Thursday, June 30, 2011

Fellow Bloggers tell me I'm not the only one...

Some of my best writing ideas come while I'm out and about. I'll see or hear something and immediately the creative juices begin flowing. All it takes is one random thought to hit my brain and before I know it a blog is written. 

In my head. 

I'm so excited and can't wait to share, 

and then I get home to my computer and 

my head is empty.  No one's home. Where did all that good material go?

I think I need to come up with something I can use to record my thoughts verbally and then type them out when I get home. Or better yet, isn't there some devise that will record and type it for me? If not, there certainly needs to be. 

So, who else out there has all kinds of witty and profound things to say but never gets the chance because of a brain fart?

What do think?

Are they calling out to me?

We all know I'll be going anyway. I might as well go for a freebie!

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Feeding the Craving at Home

If you think this post is going to be about Chick-fil-A
STOP  reading now or you're going to be very disappointed. Today I'm talking about something else. Yes, I know it's hard to imagine ... me craving something other than Chick-fil-A but it does happen.

What's pink, sweet and sour, with a touch of green, and a whole lot of cool?

Why, that would be a glass of refreshing Strawberry Limeade.

Doesn't this look delicious?

I've mentioned before about my affection for the Strawberry Limeades from Sonic. And while you can't beat the price, especially during happy hour, it's not always convenient to bop on over to the local drive thru. Therefore, I decided it was time to come up with my own concoction of yummy refreshment.

Guess what?! Yesterday I was successful in making my own batch of Strawberry Limeade that rivals that of Sonic. It was really good except for missing one key ingredient (well two if you count that I used lemonade in my mix instead of limeade) ... I had to (GASP!) use regular old freezer ice cubes in place of Sonic's crunchy ice.

Sonic's ice rocks! If you get drinks from there you know what I'm talking about. If not, you have no idea what you're missing. Fortunately there's a quick fix for this problem. Did you know that you can buy bags of ice from them? YES, you can. How cool is that?

I'll go ahead and post this very easy and simple recipe 'cause I just know someone's gonna ask. You're welcome and it's my pleasure!

SAIDFRAZ's Strawberry LimeLemonade that tastes just like Sonics

1 16oz package of frozen sliced strawberries, defrosted
1 2-liter bottle of Country Time Lemonade
1/2 cup of sugar dissolved in 1/2 c hot water
1 lime cut into wedges

Believe me, it couldn't have been any easier. Now if I can just figure out how to cram a bag of their ice into my freezer I'll be set!

Monday, June 27, 2011

Drive Thru Etiquette

This morning I realized that it's been longer than a week since I last fed my Chick-fil-A craving. Oh my! If you're a regular reader you know just how important a Chick-fil-A fix is to me. I know it's ridiculous to be so obsessed enamored of a food but I can't help it ... I love eating at Chick-fil-A. I know it's not healthy, I know it's not being financially prudent, I know it's not good to give in to the "desires of the flesh." Unfortunately I can't help myself and frankly, at the moment, have no desire to stop giving in to this particular vice. So there you have it, another confession from moi.

Moving along

Once I thought about chowing down on my favorite fast food I knew nothing would do but to give in to the craving. I went about my morning routine keeping my eye on the clock, waiting for the magic hour to appear. You know what I mean, the time where I could rush out and get my fix without looking like a desperate woman.

Of course it didn't help that I really was a desperate woman! I missed eating breakfast this morning and by the time I realized it my stomach was growling and it was past 10:30. I knew it was too late for breakfast and too early for lunch. Of course while we all know it wouldn't hurt me to miss a meal or two, it's not something I like to do. Therefore I needed to just suck it up and wait for the "appropriate" lunch hour.

So, there I sat for another hour and a half, one eye on the computer and the other on the clock. Finally the hands of the clock were on twelve straight up. Yee ha! Time to hit up the local Chick-fil-A. Fortunately for my tummy if I hit all the lights green I'm just five minutes away from satisfaction.

Do you know what's so bad about rushing off to fill a Chick-fil-A craving at noon? Everyone and his brother are doing the exact same thing! Yes, the line at the drive thru was not only backed up it was wrapped all the way around the building. How dare all these people stand (in their car) in the way of me and my #1 with sweet tea.

Great, this is going to take forever.

