Tuesday Ten - 10 things you cannot live w/o in fridge/pantry

What 10 things do you feel you cannot live without in your refrigerator or pantry?

1. coke
2. fruits/veggies
3. better than bouillon - chicken and beef
4. fresh garlic
5. coke
6. tortilla chips (scoops)
7. rotel
8. campbell's chunky chicken noodle soup
9. cooking wine (white, sherry, marsala)
10. olive oil

if i could add a #11 -- it would be COKE!!! i'm a coke-drinker like most smokers smoke -- i alwas have a hidden one tucked away in case some idiot drinks my last one. my kids always knew better than to take the last one, too! i'm limiting myself pretty strictly to 1-2 cans a day -- depending upon the stress level of
the time.

one really nice thing for us on groceries, though, is that we have our own beef butchered from my family's farm and we buy chicken in bulk when it's on sale. right now, not another package would fit in our 6' chest freezer. makes shopping and meal planning much easier!

last summer, i saw a scary thing . . . the bottom of the freezer. i kind of panicked, but my brother called a few days later stating that he needed to haul a couple steers to the butcher market, so it just was perfect timing. thanks to our excessive gardening, we also have some fantastic home-canned greenbeans, tomatoes, jalapenos, and more. hopefully we will have a much more gardener's dream summer this year instead of like the last 3 years.

funny how limiting these things to 10 makes a person stop and think about what is important. not that i succeeded to the limit, but i did spend a lot of time thinking about what i did and didn't really need to make the list!

Tuesday Ten - 10 commercials i love

Tuesday Ten - 1/25 - opposites now -- the top 10 commercials that i lOVE to watch.

1. Etrade babies, but especially the one who says "let me show me my surprise face" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=HqVBKO_QM3o&NR=1) or the other one that says "apparently riding the dog is frowned upon in this establishment!" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0GsNhLt9Ds&feature=relmfu)

2. volkswagon - the force - child as darth vader, who thinks he started the car w/ "the force" while his father hit the start button from inside the house. so cute = so hilarious! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glKCFzpPHhw

3. heinekin entry video -- http://www.adweek.com/video/advertising-branding/heineken-entrance-132935

4. toyota accord video "COG" -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ve4M4UsJQo absolutely amazing! especially when you read about the filming of it and that it was ALL done in one take w/ NO editing. of course, it took several hundred tries!

5. hershey's kisses -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09-WlGhfIG8, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ca5wvawBil0&feature=related, and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHUNLaYw6qc

6. coca-cola ads - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1NnyE6DDnQ, or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRbQ-y-FxTg, plus any other videos of coca-cola listed on youtube.

7. amazon kindle - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsPF1_tovQw&feature=related, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYUVpjrzvXc, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6wWy9DwgPQ&feature=related.

8. TMNT (teenager mutant ninja turles for those of you not old enough to know!). Pizza Hut -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZSBuf64_u0

9. flo in progressive commercials -- she just cracks me up! i love the new snapshot commercial - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bk8yNKWpG2s

10. geico little piggy ad - makes me laugh every time! - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8F_G2zp-opg

BONUS --

11. cheetos party at construction site -- just saw it for the first time tonight and he really made me laugh! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxWpU2IIzXI, especially when he says, "i can still see you." and the cheetah replies == hilarious!

12. budweiser ads - especially the ones w/ the team of horses pulling the wagon -- even the one where the team of horses knelt in honor of the missing world trade center. that one made me cry, and it has never been shown on tv again as an advertisement. it might have been included in a "best of commercials" type show, but budweiser only released it once for advertisement and paying honor. - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXn8BZCNX2Q, a cutie one w/ a baby horse learning his position - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UK0zRVzvtB4&feature=related, hank trying out for the team - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLtjVuXOBQk&feature=related, horses playing football - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNqtNBMfa0E&feature=related, men and their dogs - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OZ4NAynH70&feature=related, replay horse football - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgSKwpw2buI&feature=related, clydesdale donkey - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xD6ghskNKa8&feature=related, lamb streaker (hilarious!) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zb3fhsfs6ZU, and probably MANY more than i listed here!

