13 Things About My Week

Okay, I started Christmas shopping this week. I am in the minority of women because I hate to shop. You will find that many of this week's 13 deal with how much I despise the freakishly large commercialized hellhole where most people do their shopping The Mall.

1. I hate the Mall with an ever-growing passion. There is a wig kiosk in the mall, which in and of itself is strange. What is even weirder is that the small Asian woman who works at the wig kiosk runs out into the mall to try to get you to buy “hair.” My husband thought I was insane when he asked how my trip to the mall was and I responded, “I was accosted by a short Asian woman who tried to sell me hair.” Seriously!

2. My son Eli has decided he wants a juicer for Christmas. I don’t even know how he knows what a juicer is. I think he learned it from LazyTown. When we asked if we wanted us to add “juicer” to his Christmas list, he said, “Well, I don’t want to ask for too much.” Sometimes my son is so sweet that it makes my heart hurt.

3. I love pie. I made three pies for Thanksgiving. There was about half of each pie leftover. It took my husband, myself and my son two days flat to finish off all three pies. Apparently, they also love pie.

4. I hate the Mall. Wait. Did I say that already? It makes me claustrophobic. It takes up an exorbitantly large number of city blocks, yet I feel claustrophobic when I’m inside. Maybe it’s all the people, or the fact that I’m not near an exit in case of a fire. Whatever it is makes me break out into a cold sweat if I’m in the damn place for more than 20 minutes.

5. My daughter was an 80’s groupie in a past life. That is the only excuse I can think of. You all know her love of Asia. This week, she demonstrated her headbanging (I’m not kidding – genuine headbanging while in her carseat) to “Pour Some Sugar On Me” by Def Leppard. I have never seen anything like it.

6. The great escape. When I had my daughter in the mall, I discovered she can escape her stroller in 4 seconds flat. I was paying for underwear coffee while pushing the stroller back and forth to keep her entertained. All of a sudden, the stroller was lighter. I looked down, and she was across the store! Apparently, she wiggles her legs out of the restraint and slides out the bottom of the stroller. My kids are too damn smart.

7. I don’t like Winter. I always think I can deal with it as long as there is not ice and snow. Well, yesterday was the first day it got cold. The weather forecast said “maybe” some sleet. At 2:00, I looked out my window. There was sleet. And snow. And about an hour later, freezing rain. I hate Winter.

8. McDreamy. Okay, first of all, the mall near my house is not stroller friendly. There are stairs (2-3 steps going up or down) every few feet in the mall). If you have a stroller or wheelchair, you have to zigzag up and down ramps. It’s very annoying. Yesterday, I was strolling along, and all of a sudden came upon a store that had a larger than life poster of McDreamy in their window. I couldn’t help but stare. Unfortunately, I kept moving. I almost strolled my daughter down a flight of stairs! Are these people trying to kill me?!

9. Eli has a girlfriend. After shopping, I went to pick my son up from preschool. Eli has apparently developed a relationship with a 3-year-old named Savannah. She’s a thumb-sucker. He actually kissed her on the shoulder when we left!!! I am totally not ready for this yet.

10. Sonic cheesecake bites – This was my reward for surviving the mall. These are the best damn things I have ever tasted in my life. They come complete with a strawberry dipping sauce. I know I use the word orgasmic a lot, but there’s really no other way to describe these!

11. I discovered a new show. It was on the other night after Charlie Brown Christmas. It’s called Big Day. The entire season is the couple’s wedding day. It was freaking hysterical. Anyone who has ever planned a wedding will truly appreciate this show!

12. Silky Sheets – This is my favorite Passion product. Besides getting rid of that pesky wet spot, it absorbs odors. I sprayed it in the cat box area yesterday before the furnace guy came. It completely took away the cat odor! No litter box smell after I sprayed it. I am ordering a case of this stuff!!

13. Mysterious stains– Whenever my husband does laundry, at least one item of my clothing comes back to me with a mysterious stain on it. I've lost four damn shirts this way. Yesterday's sweater had a bright orange stain, and today, my shirt had a big hot pink splotch on the back. What the hell?!

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Online Shopping

Did anyone catch the Growing Pains marathon this weekend? I still have the theme song stuck in my head. “As long as we’ve got each other, we’ve got the world spinning right in our hand . . .” Oh hell. You can just listen to it here.

Sorry if I'm overdoing the videos lately. YouTube is fun. And addictive.

Well, here we are less than a month away from Christmas, and I really need to get started on my shopping. Passion Parties has thrown a wrench into my plans. I have been so busy with it, I have spaced out on Christmas shopping. The children are almost done, but I have only purchased one thing for Eric. If I don’t hurry up, his mom and my mom are going to buy him everything on his list, and then I will really be screwed.

