Thursday, February 11, 2010

Crappy TT Questions & Answers

This week we will answer some crazy questions brought to you by Berleen, the color of blood, and the number negative 18.

1. Kimber is freaking out because I didn't get the TT done yesterday. I had a busy day. Will you ever forgive me? Yes I forgive myself. Today is Thursday.

2. So this weekend is Valentine's Day. When you think of yourself and this love-filled holiday, what is biggest memory? The first one that pops into my mind is the $85 roses that the husband brought home quite a few years ago. He got his ass chewed.

3. Pajama pants. Who knew it could have so many fricken opinions. (Seriously... if you don't believe me) Would you... do you... could you wear PJ pants to a store? I wear 'em and I'm proud of it. Even my leopard print ones. They are my favorite.

4. I'm gonna give you one of those big heart candy boxes on Sunday. Are you an expert at chocolate candies and already know whats inside them all or will you just take whichever one and enjoy it no matter what is inside or are you one of those people who sticks their finger in the bottom of the candy to see what the filling is then puts it back if you don't like it? I poke them. I hate biting into something that I don't like and I hate surprises.

5. Scented Candles - whats your favorite? Clean laundry scents.... I hate the fruity ones.

6. Snow sucks. We've mostly all been hit. What kind of snow shovel do you have? (The rest of you who live in sunny no-snow places... tell me your favorite sunscreen brand) We have a old metal orange one that is the best. We bought a new one last year but everyone hates it because the snow slides off before you get it to wear you want it to go. And the old reliable scoop shovel.

7. The first thing I thought of this morning when I woke up was "Oh crap. Kimber's gonna be pissed...." then I had a whole bunch of good ideas for questions to ask. Now I can't remember them. Do you keep a notebook next to your bed for times like that? Obviously not or the questions would have been better.

8. Have you ever seen a groundhog in real, you can touch it and it will bite you, life? Nope I haven't. I'm not even sure they are real. It's a robot, isn't it?

9. Is there any key on your keyboard that is starting to wear off? Which one is it? Strangely my H & N key, which I don't think I use more than any others.

10. Do you think Kimber should move to Minnesota and take long walks in the snow with Berleen? Yes, but I've always thought that.

Wow. Those questions sucked. Yes they did.

Kimber wants to know~ Why haven't you joined ICForums yet? A fellow blogger followed her last week.... wonder who it will be this week. I dunno but I love who joined up last week! You know who you are ♥

In other news... The husband's sister had this little boy kitty - a dark tiger tabby. He's kinda stuck in kitten size because she thinks the dog stunted his growth. He sits and lets their german shepard chew on him... to the point that he's had punctures in his neck. He just lays there and lets her chew!! He wheezes but there really seems to be nothing wrong with him.
Jason went out there the other night and his sister was trying to get him to take him home... I said "awwwww" in my whiney little voice when he told me and he said "go get him". I bounced the idea through my head overnight... 4 cats? Do I need that many? But dammit, the husband never cares about animals, so it made me keep thinking that I really should go get this cat.
The husband told me to make an appointment at the vet... take him in and see whats wrong with him before I even bring him home. Well.... He has severe ear mites so he's away from the rest of the critters for a month. He has an upper respiratory infection and is on meds. He's only 2.3lbs. His testicles haven't dropped yet and he's a year old. He isn't getting any vax until he's better. His ears are scarred from frostbite - my sis 'n law would find him curled up in the snow sleeping with ice & snowballs all over him.

We are now a family with 4 cats.

Meet Sebastian.

Sebastian didn't use the litterbox all night (he's living in Demon #2's room for a month). He was an outside cat, so has never seen one. I had a brainstorm - I took some of the other cats poop out of one of our other littlerboxes and put it in his. 15 minutes later I checked - he had used the litterbox. That was easy.

