2009 .... In Review

What a year it was.

Actually, it was quite the crappy year. Well, until the last quarter. Then it got a little better. But only in a couple of aspects.

I thinking here that you can tell that I'm really happy to see it go.

It wasn't an easy year by any stretch of the imagination. Filled with waaay too many challenges, too much bullshit, disappointments and not enough fun.... yeah, I'm thrilled to watch it walk out the door.... don't let the door hit you in the ass on your way out....

THAT!!! being said, I can say that 2010, while not so fun to type on the keyboard or number pad (kinda awkward) is looking to be just as challenging.

But challenging in the best sense of the word.

Really. I mean that.

And while I'm sure that there will still be some crap to be dealt with, I also know that, for the most part, it will be good. Great even!!

As far as the blog is concerned, I do hope, now that things are somewhat, sort of, kinda, maybe a little better and a tad more certain, that I can once again get back to posting a little more normally. I know that many of you keep checking in and there hasn't been much. But you keep coming back. And for that, I shall reward you!! At least that's what I'm hoping will happen.... rewards!!! all the way around. Don't be mis-interpreting that as in financial gain or special favours... that ain't going to happen!! I'm thinking more reading, more laughing, more posting here people... sheesh.

Happy New Year to each and every one of you! May your 2010 be filled with love, health and happiness. May the challenges you face be minor and may the year bring you nothing but joy!



Not that there will be any of that going on!!!!

Happy New Year everyone!!

Ciao!

Season's Greetings

And Merry Christmas!

Okay, it's started

I finally got it going on...

Being on a few days of vacation, with the intention of relaxing and doing absolutely nothing, I've managed to accomplish something!

Did a little baking. Made a few lists. Bought a couple of things.

Oh yeah, Christmas is coming and I'm gonna pull it off...

During my baking and/or cooking adventure today I grabbed the camera so I could chronicle, in a visual sort of way, just what happens when Jodie finally gets the lead out and starts prepping for the holiday season.

First up, making the dough for the perishke. I've made them before. Well, not my dough recipe, my friend Carol's dough recipe. Actually, she made the dough and I just helped stuff them. And SG has made them before but he lost his dough recipe. Well, not lost really, just can't remember which cookbook he got it out of. Which is too bad, because they were almost as good as my friend Carol's. But I got the recipe of the oh-so-close-to-perfect from my sister in law and whipped me up some dough. And then I cooked me up some middle stuff. And then I baked them.

Turned out absolutely lovely in the bowl.... it really did! Silky smooth, elastic-y like it should be...

I thought that I would try filling them with a little something different than the usual sauerkraut or ground beef type filling. That there is a curried chicken breast.

Mix it up with a little garlic mashed potatoes.... oh yeah.... we are thinking these are gonna be good, good, GOOD!!

Cut the circles in the dough. I discovered later that its much easier and far more efficient to just pull the dough off, fiddle with it in your hand and then stuff and close the ball.

Place on a well greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees until golden brown.

That is the same garlic mashed potatoes mixed up with some farmer sausage. I loooove farmer sausage in the Perishke!

There's your finished product, brushed with some melted butter to make them soft and sweet.

And there's your insides.... note the festive type plate... oh yeah, I know how to holiday it up!

In all honesty, they turned out pretty good. Not quite as good as the sister in laws as far as the dough is concerned but still good.

Good enough that I ate a dozen and still want more....

Up next? The baking.......

Ciao!

December...in all its wonderfullness

You know, I really can't wait for this month to be over.

It has been hell on wheels and we're not even at the half way point yet!

Not that it has anything to do with Christmas.... I mean, just because I really haven't come close to preparing to even think about the big event later this month... You know, the decorating, baking, shopping, wrapping, cooking, eating, drinking.... haven't really given it a thought.

Well, except when I think about how I really do need start thinking about it.

But then it gets a little over-whelming and I stop thinking about thinking about it.

I've left SG in charge of the shopping this year. He has been dispatched to purchase gifts for #1 and #2. "Here you go honey, have at it. I'll do the stockings..." He too must be feeling the same as I because he's only been out to the mall once. Which, to give the guy credit, is more than I've been.... Wait, I did go to the dollar store, you know, just to scope it out and see what my loonies will get me. That counts, right?

Anyway, back on track here.

What the hell were we thinking when we decided to have three female dogs live inside the house with us and the boy dog? Someone please tell me that!!!

