Thanksgiving on a Plane

It's Thanksgiving and we are up early to catch a plane to warmer country.  We are headed to Arizona and all the family we have there.....
I will try to keep up with my bloggy friends...but  you never know what is in store for me in the land of the sun.....warmth I hope (inner and outer!)
Can't wait to embrace all my family. 

Wednesday Wisdom

Today I will be thankful for all my friends. Thank you for being my friend.

I snuck in a little crafting..

I snuck in a little crafting, and I do mean little.  I made 3 cute and easy bags:

bought muslin bags, washed them
added ruffles and rolled flowers and poof, you have fun shopping bags!!

We're all ready for Black Friday are You?????

Harvest Blessing Mix

For Thanksgiving, or the fall season, I like to give a 'treat' of harvest blessings.Since I can't TREAT you to the yummy crunchness, I'll give you the recipe so you can "harvest bless" others!
These are the ingredients we will need:
there really isn't a set recipe...but if you need something to go by.........
4 C small pretzels
4 C Bugles
1C Candy Corn OR 2C popcorn-popped
1-2 C M&M's
32 Kisses
2 C dried fruit, (small like raisins or craisins)
2 C sunflower seeds (or peanuts)

copy the poem, add a little clip art and you have a great treat to give.

Thanksgiving Blessings Mix

Each ingredient in this snack mix symbolizes something associated with the Thanksgiving season.
Cornucopia, or the Horn of Plenty – a symbol of our harvest abundance
Arms folded in prayer- a prayer of Thanksgiving
Corn- food was so scarce that settlers survived on just a few kernels of corn a day
Dried fruits- a harvest gift of our bountiful land
Seeds- a promise of a bounteous harvest for the next season.
Kisses- from the love of family and friends that sweeten our lives.
Sweet memories of those who came before us.

Does this make you feel old? or just out of the loop?

 Today's generation has no idea what this is.

*OR*

Food Fun Friday- easy 7-up Biscuits

One of my NEW goals is to make something (craft, design, sew, cook, etc) from my Pinterest files each week. 
This week I saw the MOST yummy picture and couldn't believe the easy recipe attached:

I found it at:
http://monstermama-monstermama.blogspot.com/2011/09/7up-biscuits.html
well not to burst your bubble, but mine did NOT look like the above picture. 

They did taste really good (hello butter!)
I made them a second time and used half as much butter (1/8C) (oh and I also used a 8x8x8 pan instead of the 9x9x9 pan) 
They still looked rather pale.
I will make them again, even though I really don't use bisquick... but I now have a whole box to use up!!! 
Bottom line: Mr. Produce loved them!

7-up Biscuits
2 c Bisquick mix

1/2 c sour cream
1/2 c 7up
1/4 c melted butter
Preheat oven to 450º
Cut sour cream into your Bisquick mix, then add 7up - it will make a soft dough. Now sprinkle your counter with a little Bisquick mix then add dough and pat it out.

Melt butter and pour it into a 9" square baking pan. Cut your biscuits up and arrange them in pan on top of melted butter.
Bake 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.

Wednesday Wisdom

we all have the power to make this so

It's about to get a whole lot busier!

These next 3 weeks are going to be c.r.a.z.y
I am trying to get Christmas together... because we leave Thanksgiving day for Arizona... and all the family we will see there! 
I am trying to bring all their Christmas gifts, or at least the ones I'm making... I really would have liked to say made... but alas... I am still making them!
Lookie who'll I'll be seeing:

handy with the tools already!

It's the most wonderful, and busiest time of the year!  We'll be taking my mother to Arizona for a week-we'll be seeing all sorts of people...

staying with Lauren and Will and of course Carson---Kieri and Russell will drive over from San Diego---we'll see the Derek and Heleana and her two little girls Tori and Kylee---and Devon (when he's not working)---and I know my mother will want us to take her around to see her friends---and my cousin Carolyn and her family...

yes I better get busy because there are fun/crazy/hectic/busy/joyful times ahead.

more signs you are old

Food Fun Friday - Fish Tacos

Mr. Produce doesn't really like fish. Especially Talapia.   I like fish -any fish, fixed almost any way.  I had some fish that I had been trying to serve for dinner for a couple of nights, and KNEW it only had a little shelf lift left.
I saw my friend Emily's blog.. and  POW that was it, it was the perfect recipe for dinner, and man o man was it delicious!!