My mom informed me that she is going to try to do all of her shopping online this year. This is the same woman who told me she had Google on her computer, and she wanted to know if I had Google on my computer too. Yes, really. I’m not kidding. What’s even worse is that my mom reads this blog, and she totally will not get why that is funny.

I tried to give her a brief rundown on how to place an order on Amazon, which I think is very user-friendly. Too user-friendly if you ask me, especially since they remember my damn credit card number. It doesn’t really feel like I’m spending money when I don’t even have to type in my credit card number. That always comes back to bite me in the ass come January.

Anyway, after a brief lesson, I told my mom that maybe it would be easier if she just bought gift certificates. We’ll see how that goes. Personally, I love online shopping. I am not big on dealing with people in a retail setting, and this saves me a lot of hassle. Originally, I wanted to get everyone Passion products. We have some kick-ass lotion and bath gel, but that idea makes Eric very nervous. I don’t know if he’s afraid I’m accidentally going to send a vibrator to his 96-year-old grandmother, but he just didn’t seem down with the whole Passion gift-giving.

Uh-oh. If that’s the case, he better not look in his stocking.

Prison Break - The Killing Box

Okay, who saw Prison Break last night?

Dude! I totally did. not. see. that. coming! Kellerman is now my new best friend. I think I may even be able to get over the fact that he tortured Sara. Although I can't imagine she's going to be very pleased when Michael and Lincoln show up with the man who just tried to drown her in a bathtub.

Anyway, in case you missed it, this is how last night's episode ended for their fall finale. Major spoilers if you haven't seen it yet.

No new eps until January 22. That's two freaking months! What am I going to do?!! This may actually be my last chance of the year to post a shameless sexy pic of Wentworth Miller!

Our Choice in Movies

Sometimes I don’t know what is wrong with me. I love good movies. I love old movies. I love scary movies. I love movies with subtitles. I have a very eclectic taste. But, do you ever find yourself in front of the TV with nothing on? I truly wonder about myself sometimes considering what I actually end up watching.

The other night, I was in this predicament, and I flipped to Starz, which was showing When a Stranger Calls (the new one). I actually saw this at the theatre. It was one of those scary movies that was funny. Plus, I saw it with Stacey and Andrea, and it’s hilarious to grab Stacey’s leg at an appropriate part in the movie just to hear her scream. Muwahahaha.

Anyway, I watched it again, this time complete with Eric, who is an enjoyable sidekick when watching a bad movie. Has anyone seen When A Stranger Calls? Because let me tell you, the first thing I would do if I knew someone was outside the house watching me, is disarm the security system and go outside! Come on!! Also, if there was a series of babysitter murders going on about 125 miles away, you would think the police would take the girl a little more seriously when she called and said someone was making threatening phone calls. Jeez!

But, I digress. It gets worse. When that was over, both kids were in bed and neither Eric nor I had the energy to get up and locate the remote. Deuce Bigalow, European Gigalo came on. Are you ready for the bad part? We watched the entire thing. Given, I think it was only an hour and a half long, but still. What’s worse is we made man whore jokes for about the next 24 hours. You all know how much I love the word whore. Man whore just takes it to a whole new level.

*sigh* I think I’m in desperate need of a good movie. I just hope they don’t make a Deuce Bigalow part 3, because I know I would end up seeing it. I just wouldn’t be able to help myself.

I am very excited for next summer’s Spiderman. Is Eli too young for that? He’s seen bits and pieces of the first one, but this one looks a little dark. I will have to see what rating it gets. But who am I kidding, even if it’s rated R, Spiderman will still be on Happy Meals and lunch boxes.

The Saddle Ranch

Today, we took the kids out to the Legends to have lunch at the Saddle Ranch. Yes, we took our children to a bar. Don’t judge me. (Sidenote: If you visit their site, you will find out the newest 80’s song Georgia likes to rock to. She must have been an 80's groupie in a past life.)

Anyway, it’s one of only three in the country, and it is very interesting. To start off, they had a big fire pit outside where you can roast your own marshmallows for smores. Next, they have a mechanical bull in the center of the restaurant. Eli thought that was pretty cool. One guy rode the bull while we were there, and Eli’s eyes lit up at that. Of course, then came what I expected.

“Mama!!” (I’ve recently become Mama instead of Mommy *sniff sniff*) “Mama!! I want to ride the bull!” I tried to explain to him that they didn’t let little kids ride the bull. Unfortunately, Eli’s logic is to just say the opposite of everything I say. This makes it very difficult to argue. His response to me – “Yes they do!”