I know I could have parked and gone inside but two things prevented that. One, judging by the full parking lot I doubted the lines inside were any better. And two, I wasn't exactly dressed to go inside. Ironically as I headed out the door I thought to myself "self, you should really change clothes. What happens if you have car trouble? Do you really want people seeing you like this?"

And by "this" I mean this. See what I mean? I'm totally not rockin' the fashion queen image here and can't believe I'm actually posting this on the internet.

Oh well, throwing caution to the wind I decide to venture forth, some things are more important than looking right.

Ok, people, let's get this line moving. We're all in this together so while we're here let's make sure we're all following proper "Drive Thru Etiquette"

  1. Keep the line moving - please don't get so wrapped up in talking on the phone, texting, tweeting, cleaning out your purse, picking your nose and whatever else you're doing, that you fail to move forward 
  2. And, while moving forward don't forget to keep the proper distance between your car and the car in front of you. Only one thing irks me more than the car behind me sitting on my bumper and that's the guy in front who's keeping a full car length between himself and the car in front. This line is long enough with having imaginary cars in line too, not to mention you're leaving room for some idiot to whip in line without waiting his turn. It does happen, trust me.
  3. The drive thru is meant for expediting orders quickly. Order according to the menu and don't slow things down by requesting all kinds of substitutions and omissions. This just confuses the person behind the speaker and the two of you end up yelling back and forth because neither of you can really hear the other. Personally I don't like pickles on my sandwich but I never order without because chances are they won't get my order right anyway. So do us all a favor and take your special requests inside. 
  4. People, if there are four of you placing orders and everyone needs to pay separately again, take it inside. There's a reason why this line is so long and it's because two other idiots ahead of you did the same thing. In case you can't do the math, that's twelve orders that have to be processed ....it's like going through the Express Checkout at Kroger with thirty items instead of the allowed ten. Not cool!
  5. And finally, once you've gotten your order don't pull three feet away from the window and suddenly decide to stop and check your bag, empty old drink cups, and/or decide it's time to start yelling at your kids in the back seat. You are preventing me from pulling up to the window and getting my order. Depending on how hungry I am and how long I've been waiting in this line I might just go ballistic on you. 
You've been warned, don't make me tell you again!

Important Update ....

The creative juices are flowing. I just started ten new blogs. I know you're excited and will be anxiously anticipating their completion. Unfortunately it might take a lifetime to get around to them so please don't hold your breath. I'd hate to be responsible for anyone passing out. Meanwhile, keep your fingers crossed that the computer doesn't go belly-up; pray that my creative muse doesn't go silent, and for goodness sake stop by and do some of my housework so I can focus on my writing!

Friday, June 24, 2011

Spunky's Big Adventure


Oh, it feels so good being out here, enjoying the warm summer air. I just love it when Daddy lets the grass get long. It makes it a lot easier to hide from Mommy.


I think I'll just lay down and take a little nap


Whaaa? Where'd you come from?


Why are you getting up close with that camera?


If I pretend like you're not here will you go away?


How about I try planking?


Will you go away now?


No?


Seriously?


You're not leaving are you?


Fine! I can ignore you all day long.

After all, I'm a cat. Hear me roar.
Ha, your camera is too slow and you missed my big roar!

Spunky 1, Mom 0

Sister Wives

We have had an abundance of birds in our back yard this Spring. I'm not sure if it's just because we're the happening place to be or if it's because of the lack of a dog running outside every fifteen minutes scaring them off (R.I.P. Holly) Or it could have something to do with the greenery  that's taken over and hidden the house. Whatever the reason I find myself constantly staring out the bay window, watching for their appearance, and I'm seldom disappointed.

While catching up on my blog reading this morning I glanced out and saw a family of cardinals. They were searching the ground just outside the bay window, looking for worms. This particular spot in our yard must be a worm breeding ground because it's where we often see birds "shopping" for dinner. This spot is also the potty area for Max (ewwww) so I'm not sure if that's what makes it attractive to the worms or if it's just coincidence. Whatever the reason I regularly spot birds out there going for the worms.

As I mentioned, today was harvest time for a family of cardinals. And by family I mean Daddy bird and his two young brides. Outside pecking away were three birds, one brilliant red bird and two brown-and-red, less attractive birds. I remember from my school days that the less colorful and attractive birds are always the females. It doesn't seem fair to me but who am I to question God and creation?

