Stinkerbell's Fancy Day

Moreena has requested photos of Fancy Day observances.

Here's Stinkerbell's recent Fancy Day photo. I indulged her with a Club Libby Lu make-over recently while doing my Christmas shopping.

It was a nice break from wandering around stores, snapping fingers and threatening her life to keep her close.

And the results???

For the rest of the day, she could be very EASILY found in front of the closest mirror. Posing. Singing loudly into her Libby Lu rock-star, diamond (!!!) headset.

Evoking the wisdom of Linus with his security blanket...


Some of you may see some of these again. But I just HAVE to share this!!!

Stinkerbell drew these yesterday with very little to NO help or direction from her parents. I gave her examples to follow on the manger and stable. I drew the donkey (hiding under Mary and Joseph's "naked feet".) With those exceptions, all you see before you is her original work.

Yes, I'm proud.

Yes, these will be part of our Christmas cards.

Merry Christmas to all! And to all "go night night!"

Well, I went Christmas shopping with Stinkerbell and my mom today. I didn't watch the Single Most Important Football Game in Alabama and, IMHO, the game featuring the most vicious rivalry in the country. But I don't always watch it. Sometimes, but I'm not obsessed with it.

The Mighty Hunter hasn't watched it in years. It always falls on the same weekend as "opening day" of gun season here. He can listen to the game and hunt at the same time. He can't hunt and watch the game at the same time.

A little background:

The game was at tuscaloosa. alabama has never beaten Auburn at tuscaloosa. teehee.

Auburn has beaten alabama the last 4 consecutive years.

Auburn t-shirts say "fear the thumb" - and "alabama's official drink Choke" HAHA!!

Well, I actually didn't see a single second of the game - live. I did record for later viewing and posterity.

Final score

Auburn 22

alabama 15



WAR EAGLE!!!!!!!!!

I love it!


Oh, I got a good bit of my Christmas shopping done. My back decided to break in half after dinner, so we had to quit. Well, that and the stores were closing. Anyway, I'll have to finish again over the next few weeks - OR I'll be shopping online a lot.

Happy Thanksgiving y'all!!!

Let's start with an apology and a caution...

Apology: I'm in a ROTTEN, P'ed OFF mood today. I know that the things I'm thinking and saying are not the things I should say and think. I've had something to happen to spin my mood into almost rage and will explain in a moment.

So PLEASE forgive the attitude toward certain people and the pity party I'm throwing and the potty mouth I'm sporting.

Caution: I'm not a nice pg gal. I realized that with pg #1. My temper has NO fuse. I simply explode. I try to influence it for good and not evil and use it to handle situations that require high levels of assertiveness, attitude, etc. The happy-go-lucky, glowing, excited-about-her-bundle-of-joy attitude is not familiar in our house right now. Sorry! I'm a b!+ch. Deal with it or go away.

Anyway... what has pushed me over the edge?

Well you may recall my post that shared with you the wonderful purchase The Mighty Hunter made for me this summer... I've been in love with the Pimped-out Mom-mobile. It's comfy. It's got lots of bells & whistles that are cool for this gadget-loving girl. It entertains Stinkerbell with the dual head-rest dvd/cd players.

We all love the van. I must confess to having placed more pride in it than I should. Yes, somewhere there's a scripture that tells me not to do that very thing, but I'm guilty.

And now, I'm being taken down a notch - or 2 - over it.

Last night, Stinkerbell and I went to replenish our empty fridge and get some things that I'll need for Thanksgiving pig-outs/meals next week. We also needed to get a birthday gift for our God-son.

Stinkerbell was tired and fell asleep, curled up in the shopping cart. I ran out of room in the little seat and had to find places around her to put some of my groceries. The loaf of bread rested on her hip.

This was one of those grocery shopping trips that took a LOT longer than I had planned and was trying to not get ill over the unreasonable length of it.... Our pastor's wife was there and we talked - I enjoyed the short conversation. I tried to get in touch with our God-son's parents to get suggestions about his gift - no answer, didn't leave a message. Wandered around forgetting things that I needed, back-tracked a couple of times because I didn't have a list and was making things up as I went.

You know. It was just a waste of time and was getting frustrating...

Or it seemed like a waste of time.

As I was about to get the last 2 items on my actual LIST (carrots and bananas), my stupid Cingular cell phone rang (btw Cingular sucks!). It was my God-son's dad. He said that a dinosaur would be great but that he had gotten very excited over a Godzilla toy the night before. Was there a Godzilla at my Wal-mart? Let's go see. This will probably be my last chance to look for one before the party.

So we strolled over and wasted a little more time. My local Wal-mart is safe from attacks from Godzilla. So, we kept the Imaginext dinosaur that roared and was red and yellow and headed to the beloved self-checkout counter.

There was some interesting things happening with the employees while I was scanning my stuff. I overheard one say that she didn't know what happened and they couldn't find anyone. I figured they were trying to find a suspected shoplifter "Code 5-5-55. All associates Code 5-5-55."