Eric distracted him by taking him over to the pool table, which he also found really cool. I should probably be slightly concerned at this point that my son seems to be more entertained by mechanical bulls and pool tables in a bar than he has with anything else in a long time. Hmmmm . . .

Anyway, when the food came, my mouth about dropped open. I ordered a sandwich with mashed potatoes. It came on a plate about half the size of our table. My sandwich seemed normal size, but there was a mound of garlic mashed potatoes on my plate that was as big as my head. I’m really not exaggerating. There were more potatoes on my plate than I had made for 8 people for Thanksgiving dinner.

I looked around. Eric’s dad ordered a sandwich with a side of sweet potatoes. The sweet potatoes were served in a skillet and they looked like they were enough to feed a small country. Eric and his mom got Waffles. I think they each had about 10. Needless to say, this place does not skimp on portions.

I’m going to have to go back sometime with my friends and see if there drink portions are as large as their food portions. Maybe after a couple of Saddle Ranch-sized beers, I could work up the courage to ride the mechanical bull. Now that would be a photo for the blog!

Hits and Misses

Well, out of all the new recipes I tried this year, the winner was Manchego Mashed Potatoes. Did anyone else tried those? Super yummy!! Other than that, I think I had some misses. That’s what I get for mixing things up. I really liked the Pumpkin Muffin Stuffin. Unfortunately, my dad refused to even try it. I thought I was doing good keeping him in the dark and not telling him what was in it. It didn’t occur to me that he read the recipe on my blog the day before. (insert head slap)

Oh well. It was something different. That’s the main comment I got from everyone else at the table. “Welllll, it’s different.” Uh huh.

Now, the chocolate pecan pie was Yum-O in my opinion. Unfortunately, that didn’t go over with anyone else either!!! I know! Can you believe that?! That one got comments like “too rich” or “too chocolatey.” Please! As if there is such a thing as too chocolatey! These people must be on crack.

All in all, Thanksgiving went well. Eric was up at 4 am Friday morning because he loves me so much he went to wait in line at Circuit City to get me a new laptop for $299. Alas, about 200 people were able drag themselves out of bed before Eric, so he didn’t get one. But, it’s the thought that counts, which means sex for him. So he wins, no matter what.

Tonight, Eric’s parents watched the kids so we could have a rare date night. Since we have no family in town, date night is a very infrequent occurrence. For our date night, we went and saw Casino Royale. I told Eric he owes me a chick movie, since I saw a guy movie. He said that I got a lot out of it, since the new James Bond is the hottest one yet, and you get to see him a lot with his shirt off. Although that is all true, there are enough car chases and explosions to definitely classify it as a guy movie.

It was pretty good for a Bond movie, but at 2 ½ hours, I think it could have been shorter. But I got to enjoy popcorn and milk duds, so who am I to complain.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and that you’re all coming out of your tryptophan coma in time to enjoy a lovely weekend.

Eat me!

Happy Turkey Day, everyone!

This blogging mommy is way too tired to post a Thursday 13 this week. I have been cooking all day, and I'm about to drop. I just wanted to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving. And don't forget to give thanks for all the blessings in your life!

Random Wednesday

I think I am in a mood. I seriously cannot deal with some of those preschool moms anymore. I walked in today to pick up Eli, and I was carrying Georgia on my hip as usual. I passed by one of the moms and she looked and Georgia and said, “Look at her. She’s just holding on like a little monkey.” WTF?!! This is the same woman who once told me I hold Georgia like a sack of potatoes. And now she just compared my daughter to a monkey. I am about to throw down with this b*tch! One more comment out of her, and I’m going to punch her in her perfectly made-up little face. *deep breath deep breath*

Maybe that’s not in the spirit of the season, but considering how stressed I get around the holidays, it fits quite well with my mood.

Moving on . . .

I can’t let the George Michael thing die. I just can’t. I was wondering today how I thought he was so freaking hot back in the 80’s. Then I came across this YouTube video. It’s him live in concert in Sydney singing (and dancing his ass off to) I Want Your Sex. 15 seconds into this video, and I remembered vividly why I wanted to jump his bones when I was 16. For my fellow 80’s children (men and women alike), enjoy!

And today’s recipe.

Today, I am posting the recipe for the stuffing I am making on Thursday. Once again, I am stealing from Rachael Ray. I seriously can’t wait to try this recipe!!

Pumpkin Muffin Stuffin!

Ingredients
1 stick butter
2 to 3 Macintosh apples, cored and chopped
2 onions, chopped
1 zucchini, chopped
3 small ribs celery, chopped
1 bay leaf
Sat and freshly ground pepper
6 store-bought pumpkin muffins
½ cup shelled pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds, toasted
2 tablespoons poultry seasoning
3 cups chicken broth

Directions
1. In a large, deep skillet, melt 5 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Add the apples, three quarters of the onions, the zucchini, celery and bay leaf. Season with salt and pepper and cook until softened, 10 minutes.