Anyway, the three birds were hopping around, heads bobbing down to the ground in search of the elusive worm. Every once in awhile the male stopped and chirped something to the females. My guess is he was saying something along of the lines of "hurry up you two, we've got a brood to feed back home." As I said previously, I really don't know all that much about birds and, to be honest, was a little surprised to see what appeared to be a communal effort of gathering food.

Wanting to share my discovery with my ever-patient-eye- rolling husband, I quickly messaged him the following:
    • I'm sitting here watching a cardinal and his two lady friends worm shop in our back yard. I guess birds aren't monogamous huh?
Not content to leave it as just a private message on Facebook I quickly grabbed my camera obviously seeing blog material. Of course my actions were enough to startle two of the birds away but one brave female continued her food search.  If you look close you can see her blending in with the pine straw. Look a little closer and you can see that while her coat is rather bland she does appear to have on a fabulous "hat"   (Beatrice would be proud! And yes, I AM still fixated on the princess). For posterity's sake I think I shall name this little lady Beatrice.

Just as I snapped the shot Beatrice flew off. However, she didn't go far. She joined her sister-wife Penelope on the fence. Here they are together  Sorry for the blurry shot, these were all take through the window, remember?

Here's the husband bird. I've dubbed him George. For some reason I seem to have a family of British birds on hand. I guess, since they're polygamous birds I should have come up with some more appropriate names like Kody, Meri, and Janelle but I think those names are already taken.

If you pan out on the photo you see the happy family  What? They don't look so happy to you? Could it be because George is giving the girls what-for because they're not doing their wifely duties?

Or could it be because Beatrice and Penelope are a little put out that George has decided to add another wife to the fold?

WHAT?

Well, I'll be .... here's the little homewrecker now. Meet Julia.  I swear I just heard George chirp "where ya been birdie?I want you to meet the other wives"

And then .....


George up and flew off! And those darn sister wives, all three of them, took off behind him!

I'm thinking maybe I need to have a talk with the girls and let them know that while some people are ok with their lifestyle, it won't fly around here. And, another thing, life will be a whole lot better once you girls show George who's really the boss of the house nest!

Oh, hi honey. You're home already? Rough day at the office today? I'm sorry, let me get you a martini beer glass of sweet tea and you just sit down and take a rest. Whatcha want for dinner? Worms?

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Today as I was walking up the driveway from getting the mail I was surprised to see this.



I know it's got to be some sort of weed or wild flower because we all know Sherri can't grow flowers.


Still, it was a pleasant surprise. Anyone have a clue what it is?

Shaggy-dog

Today's email from Webster's Word of the Day



If this message doesn’t display properly, open in a web browser ››
 
Merriam-Webster Logo 
Word of the Day
 
June 23
 
shaggy-dogAudio Pronunciation\shag-ee-DAWG\
 
DEFINITION
 
adjective
 
:
of, relating to, or being a long-drawn-out circumstantial story concerning an inconsequential happening that impresses the teller as humorous or interesting but the hearer as boring and pointless; also : of, relating to, or being a similar humorous story whose humor lies in the pointlessness or irrelevance of the punch line




I can't help but wonder if this is one of those instances of "someone" trying to send me a message.
of, relating to, or being a long-drawn-out circumstantial story concerning an inconsequential happening that impresses the teller as humorous or interesting but the hearer as boring and pointless;
hmmmm, maybe I'm a shaggy-dog blogger????

Whatever, I don't care - I'm not stopping!

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Human Pincushion?

This photograph was discussed on a message board that I frequent.


For once, I'm speechless. When I first saw this photo my initial thought was "what is that?" At first glance it appears to be a person behind some kind of mask. Upon further investigation it's been established this is the worlds most pierced woman, who in addition to 6,925 piercings is also sporting face paint, a Beatrice-inspired hat, and a white taffeta-and-lace wedding gown.

Quite a spectacle isn't it? As the mother of two boys I can only hope and pray she doesn't have a sister looking for a husband!

It completely boggles my mind to think that someone would want to do this to their body. She was entered into the Guinness Book of Records in 2000 sporting over 462 piercings, 192 on her face alone. Since establishing that record she's added over 6,000 piercings.

According to a news article she never removes any of the piercings which weigh three kilograms. (For those of you  like me who don't do metrics, that's 6.6 pounds.) For many that's the size of a newborn baby. I don't know about you but I would take them off just to weigh less.

I couldn't help but wonder how she applied the face paint and then again, how she took it off. Can you imagine washing that face with a washcloth? Ouch!

