Oven Mitt PSA(s)

I bought a couple of inexpensive oven mitts at Target a few weeks ago. When I washed them, they came out as teeny-tiny, Oompa Loompa-sized oven mitts. No joke. 

When you wash budget oven mitts, use cold water and hang dry.

Until I was able to buy some better quality pot holders, I used dish towels, like they used to in the olden days. If, like me, you have little experience pulling things out of the oven with a dish towel, here is a very important safety tip:

Make sure there are NO damp areas on your dish towel before you grab something hot. Unlike cotton, water is a most excellent conductor of heat!

Just a wee lesson in the principles of heat transfer. And two PSAs for the price of one today!

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Super Bowl and Halftime Show

Super Bowl game was amazing!! I really enjoyed it, even though I don't follow NFL much and none of my fave teams were there. Such a great game.

We played two games- winners each quarter for guessing the last digits of the score, and Super Bowl Commercial Bingo. We had lots of Scott's great food. I made a Caesar salad from scratch, which I've never done before. Even made my own croutons. Fun!

Halftime... I was disappointed. Justin Timberlake is one of the most talented performers ever, but the halftime show was blah. No big stunts. No guest artists. Just him. I just don't think that cuts it for the Super Bowl.

Of course, I would always love to see NSYNC together, but since he's already had them join him onstage at the Super Bowl halftime, I get that he might not want to repeat it. Same for Janet Jackson. It's been done, even though she's a great performer. I really like the suggestions that he should have brought Britney on. She would have been a cool guest, with a huge reaction! Her inevitable lip syncing would have made me crazy, but at least the show would have been memorable. There are numerous other great bands/singers he could have had join him during the show. Anyone! I don't care who you are, you need a guest artist or two, or at the very least, a mind-blowing stunt/effect at the Super Bowl halftime show.

Also, as a Prince fan, I think it's very sad that JT performed "with" the image of Prince, a type of performance Prince himself specifically called "demonic." I personally don't like any of those duets with dead people, because I find them to be cheesy and creepy. The idea of a tribute to Prince in Minneapolis is a fantastic one, but Justin could have so easily just sung a Prince song without using the image and voice of Prince. So easily! How cool would that have been?!! Some people have suggested he could have had Shiela E join him for the tribute song. That would have ROCKED! Instead it was cringe-worthy. Gah.

I wanted to like it!

The game was amazing though!

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Genealogy and Kolache Trip

Jeff and Scott accompanied me to El Campo a couple of weeks ago on a "genealogy and kolaches" day trip. My mother's father's family is from El Campo and Columbus. We went to three cemeteries to visit several of my family's graves in both towns, and did a bit of research at the Wharton County Library.

Small world moment!! I've only ever met a few people outside my family who even know where El Campo is. The librarian who was helping me turned out to be my former boss's AUNT! I emailed him about it and he said his father and his father's family are all from El Campo. Random! 

We hit Hruska's and Weikel's on the way home. Yummy!

On an unrelated note... Here are our kitties on laundry day.

What.

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You Talk Talk and You Get So Intense

...that you almost make sense. And that's what scares me the most...

Taking a work break for a bit. I can do that as a contractor! In my jammies! (I'm not in my jammies, but I could be!)

Randomly, I've been listening to Styx' Kilroy Was Here on Apple Music. One of the best songs on that album is "Cold War," which wasn't released as a single. It was one of my favorites to pull out the hairbrush, singing and jamming out in my room.



Partying with the President doesn't sound as cool as it used to, eh? Ha!

There is also "Don't Let It End."



And of course, there is "Mr. Roboto." "...I am the modREN man!" (Yes, modREN!)



Turns out, Styx is playing a casino in Lake Charles, LA TONIGHT. Weird!! Maybe there was a commercial for it and that's why I was thinking of them. Hmm.

Incidentally, hubby informs me that Def Leppard released their library on Apple Music today, so that's cool. I've seen then a few times. If you want to try out Apple Music, you can get four months free, rather than the regular three months, if you go to Living Social and search for Apple Music.

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Saturday 9

Saturday 9: Piano (2013)
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) As she sings, Ariana muses about the songs she could compose on her piano. Do you play the piano?
I haven't for years, but I do. I have to play with music though. Wish I could play by ear!

2) She compares love songs, saying there are sad ones about how hard love is, and happy ones that make you want to dance. What's your favorite love song? Is it sad or happy? 

"Come What May" from Moulin Rouge...  It's happy.

3) Ariana's mother always told her that they took her name from Princess Oriana in the 1988 movie Felix the Cat. Who is your favorite cartoon character?

Every time someone references Felix the Cat, I think Fritz the Cat. Completely different. Anyhoo... my favorite has always been the sarcastic, hilarious Bugs Bunny.

4) Ariana's favorite board game is Monopoly. What's your favorite board game?

Life. A spinner and little peg people in cars? Yeah!

