and I threw it in the Dooney. When I got to the office and had to grab my keys to unlock the inner sanctum , I realized that I now had at least 5 tubes of lipgloss in the bottom of the purse, none of which I was likely to use .

I have a real love hate for lipstick.

I love all the pretty colors and am like a magpie at the store.." Pretty ".
So I buy it.
At home it's the usual " Jeebus H ...whiskey tango foxtrot was I thinking ?"

And the poor innocent goes in the drawer.

Oh there are a few that I do use, lovely neutrals that are not likely to offend anyone but I am not one of those gals who slap it on as a matter of fact.

I have to think about it .

And I usually do it only once a day in the am if I do. Once it's gone ...pfffft.

You see, I blame Max Factor.

Seriously...I blame both a dead dude and a now defunct company.

They had the audacity to make the perfect Holy Grail of all colors that was the right shade.

Women...do you hear me ?


THE RIGHT SHADE.

No second guessing, no debate, it worked with my hair , clothes attitude , personality, DNA , blood type...coffee choices..you name it , the thrice damned thing worked.

And I used it like it was meant to be used .

But they quit.

BASTARDS !


You see this all goes back to my late mother .

Doesn't everything after all ?

You see, Mother was a preachers daughter..skip ahead if you already know this bit. She didn't wear a lot of makeup until the unfortunate camping incident **. That would have been trashy and while she could be vulgar, she was never trashy. I on the other hand can , have and will be both as needed.

Anyhoo, I swear to you , I am not making this up. When it came time to go through her things, in the top right hand drawer of the dresser was a pair of boxes with the tops torn off. One box was full, the other had 2 open slots.

My mother only wore Revlons  " Fire and Ice ".

Period.

Never wavering in her loyalty, from the year it hit the market until her death in 1981, she was a loyal gal. Now she had died way before Mr. Factor committed the treasonous crime against yours truly so I don't think she was trying to actually avoid my fate in such an overt way. She was just panicked that they would quit on her.

Now In my callow, selfish miss-spent youth , I used to be both amused and critical of my mothers lack of imagination and sense of adventure..How Mom-sh..how drab..how straight .

I on the other hand intended no overt loyalty to one brand or shade..." Lets try them all."

Gastly.
Hideous.
EWW
Barf
Barf Big Time.

So the innocents were buried, only given a writ of staay every few years as the mood struck.

I hear you laughing Mother , as is your right...

EXCEPT....

Your daughter has found a company that has the Holy Grail on file and will for a price ( which I paid ) re-create my beloved "Firewood".

Yes Mother , I finally get it and you will be happy to know that I have even gone back to red nail polish.

< Bout Time>

I can hear you Mother .


Ciao,
Your Daughter, Aunty Pol


**Okay..the infamous camping incident also known as " Never Again ".
My parents were by no stretch of the imagination the camping type. The very idea makes me want to fall over laughing . IF we went somewhere other than being in transit due to a change of Daddy's orders, we drove.  Flying was for rich folks and movie stars. One of my parents decided one year that we should all go camping...Either someone lost a bet or they were actually trying to do something family oriented. My money is on a lost bet. Now , we always had station wagons so I am sure that is where the folks slept while putting the lil chilins in sleeping bags and a tent. Other than scaring the crap out of the youngest brother with bear stories ( yes we did ) it was a complete " Can we go home now " drag......Except...



Mother never wore a lot of makeup except she did wear Germaine Monte foundation. Back then , foundation was very heavily pigmented and My Mother had to wear it camping. Well, evidently because she forgot to remove it on the first and only day of said camping under her ever present Jackie O sunglasses, the part under the sunglasses was protected. The rest of her face..well the pigment burned into her skin and she was less fair than I am . Thus Mother was forced for the rest of her life ( basically the next 20 years ) to HAVE to wear foundation to even out the damage if she had to go out in public. Me...lesson learned big time. Always wash your face, do not wear foundation with a pigment density of spackle and if you don't want to wear it or need to wear it ....then don't....free pass.

Snow Day # 2 Or Holy Shit, There's Ice On The Roof Across The Street !

Snow day number 2.

WOOT !

There is ice on the roofs across the street and icy bits from what I can see in the front flower beds so I for one am glad we stayed home. I was surprised to see that I did in fact have some PTO left over from last year so even  if it was only a week, I carried it over to cover such things as last Friday .

The office wasn't officially closed last Friday but they let it be known that if folks chose to stay home and not risk their lives and they had PTO , they could use that.

Fine.

I am perfectly cool with that unlike some co-workers that felt abused at the idea of actually having to make a choice and use their PTO .

" Unfair " they cried.

Tough shit, grow up .