I also couldn't help but wonder what her life is like that she feels the need to punch that many holes in her body. I mean. seriously. did it not hurt? Many times I've caught myself saying "I need that like I need a hole in my head" .... I guess she must have a lot of needs 'cause 6,925 .... that's a whole lot of holes.

I have to admit I found this rather amusing about her
Despite her bizarre appearence, Elaine wants the public to know she doesn’t do drugs, drink alcohol or smoke cigarretes. Her only vice is Coca-Cola.
If you're interested here's a link to an article on scary lady which also includes a photo of the groom. Another older article with more photographs can be found here but read/view at your own risk. You've been warned!


Elaine-Davidson5

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

I think I just set up my phone to blog from it. How cool is that? Now I really will drive you all nuts!

Blog photo inspired post

My husband never really complains when I start a home project. He just heaves a heavy sigh and rolls his eyes. For the most part he ends up liking what I've done. Either that or he's just pretending for fear of my wrath.

There have been a few times when he responds with "are you serious?" when I present him with a particularly 'out there' idea. It's from those times that I present the photo below.  bruce bolander green kitchen

See honey, it could be a whole lot worse. Can you imagine waking up in the morning and stumbling into this kitchen? 

Wow, those are some intense green cabinets! Are you not blinded from the color choice? And, while the view out the window seems rather serene, who can tell with what's going on inside.

So, there you have it. Suddenly the idea of making my breakfast nook into a sitting area seems pretty benign compared to neon green cabinetry!

Monday, June 20, 2011

I'm finding it really frustrating that I have to suffer the consequences of someone else's inability to do something in a timely manner. Excuse the expression but: stupid people suck!

There I said it out loud and feel minutely better. Of course I've probably offended someone because of my use of the "S" word, and maybe for others the use of two "S" words together is totally tacky. Sorry, I'm just calling it like it is. And while I don't generally like the use of this expression believe me in this instance it is just.plain.appropriate.

In addition to the crude language you'll have to excuse me for being so cryptic in my statement. There's a part of me that would love to tell the blog world just who and what has gotten me so riled up. However that wouldn't be fair to the other people involved. I wouldn't want them to suffer repercussions because of my choice to rant on the internet. Of course "stupid people" generally fail to see actually see themselves for what they are so chances are good they would never make the connection. But others might and it's those "others" that I fear.

Enough of that, let's move on to other things.

This was a busy weekend for me. Friday I drove down to Union City to pick up my mother and bring her here for an overnighter. Poor thing had to sleep in Ian's room which is totally a pig sty. Mother's question was "how does he fit all this into a dorm room?" Good question, sorry I don't have the answer! The best I could do was clear her a path to the bed and provide her with clean sheets.

The reason for her visit was to attend a baby shower on Saturday. The shower was for a non-family family member. Did you get that? Jennifer is my sister's niece by marriage so she isn't really related to us but she has been a part of our lives for 37 years and therefore is really a part of the family. She's pregnant with twin girls. How exciting! It was so fun to see all the little girl clothes she got, two of everything, and lots and lots of pink. I'll just go ahead and state what all us mothers of boys have said for years, it's totally unfair how much more is out there for little girls than little boys. See, we set 'em from the very beginning to fulfill the old stereotype - girls are all about the clothes, boys not so much.

Friday night for dinner we took my mother to a local chain pizza place for dinner, Stevi B's.  It's one of her guilty pleasures that unfortunately, due to her very restricted diet, she doesn't get to go to very often. In general we don't go there very often either. While the pizza buffet is pretty good, I can't stand the atmosphere of the place. It's very loud and full of kids running amok. It's a great place to go if you've got a large family to feed, or if you're celebrating a birthday or an end-of-year team party. It is not so great for quality dining and quiet conversation. Whenever he is home Ian wants to go there and I usually nix the idea. Knowing he would be pretty bummed that we went without him, we decided to keep mum about it. Unfortunately Nonnie didn't hear that part of the conversation and blabbed it to him on the phone the next day. He's pretty bent out of shape over it and I'm pretty sure I see another trip to Stevi B's in the mix when he comes home in August. The things we do for the people we love.