Thursday, February 04, 2010

R.I.P. Mrs H - Frances Reid/Alice Horton

Frances Reid has passed at 93, Reid played Alice Horton on Days of Our Lives, a role she played from November 1965 to December 26 2007 .Reid starred on broadway in the 1930's in Where's There A Will at the John Golden Theatre, She begin tv soaps, joining As the World Turns as Grace Baker in the 1950s, then went on to Days of Our Lives.
As a long time Days fan I am saddened to hear this news this morning. We all knew it was coming... she hasn't been seen on the show for a long time, but there was always that bit of hope that she would be at the Horton Christmas or a wedding....

PJ pants? Where can I get another pair?

Something I read this morning really ticked me off. Check out this blog/article: Should Moms Wear Pajamas to the Store

Bits & pieces:
So wrong, in fact, that Tesco, a giant grocery chain in the UK, has actually had to enact an official store policy banning patrons wearing slippers and/or nightwear.
and this....
For heaven’s sakes, moms, have some pride! I don’t actually care so much about what the other shoppers are thinking: Is a mother in her flannels really a lot worse than Britney Spears prancing through Target half-naked, in an outfit consisting mainly of flip-flops, cut-offs and a Starbucks cup? The problem is a matter of self-respect. How can you take yourself, and what you do in life, seriously, if you don’t think you’re important enough to even bother getting dressed in the morning?
and that...
So far, no U.S. stores have followed in Tesco’s footsteps. But there are a number of people here who wouldn’t mind that happening. One Internet comment urged Walmart to impose the same rule. Added another, “I hope America adapts this ASAP.”
Ok wow. Get a life. Someone actually gives a crap if someone else wears PJ bottoms to a store? Are you the fricken fashion police? I can sit here and pick out a lot more "outfits" that should be banned from stores and none of them include PJ pants.
Now what I find incredibly wrong about this whole thing is that people don't seem to blink an eye about trying to get major chains to do this! What country do we live in again? You want a store to tell you what kind of pants you can wear? What if my PJ pants don't have bears or cupcakes on them? What if they are a solid color? Are you going to check my tag at the door? Feel the fabric to see if it's flannel? If I get hauled out because I'm wearing a pair of PJ pants what about the woman who walks in with all her cleavage hanging out? Or the guy with so many holes in his jeans you can see what brand of boxers he's wearing? And of course there is my personal favorite... the farmer who had to stop and get some milk and you can smell him when he walks in the door because he's been around cow shit all morning.
People need to really sit back and think about the word "freedom" before they start flapping their jaws about what other people do.
I work at home for a number of reasons, but one of them is because I like working in PJ pants. Are they clean? Yes. Am I clean? Yes. Hell, I even have makeup on... it's really helps bring out the color of the purple teddy bears on my pants. If I need to run up to the store, the last thing I'm worried about is some holier than thou mom thinking that my choice of clothing is wrong. My ass is covered... get over it.
And... yes there's more. Slippers. My favorite pair of slippers are moccasin like. They are slippers in every sense, but I wear them everywhere. To the store, on the short walk to my parents house... how the hell does anyone know if they are slippers or not? And I really don't give a shit if the woman behind me at the checkout has big floppy bunny slippers. I bet her feet are warm.

Ok thank you. I'm done now. Leave me and my PJ pants alone. I think these moms are just jealous because my ass looks better in PJ pants than theirs does...

This was brought up at IC Forums, too. Seems like I hang around with the right crowd.


Wednesday, February 03, 2010

We're Not Laughing At You.... sure we are.

Welcome to the February 4th version of Thursday Thunks!
(which we always seem to post on Wednesday)
Where we make you think a little bit before you blog!

This week we will answer some crazy questions brought to you by Kimber, the color of doom, and the number 999.