Because I can, I would have chosen to stay home whether I was paid or not. I can afford it and while I do recognize that this is not the usual case, no job  is worth my life and I really doubt one would be terminated having chosen to stay home .

So here we are...I on the laptop in the dining room watching " Sherlock " again and he is in the den. It's nice having my own laptop finally so I can be out here multitasking and not hovering trying to get my turn on the PC. I can listen for the dryer or the washer , watch tv from one spot play here .....Oh wait...here it comes ..." Bombs always have an off switch"..LMAO...always makes me laugh..Really ?

Anyhoo...pancakes for brekky...we have made full use of a free jammy day. Chicken  is cooked off for chiggin salad and Gracie is crashed out on the water bed. Silly gurl doesn't get why she really does not want to go out in this mess. ...twerp.

I refuse to think about all of the garden that is toast, I just hope that the Jasmine and Plumbago survive. Pinky ( the hibiscus) will be fine and lot if not the majority of the roses need to be replaced,,,wheee.

Oh well...spring will get here and I will go bonkers.

Good Times.

Stay safe and warm.

Ciao,
Aunty Pol

Saturday Vegging At The Casa

Yesterday was one of the strangest days in recent memory.


We had been  following the weather on the news because we knew that there was another cold front on the way and I am a weather junkie..I know , pretty damn lame. Nonetheless, when there is the threat of ice on the roads,,ears perk up.

Now, I had more than the usual number of chuckleheads come up and ask.." Are we going to be open tomorrow ? "

Yeah...I know all  of you want a snow day..I get that , I really do.

Here's a thought :

Listen to the damn news in the morning and make the adult choice.

No job is worth putting your life in peril.

Lather.
Rinse .
Repeat.

Again.

Lather.
Rinse.
Repeat.

If  the schools are closed , they are closed for a reason. I don't know if this still holds true, but federal funding for schools used to be based in part by the number of days students were actually present so they do not shut down willy nilly. It costs them money and like most everything else, they are a business.If the schools are closed, you as a parent need to be home with your genetic legacies. NO..do NOT bring them to work . If I have to explain this to you I will smack you , I promise .

I watched the look on Gordon's face as we watched the news and I had no problem deciding F no , I wasn't going in. Thank fully, when I mentioned to HR that I had chuckleheads asking me about firm policy, she agreed without prompting that using both common sense and pto *  if necessary was the way to go..bless her, I wonder about her at times but when needed, the powers that be do in fact step up to the plate.

I also have to give kudos to the local news wonks.

They gave real time coverage to the conditions in a calm and professional way for once rather than the  : OH MY GOD>>>> WE'RE GONNA DIE !!!! " sort of reaction that they usually reserve for hurricane season. Granted, after IKE and KATRINA..it was humorous at times to see the Shatner-esq over acting about the conditions where there wasn't jack shite going on. They were focused and as we watched beyond their usual time frame we realized that it wasn't getting better, It continued to rain as since we were still below freezing, the ice kept forming. The girls don't park their cars in covered parking like we do so their cars were completely iced over. We could see ice on the driveway and in the streets.

I of course had my usual reaction to extreme weather . I have been on both ends and I only have one thought.

Get laundry, dishes etc done before we lose power.

No , it didn't look as if power was an issue but that's how I roll.

It was nice to stay home and watch movies but we both are like Gracie. After a certain point, cabin fever sets in.

Next time, I will make sure that we have enough groceries in the fridge....like eggs.

It was over 60 degrees today so a Kroger run was made, I guess we didn't need the cupcakes after all....dammit.


I am sure that  Monday will be all full of war stories about the conditions that the young and dumb went through to get to work.....................yawn.


Psst..no one is going to be impressed...thrust me here.


Been there, done that .


Ciao,

Aunty Pol


* PTO = paid time off .

Chocolate Covered Popcorn Y'all.

CHOCOLATE COVERED POPCORN

Today is National Popcorn Day. Add Chocolate! Chocolate Covered Popcorn is so easy to make. You can use dark or white chocolate--or both. Just drizzle some great melted chocolate over your air-popped Popcorn. Drizzle sparingly.  Want to add an extra pop? Drizzle with melted caramel sauce, too!

CHOCOLATE COVERED POPCORN

1. Make a bag of popcorn (buttered or plain) and pop it according to the directions. (airpopping!)

2. Put popped popcorn into large bowl or flat baking pan (for more even distribution).

3. Melt dark or white chocolate or both (in separate bowls) in top of double boiler (or in microwave).

4. Drizzle chocolate on popcorn.

- See more at: http://dyingforchocolate.blogspot.com/#sthash.6Spj4TiY.dpuf


I am so making this...I may even use a combination of white and dark.