Speaking of love, yesterday was Father's Day. I showed my honey the love by going to church where he wanted to go instead of where I wanted to go. Then I let him pick his choice of restaurant for lunch. I didn't get him a card though. Have I mentioned that I am the world's worst for giving cards and gifts?  It's not because I don't care, it's just that "those" aren't my love language. Besides, he's not my father, he's my boys father and they are they ones that should be honoring him on this day. And they did. Ian called from Seattle to wish his dad a happy father's day. He also put his dad's worries aside by confirming that he's gotten over his regret of leaving home for the summer and is in fact, having a great time. Andrew gets the award for best gift - a blu ray player - Dale is so excited to have a new piece of technology to play with. Andrew also wrote his dad the most wonderful, heartfelt note. It's all I can do to not scan and post it here, but it's not mine to share. Just trust me when I say it's something my husband will treasure forever.

As for me, despite having to deal with those bad consequences I mentioned at the beginning, I can't complain too much about life. I'm feeling very blessed that I have such a wonderful husband, who is also an incredible father. This weekend I got to spend time with the most important woman in my life (and mother, if you're reading this, I'm really sorry about being so cranky when I got lost and we were an hour late to the shower!), I had a good phone conversation with my traveling son, and I got to celebrate Father's Day with my husband and my baby adult son.

Life is good.

And surprise ! I failed to take one photo all weekend. So hear ya go, I'll just post a few shots from the collection.

 My boys, taken in 1995.

 a photo of Mother taken at Christmas 2010

 Ian and Dale, Hilton Head 2009
 Dale and Andrew, October 2009

You'd think as a scrapbooker and blogger I'd be better about taking photos. I'm really going to try and work on that!

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Today I am talking about food

Yes, food again. This time though I'm not going to bore you with a recipe or a step by step dish preparation. Today I want to talk about comfort foods. For me, these are the foods from my past that evoke strong emotions of content and satisfaction.

I'm sure while some of my comfort foods might also bring you fond memories, others will make you gasp and think "what the heck?" That's ok because this list isn't really about you, it's all about ME! So, here you have it, my list of foods that make me go "Mmmmmm!"