I leave Stinkerbell sleeping in the cart and put my bags into another cart and head out the door. Yes, I temporarily forgot where I had parked. I remembered how Stinkerbell and I had ran across the traffic lane to hurry inside and get out of the misty, cold, rainy air and headed toward where I had parked. I didn't have the exact spot memorized. But I knew about how far up the parking aisle my pretty white van was.

Here's the sequence of thoughts that followed...

"Why is that van parked parallel in these angled spots?"

"That van looks like mine."

"That van is mine."

"That van IS mine. What in the world????"



It seems that an older gentleman had cranked his Lincoln Towncar and (here's the good part...) it went into reverse on its own and no matter how he stomped the "brake", it wouldn't stop.

ahem.

ummm, yea, right.

If anyone had been walking across the parking lot, they'd be dead or badly hurt.

If I had been putting the groceries in on the driver's side - like I usually do - my van would have been pushed on top of me - injuring me and Peanut in some very serious ways.

So, my mac-daddy van with its powered lifting rear door and the sonar in the bumper to keep me from backing into stuff and the pretty white paint with some pearlescent sparkly stuff in the paint is all busted up on the back end.

So, my mood is crappy.

My van has some very expensive damage to it. Not to mention the loss of value to it.

An older man should consider letting his wife drive from now on.

I've got to finagle getting my van fixed over the Thanksgiving holiday - yea, right.

I'll have to find a rental car.

I'm just so ill about the whole thing.

sigh.

We have a lot to be thankful for.

But I'm still P'ed Off!!!

If you have some soothing words for me, please leave them in a comment. If you have a good joke or some other way of lightening my mood, PLEASE leave it.

It's just a van. It's a means of transportation. It CAN be fixed.

But I'm still mad.

After these messages, we'll be right back!

I hope you will understand and be patient and continue to check back with me here.

Right now, as much as I love and get pleasure from blogging, I must take a short break.

I'm still working and am feeling much anxiety to finish my projects here and get home to prepare for the impending - and fast approaching - arrival of the SON.

"What could you possibly need to do to?" you ask. After all, it's not my first child. I should have at least a small supply of things still lurking around.

Well, yes, I do.

somewhere

in plastic storage tubs

in the barn

on a high shelf

that's too high for me to reach

and there might be Dust Cooties on the boxes

and I'll probably sneeze

and get my precious pg clothes dirty

and need to wash my hands

and sit down and rest

and watch "What Not to Wear"

and drink some orange juice

...

What was I saying?

...

...

...

Oh yeah.

So, I'll be posting a little less frequently for a little while. I would much RATHER do this than work. That's obvious to anyone who's looking over my shoulder right now.

Here I am, at my desk, "working HARD".

I'll put some pictures up soon from our Veteran's Day trip to the Great Smoky Mountains. We stayed here. No, it hadn't been redecorated in about 25 years, but it was very clean with new carpet and room enough for 3 insane women and 5 wild kids. We ate here (worth the $ without a doubt!!! the whilte chocolate cheesecake and mixed berry cobbler and moonshine chicken are TDF!!!), and here, and here.

And we went here (I'm tired of this place. I'd rather nap. Yes, I'm spoiled. I know it. I've been there several times. Almost every year. Yes, fish are interesting and the moving sidewalk underneath the shark tank is cool. But it doesn't change enough to keep me and my ADHD entertained. Sorry, all you marine biologists wanna-be's.) We also went here and got some yummy candy. And here to visit this guy (he's there year-round, ready to hear your kid's claims of good behavior and requests for the most expensive and unrealistic of gifts - mine wanted a $30 stuffed reindeer "with a pretty red harness and pretty red color with jingle-bells"). And we had a picnic behind there, next to the Little Pigeon River.

And then we drove this pretty little road and then we went to visit our ABSOLUTE FAVORITE PLACE IN THE SMOKIES - no website can do it justice - Cades Cove is a big slice of heaven with chocolate sauce on top.

We also went here and played mini golf for FREE - yes, free with no gimmicks and clean bathrooms!!!

And we saw the beautiful, but early, Christmas lights.

The Smoky Mountains and the towns that have sprung up around it to support the tourist industry are very special. Yes, there are cheesy things about it, just like any tourist area. But it's a safe place, with a low crime rate. The staff of the businesses you visit are regular "folks" like you and their values are similar and they're not afraid of your values. Their faith in the Lord is not a secret and they make you feel comfortable expressing your faith in your way. You can get married up there within 24 hours for less than $300. You can get a tattoo (real or henna) and go to Hard Rock Cafe. You can ride a horse and see whitetail deer, black bears and wild turkeys - maybe even a bobcat! You can buy the drink of your choice or build a fire in your condo with REAL WOOD - cut from the trees surrounding one of our nation's beautiful natural treasures - yikes. You can watch musical shows ranging from Southern Gospel to Elvis to Bluegrass to a kid-friendly hodge podge songs. You can buy obscene t-shirts or have Christmas ornaments personalized with your child or pet's name. You can eat cheap beanee weenees and pbj's or $45+ per plate meals served with linen napkins and cooked by highly skilled chefs. You can reminisce about the beauty and purity and hard work of our heritage and peek into the past at the humble homes they struggled to build for their families. And you can walk your feet off and spend your children's college education on the newest styles in the dizzying variety of outlet stores.