Ciao,

Aunty Pol

Slacker Sunday - Just Waiting For Sherlock on PBS Tonight

We had the best time last night with Scott and Mindy. They had not been up to see the renovations from last year so it was great that everyone's schedules worked out . Gordy made the potatoes pictured above after reading the blog post I put up here and they turned out great . He found the smallest potatoes that I have ever seen at HEB,,they looked like large marbles ,they were that small I promise. Now , I think you could even use fingerling's or small red potatoes but what the hell. He was the chef so his call. Of course he had to make crab cakes because that's what every one always want and for us it's a no brainer

I do have to brag a minute because I was a good girl and when I realized that the triple chocolate pudding Gordy made had whipped real  cream on the top of it , with German chocolate shavings on it..I passed it down the table before the third bite.

I SACRIFICED PUDDING WITH CREAM FOR MY LACTOSE ISSUE Y'ALL.

YEAH ME !!!!!!!!!!!

One of  the more surprising things that I noticed is that as we have all gotten older, there was a hell of a lot less wine consumed for whatever reasons, and  waking up fairly intact was a nice thing. I guess that we are all at the point where we know that it is just not worth it anymore. Live and learn it seems.


Of course he is off today chasing the small white ball with the Moron ( said with heaps of love ) so I am doing the table linens and bits of laundry as I sit here and watch the third Transformers movie on the t slant v. LOL....we finally got the sound bar hooked up , of course it took a house call from the Geek Squad to do it....who knew we needed an OPTICAL CABLE for the beast. I gotta tell ya, I don't really  see ahuge improvement for regular cable tv, but for a movie...JEEBUS H ON A CRACKER..it's like that old Memorex commercial and if you are not careful.....yowzah !

I probably won't make it up for the new " Sherlock " tonight since it is a 2 hour program starting at 9:30 cst but we are taping and I am off tomorrow so perfect plan at the casa. Bless his heart, he even taped the season 2 finale so we could get caught up...I guess I have to keep him after 25 years after all.

Have whatever  kind of week that floats your boat.


Ciao,
Aunty Pol

Happy Friday ~ Bruce Of The Day ~ !

The rare picture of Bruce with a mustache.

I don't thik I like it very much , not that I got a vote. Usually I really like mustaches and beards on a man..but this time ..meh....not so much.



TGIF y'all. Having been down for 2 days with sinuses, it didn't hit me until I got to the office that it's the thrice dammed cedar pollen.Every one at the office is suffering with it. My problem is that due to the nature of my job ( gate keeper) , I cannot go hide in the cube farm and basically avoid dealing with clients. I  an the yutz ya gotta deal with.

When it gets this bad, I can barely get out of bed and then genius that I am when I finally rolled out yesterday, my complete sense of time was askew so there I was at 3 pm drinking thrice damned coffee. Now , don't mistake me here, I love coffee . But during the week I only drink about a half a cup while dressing ad the other half on the way to  work....he drives, I slurp.

Yeah car pooling !

I can drink it on the weekend , but not on a school night.

So being tired I went to bed at 9:20.

EARLY .

And I lay there.

At 11:15.

At 1:10

BY 2:30 , I thought , well I can handle a couple of hours until the 5 am alarm rousts my ass out of bed since I slept in for 2 bloody days aka the walking dead.

Fine.

Toss , turn, lather , rinse , repeat.

And worst of all.....

IT WAS FRAKKIN DECAF.

I'd go home and crash , but we are having guests tomorrow and while hisself has been home today ( I get Monday, he does not ) doing prep and cleaning, I know that there is stuff I need to do .

If I make it through " Bones"...

Good think the guests are like family . As long as the guest bath is clean..whatevs.

Have a great weekend.

Ciao,
Aunty Pol.

The Look

Yup..that says it all.

I am officially tired of all of this cold weather and wind and crap.
I refuse to look out the windows towards the backyard because it will irritate and then depress me,
Spring can't come soon enough even though I know that it will cost me the proverbial arm and leg for mulch and my manic nursery run.

We have our traditions after all.

Anyone who knows me knows the above look means that you ( the potential victim ) are in fact about 3 steps away from pissing me the hell off so back up lest I end you now.

I like to keep it simple y'all.

Carry on.

Ciao,
Aunty Pol

Thoughtful Thursday

This is me.
This is me with massive sinuses.
This is me after I have blown my nose enough for it to fall the hell off my face.

Gah !

Kill me now.

I need to eat and nothing appeals right now, except maybe another Pepsi.

Great plan there Pol.

Another cold front is supposed to come through so yippee !

At least tomorrow is Friday .