  1. Sunday dinner - this is actually a meal, not just one food. My mother always put a roast in the oven before heading out to church. We came home to the delicious smell of it cooking, a smell that could be detected before opening the back door. Side dishes: green beans, yellow corn, white rice, and gravy. After eating all the above, a "dessert" of white bread smothered in gravy was the crowning touch. I've learned to duplicate this meal at home though usually not for Sunday dinner. Early in our marriage we fell into the trap of eating out after church. I guess it was an act of rebellion on my part, it was the one day of the week when I refused to cook rested. I do, however, cook this meal a couple of times a month. It's made complete by the fact that I have a pot just like mama's to cook the roast in. This pot belonged to my husband BM (ewwww, not THAT, before marriage silly), and in fact is one of the reasons I married him! Call it a mind thing or whatever but I CANNOT cook a roast in any other pot, it's like a sacrilege or something. Recently I saw one of these pots for sale at Goodwill and I almost bought it, figuring it would be nice to have  second one on hand just in case something happened to mine. Unfortunately I didn't get it that day and when I went back it was gone. I guess there's someone else out there who likes to cook in old-mom pots. Roast disclaimer here - do NOT confuse this roast with the traditional "pot roast" that so many of you grew up eating. You know the one that is cooked with carrots and potatoes in the same pot? That's just GROSS, all those flavors cooked together. UGH!  Unfortunately for my husband that pot roast is the kind he  grew up eating but doesn't get at home. It's just one of many adjustments he had to make upon marrying me. Sometimes I will cook carrots on the side for him, but never, NEVER, in the same pot as my roast!
  2. Sugar-n-butter sandwiches - yes, you heard that right: sugar, butter, bread. Specifically white bread, never wheat, spread with butter (though now that I think about it, it was probably margarine) and topped with white sugar. And this wasn't just a thin sprinkling of sugar, there was a good, heavy coating of sugar that completely covered the butter. After adding the top slice of bread we mushed the bread together to keep the sugar from falling out. Do NOT confuse this with cinnamon toast which will be listed separately here. This is NOT a toasted sandwich. I'm not sure where this concoction came from, I think it was something my mother grew up eating. And most of you are probably aghast at the thought of it but you know what, I don't care! This is a darn good sandwich and it totally beats out lunch meat anytime. Ironically I haven't passed this tradition on to my on children and it's not for lack of trying. They think it's sounds gross and totally unhealthy. Hmmpf, they have no idea what they're missing.
  3. Toast - I grew up eating two kinds of toast. One is the aforementioned cinnamon toast - white bread (again, it's all we ate at our house, wheat bread was for old people), butter, sugar, and ground cinnamon. This is something my boys will eat. The other kind of toast would be peanut butter toast. Nothing better than a warm slice of toast, spread with peanut butter, mmmm gooey, melted goodness. Just so we're clear, there's only one brand   and it has to be CREAMY, not Crunchy. My husband actually eats one slice of peanut butter toast every morning for breakfast. I don't eat it very often but when I do, one slice is never enough, it always has to be two. 
  4. After the last two "favorites" I feel embarrassed but compelled to list the following. Sugar. Yes, that's one word. And it's a food but then it's not a food. No one eats just sugar, except for me. Nothing was better than sneaking into the kitchen, grabbing a spoon, and dishing up a spoonful of sugar. It started when I was young, too young to really know better, my mother walked in and found me sitting in the middle of the table helping myself to the sugar bowl. I quickly learned that sitting on the table eating sugar wasn't such a great idea. But I was not to be denied. I simply learned to be sneaky, going into the kitchen when everyone else was occupied doing other things, I satisfied my sugar craving with a quick spoonful.  (Hmmm, do you think it might have had something to do with Mary Poppins singing her Spoonful of Sugar song? Surely it didn't have anything to do with the aforementioned sugar and butter sandwiches!) Funny thing is I never really went for other sweets. I'm not a big cake, candy, pie eater. But give me a spoonful of sugar and I'm happy as a clam. And sweet. I tell my husband that's why I'm such a sweet person today, it's from all that sugar I ate as a kid. Stop laughing, I AM a sweet person, I just hide it well!
  5. Individual size frozen pizzas - my mother bought these in the freezer section, they were just small round pizzas with sauce and cheese on them. She started buying them for me after she went back to work. They were there for my afternoon snack. I'd come home from school, pop one in the over, and settle down to watch Gilligan's Island. Every day. And I never gained an ounce. Wow, I miss those days!
  6. Chef-Boyardee  pizza kits - Yes, I know I've already listed pizza, but this is different. Besides you can never have enough pizza. Growing up back in the stone ages there wasn't pizza home deliver like there is now. Your choices were to eat at the local Pizza Inn, cook a frozen pizza or make it "fresh" using the box kit from Chef-Boyardee Chef Boyardee Pizza Kit. Mother would brown ground beef  which she crumbled and put on top of the crust you prepared. It came with a sauce and a package of grated Parmesan cheese for toppings. Back then we didn't use shredded mozzarella cheese which is a staple today. But you know what, that "homemade pizza" was delicious without mozzarella! I found this photo on the internet where someone made it the 1970s way. It looks so good I could eat the screen!   For the record, I didn't learn to eat actual ingredients like mushrooms, pepperoni, and sausage on my pizza until much later in life and actually prefer those ingredients today, But, every once in awhile I can close my eyes and smell/taste that pizza. You can still buy the kits in stores today but I haven't done so in a long time. I have a feeling my boys wouldn't be as enamored of them as me. 
  7. Pillsbury Layered BiscuitsI liked them because they came in layers which I peeled and ate one layer at a time. For awhile I ate them every. morning. for. breakfast. A whole package of ten - just for me. No butter. No jelly.  Just plain biscuits. And no, again, I was not a fat child. In fact I was overly thin, but not for lack of trying to beef up! I guess I should also mention these are the only "biscuits" that I would eat, then and now. I do not care for buttermilk, grand, whatever biscuits. Just give my some flaky layers and I'm content.
  8. Mama's cornbread dressing - southern style, dressing NOT stuffing. No one makes it like mama. I've tried, using her recipe, with her help, but I just can't quite pull it off. I've actually gotten to where I prefer stuffing, specifically that made by my sister-in-law (Hi,Pat!) who has stopped making it (sob) but every once in awhile I get a deep yearning for mama's cornbread dressing. Throw in a little turkey and I could eat until I fall over into a deep coma. 
  9. Homemade vanilla ice cream - you know the kind. Made at home, duh, using the hand cranked churn. This was the method back in the day before electric.  I'm NOT saying I lived back in the day before electricity, contrary to popular belief I am NOT that old. I'm just referring to the ice cream makers that were used when I was a kid. Everyone took a turn turning the handle. Of course as the ice cream began to form it was harder to turn and that's when Daddy took over. At some point it was determined that the churning was done but it wasn't ready to eat. First the container had to be packed in ice and allowed to sit to allow the ice cream to hardened. This time of waiting was the hard part (pun intended). Sometimes we'd fill the time by taking rock salt, which is used in the process of churning the cream, and sprinkle it on slugs we'd find slithering across the hot summer pavement. It was cool and gross at the same time, watching them wither up and die. (I can't believe I just announced to the internet world that I killed innocent, albeit, slimy slugs) Back to the ice cream, once it was deemed "done" we all gathered around for our bowl. If you've never eaten homemade ice cream you have no idea what you've missed out on all this time. Some people like to add toppings to their ice cream, like strawberries, chocolate, etc. Others like to mix fruit like peaches in the batter before making the ice cream. But me. I'm a plain old vanilla girl. Just know this, homemade ice cream - beats store bought any day of the week.
  10. I call this the "Visit with Grandmother" meal. I won't go into details because I've blogged about it before (here if you need to read up on it).  Cliff notes version: this meal includes Coke in a bottle, cinnamon rolls, and Krystals. Even now, every time I eat a Krystal I think of my Grandmother. 
Ok, that's enough talk about comfort food. I'm making myself hungry. One sure way to kill the appetite is to follow up with another list. My second list, which I will try to make short and sweet, can be referred to as the list of Foods that No Mother Should Have Fed Her Child - AKA Foods Sherri Hated Growing up:

  1. Salmon Croquettes -   According to mama it was cheap and filling. To me it was just gross!
  2. Fried chicken livers - my siblings fought over them, I ran from them  They looked and smelled nasty!
  3. Liver and onions - regular old liver,makes me shudder to think about, I'd rather be anemic.  If I'm not mistaken I think Mama finally agreed and stopped torturing feeding us this meal.
  4. Sardines on a cracker - Daddy actually ate these, he got a can of sardines in his Christmas stocking every year. Stinky! 
  5. Hash - Mother use to make this dish that was made with shredded roast beef mixed in gravy and served over crinkle french fries. Ugh, I'm feeling queasy thinking about it!
  6. Corned Beef Hash - not to be confused with #5, still nasty! It looked something like this but, if my memory is correct, creamier. It was served over toast 
  7. Lima beans - one of those veggies that I was forced to eat. I could only do so by covering them in Ketchup, I will eat them today but I still pour Ketchup on them. No, it does NOT look very appetizing, but hey, it's another serving of a vegetable and a fruit. And speaking of eating your vegetables...I lived with my sister and her family for about a year back in the early 80's. She served brussel sprouts, which makes me gag to even think about. She made me eat them because I was supposed to be setting a "good example" for my nephew. Carol, if you're reading this - that was MEAN! I think I've been scarred for life. 
Ok, that's enough of grossness for one day. I'm beginning to feel a bit nauseous. I know there are other nasty foods in my past but fortunately they're buried back in the far recesses of my memory. 

If you're wondering why I wrote today's post I can give you three reasons (yes, another list)
  1. I wanted to jumpstart my readers to thinking back on their own favorite foods from the past. Hopefully it will be an encouragement to all you cooks, to know that what you're doing is not just feeding your family but also creating comfort foods that will stick with them throughout their lives
  2. In another vein, I also need to remind you that you just might be creating lifelong aversions to disgusting things that will also stick with your family throughout their lives.  And, 
  3. I survived it all and lived to tell the tale. 
Being the family cook can be rewarding and it can also be a thankless task. For the most part we just try to do our best and hope for a good outcome. 

I end today's blog by giving a shout out to four people: To my mother I say - thanks for the comfort foods, and blah to the nasties, but especially thank your for sugar-n-butter sandwiches, all my friends were jealous. 

To my children I say - I survived and so will you. Specifically to Ian - love ya buddy, but I so hope you end up with a picky-eating child just like yourself. It's only fair! Andrew, thank you for being willing to try just about anything, you're a trooper. 

And finally, to my loving husband - are you keeping a list of all the meals I've forced upon you that fall onto the second list above...you know, the ones that you refuse to eat...? Just be thankful that I usually only cook those dishes once. Except for that shoe leather country fried steak that I optimistically attempt to cook at least once a year. I swear one time it's gonna come out right. 

Bon appetit

Now, what's for dinner? McDonalds anyone?