Tuesday Ten - 10 television commercials i don't like

guess i couldn't stop at 10 . . . and i didn't even mention the jcpenney ad for 2.2.12 where people were just screaming "NOOOOOOOO!" that one drove me nuts, but at least i knew that 2.2.12 would be the end of it!

1. suburu ad - says "When you're responsible for this much of the team, you need a car you can count on" pisses me off! makes me feel like they are saying that people w/ more children in the car deserve a more dependable car instead of people w/ just one child or w/ no children!

2. all virgin mobil ads - just stupid overall, like pigs eating their dead friend, full-grown man being carried in a baby strap by another full-grown man, shipping the kid in a pet crate for an airline flight.

3. 21st century where they destroy or damage 2 cars w/ identical stuff

4. all t-mobil ads - especially when the outfit worn by the chick directs the eyes to her boobs and her crotch.

5. ads w/ keith stone w/ progressive ad

6. ads w/ nationwide "too happy" host that talks about vanishing deductibles - "nationwide is on your side"

7. state farm singing ads "like a good neighbor, state farm is there in your office." and then the people are teleported to the office and away from danger.

8. J G Wentworth - opera style singing of "i have a long-term settlement, but i need cash now!"

9. i'm a phoenix . . .

10. old spice commercial w/ the black man narrating and acts like he is so cool.

11. h and r block second look

12. happy bob after he took medication for erectile dysfunction

13. dish network, the group of people (both old and young) who start dancing when they find out their deal on their service.

14. commercials by the guy who did the "slap chop", who was also arrested for beating his girlfriend, and now has another one for a kitchen gadget.

BONUS --- all ads about erectile dysfunction, tampons/pads commercials, douche commercials, hemorhoid commercials, menopause commercials, stomach medicine, i am constantly criticizing the ads, even talking to the tv to express my views and feelings about their pathetic commercial!

Rules and Expectations of Tuesday Ten

ok, there are very few rules on this game (writing prompt) for tuesday ten --

a new challenge will be issued each tuesday morning.

answer or list your 10 things from that week's prompt and post them to the group before the following monday night at 11:59 p.m. CST.

you can choose to do these or not, but there are several positive outcomes --

* you have something fun to write about
* it should be fairly quick and easy
* you have no commitment to make -- participate only when it strikes your mood or interest
* you have a specific topic to focus on
* you have 7 full days to get it done
* it might give you the motivation to write more regularly
* it might inspire you w/ an idea to write something else about
* there are NO wrong answers!
* it helps us in getting to know each other and for new members to get to know us
* you might want to print it out or write it out in your journal, too
* it provides you a post to publish on your blog AND to the bluehaze group.
* it makes great fun to go back and look at later in life
* it keeps your brain thinking and remembering, so you should remember things longer later in life based on how much time you spend remembering
* it can cause you to remember details or times in life that you had already forgotten
* it's a challenge to provoke your mind and spend some time remembering
* your children would probably LOVE to come across these lists of things you loved/liked or hated/disliked in your life now at some point later in life
* it encourages critical thinking skills and decision making processes

i'm sure there are more reasons than i listed, but what makes it work for me is that it is short, it gives me something to think about when i have free mind time, and i think it's something my kids will really enjoy when they are older and/or i'm already gone from life.

i decided for myself, that i'm going to do the 10 advertisements that i love watching the most, too. see? this tuesday ten has already tricked me into writing more!

have fun, get creative, and get busy! remember, we all were promising to do more artwork and more journaling this year. we also said that we would hold each other accountable in accomplishing that goal (in a good way, of course!)

i will randomly send out a little something in the mail to someone who posted that week. i'll change it up, though, so you won't know how i'm picking the winner until after you all have posted your list of 10. that doesn't mean you have to participate -- it just means that you can only get the prize for that week if you were participating in that week.

have fun w/ it and feel free to comment on each other's list. i'm sure we'll find a scenario where something someone loves is something someone else hates.

please be respectful when responding. also remember, the majority of people love to have feedback, critique, or questions on their posts.

i reserve the right (as group owner and moderator) to change and/or amend the "rules" if we have problems w/ member interactions or as necessary.

thank you all! i'll be looking for your post!!!