2. Preheat the broiler. Crumble the muffins into the skillet. Add the pumpkin seeds and poultry seasoning, and salt and pepper to taste. Pour in up to 2 cups broth (depending on how moist you like it). Spoon the stuffing into a heatproof dish and broil until crisp, 5 minutes.

Pygmy Marmosets

Today, we had the joy of holiday photos. I needed a stiff drink after that photo shoot, let me tell you! Our holiday photos were supposed to be last Monday, but Georgia’s little face has been all broken out, so I decided to postpone them until today. Bad idea.

Yesterday, Eli developed a cold complete with runny nose and he felt “hot and cold at the same time.” Crap! Georgia’s face is still broken out, and I think it’s because of the dry weather. So this morning, I was faced with Eli’s very red, very crusty nose, and Georgia’s irritated little face. Aside from that, both children were up during the night and we were all tired. A perfect time for those Christmas card pictures!

Our appointment was at 1:30 this afternoon. I usually put Georgia down for a nap shortly after 1:00, but that was the only appointment I could get. You can see, it’s just getting better and better. I spent the morning primping the children. First, we did make-up. I did Eli first. Foundation, concealer, powder, and Gold Dust for some added sparkles. (I’m really not kidding.) Next up was Georgia. She needed more foundation than Eli did. Luckily, we all have fair skin, so my make-up was the right shade. Then, concealer. Then powder. Then Gold Dust. Beautiful.

Next up – hair. Eli’s was fairly easy, but then came Georgia. I only know how to do a girl’s hair one way – the way I do my hair. You can tell this when you look at the pictures because Georgia’s hairstyle is exactly the same as mine. First we wet it down, then curling mousse, then blow dry with diffuser, then styling spritz. We were doing okay so far.

Then Eric got home. One look at the kids and he said, “Jesus Christ, Neila! They’re wearing more make-up than you are!” Okay, I personally thought they looked good, but whatever. I don’t think you can tell in the photos that they’re wearing make-up.

When we all managed to get out of the house and to the photo studio, I had high hopes. Until it was our turn. We did the family photos first. Trying to get the four of us to look at the photographer at the same time and smile was more difficult than you could possibly imagine. Georgia was tired, impatient, and screaming. Eli was squinting his eyes shut because apparently he thinks that makes his smile bigger. Eric and I were busy looking at the children to make sure they had decent looks on their faces. It was not going well. We tried several family shots, shots of the children together, and shots of the children separately. The photographer took a total of 83 pictures. We were only able to choose five decent pictures.

After the photo shoot, the kids ran around the play area, while the parents sat at the big screen computers and tried to decide on photos. I was going as fast as I could because Eli was busy doing his own thing. He organized a group of about five little girls and they were running around the portrait studio with Eli screaming, “We have to save the pygmy marmosets from the dragon.” That got me some looks from the other mothers. What?! My kid’s creative. Deal with it!

We finally tore Eli away from the pygmy marmosets, got our photos, our holiday cards and off we went, content in the fact that I don’t have to do pictures again for another six months.

And the winner is . . .

PassionsByNeila.com is up and running! Thank you everyone for your suggestions. This one was my husband’s pick, so he is now feeling superior. My choice was PassionateDiva.com, which was the runner up.

With all this Passion talk, I have inadvertently turned myself into a porn site. We went for our weekly library visit today (because God forbid we should go one more day without a new Blue’s Clues video). Anyway, I logged onto the library computer to check out my Web site. I do this occasionally, mainly just to check out how my blog and images look on different computers. This was never a problem in any of my previous library visits. Today, it was.

I typed in my card number, logged on and typed in blogthatmommy.com. The big warning page appeared. It said, “You are not able to access this Web page because the library filtering system has deemed it PORNOGRAPHIC.” And yes, it did say pornographic in all caps and bold letters. I sheepishly looked around to make sure the entire library wasn’t standing behind my shoulder watching me try to access porn.

After my initial shock, I decided to find it amusing. My mommy blog that I started in June has now entered into the realm of pornography. My husband was not shocked at all. The second I mentioned “Crazy Sex Lady” in my blog, he said, "I'm out," and stopped visiting Blog That Mommy! at work. Probably a good idea. The last thing I need is for my husband to get fired for reading my freaking mommy blog. *sigh*

Oh well, I hope you all continue to enjoy my blog. Just keep in mind that I’m no longer work safe. You can fret about the fact that you’re visiting a pornographic Web site while enjoying my recipe below for Manchego Smashed Potatoes.