Ciao,
Aunty Pol

Toffee Talk Or Why Miss Janet Rudolph Will Be The Death Of Me Yet

http://dyingforchocolate.blogspot.com/2013/08/toffee-talk-takes-gold-in-toffee.html

Maybe because I was still thinking of Grandma Engwall , I thought of my OTHER favorite ice cream , not Rocky Road , the OTHER one..the elusive one that cannot be found at least by me at any cost ..anywhere .

Maybe it's just a Minnesota thing , I'm not sure but it is in the top 5 memories of Grandma's kitchen.

Butter Brickle Ice Cream.

Never heard of it , have ya .

Yep.

Thought so.

The closest way that I can describe it is as a heavy duty French vanilla with bits of toffee in it. Not the nuts or the chocolate part, the actual toffee. Grandma would get extra swanky dontchaknow and would open a can of hershy's chocolate syrup and drizzle it over the bowl.

Bliss , pure bliss.

I have always had a passion for good toffee made with good butter and while some folks are happy with Almond Rocha  ( guilty), nothing beats good toffee.

I can see the confused look on y'alls face.'

So where the hell does Janet Rudolph come in  ?

Well , I read her blog " Dying For Chocolate " every day or I try to. It is one of those no fail sure to cheer my sorry ass up kind of things when I need it, inspiration when I can find it all amusing 365 days a year.

And she had this link for this toffee she wrote about.

Go check it out and if you are on facebook, follow " Toffee Talk."

Say that out loud and not think of Mike Myers impression of his mother in law from SNL and Coffee Talk.

I dare ya.


Ciao,
Aunty Pol

Manic Monday Munchies

http://www.cooking.com/recipes-and-more/recipes/butter-almond-cake-recipe-10001479.aspx?CCAID=cknwrdne04585au&s=s0034422489s&mid=1761000&rid=34422489#axzz2qJchjtGX


I found this today over at cooking.com and it reminded me of something that my Grandmother would have made for my Grandfather. It's a smallish size recipe so it is not something she would have churned out for the Ladies Guild ( dontchaknow) for after service fellowship in the basement of Grandpa's Church. Even though technically it is no longer Grandpa's church because :

1. He 's retired and thus replaced.
2 . He passed away in 1993 which trumps the above .

I still think of the church ( First Lutheran , Winthrop, Minnesota ) as his because dagnabbit , it is so you can only imagine how my jaw dropped when we were there for his funeral and the parsonage ( GRANDMA AND GRANDPA'S HOUSE DAMMIT ! ) had been painted some gawd awful baby blue....heathens !

Anyhoo......

I want to try this out because it sounds interesting and if it bombs or hisself doesn't care for it and he is more than willing to say if it is so, I won't have wasted a lot of ingredients..that is unless the gals and I finish it off.

Have  a great week .
Ciao,
Aunty Pol

Thoughtful Thursday

http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/crispy-smashed-roasted-potatos.aspx?utm_source=social&utm_medium=fb_post&utm_term=no_offer&utm_content=fcrecipe_inspir&utm_campaign=FC_social

You guys know me, there are very few spuds that I have come across that I do not inhale. I love small red potatoes , especially simply boiled in crab boil and dresssed with the basics..salt, coarse ground ( and I mean really course , almost whole pepper corns..yowzah) and butter.

I like the simplicity of this recipe and the fact that you can prep them early in the day if you need or add stuff to the olive oil...rosemary....roasted garlic....hell roasted garlic smashed and dabbed on top would also work. I can make a meal out of this mess or use it as a side  which is the best part...

Ciao,

Aunty Pol

Happy Friday ~ Bruce Of the Day ~ !

I am not going to try to upload another photo of him because the Gods of the Innertubes or Blargher have decreed that to do so is to incur the wrath of the edit enforcer whose most bestus favority thang is to eff it all the hell up so there ya are.

Ah Bruce, I have missed you and our Friday dates.

I know that you understand the hell that was 2013 for Aunty Pol and being the stand up guy that you are , even in the midst of being unemployed, you will still buy a gal a Mojito or 3.

2013 was for the most part a chaotic suck fest.

Yes, we came out the other side happier but broker with the in place renovation and we love it, I /we/him/us/Gracie will never do another in place again.

F Dat.

I will find an extended stay that takes Kittys.

But....................


That chaos helped divert us from the trauma.

I still can't believe that we lost all 3 last year bringing ti to a total of 5 in 2 years.

So, if I spend a bit on our only child buying  her a bed she may or may not use and new bowls and crap, Hubby knows that it is how I cope.

The other new project is a proposed trip but that may not happed till 2015 because all of the River Cruises I want to book or are interested in are sold out.

Yes  dear, I have been doing research and have quotes requested and being sent.

That's fine too honey, it gives us more time to plan, May 2014 is just too soon in all reality and since this may be something that we only get to do once, let's do it right .


Have a great weekend y'all.

Ciao,

Aunty Pol