Here’s to N’awlins!!!

Let’s see….where to start….

Well my bestie M is going to New Orleans for a conference this weekend for 5 days and I had a prior obligation (which also included that I was broke) so I wasn’t going to get to go.  But as usual my prior obligation was compromised (and the bf coughed up the money for me to go……he’s nice like that! Love ya honey!)  So …..I’M GOING TO NEW ORLEANS and I am sooooo excited.  I have always wanted to go there and it is on my Bucket List……..can I get a Hell Yeah!?!  Also on my Bucket List is to be in all 50 states, I have been in 23 so far and this trip will add 2 more states to my list (Maryland because we switch planes there and Louisiana).  

I love when M has conferences because I get to go on great trips just by paying for my airfare and food……..Thanks bestie!  We went to San Francisco in April and I loved it and had a blast.  I got to see all kinds of sights because while she was in meetings I took a tour of the city and I also took a tour to Alcatraz which was just the most awesome thing. If you ever have a chance to go you will not regret it.  I am not a city girl and most of the time I hate the city….too many people but I fell in love with San Francisco.  One night we rented a convertible and drove to Sonoma to do wine tasting……magnificent! 

There is a funny story about the convertible.  There was 4 us of going and it was one of those little tiny convertibles.  Well M is almost 6 ft tall, not really but she is like 5′ 8″.  I didn’t want to sit in the back with one of the girls because I didn’t know her very well and even though she was an awesome person, she talked a lot and I mean a lot.  So I insisted on M riding in the back with me……by the time we got to Sonoma her knees were in her chest, her hips were numb and her feet were in my face.  Ahhh, what a good friend she is…….just so you know I let her ride up front on the way back.  I am nice like that….love you M.

I’m anxious to see what kind of trouble we can get into in New Orleans, we always have some kind of drama so it should be interesting. I’ll keep you posted.

Last night was not an awesome night in the redneck household. My son J was having one of his breakdowns. I am finally ready to accept the fact that he will be living with me and be supported by me for as long as I shall live….NOT!!!

How it went……

Where did you spend $22.95, that was $20 more than you were suppose to spend?

J – blank look on his face

J – well I needed this and that

I told you not to spend more than $20

J – blank look on his face

Can I have an answer please?

J – I just needed it and it’s your fault because you shouldnt have give me the chance to spend the extra $20.

Oh so now it’s my fault that you spent more than I told you to.  I see, I see how this works.  (I am the worst mother in the world who caters to his every need, did I mention he is 23 yo?)  I am the one that needs my arse kicked, over and over.

Then J calls his uncle my brother Bub and proceeds to dog me for over an hour while walking around the driveway with me sitting in the swing on the porch.

Hello son, I’m sitting right here.

Heelllooo…I’m sitting right here…..

Do you think I can’t hear you dogging me after you stole $20 from me. 

Are you kidding me?  I’m sitting right here.

I don’t know if any of you live with an addict but they are always feeling sorry for themselves and it is always somebody elses fault no matter what they do.  They are very manipulative and can turn on the charm, tears and puppy dog face at the drop of a hat.  The thing is after 3 years of it I have finally learned how he works and how not to fall into his traps, mostly.  Everybody in my family and circle of friends figured it out about 2 1/2 years ago, I’m a little slow.  As a mother it is the hardest thing in the world to turn your back on your child but there comes a time where it becomes a necessity for your own survival and state of mind.  Now that I am bucking on him and not giving in to his every whim, he is not handling it well.  I mean Mom has never turned on him, she has always been there.  Well there comes a time that I can’t be there anymore or I’m the one that is going to end up in a mental institution sitting in the corner of my room sucking on my thumb as I am rocking back and forth. Then where is he going to be? I can tell you, he is going to be ALONE!

I love my son more than life itself but I am not good for him.  Only problem is I am the only one in his life that will even speak to him.  It’s sad.

Once again didn’t mean to be a Debbie Downer but I had to get this off my chest and you good people get the good fortune of being my therapist.  But now I am off to N’awlins for a much-needed 5 day vacay to de-stress and come back like Superwomen……..haha!  Heated pool, a good book and bloody mary’s here I come…..Have a good week!

Shrimp Scampi

 

Shrimp scampi

1/4 c EVOO

1/2 lb sphagetti

3cloves of garlic chopped

 

1 stick  butter

 

1 Tbs dried parsley

 

S n p

 

2Tbs heavy cream

 

Juice from 1/2 lemon

 

1/2 tsp sugar

 

1 Tbs water

 

1/2 – 1 lb shrimp, shelled, cooked, deveined

 

Garlic toast

 

Boil 5 cups of water with 1 Tbs salt, then add spaghetti cook aprox 10 mins til adente. Sauté garlic in EVOO, 3-4 mins. Add butter, Parsley, s n p, cream, lemon juice, water and sugar. Bring to a boil for 2 mins than add shrimp, simmer for 1-2 mins. Pour shrimp sauce in drained sphagetti and serve with fresh parsley and garlic toast.

The story of how I ended up with 4 little munchkins……

Let me tell you the story of how I ended up with 4 little munchkins.