Manchego Smashed Potatoes

In honor of Thanksgiving, which is realistically all about food, I am going to be posting the recipes I am making this week. Today’s recipe comes to us courtesy of Rachael Ray. (I’m a fan of hers, in case you haven’t noticed.) This year, instead of my usual whipped potatoes, I will be making Rachael’s Manchego Smashed Potatoes. Yum-o!

4 pounds baby red or baby Yukon gold potatoes, large ones halved
Salt
4 T. butter, cut into small pieces
½ cup milk or cream
12 oz. Manchego cheese, shredded (2 ½ cups)
Freshly ground pepper

In a deep pot, cover the potatoes with water. Cover the pot with a lid and bring to a boil. Uncover, salt the water and cook until tender when pierced with a fork, 12 to 15 minutes. Drain the potatoes and return them to the pot. Add the butter, milk and cheese and smash. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

I'm a coffee whore

I’m bad. I’m soooo bad. I have a severe coffee addiction. I got in trouble for this a few months ago because my husband looked at the debit card statement and added up how much I was spending each month on coffee. Woops. I really need to start paying cash.

I just can’t help it. I have been to Caribou four times so far this week. I was addicted to the gingerbread latte, I have tried the falalatte, and then Aaron dropped the other day to drop off my weekly fix, and told me to try the Campfire Mocha. Ohhhhh yeah! I did that today, and it was awesome!! They put chocolate bits and marshmallows on top, which melt down to the bottom. When you get to the bottom, it tastes like a smore. I know I have a tendency to over-use the word orgasmic, but there’s really no other way to describe it.

I need to wear a rubberband on my wrist that I can snap when I want to drive myself to Caribou. This week, Aaron dropped off the Fireside blend of coffee. Eric chose this one. It was good. It wasn’t as strong as the Reindeer blend, and I love strong coffee, so it’s going to be hard to top the Reindeer blend for me. I would say the Fireside was strong, but not bold. I would definitely recommend it.

The great thing about Caribou is that it tastes fresher than any coffee I’ve ever had. Aaron told me that is because Caribou coffee is no more than 14 days old from the point that it is harvested to the point of sale. If they roast it and it sits longer than 14 days, they throw it out, so you always get the freshest beans. That made me wonder how long that stuff in the grocery store sits on the shelf. Hmmm . . . that makes me rethink Maxwell House.

Domain help

Okay, I need your advice. Before I order my self-inking stamps, address labels, yada yada, I wanted to think of a better domain name for my Passion Web site. Right now, it is neila.yourpassionconsultant.com. Not that catchy. Sooooo, this is what I have come up. Let me know which one you like best, or let me know if you have one that is even better!

PassionsByNeila.com
PassionConsult.com
NeilasToys.com
PassionateDiva.com
PassionWorthy.com
PassionHero.com
PassionHeroine.com
PopularPassion.com

Remember, I'm limited by what's available. I really want a dot com and not a dot biz or what the hell ever they have now. So, what do you think? Thoughts? Opinions? Bueller? Bueller?

Friday vignettes

80’s Revisited
After reading everyone’s comments on my 80’s blog, I remember sooo many more things that could have been on my list. The biggest thing I forgot was Night Tracks! Does anyone remember Night Tracks? I am fairly certain this was before MTV. It was on TBS, and they played videos all night long. I had a friend who had slumber parties all the time, and we would have the TV on Night Tracks all night. We always knew we were up too late when the videos started repeating. Mmmm . . . that was a fond memory. And then came MTV. I fondly remember when they actually played music videos. Ahhh . . . nostalgia.

But wait, there’s more!

Pop Rocks! I actually still eat those, but they have all new uses as an adult. Are Pop Rocks the same thing as Space Dust in the UK? Did anyone ever have the courage to eat them and then drink a Coke? That is your mission for this weekend if you choose to accept it.

Am I the only one who thought George Michael was straight? I mean, come on, remember the I Want Your Sex video? That naked girl was his pseudo girlfriend in real life. He so perpetuated the fantasies of teenage girls.

Oh you guys, I feel so old. Now, I’m a soccer mom and I drive an SUV. When did that happen? *sigh*

Thanksgiving
This week, I have to switch my focus to Thanksgiving. Everyone comes to our house for Thanksgiving, and I just went today to buy the food. I now have to gear up for a week of cooking. This weekend, I hope you all think of me fondly as I’m making pie crusts. I am making pecan pie, pumpkin pie, and chocolate pecan pie (see below). Oh yeah! It is sinful.

Pimp That Blog
You know I’m not above being a blog whore. Tomorrow, I plan to describe in detail the orgasmic pleasure I had today while enjoying a Campfire Mocha at Caribou.