Fish tacos by Emily


Talapia cut in 1" by 2"pieces (1lb or so)
Wondra flour 5 TBSP (or rice flour)
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp red pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 1/2 TBSP canola oil
small flour tortillas
shredded cheese
avocados
cabbage
salsa* (*any salsa works, but the mango salsa from costco was perfect with the sweet coconut sauce)


1. Make coconut sauce, set aside.
2. Cut fish and put into bowl with flour mixed and spices, lightly coat.
3. Heat oil in a skillet on about med-med high.
4. Cook fish 3-4 min per side making sure each piece is in the oil until crispy and cooked through, golden brown.

SAUCE:
1 cup cream of coconut (Coco Lopez--in the mixed drinks isle, or any brand)and really just use the whole can, it is a smidge over a cup.
1 lime, zest and juice--about 1/4 cup juice
Stir together.

Next time I just might marinate the fish in the "sauce" for a while, before cooking it up.
we have sauce left over, and I'll use it in other recipes that call for a creamy sweetness!

Thanks Emily

Wait, What? Christmas is in 44 days?

oror

 

I know I seem to be a real Chatty Kathy this week, but with the Holidays approaching and a VACATION in two weeks (oh be still my heart~!) and these apathetic dark days…  I am “trying” to be pro-active.

Today's subject: 

Gift-cards vs actual ‘tangible’ gifts.

What do you say?  I am having a hard time committing to either.

My mother taught me that giving money is thoughtless. “You didn’t think enough of that person to find them something that they would like.”  (being a Libra) I can see both sides.
I don’t know if anyone can TRULY know what a person wants for Christmas and get it for them. I like money and gift cards, but I also like to have something to open on Christmas, and sometimes what I get is such a surprise…


(this is going to take a while) I've got a story for you: (if you’re still reading this, Thank you! and if you answer the age old gift card vs gift question... YOU are an amazing and beautiful person and will be lucky for the next 23 hours! and to top things off you will not have to shave your legs for another month, or two)


My x-mother-in-law was schizophrenic. She was the sweetest women alive and would (and often did) give the shirt off her back to anyone in need. But she was crazy. (oh and don’t EVER call her crazy to her face that would REALLY set her off… poor Ashley, granddaughter, had to bare the brunt of her attacks – Ashley as a pre-teen got mad and called her crazy!)
As weird as it sounds, we always looked forward to her gifts because they were really, REALLY … uh… different.
*When my two girls were little, grandma gave them each a package of boys underwear, I think it was teenage mutant ninja turtle ... stating that it didn’t matter if it was for boys, it was underwear.
*One year we each got something from the ‘Popeye’ line. There was a mitt hot pad, a wash cloth, a soap dispenser and the best of all was a large Popeye beach towel!
*Another year we got 2 frames with other peoples kids in them.. not the ‘stock’ photos that come with the frame from the store, but actual 'specially' printed pictures with unknown kids in them.
*A funny one: the cousins received, for each person (boys and girl) a VERY short little towel/ after bath cover up thingie, have I mentioned SHORT!
*One year all her grown children and their spouses got coats. Women’s coats. Even the men. In the same size… yes all 8 of us got the same Mervyns, beige style women’s size 10 coat.

She loved to cook and would make her Thanksgiving turkey with peanut butter and clam stuffing. 

Oh Grandma you were quite a gal!

 so tell me, any of you out there a crazy grandma and give crazy gifts???

Wednesday Wisdom

No love, no friendship can cross the path of our destiny without leaving some mark on it forever.

Francois Mauriac

Only in Sequim- our cute little town!

I live in a retirement town were 65% of the population is over 65... mostly I'd say over 80years and older.

These occurrences are strange. and somehow a weekly occurrence in our small town!

Last week a lady drove into the post office.  Our mailman was there and said she just got confused with the gas pedal and break pedal (?? what??)  She got out of her car using a cane and was pretty shaken up  (ya think?)  Like I said, a weekly occurrence.

Last year a man drove into the safeway:

In the paper I quote:

Tim Collins, who works at the Columbia Bank branch inside the grocery store, said the tires on the Chevrolet continued peeling like the accelerator was still depressed after it came through the sliding glass doors.