an dochas and the haran irish dancers

it's another "salina weekend" for my daughter, which means there are 3 little girls who need cared for on friday until daddy is off work. the problem w/ that scenario, though, is that they typically want to extend their stays to include overnight (if not the whole weekend!).

so mommy made her plans to go to salina while i made our plans to attend "an dochas and the haran irish dancers" at pittsburg memorial auditorium. little rain was at uncle kirk's house, helping "work on the farm," which i thought worked out great as she would probably lose interest in the show before it was over.

i tried to get daddy (lucas) to meet up w/ us at the show, but he didn't seem to have much interest in going. it was just going to be grandpa, raven, riahna, and me for the evening. we started off w/ dinner at cafe del rio (which riahna and rain call "del wios") and then on to the show. the little girls acted SO grownup and proper -- they were impressive! they were excited to go see the dancers and knew they would like the show. the tickets were assigned seating and good seats on the floor at memorial auditorium.

the girls had both been fighting a cold, but as the evening wore on -- they just started to wilt. raven, especially, was showing signs of not feeling up to her best. the performance was really good and lots of fun, but she just couldn't make it until the end. she was running a fever, her head was hurting, her throat was hurting, and she was coughing. she had asked a couple times to leave and go home, but we encouraged her to try to stay.

after about 50 minutes of performance, we decided to leave. we knew there was no intermission, so we figured we had made it most of the way through the show. raven was just miserable. we called daddy and gave him the news -- your little girls are coming home tonight (instead of staying all night at our house) and they are sick. i'm sure that made for a long weekend for him!

during the show, riahna was seated in my lap where she could get a better view of the dancers. there was a little boy about her age seated a couple seats over from us. he did everything he could to get her attention -- but she wouldn't look at him. i could tell from her rigid body that she knew he was trying to get her attention, and she was extra attentive to the show. he snapped his fingers, he waved at her, he wriggled around in his seat, he clapped his hands, and even danced w/ stomping feet. nothing worked.

to an outsider, it would look like he had made no impression on her at all. by the time he was stomping his feet, his mother was doing what she could to get his attention to make him sit still and be quiet. the second that he turned away to see what his mother wanted, riahna quit watching the show to watch him. as soon as he turned to watch her again, she was riveted to the show again. this went on for about 8 minutes, and it was quite comical. poor little boy never knew that he had gained her attention, and that little ornery girl had done a very slick job of playing hard to get! it was really quite entertaining to watch!


an dochas and the haran irish dancers provided a great experience and a good evening of entertainment. i am so glad that we decided to see this show and take the little girls to experience it. the funny thing was that most of the songs were about drinking and dying, but they were performed w/ lots of fun and gusto!

a "special" breakfast

great snow day breakfast recipe -- cinnamon french toast bake (taken from the show 'from the kitchens of pillsbury w/ brigitte nguyen). this show, done from various product test kitchens, gives a person some great ideas for using the brand name products in a different way.

here's one that we use for special mornings when we want to enjoy some time together, but i don't feel that i can take a bunch of time out to fix breakfast (usually b/c i'm fixing the lunch meal for the whole family or something like that!).

cinnamon french toast bake

1/4 cup butter or margarine
2 - 12 oz cans cinnamon rolls
6 eggs
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans
1 1/2 cup maple syrup
icing from the cinnamon roll packages
powdered sugar - optional

1. prehead oven to 375.
2. pour butter into 9 x 13 baking dish.
3. cut cinnamon rolls into 4 pieces each.
4. put cut pieces into buttered dish - 2 layers.
5. beat eggs, cream, cinnamon & vanilla.
6. pour over roll pieces in butter.
7. sprinkle pecans on top.
8. drizzle syrup over top.
9. bake 24 - 28 minutes until brown.
10. drizzle w/ warmed icing from cinnamon roll package.
11. dust w/ powdered sugar, if desired.

we like ours served while hot, w/ a drizzle of heavy cream over it. the leftovers save well and easily reheat in the microwave. makes a great midnight snack or a leftover breakfast.

planning out my life

i've made lots of new years resolutions over the years. this year, i decided to make fewer resolutions and be more determined about monitoring the achievement and getting the results.