Aside from coffee, I would like to direct everyone to my friend Jenny’s new Web site. She makes custom jewelry, and has up a new Website, Custom Jewelry By Design. I think her prices are very reasonable. She is very talented. Check out the rings, particularly. Those are my favorite. They look VERY cool! I will be adding Jenny’s link to the right of my blog when I update my links (something I’m waay behind on). I hope you all will check out her site. Think Christmas presents!

Friday Feast
Now, enjoy my recipe for the chocolate pecan pie I will be making for Thanksgiving. Tell me if this doesn’t give you an orgasm in your mouth!

Ingredients
· 1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch single crust pie
· 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
· 3 eggs
· 1/8 teaspoon salt
· 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
· 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
· 12 pecan halves

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. Over hot, not boiling, water melt 1 cup chocolate chips. Remove from heat, and let cool.
3. In a small bowl, beat the eggs and salt; beat with an electric mixer at high speed until very thick and lemon colored, about 5 minutes. Gradually beat in the brown sugar and melted chocolate. Stir in chopped pecans and remaining 1 cup chocolate morsels. Pour filling into the unbaked pie crust. Decorate top with pecan halves.
4. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.

Enjoy!!

13 Things I Miss About the 80’s

Since I have been listening to soooo much 80's music this week, it inspired a Thursday 13!

1. Leggings – Okay, I realize leggings are coming back, but that has created an issue for me. I loved leggings in the 80’s. Loved them! I wore them all the time because they made my legs look thinner. When leggings came back in style, I was so excited, and I immediately went out and bought a pair. I was very excited for something that made my legs look thinner. Unfortunately, they don’t have the same effect now. After much thought, I’ve decided they used to make my legs look thinner because I was thin in the 80’s. Leggings don’t look nearly as good on me a few pounds heavier. It really sucked coming to this realization.

2. George Michael – Remember when everyone thought George Michael was straight? I remember those days fondly. I had the biggest crush on him after Faith came out. It was all in the ass.

3. Big hair – Okay, I have always had big hair. Since I have a curly blonde mop on top of my head, I really can’t help it. But in the 80’s, that was actually in style. And ohhhhh, could I tease up my hair. I had some serious gravity-defying bangs. It was an art.

4. Atari – I could stay up until all hours playing Pac Man and Donkey Kong. We now have the Atari-like games that you plug into the TV. It is sooooo not the same. Mainly because of the joystick. I vividly remember having “joystick” thumb. It was painful, but man, could I work a joystick.

5. Leg warmers – I loved leg warmers. They kept your legs warm, they were cheap, and they came in all colors. Yeah, yeah, I know. They’re coming back. But now, they’re considered a trendy fashion statement, which means they’ve quadrupled in price. Are you kidding me?!

6. The Cosby Show – We could all relate to one of the Cosby kids. Mine was Vanessa because I was closest to her in age. They don’t have good family shows like that anymore. They used to have The Cosby Show, Growing Pains, and Family Ties. Now, what do they have? I turned on Two and a Half Men the other night and turned it right back off because my son started asking too many questions. WTF?

7. Tom Cruise – Remember Tom Cruise before he was crazy? Good Lord, he was hot! I was 15 when Top Gun came out, and I saw it three times at the theatre. That inspired PG-13-related fantasies about Tom Cruise for several weeks.

8. Lack of technology – Jeez! If my parents had been able to install a GPS tracking device on my car at 16, I would have been in some serious sh*t! Don’t get me wrong, I’m all about technology. But with cell phones, pagers, etc., people can always find me. Sometimes, I really don’t want to be that available.

9. Hair bands – Poison. Bon Jovi. *sigh* I don’t think I ever got over it when Jon Bon Jovi cut his hair. It just won’t ever be the same.

10. Swatch watches – Oh, what a fashion accessory. Different colors and scents, remember? Scented wristbands! Now, that was fashion. I loved these damn things. I actually created my own fashion statement by wearing them in my hair. I would pile all my hair up into a big pony tail on top of my head, and secure it with a couple of Swatches. I was so cool.

11. Teen movies – Okay, I realize I am a 30-something mom, but teen movies nowadays suck. What happened to movies with a message like The Breakfast Club, or really good love stories like Say Anything. All my boyfriends in the late 80’s were held up to the standard of John Cusack. Not one of them held a boom box up outside my window. Huh.

12. Valley girl speak – I seem to remember tubular and radical being key words in my vocabulary. But most importantly – awesome. That is one word that never faded.

13. Rubik’s cube – I love puzzles, so this was about the best damn toy ever. It still amazes me that Yale began offering a course on mastering the Rubik’s Cube. Now, that’s a phenomenon!!