1. You walk into a room, someone turns and looks at you and laughs. What do you do?
Punch them in the nose. Well, I'd like to anyway. I'd ask what the hell their problem is, but I probably wouldn't get an answer. Nobody ever answers me.
2. You find an egg, take it home and keep it warm. It hatches. What type of dinosaur is it? Do you keep it and name?
It's a tiny one that wouldn't eat me when it grew up and I name George. What else would you name a dinosaur?
3. Which superhero would you want to be related to and why?
Wonder Woman so I can borrow her outfit
4. A drunken sailor comes up to you on the pier...he begins harassing you in a most repulsive way....what'll be your defense?
Push him off the pier and into the water. Duh.
5. Entering a CLASS A piano bar, you're encouraged to sing atop the grand instrument...you grab the microphone and sing.....
in the bathroom. Hey, you said I was encouraged to, not that I had to.
6. If you were a character in a Dr. Seuss book/movie, who would you be and why?
a kitty. Just because.
7. If you have just been called to be a substitute in the Winter Olympics for your country (apparently everyone else was busy), what sport(s) will you compete in?
what are all the sports in the Olympics again?
8. Did the audience from the piano bar in question #5 applaud when you were done with your song?
Dunno, I was in the bathroom. Don't you fricken pay attention to my answers?
Questions 4 & 5 were contributed by Hootin' Anni. Thanks Anni! If you would like to submit your own TT questions, email us at thursdaythunks@gmail.com
Thanks Hootin' Anni! You rock my socks. That explains why #4 & 5 were in red, I thought Kimber was having a mental breakdown there for a minute.
Berleen wants to know~ Why haven't you joined ICForums yet? You're a blogger, you like to talk... you like to read... seriously. It's the same concept!
I did? Really? When did I say that? I still think everyone should join, though. We have some sweet contests going on & coming up where you win actual, hold in your hand, type prizes! Plus I posted an article today about bullying that you can only see if you are logged in. It's an interesting article and it got some interesting responses...

Tuesday, February 02, 2010

Berleen's General Tso's Chicken Recipe

The husband hauls chicken. He's a truck driver, ya know. He hauls Gold N Plump chicken which is, by far, the best you can buy (I didn't get paid to say that). We have a lot of chicken in our freezer at any given time because of this. A few weeks ago I got a hair up my butt that I was going to make something different with the chicken. One of my favorite things to order at an Asian restaurant that we go to a lot is Hawaiian Chicken. I tried that. I failed. Miserably. It was awful. The husband ate it, but seriously? When he's hungry he'll eat just about anything. He's a growing boy, ya know.
I ran across a recipe for General Tso's chicken and yesterday was the 5th time I've made it this month. I have perfected it in the five tries. Yep, I'm tooting my own horn. Toot toot.
I've ended up combining a few recipes and taking cooking tips from other recipes to create my own. I've cut the cooking time by about 20 minutes and made something that even my daddy liked! I brought a plate over to him last night and this is an old German guy who doesn't like spicy food... he LOVED it!
So I bet you are wondering if I'm gonna share this recipe? Of course I am! I'm not shy... try it. And it's not quite as difficult as it sounds while you are reading it and it's worth the time it takes to make it. Both of my demon spawns have ordered me to make this at least once a week from now on. I serve mine with Jasmine rice... be prepared to have a full tummy when this is served!

The Berleen-variation of General Tso's Chicken

3 lbs chicken (I use about 6 boneless skinless chicken breasts)
2 cups green onions
8 small chilies (I use cayenne pepper, but I haven't got a measurement yet)

Slurry (coating)-
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 eggs (beaten)
1 cup cornstarch

Sauce -
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 tsp garlic
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup white or sherry wine
1 can chicken broth
ginger - although I haven't figured out a measurement yet

I mix the sauce up ahead of time and store it in the fridge. It doesn't take long to mix it up, but it's nice to have it done. One less thing to do later.

Cut up chicken, put in bowl. (I marinate the chicken pieces in a bit of soy sauce for a couple hours) Put the slurry ingredients in and mix until all chicken is covered. It's going to be a weird consistency. Not too thin, not to thick - but weird.

Heat oil in pan and fry pieces of chicken until all brown. Put cooked pieces on a paper towel.

In same oil, put in cut up onions and chilies/cayenne pepper. Fry for about 30 seconds. Add the cooked chicken. Dump in the sauce. Bring to a boil while stirring. It's going to thicken up all of a sudden... as soon as it's kind of a thick gel and steamy it's done. If you want to add broccoli or other veggies, add at the same time as chicken. I run the broccoli under warm water (if it's frozen) so it's at room temp before I put it in.
Still working on the Hawaiian chicken disaster....