I live within a 3 hour drive of this beautiful, special place and am glad of it. The only problem I've experienced on a regular basis is there's entirely too much Volunteer orange.

So, now that I've given you warning of my upcoming infrequent posts and described my crazy weekend in a beautiful place, I'm ready to click that little orange button.

Have a great November.

And remember.......









WAR EAGLE!!!!!

I'm about to reveal some of the darkest mysteries of the universe...

Well, mysteries of maternity clothes anyway.

When I was pg with Stinkerbell, the styles of clothes were a little different for those of us whose bellies were swelling by the inch daily. Shirts were big and long and blousy. Pants were made with a big elastic pouch-thing that allowed the belly to fill it up.

And the pants didn't need constant hitching up.

Shirts are much more "fitted" now. Maternity and non-maternity tops alike. It wasn't so bad when I was barely showing and my bra size had grown. Now that I'm 6 1/2 months along... Well, let's just say I'm testing the stretch capacity of lycra more every day!

I have bought a couple of different style bellies in the pg pants I've bought and thought it might be interesting to share what I've learned here.

Well, "interesting" might not be the right word. If you aren't interested, then move on. Cuz I'm gonna talk about pg pants belly panels now.

The first pants I bought were jeans from JC Penney. Nothing special. These have a pretty wide elastic band that goes all around your waist and are pretty good about stretching out to fit your gut as it grows.

Here's what I learned about this particular style of belly..

1. The elastic band twists within its little pouch in the washer and dryer and is a pain in the neck! to straighten out again. If you sew, you could stitch it into place. I don't sew very well, so I tried safety pins. They helped a little.

(edit: don't you just love the way I smushed the picture, elongating the pg model's only SLIGHTLY!! bulging belly.)

2. When you get to the point that the elastic band is under a lot of, uhm, stress, you may be less satisfied with this belly style. It may not reach high enough on your belly to stay up on its own, requiring constant attempts to prevent plumber pants.

3. If you wear this style when sitting for an extended period of time, you may become aware of the extra pressure that a 1.5" band of elastic will exert upon a constantly full bladder. You will then agree that this belly style is not ideal for use for the ENTIRE 9 months.

Then there's the belly style of my "bling bling" jeans. I indulged in these at the Motherhood store. These jeans were not my favorites initially. The lycra in them made them stretch just a little more than necessary, which led to much hitching and yanking to keep them where they should be and not sagging around my thighs.

This belly style has a stretchy panel that goes all the way around but only has a narrow strip of elastic at the very top of that band. There is also a drawstring that goes through the band at the same spot as the elastic. This allows for cinching up so that the bling-jeans will stay up where they should be.

I have bought another pair of jeans with the same belly style. I have hopes that I can be content with this style till delivery.

Now you have a share in my extensive wealth of maternity clothes knowledge and experience.

No. No. No. I don't expect anything in return for my selfless gift of this knowledge. I understand the depth of your gratitude. I just want to help others with information that I would appreciate also knowing.

Now, go out and buy some lycra-enhanced maternity jeans and let me know your own preferences.

(edit: I have opinions on underwear too. Panties, to be specific. I purchased my first supply of matenity panties at Sears - no maternity items listed on their website. They've sufficed until I realized that some of the elastic binding at the legs and hip were coming unstitched. While at the Motherhood store, I bought a pack of their panties. I'm much happier with these. The fabric is softer. The elastic binding is a higher quality and is stitched more securely and is kinda pretty.)

Lemon Icebox Pie and home-made Alfredo Sauce.

That is what The Mighty Hunter requested for his birthday dinner. His mom and grandmother (both deceased) made the pie for him every year on his birthday. Birthday CAKES are not a big deal for us - well, they're necessary for Stinkerbell, but not important to us parents. So, in their place, I made him a fresh Lemon Icebox Pie.

I have a great recipe for Alfredo sauce that he loves. I don't make it often, mostly on special occasions. We save our artery clogging for birthdays and anniversaries and "big events." I cut chicken up into bite size pieces and cook it with onions, garlic, sundried tomatoes and other vegetables. It is superb with my famous Alfredo sauce.

This was what The Mighty Hunter ate last night on his 37th birthday.

Lemon Icebox Pie
1/2 c lemon juice
1 15oz. can sweetened condensed milk
2 egg yolks
1 prepared pie crust (graham cracker or baked)

Mix together juice, milk and egg yolks with mixer and pour into crust. Chill for 2 hrs or until set.

Alfredo Sauce
4 Tbs butter (the real stuff only)
1 c cream (again, the real stuff, no cheating)
2 1/2 c fresh parmesan (may split 50/50 with romano)
fresh garlic (1-2 cloves), grated or crushed

Melt butter over low temperature. Add in garlic. When melted, stir in 1/2 of butter and all of cream. Allow cheese to melt completely, stirring frequently. Stir in remaining cheese, stir until melted. Serve, enjoy and grow fat.

Happy Birthday to The Mighty Hunter!