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80’s Baby

I was in the car with my children yesterday running errands. It was a bad time. Georgia was tired, and I knew she needed a nap, but I had to pick up a prescription and go to the bank. I figured I could suffer through it. It didn’t take long before she started screaming. She didn’t want to be in the car, and she was pissed.

As the screaming grew louder, Eli became annoyed and started yelling, “Georgia! Be quiet!” This, of course, made her scream louder.

When we are at home, all I have to do to calm her down is sing Edelweiss. Seriously, she can be in the throws of an all out crying jag, but two bars of Edelweiss will immediately quiet her down. It’s pretty amazing.

Unfortunately, that little trick doesn’t work in the car. So, I began trying different CDs to find one that would calm her down. Children’s music – nothing. Enya – nada. Finally, I popped in an 80’s CD I had mixed for myself. Asia came on blaring Heat of the Moment. Amazingly, the cries quieted, and I heard Georgia start clapping in time to the music.

Seriously? Asia?

Luckily, that kept her quiet through the bank drive-through. Sadly, the calm only lasted through the one song. When the next song came on, she started screaming again. Apparently, she wasn’t as fond of Quiet Riot and Cum On Feel The Noize. I thought I would mix it up, so I put in my Nickelback CD. No such luck.

I just looked in my rearview mirror and said, “You have GOT to be kidding me! You like Asia, but you don’t like Nickelback?” *sigh* Eli was just covering his ears at this point, so I don’t think he really cared what we listened to. I popped Asia back in. Silence. Clap. Clap. Clap.

Huh.

Needless to say, we listened to that song six times before we got home. Today, when Georgia acted up in the car, I flipped through my entire 80’s CD to see if any other song had a calming reaction. Surprisingly, 867-5309 had the same effect. Silence. Clap. Clap. Clap.



At least that gives us some variety. Apparently, my daughter has quite a fondness for select 80’s tunes. Maybe tomorrow, I will try some Sister Christian and really mix things up.

Blessed by Coffee Gods

In case you all didn’t know, I love coffee. I know. Shocker! Even if I had an IV drip of coffee, I would still probably need a four-shot latte before noon. It is the lifeblood in my veins. I mentioned before how I would blog for coffee. Luckily, my friend Aaron, knew I was serious. He now works at Caribou Coffee, after leaving his wonderful job at Hen House where he barely escaped an altercation with a customer (that’s a blog in itself).

Aaron emailed last week and said he had a pound of Caribou’s new Reindeer Blend if I wanted to try it. If?!! Are you freaking kidding me?! He drove it over that afternoon, and we have been enjoying Caribou’s Reindeer Blend for the last few days. Oh, it rocks! It really, really does.

It’s described on their Web site as a classic dark roast holiday blend that is dark, syrupy and smooth.

I love strong coffee (a dark brew), but I really don’t like Starbucks coffee because it is almost bitter, and I drink a lot of coffee. After a four-shot latte at Starbucks, I always have a stomachache. Not cool. You all know that Folger’s sent me some free coffee to try a few weeks ago, and my favorite of theirs was the Lively Columbian. Okay, that was minor league compared to Caribou.

If you like a strong dark roast, you must try Caribou’s Reindeer blend. It’s good. It’s damn good. The aroma alone is enough to make me swoon. Even my husband likes it, and he is not big on the dark roast, but he actually brewed a pot yesterday for himself. Trust me, that’s a good recommendation.

Aaron left a comment on my blog the other day that some of you may have seen. Apparently, he got approval from his manager to hook me up with a pound of coffee a week (!!!) if I would blog about it. Oh yeah, baby!!! Christmas came early this year at my house.

I just thought you all should know why there will be a weekly coffee blog around here. It’s because Aaron is now my dealer and he will be hooking me up with a fix once a week. I’m downright giddy.

In addition, I just about had an orgasm the other day when I tried Caribou’s gingerbread latte. Oh, sweet Lord in heaven, Starbucks only dreams they could make gingerbread lattes this good. Caribou mixes their gingerbread spice with white mocha for their latte. Yum-o! In fact, I feel like jumping in the car right now and heading across town for coffee. Oh what the hell. Off I go for my Gingerbread Latte. I will see you all later. Hope you try out Caribou!

Party On!

In case you all are wondering why I have not been abloggin’ for a couple of days, it is because this was the weekend of parties. I did a Passion Party at my house on Friday night, a Passion Party on Saturday afternoon, and a Discovery Toys party on Saturday night. I am tired. Very tired.