one of the big things for me is to have a calendar to help keep me organized. it also helps me remember what i have covered in classes, when assignments are do, when to return papers, etc., when to pay bills, when paychecks arrive, plus all the normal calendar entries.

one of my resolutions this year was to make a conscious effort to make more artwork, to be more active in my art groups, and to keep posting stuff to my blogs (and not just fb!).

i made a special trip to joplin to shop for calendars. i knew what i wanted, but there was nothing there like that. one that i kind of liked was $60! i decided on one that was $20 and not really what i wanted, but at least it was purple!

as i have gotten older, too, i've thought of what i want my children and grandchildren to know about me some day. i thought this would be a great time to start incorporating my everyday life into what they might want to know. so, i am doing the best that i can to do some artwork EVERY day in my calendar that has to do w/ what's going on in my everyday life.

plus, i like this calendar better now that i thought i would, so i kept the sticker from the front to help me to find the same thing next year. a litte time every day (or most days) to try and do a little artwork (no matter how little) for my personal enjoyment now and for someone's enjoyment some time in the future when they look back in time.

my ulterior motive in working on this calendar in this manner is to help convince jerry that i need that "colossal journal" (that has the colossal price tag) so i can "document" things in our life for our kids and grandkids to look back on some day! wish me luck and we'll see how that goes!

a day of dance

the little girls dance at jody phillips dance company, and they LOVE dance. on saturday, they had a full day a dance activities -- getting ready, practice at the studio, practice at the gym, a break for lunch, meet up an hour before performance, organize and practice performance again, line up, wait on the half-time, and then perform.

raven is 7 and this is her 4th year of dance. riahna is 5 and this is her 2nd year of dance. they really like all the dress up stuff, the glitter/glamour, the make-up, the actual dancing, and usually the performing. they are always showing off their dance moves when they are out to visit. sometimes, mommy (summer) even gets up and shows off her moves w/ them!

overall, it was a great experience. ALL of the dancers did a great job, but it was a long day for a lot of those little ones. raven really gets in to her music and dancing and does the full movement -- you can tell she really enjoys what she is doing. riahna likes the dance and is good, but she often gets distracted by what all is going on around her.

as it turned out today, riahna was too tired to dance at the performance and she just sat down on the floor and watched the others. i think mommy is a little upset w/ her and saying that this video clip will be going into her senior video, but those things happen. besides, she'll probably do more irritating things than this before graduating high school!

funny thing is that as a grandparent, it doesn't bother me. if it had been my kid, i would've wanted to choke her. either it's age, or life, or experience, or something, but those things just don't matter as much any more!

keeping it up

well, i'm less than a month into the new year, but i am doing fairly well at keeping up w/ the things that i'm trying to do -- blogging more regularly, creating and posting more artwork, writing or creating artwork each day, documenting life by journaling in my calendar.

so, if you look in my calendar, it will look like a picture book of appointments, activities, achievements, goals, and other updates. pictures inspired by the weather, doodles inspired by work or other activity of that day, logos for movies we're watching, etc. this is something that i think my family (grandchildren) will be interested to see some day.

i also agreed to post the "pay it forward 2011" on facebook, where the first 5 people to sign up on my list would get a handmade gift from me. i think i actually have 6 people on my list, but that's all good. i found out a couple days that i have a "pay it forward" gift waiting in my mailbox at work tomorrow. i'm so excited to see it that i can't hardly wait.

now, my dilemna -- do i make a return gift for each person whose list i am on, do i send them a thank you card through the mail, or do i just thank them online and post how excited i was to get their gift, etc.? i feel somewhat obligated to make them a gift, but i don't want to step on any toes. suggestions and comments are certainly appreciated here! i guess i'll just play it by ear right now and see how it goes!

seems like forever

i'll make no secrets about it -- i didn't vote for obama and i've got no respect for him. i had little respect for him before he took office, but if it could be measured . . . it would be running in the big negative numbers!

i'm posting this countdown ticker to my blog, just to remind me of how much longer we will be burdened w/ the poor decision made by a large amount of people. funny how people are NOT bragging about their choice now!

i've already purchased my "obama's last day" t-shirt so i can start sharing my celebration w/ others early. to the obama-fans -- live it up, b/c his pratices will be coming to an abrupt halt!