We've spent part of the first part of the month playing the love dance as our newest little girl Synder has grown to the point where she is now thinking that maybe she might just want to have puppies. And first off, she's too young, but most importantly, we've not yet found the perfect male to add to our clan of canines. So keeping her and her daddy apart has been the focus of life around here. She's almost done, which will have me breathing a HUGE sigh of relief but it has been a challenge.

And now that's she's on the tale of end of the desire to commence gestation, her mother is heading down that path. Which brings us to the time where we need to make a decision. Do we? Let them I mean. Or do we not? It would be okay. Girl Dog has rested one cycle. She's good for another two or three litters. But it would mean another in house delivery, and at least four weeks of pups living in said house. In my basement. Which I DO NOT WANT!!!! Sure they're cute as hell, but with history running eight pups a litter, sorry, that's just a few too many dogs.

Then there's the Princess. There is no doubt in my mind that once Girl Dog is done, whether bred or rested one more time, our little Nikki girl will decide that the other two did it, why shouldn't I? And then avoiding the love dance one more time will be all consuming yet again!

All this BEFORE!! the big event later this month!!

Is it any wonder that I'm not in the holiday frame of mind?

Ciao!

Bad Bad Blogger

Hey, it's me.... you know? The chick that writes this thing.... albeit rather inconsistently of late... yeah...me.... Hi! How are you?

I've been trying to find it in me to actually sit my ass down here and write something to post. And... as I guess you've probably figured out .... well, I haven't quite managed to find it... whatever "IT" is! that will get me to park the arse and write. I'm starting to think that I've hit the wall.

And, I'm feeling rather guilty about it.

But you know, when all the stories you have to write about are bitching and complaining about the same old stuff, over and over and over again.... well I figure that would turn away more readers than it would keep. It makes sense to me that if I don't have anything funny or touching or hell, even entertaining to write about, then why write. Why risk losing readers by writing about the same old crap?

If the truth be told, life hasn't had much fun in it lately.

I'm not going to go into details here, because quite frankly, why should I depress you as well with the doom and gloom and non-fun life I'm living? I won't do it. I will not subject you to the hell on earth that is currently my life. The scraping the bottom of the barrel that is a daily ritual.

Ha ha ha.... just kidding. Rather dramatic though, wouldn't you say? I'm testing out descriptive phrases... could you tell?

While some of the stuff that I could write about would be entertaining, I won't do it. Not because its not worthy of being posted here on the blog (because, you know, .... everything is worthy of being posted on the blog) but I do have some morals and scruples and, well, some other descriptive words that are currently escaping me at the moment.

I also have a family that would positively kill me if I was to write some of these stories. Well, maybe not kill me per se, but they would be pretty pissed if I did. I soooo want to tell you, but the repercussions would not be good...

Think about it. They could possibly hack into the blog (snicker snicker.... good luck with THAT!!! the password is so locked down and tight that no one, and I mean NO ONE! would ever figure it out!) and then who knows what they would do!! Or even worse yet...start their own blog and link it to here and well, then all hell would no doubt break loose!

But I do have some stuff that is in the preliminary stages of potentially being quite possibly suitable for posting. Like, oh let's just see... time travelling back to my youth now that #1 is older. Not that I don't time travel with #2, but #1 has stepped up into a life where there are girls and drinking and partying and stuff.... kinda tough to deal with but only because I tend to be somewhat controlling (who? me???) where my kids are concerned and really don't think that *insert name of female friend here* should really be trying to over-rule the mama bear ... just sayin'!!! But I'm sure she'll learn, she'll have no choice!

Wait??? Did I just write that? hmmph! go figure...

Actually, she's a nice girl. She just needs to be instructed on how to be a very nice girl. Okay, shut up now Jodie! I will tell you that the youth of today certainly are different than the youth I lived 30 some odd years ago... wow!

Nothing else. Just WOW!

And let's see.... what else do I have in the works? Tales from puberty with #2. Talk about night and day between him and #1. It boggles the mind how the two of them can be so different. Do they not share the same DNA and thus have the potential of being even remotely the same? Do the hormones not do the same in the same sex? I thought that once I made it through the first puberty (or at least on to what I'm hoping is the tail end!) the second I would have nailed. Yeah, about that.... wrong was I.

There's also some other stuff that I'm hoping I'll be able to share with you a little further down the road. Like the winning of the lottery. Oh I know, you're laughing. But you won't be laughing so much when you come asking me to pay off your mortgage now will you? Or buy you a new car? Or take you to Japan with me. Or France. Or on what I'm calling the "yes, I'm stalking you while you're on tour John" trip.

Hey?

You won't be laughing then will you?

Ciao!