Friday night was my first Passion Party, and I had a lot of friends over. I sold over $700 of merchandise, and I make 40%, so it was a good profit for one evening. The problem is that I think I will do much better at this when I am doing it for people I don’t know. People share waaaaay more information than I imagined. I now have visuals in my head of one of my friends who apparently enjoys some very hardcore activities. And I will never be able to look one friend’s husband in the eye again without the voice inside my head screaming “PREMATURE EJACULATOR!!!”

Luckily, I had so much fun that it’s all worth it. It was a fun party, and I have seven people now interested in booking parties! Seven!! Four of them already have dates set for their parties. And three people were interested in information about joining Passion Parties. How cool is that?!

Saturday afternoon, I headed down to the Plaza because a gal was having a slumber party at one of the fancy schmancy hotels, and she wanted me to come by and bring my stuff. These ladies seemed to be the antithesis of the women at my party. The hostess was really enjoying it, but her friends seemed shocked when I began my whole spiel about the G-spot, and they looked downright terrified when I pulled out the rotating vibrators. Oh well, I guess everyone isn’t into it.

I went straight from there to do a Discovery Toys party, with one quick stop at Caribou. More on Caribou coffee tomorrow, but you must stop in and try their holiday drinks. Their Gingerbread Latte is heaven in a cup, and about a zillion times better than Starbucks!

Anyway, I was desperately trying to switch mental gears to toys of the more wholesome variety. Everyone at that party seemed to have a great time. And since I mentioned that I am an equal opportunity toy provider, I even had one lady ask me if I had any Passion Parties catalog. Luckily, I always carry them!

I stayed late because my friend Heather #2, the hostess, makes kick-ass party food, and I missed dinner. So after I ate her out of house and home, I went home and lapsed into a coma for about three hours until Georgia woke up at 2 am. Hopefully one of these days I’ll catch up on my sleep. I have a few days where I can relax before I have to start thinking about Thanksgiving. Oh, the stress.

Shave Everywhere

Okay, my husband was checking out Philips Norelco’s new personal razor. You all MUST see this!

http://www.shaveeverywhere.com/

Friday Feast

Since I am in the midst of making tons of party food for my Passion Party Friday night, I thought I would go ahead and participate in Friday Feast by posting my Oreo Truffles. I’ve had these at several parties, so I think they’re a popular recipe. Yet, I still had issues. Next time I will probably melt the chocolate with a little margarine or maybe some milk to thin it out because it got waaaay too thick while I was dipping the balls, and it turned into a bit of a mess. So, now I have messy balls. I’m sure they’ll still be good. I’m also having little smokies. Balls and wieners. And I wasn’t even going for a theme party.

But before I get to my recipe, I have to relate how much I completely spaced out today. I went to Eli’s parent-teacher conference this morning, and I even got there 15 minutes early. I got to sit in the little chair outside the office and drink my coffee in peace. It was fabulous. The conference went well. I discovered that Eli is being stalked by a cute little 3-year-old named Audrey. I also found out that he likes to take things apart at preschool just like he does at home. Apparently, he got a hold of a little screwdriver in the classroom, and attempted to take the doorknobs off the doors. I’m sure he would have succeeded if they hadn’t stopped him. One day at home he disassembled one of our bar stools when I thought he was watching Dora. I can’t take my eyes off of that kid for a second!

After I got home, the vacuum broke down, I had an unexpected visit from a neighbor, and I completely forgot the kids had a doctor’s appointment this afternoon. I made an appointment two weeks ago for them to go in today to get flu shots. I checked my calendar earlier in the week to double-check the time. And I forgot. I don’t mean that I remembered an hour later. I completely forgot. The only reason I remember it now is because I just checked my email, and my friend sent me one that said, “How did the flu shots go?” *Gasp* Oh, triple crap!!!

The combination of busy and tired sends important information flying out of my ears. Thank God for Aaron, my coffee God, or I would lapse into a coma. I can’t wait to tell you my excitement over my free coffee. That will be in this weekend’s blog.

Anyway, on to the recipe for Oreo Truffles:

1 lb. Oreo cookies (3 sleeves)
8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1 lb. milk chocolate
½ lb. white chocolate

1. Using food processor (or Magic Bullet), grind cookies to a fine powder.
2. With a mixer, blend cookie powder and cream cheese until thoroughly mixed.
3. Roll into small balls and place on wax-lined cookie sheet.
4. Refrigerate for 45 minutes.
5. In double boiler (or microwave), melt chocolate.
6. Dip balls and coat thoroughly.
7. Left balls out of chocolate and let excess chocolate drip off.
8. Place on wax-paper-lined cookie sheet.
9. In separate bowl, melt white chocolate.
10. Using a fork, drizzle white chocolate over balls.
11. Let cool.
12. Store in airtight container, in refrigerator.