5) She relaxes by baking. When you feel keyed up, what do you do to relax?
Go outside.

6) She is a huge Florida Panthers fan, even though once, as a little girl, she got hit by a puck. Now that the NHL season is underway, how's your favorite team doing?

I haven't followed professional hockey since I was a kid and Houston Aeros (WHA) fan.

7) In 2013, when this song was popular, the NHL reached an agreement with the players union and averted a strike. Have you ever belonged to a union?
Nope.

8) Also in 2013, Pauline Philips died. Ms. Philips was better known to millions of readers as "Dear Abby." At its height, her advice column appeared in 1,400 newspapers across the country. Do you still read a printed copy of your newspaper?
No

9) If you could get the answer to one question about your future, what would that one question be?

While I'd love to know how old I'll be when I die, so I can plan my retirement funding accordingly, I don't want to know when I'll die. So I guess I would just ask where I'll be living when I die. That could be interesting!

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Congrats, Bama!

Made Ina's famous cheeseball recipe for New Year's Eve, and again last night for the NCAA football championship. Always a hit! And what a game!! I had a slight leaning towards the Dawgs, but it didn't really matter much to me who won. All SEC, baby!

In a very amusing variation of "your sunglasses are on your head," Sunday, Jeff was lounging on the couch, complaining that he couldn't find the television remote... which was sitting on his chest.

Ha!

Cathy posted this clip this morning on FB- my guilty pleasure song for years. I dare you to listen without singing and/or dancing.



Awesome!

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Great-Grandma McKenna

My mom's mother's mom, who died the year I was born, was a part of the "Orphan Train" program. They sent orphans from New York City to homes out west in the late 1800's to early 1900's, for foster care or adoption. My Irish great-great grandparents in Wisconsin adopted her sometime between 1895 (the year she was born) and 1900. Sadly, I'll probably never be able to find information about her birth family, but I have found out many things about her that I didn't know before.

Yesterday I found her junior and senior year high school yearbooks online. She performed in some plays. She was also active in the Girls' Literary Society, which met regularly to discuss music, books and papers. Some of the girls wrote and published their own books, about everything from boys to beauty to autobiographies. My great-grandmother's book was called "Chemistry Made Easy," a guide for freshmen. Pretty cool.

Oh, her last name was McKenna, and her high school nickname was "Kenny." Kenny! Love it!

Kumail Nanjiani was on Ellen yesterday! He told a hilarious story!!

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Happy 2018!

Funniest part of the holidays...

Jeff's Mom: What was the situation that Christmas, when you and Steven (Jeff's younger brother) went to Missouri by yourselves, and Dad and I stayed in Dallas? You were in college and Steven was in middle school.
Jeff: There was something going on and you guys had to stay here, so we went without you.
Me: Wait. You let Jeff drive your precious baby all the way to Missouri and back?
Jeff's Dad: Nah, he drove the old car.

*crickets* (...other than me giggling)

Jeff: I think she meant Steven.

*crickets*

Aaaaaahahaha! It's funnier every time I tell it.

Saturday 9: It's Just Another New Year's Eve (1977)
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) In this song, Barry Manilow declares New Year's Eve is "just another night." How do you feel about 12/31? Is it a special occasion or just another night?
If we're doing something special, it's special, otherwise, it's just another night!

2) Barry sings that in the past year, "we've made mistakes." What in 2017 do you wish you could do over?

I should have gone to more concerts. I think the only one I went to all year was the Foreigner/Cheap Trick show at Circuit of the Americas. I have tickets for 10,000 Maniacs in February!

3) He also sings of happy nights with friends. Tell us about a really good time you had in the past year.

the Gault archeological site trip and also our Bell County Museum day in Belton

4) The song references growing wiser, as well as older. What's something you learned or discovered in 2017?

genealogy research and my family history

5) What do you wish you had spent more time doing during 2017?

Playing bunco- anyone wanna start a new group? I want a fun group like my old one, with lots of wine and craziness.

6) What was the smartest thing you did all this past year? 

changed from the city's 96 gallon trash can to a 64 gallon trash can, saving $20 a month!

7) As this year comes to a close, what are you most grateful for?

central heating

8) When this week's featured artist, Barry Manilow, was a jingle writer, he wrote the famous "You deserve a break today at McDonald's" song. When's the last time you visited the Golden Arches?

a couple of months ago

9) Random question: In high school, were you more popular with the boys or the girls?
The boys. In high school and college, I had far more guy friends than girlfriends.

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East Texas Trip

One of my aunts passed away this week and we went to her funeral in Jasper. I had wanted to get to Jasper before nightfall Thursday, but Jeff was working, so we left later. In the end, night driving was great, because we got to see all the pretty Christmas lights popping up along the country roads. Also, no traffic!

The funeral was really nice. The last two funerals (well, probably more than that) I've been to were Catholic masses, which of course are very long and formal and less personal. This was a small town, small church funeral, where the paster knew my aunt and told stories about her and brought a lot of warmth to the ceremony. Super nice people there.