Two weeks ago, Mr. Produce called and said that a man drove up to the grocery store and parked... yes drove UP TO THE DOOR, UP THE RAMP RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE AUTOMATIC DOORS and parked, blocking the entrance and triggering the glass doors to open, and open and open and open.  He then got out his walker and proceeded to go shopping.  On the loud speaker in the store, they kept calling for who ever parked at the entrance of the store to please move their car....... 
(oh honey..... if only you could have run over and gotten a picture for my blog!)  for now you'll just have to believe me.
It's always fun living in a 25mile an hour town!

SCAM ALERT- credit card that is

I knew there was something up when my mother called and said....
 "I just got off the phone with my credit card company, well at least I hope they were my credit card company because I just gave them all of my information..."

I have spent the last 3 days trying to rectify this one bad phone call.
 excuses:

"but they were so nice, and he gave me his name and phone number and ID number"

"They are going to give me this really great deal"

If it sounds too good to be true, then it is false.

If you didn't call 'YOUR' creditor, there is something (false) up.

They don't call you clear out of the blue to give you money or something.

oh yeah, and if you did not call your creditors- DO NOT GIVE OUT ANY OF YOUR INFORMATION"  SS#, Birthdate, monthly income, phone numbers, credit card (if it IS the c/c company why would they need your credit card #?)

YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR

(just like that 19.95 hearing aid in the Sunday paper!- why would a legitimate company charge $3,000 when you could get one in the paper for 19.95).

gullible = my poor mother

post script= There was no damage done.  a TOTAL miscommunication and an older woman that didn't understand what was going on and afraid to say that she didn't understand... let alone not being able to understand the lady with the heavy accent from the real credit card company!!  I have learned that people a little hard of hearing CAN.NOT. understand others with a heavy accent. (frankly I barely understood her... and the girls in my family *talkreallyfast*)

attn Scam Artists...there is a fraud alert on all her cards for the next 90 days, so don't even bother to call her, she has been instructed to hang up on you. (although she will probably appolizige first).
and just in case...
Equifax www.equifax.com 1-800-525-6285
Experian www.experian.com 1-888-397-3742
TransUnion www.transunion.com 1-800-680-7289

funny for the day

How's your thought process workin' for ya

So I'm having a problem with my thought process:

5:30am- I really should have gotten up earlier so I could walk with the walking video.. oh well, I will rush through all the lunches and everything and make at least 15 minutes time…
7am, ahhh no time today… but I’ll walk at lunch, it will be cold, but I’ll wear a hat.
11:30am ahhh lunch, think I’ll go to the thrift store and see if they have anything new or cool or cheap, then I’ll walk
12:30 oh well back to work, I’ll walk when I get home
4:30pm take my mom shopping and THEN take my walk
5:30pm Now that I'm home, I better check my email before I start dinner because there usually no time after that…
6:30pm oh oh , gotta run and make dinner because I hear the garage door opening and Mr produce is here…….. ahhhhh
7:30pm dishes and a quick DVR show before bedtime. But tomorrow FOR SURE I’ll walk first thing in the morning---or at lunch---or when I get home from work.

Come on, does anyone else think this way?     
Every stinkin day, and the result is always the same. 
No walk
Too cold
Raining
No time, most often it is no time.
Never is it: wow I have time to spare I think I’ll take a walk for my health!


Funny how it works, pretty much the same thought process takes place with trying to give up Diet Coke (every day) too.  Only about lunchtime I fall off the wagon!

Kind of like the joke that says: Dear Lord, thank you for giving me the strength to stay on my diet all day today, but I am about to get out of bed so I will need your help now more than ever.

And don't get me started on all this darkness this time of year...
S.A.D anyone?????
help

Wednesday Wisdom

Grandkids with costumes!

I haven't talked about or shown the grandkids for a while.
Here are a couple of Carson at the wedding and then for Halloween.

he is a dragon!

he refused to wear the hat!

Mallory came over Saturday night, we took her to trunk or treat at church and then to the downtown stores for MEGA CANDY... and ... we let her eat ALLLL she wanted.  You can thank me later Sam & Kyle! ha ha ha

 bwahahahahahahahaaa- look at all my candy!!!