Choo Choo Gone

Our Unconventional but awesome Thanksgiving day. Post compliments of Tanya!

one door closes...

Many more open.

Since FINALLY letting go of the last 9 years, things have started to change. I'm out of the house and spending time again & with freedom with my dearest friends. Making new friends and really enjoying myself the last couple of months. Saturday the 14 Th REALLY enjoying myself with a new man-friend who is 3 yrs my junior. woohoo. We met on the job back in early August and have become friends. I had cancelled 2 dates early on with him that I initiated (thought i was ready when i wasn't)! Well, I guess I'm worth the wait..

and 3 months later, we finally went out thanks to Tanya. She made it happen for us by inviting him to second sat with us two Saturdays ago. Thanks T, it was a great night & we all hit it off. He's very kind, soft spoken not to mention very handsome. The girls nicknamed him Bon Jovi (hilarious) my girls know me I'm a forever rocker girl, product of the 80's.

Good times. Taking it all in stride.

check out how long my hair is getting!!!

from tanya's blog.

APPLE HILL

ok I'm back (at least for now) with a new perspective. I have made a vow to Tanya about a certain 30 day commitment and I am keeping my blog private or invite only. I'm selling my Canon and getting a tiny Nikon like Tanya. The canon is way too intrusive in so many ways and really I am not a photographer. I want to take quick shots and I am really excited because hers has a food mode! YAY!

I'm at the top of the mountain.. finally. There is a light and it's within me. I need to learn to trust it. Thanks friends. Love you much.

ps site meeter GONE

Party sand

BLP

Bacon lettuce and pineapple

Peppered thick sliced bacon, grilled pineapple. green leaf lettuce with a spicy wasabi-ginger mayonnaise on very lightly toasted French baguette.
I'm pretty sure it was a hit from what I remember. Fun, crazy, loud party.

The sweetest girl in the world lives with ME!

I offered to take Meggy and her Thespian friends bowling next weekend. You wanna know what she said? Well, I'll tell you anyway. She asked me if Apple Hill was open and that she's rather spend the day at Apple Hill picking pumpkins with me. She's a pumpkin! I love my rare and unconventional teenage girl. I'm so lucky. I'm going to splurge and rent us a convertable for the day.
These are from 4 years ago on one of our traditional pumpkin patch trips

Happy Birthday Big Apple Buddy! Sideways & Belated

Happy Birthday Mr. DoggyBlog 9/22/2008


Note the Marilyn Monroe Paper doll

Best wishes for a phenomenal year!

This was last years wish that was shorted lived on my blog because of the living situation I was in. I was afraid or rather I know it would of caused a jealous outburst as truly innocent as it was. So here it is and it will stay and still has all the heart and more as it did a year ago. Thanks for being there at times this last year dog. Best wishes this year too.

Here's the original Sultry Marilyn singing Happy B-day Mr. President

evil...

knievel pants

you love me.. you love me not

you love me

chicken pot pie pasty for a friend. comfort hookup at it's best.



1 puff pastry, thawed 40 minutes

3 small Chicken breast tenders that were marinated in buttermilk overnight then baked in buttermilk with fresh thyme, garlic, sea salt and pepper. 20 minutes at 350. cooled then chopped into cubes. (i did not get around to baking chicken last night so worked perfect for today)

Meanwhile while potatoes are boiling, I fried 6 slices of bacon then in the same pan with a little chipotle olive oil I sautéed finely chopped red onion, little more thyme, dash of sea salt-pepper, carrots and baby bella mushrooms until soft. At the last minute I added fresh chopped garlic.

For mash potatoes (1 large russet) I added about ¼ cup sour cream about 2 tbs butter and 1 tbs of pure horse radish then mashed. Then folded in crumbled bacon.

Assembly: thin layer of mash to about ¼ edge of pastry, then veggies then chopped chicken. Baked at 400 for 25. Oh and I did an egg wash for the beautiful golden crust. This was a lot bigger than expected. About a foot long and at least 2 lbs of solid gold goodness.

Served with a side of chicken gravy.

First day of Fall. My favorite season.

Debby ;)

for my sister

you know i am here whenEVER you need me.

German inspired warm potato salad

i never follow a recipe. i eyeball and use what vinegar and olive oil i have in the pantry. red skinned potatoes, sliced, thick cut bacon, crispy, red and white onion (lots thinly sliced), sea salt & pepper, apple cider vinegar, chipoltle olive oil, a palmful brown sugar, couple tbs of flour. I'm serving it up with crispy buttermilk & mustard fried chicken tenders.

the enitre album is amazing. i love her voice. it's all about her part with her man.

don't brownie and dial

my doctor gave me a mental health day today, yippee.. (so what, my egg has a crack. i don't know anyone in my circle whose isn't).so I've closed all the blinds and i'm napping, napping, and napping. Tonight, I get to make dinner for megan and a buddy of mine then a walk along the river. That will be therapeutic. Have some good dinner ideas from fellow doggy bloggy and hopefully i can turn out a beautiful replica of his dish.

Dinner: Crispy Tilapia with Grape Salsa




Doggy sent me a great idea for potato wrapped fried and baked Tilapia. I realized that my mandoline slicer was still located... well not here. I also do not posses a knife sharp enough to cut potatoes as thin as I needed. So, I improvised and took a little of his recipe and combined it with something I had in mind.

For the fish crust: I used Idahoan Big red potato flakes and mixed with Panko. For the glue for crust to stick to, I took Best Food Mayo and spiked it well with Cayenne Pepper. On med high heat I fried the fish in a little canola for about 4 minutes on each side until golden.

The Salsa: Red grapes, finely chopped red onion, finely chopped jalapeno pepper, cilantro, lime juice, lime zest, a dash of cumin, sea salt, fresh ground pepper and a drizzle of chipoltle extra virgin olive oil.