On our way home, we had lunch in Huntsville at Bennie J's Smoke Pit. It was REALLY good. Looks like they're only open for lunch and they run out of things, so you should get there early. We rolled in around 2 and they were about to shut down. We were able to get sausage and ribs, which rocked. Super smoky and yummy. They also let us sample some of their pecan pie, which was delicious.

I've never seen so many pickup trucks in one town in my life as I did in Huntsville. I would have thought there would be a lot of pickups in, oh, I don't know... Jasper? But Huntsville wins that award for sure. The semi-official Pickup Truck Capital of the World.

I wish we'd had more time in east Texas, because there are probably some really neat historical places in the area that we've not seen. Had to get back here for a winery trip to Fredericksburg with Kathy today! Her wine club purchase was ready for pickup, so we made the quarterly jaunt. Beauuuutiful day!


Friday Five: Seasons

1. What foods are most representative of each of the four seasons?

Winter - chili

Spring - salad

Summer - ice cream

Fall - pumpkin pie

2. What are good songs to represent each of the four seasons?

Winter - "A Hazy Shade of Winter" The Bangles version

Spring - "Cake By the Ocean" DNCE

Summer - "Summer Nights" from Grease

Fall - "Be True to Your School" Beach Boys

3. What would be good films to represent each of the four seasons?

Winter - Love Actually

Spring - Emma

Summer - 50 First Dates

Fall - Dead Poets Society

4. If you could divide the calendar year into four seasons some other way with some other theme besides weather or major professional sports, where would each seasons begin and end, and what would each be called?

Jan-Mar: Chillin'

April-June: Anniversaries

July-Sep: Beach Dayz

Oct-Dec: Birthdays

5. What’s something in your area that’s extra fun in the winter?

going to Stars hockey games at Cedar Park center

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And Now... Forbidden Words?

CDC gets list of forbidden words: Fetus, transgender, diversity

What in the serious *F*? The Centers for Disease Control, an organization of science, can't use the words "science-based" because it scares Republicans? No use of the words "evidence-based?" How do you talk about fetuses without using the word "fetus?"

The suggested "science-based" replacement phrase "CDC bases its recommendations on science in consideration with community standards and wishes" is ludicrous. Do they really? If science says something is fantasy, but the community wants it to be real, CDC throws all facts aside to placate the community? What a truly frightening load of crap. If they abide by this language guidance, I'm not buying anything CDC is putting out there from now on.

From an NYT article- "The Food and Drug Administration was quick to note that it had gotten no such instruction."

That's probably only a matter of time.

Loony toons President and his cuckoo administration!


Sunday Stealing: It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

1. What’s your favorite thing about the holidays?

Everyone is in a festive mood. Seeing friends and family.

2. Do you send out Christmas cards and if so how many do you send?

The last time I sent out Christmas cards to everyone was probably 2005. Now I send to a select few.

3. Be honest: holiday newsletters. Love ‘em or hate ‘em?

LOVE them.

4. Be honest: photo cards. Love ‘em or hate ‘em?

LOVE them.

5. How soon do you start shopping?

I will buy Christmas gifts for people as early as October, if I know what I want to get them.

6. Real or fake tree?

I love real trees, but I don't want to take care of it or deal with the falling needles or hanging the lights. We have a pre-lit fake tree.

7. When do you put up your tree?

The day after Thanksgiving.

8. When do you take down your tree?

New Year's Day

9. Describe your typical tree (size, decorations, type)

Ours is a green tree, about 7 feet tall, with multi-colored lights and all our personal ornaments that I've collected over the years since we got married.

10. What do you top your tree with?

a cute, round, jolly Santa Claus

11. Do you put Christmas lights outside your house?

Nope. We have lights in our front windows.

12. Is there a wreath hanging on your door?

No

13. Do you hang up stockings?

Yep

14. Your favorite Christmas Movie(s)

Love Actually, Scrooged

15. Be honest: A Christmas movie you don't like

I don't think there are any I dislike.

16. Favorite Christmas Song(s)

Oh Holy Night
I'll Be Home for Christmas

Do You Hear What I Hear

Baby It's Cold Outside

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

All I Want For Christmas is You- Mariah Carey (I know, it's overplayed, but every single time you have to stand up and sing your best Mariah Carey, right?!)

You Don't Have to Be Alone- NSYNC 

Last Christmas- Wham!

Blue Christmas- Elvis Presley

17. Be honest: If I hear this/these Christmas songs again I will throw up

Joy to the World

Jingle Bells

Wonderful Christmas Time- Paul McCartney (*shudder*)

sorry to all my 1980s friends and 1980s me, but... "Do They Know It's Christmas"- Band Aid

18. Give or Receive?

Give!

19. Eggnog or Mulled Cider?

cider

20. Ham or Turkey?

ham

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