Roasted yams smashed with butter, salt and pepper. There you have it. Crispy Fried Tilapia over yams with grape salsa. The flavors were a symphony if i do say so myself. good to have a mental health day. i think i'll take another. i need another.

Girls night out

Folsom Live 2009
will be attending with a few girls from the old days. Looking forward. Fun times. Hopefully, this year I won't get into a chick fight for the bathroom.

Supporting our troops. This is the sweetest

From CNN. This is Love click
thanks t.k. I loved it.

for meg

i carry your heart with me
by e. e. cummings

i carry your heart with me (i carry it in
my heart) i am never without it (anywhere
i go you go, my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing, my darling)
i fear
no fate (for you are my fate, my sweet) i want
no world (for beautiful you are my world, my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows
higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)

artwork by sarah hickey
Saint Tattiana of the Fallen Hearts - Body Ink Goddess

What constitutes too many?

I had the gruesome & disturbing task of murdering black widow spiders around my house today. It started with one in the shed, then one in the trash bin, then one under my lawn chair, then two out under the front window that produced offspring. When I mentioned this to my landlord their response was, "oh we have them too just stay away from them." Really, no I thought Megan and I would go up and pet them they're so cute.
I say infestation.
So as I was spraying tonight with my tiny (while screaming and jumping) and highly recommended can of spider spray from the hardware store, the spiders refused to die. No matter how much I sprayed they kept wiggling and crawling. Then the more I sprayed the more came out of hiding. Then because they would not die I had to take a hammer ( I don't have a stick of any kind) to smash them into death which then produced guts/body parts that went flying onto my clothes and my arm. I'm sure they were temporarily traumatized but I am human! I'll relive this moment over and over because I am obsessive that way. The corpses are just lying out there. shivers
And now it feels like their crawling all over me. This must be my punishment for murder.
OK landlords you are paying to have my house sprayed as I requested a month ago! I'll hire hit men. Don't make me do it again!

"The best and most beautiful things in the world
cannot be seen, nor touched...but are felt in the heart."
-Helen Keller (1880-1968)

Megan and Kaycee

I cracked up when I came in after work today and saw this pair. These two girls always manage to dress very similar and no they don't call each other to see "like oh my God, what are you like wearing today?" Right down to the shoes. They are actually two very real & cool girls. They don't speak like most Cali teens, which is a big relief. Fer sure.

one other blogworthy side post. As of today, I've lost 15 pounds since my back injury last Dec.(in which I gained 11 lbs as a result)
now just 5 lbs away from where I was 9 years ago. Those Italian Pants are gonna love me soon. ;)
Megan's day is still front and center. It's all about MEGAN and a little about me.

8 TH grader

last year.


now this is blogworthy. how she has changed! she's was so excited to go this morning. she kept looking out the door to see when her friend was leaving. pacing back and forth. her lunch request was homemade spaghetti, homemade brownies and grapes with ice tea. that's what she got. she's the best girl EVER! best wishes meggy for a great 8 th grade year. mum xxoo

Meg got to do a little spot on our local news 10 with her theatre group launching the celebration of fairytale town's 50 th anniversary tonight. She's hoolahoops at the end of the segment. she's to the right. she might need a little more practice. too cute.

we had so much fun here tonight. what a great event. dancing to the oldies by a local band "the tune up", free ice cream, fun people and the coolest yo-yo master ever! Oh and the hoola hoopers now that's an oldie I want to pick up again.

hoops in bloom: this gal was so talented. i'd never seen such hooping. i'm getting meg and I a set of hoops and some classes. check it out. GRRRReat workout.

beer battered pancakes

FOX'S RESTAURANT IN ALTADENA,CA.

This is the restaurant where as a child my grammy-jean used to always take me to on N. Lake in Altadena, Ca. They had the best beer battered pancakes which doggybloggy's beer post sparked a childhood memory. I am going to be making a honey beer battered pancakes tomorrow. I sure like the sounds of the cinnamon apple beer that dog's making. THAT would make an awesome pancake stack.

some more of those homegrown tomatoes. bruschetta on split pea soup. 10 minute dinner. Healthy quick delicious.

Roasted Salsa Burgers

The tomatoes & peppers were a housewarming from my brother's friend's garden. I decided to make a roasted salsa inspired by John's wife then incorporate that into a burger. Ground chuck burger with a Spicy salsa: tomatoes, Serrano's, jalapenos, garlic, red onion, cumin, parsley,cilantro, & chipotle evoo, jack cheese on sweet homemade huckleberry honey cornbread.

Fairy Tale Town Troopers Co. Once Upon a Time in 1959

This started 12 years ago with Meg's Uncle John, my brother. He was an actor/set designer for the children's theatre co. "The Little Bus Players." She went to all the shows starting at the age of 16 months up to 7 years old when the company parted. Her director, John Lee, for her last 3 shows is also my brother's dear friend and was the writer/director for the bus players. She's a thespian. Photos are from yesterday's show. This was her Uncle's first opportunity to see Megan on stage. Pretty special day.






Bus Player's John Lee, Mark Garbe, and John Drew with Megan.

My brother and his family left today. I'm not good with goodbyes. I'm glad we were together this weekend especially today.

John Arthur Drew (pop) 1/27/1932-8/23/1997

Leave it to...

My theatrical Megan to do a dramatic reading (which was painfully funny) of yesterday's post to make me realize just how corny I sound.
Next time I post a bad day it will read like this:
Today sucked the biggest, sweatiest donkey balls ever and leave it at that. :)

Todd White Artist

Peak of Artwork we saw in Carmel. This guy is very fun. I hope to have one of his someday.