It was the week after my father passed away unexpectedly, my daughter had gone back to college to start her second semester.  A little background, she was living in the dorms and was very unhappy, depressed almost about being away from home.  You see she was really a momma’s girl.  That being said she calls me and says “mom I went to the pet store (where she practically lived, she is a major animal lover) and they have this little tiny Chihuahua and she is so cute mom, can I please buy her?” after a little consideration and a talk with the bf, who is her father and owns half my property and who also said “there will absolutely be no animals in the house”  After a talk with him we decided that because our daughter was grieving over being away from home and grieving over the loss of her grandfather and since the puppy was such a tiny thing (I think she weighed ½ oz.) and since she was going to keep her in the dorm (even though it was against the rules, ” but mom she is so tiny no one will ever know she is here”) we relented and allowed her to buy the dog, which she named Lilly Belle.  After about 2 weeks, my daughter than decided she was afraid she was going to get in trouble for having the dog in the dorm that she comes to me and says “mom can you please keep her, I will be home every weekend (because she was a momma’s girl) and every summer to help take care of her”  Ok, ok yes I’m a pushover but that is the story of how my precious baby girl (Lilly) came into my life.  I love her more than life itself.

 

Then a couple months later my daughter calls and says “mom, I found the cutest little Chihuahua and I think he is going to be longhair (which was really what she wanted in the first place) and we can breed them and make lots of money and I will be home for the summer soon and will be able to take care of him then in the fall I will take him to live with me in my apartment”   So after some consideration and another talk with the bf, we decided maybe it would not be so bad especially if she could make some extra money and he was going to live with her.  His name is Sam. The plan was working until she decided at the end of the summer that Lilly and Sam had been together all summer and it would just devastate them to be apart that I became Nana to a second little munchkin.  Oh and then she found out that the mother could die in childbirth and 99.9% of the time they had to have a cesarean birth because of their size and this would cost $500 and for these reasons she decided not to breed them.  There went the extra money.  I love him more than life itself.

Then a couple more months later my daughter calls and says “mom, I’m at the pet store and they have a longhaired Chihuahua and mom she is sooooo cute and since I don’t have a dog over here with me can I please buy her and she can live with me in the apartment.”  Absolutely NOT, NO MORE DOGS, I cannot take care of one more dog.  “But, but mom she will live with me and you know how much I have wanted a longhaired Chihuahua and she will only be with you on the weekends and summer.”  Once again, absolutely NOT, NO MORE DOGS.  Plead, plead, beg, beg……….so finally I say OK I tell you what, you call and ask your father and if he says you can have the dog than I will agree (knowing there was no way in hell he was going to let her get another dog…… botta bang boom…..I won, I won). Guess what?  I lost, I lost, the fool said yes.  Wth?  Ok I accept defeat and like she promised Trixie lived with her at her apartment.  Did I mention I love Trixie more than life itself?

This brings me to the 4th one.  A couple of years later her bf’s dog died and he was devastated so his mom said he could get a new dog if my daughter would pad train it.  “But mom don’t worry I am going to take Barkley back to the apartment and train him there” After much complaining, griping, and crying…….I agreed.   Then the unthinkable happened.  No, the bf did not die……. they broke up…. broke up after 7 years.  Guess who got custody? Yep my daughter.  I also love Barkley more than life itself.

A few months later my daughter has a new bf and at the end of school she moved in with him and yep he HATES dogs in the house …….bing botta bang!  That is the story of how Nana ended up with all 4 of her little munchkins.  Whom I love more than life itself.

From left:

Barkley = Barkerman, Special Ed (we think he was dropped on his head when he was a baby),  Numbnuts, Baby boy

Trixie = The Trixster, Trixie-doodle, Trix

Sam = Fat boy, Sammy, Sammy boy, Samuel

Lilly Belle =  Lily, Lil, Lil Belle, Lillian, Baby girl

 

APPLE PIE SQUARES…

This is a recipe handed down to me by my grandmother.  I like to think that I am a pretty good cook and I owe a lot of that to her and my mother.  Everybody that has ever ate my apple squares have loved them and I hope you will too.  While I was at my Bestie’s this past weekend we made it and the following are the pictures I took along with the recipe. Enjoy!

Most of the time I use golden delicious apples but I change it up from time to time depending what I have.  You can use any apples that you like.  Sometimes I make my own crust and sometimes I buy the refrigerated kind but they have to be the ones that you can roll out, the frozen ones will not work here because the pie is flat.

This particular time I used pie crust that I had made myself and normally I mix my pie crust by hand….. I have a $300 food processor that I rarely use and I thought why not use it and it will be a lot easier than doing it by hand.  Apparently I didn’t use the right blade or something because my crust didn’t mix properly and I ended up with pieces of crust instead of one piece.  Therefore you will notice the crust had to be pieced together for a more rustic look.  Next time, I will make my pie crust by hand.

Apple Pie Squares

3-4 large golden delicious apples

2 pie crust, refrigerated

4 tbs butter

½ c packed brown sugar

½ c white sugar

2-3 tsp ground cinnamon (more or less to your taste)

1 egg white

¾ c powedered sugar

1 tsp water or milk

Splash of vanilla

Vanilla ice cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Peel, core, and chop apples into bite size pieces.  Melt butter in skillet and add apples, brown sugar, white sugar, and cinnamon.  Cook for approximately 15-20 minutes on medium heat until apples are soft and have turned brown in color. Next take a sheet pan, I usually use a round pizza pan and place one crust on the bottom and you can brush with additional melted butter if you wish.  Place cooked apples on the bottom crust within a half inch from the edge.  Place 2^nd crust ontop and pinch and fold the edges together all the way around.  Then take the egg white and mix with a tsp of water and whip it for a couple minutes than brush the egg white ontop of the crust.  Next prick the top crust with a fork several times.  Bake for 15-20 minutes until crust is brown.  While the pie cools mix powdered sugar, milk or water and a splash of vanilla.  Drizzle over the top of the pie, cut into squares and serve.  Serve with vanilla ice cream.

THE WEEK I DIDN’T HAVE AIR….

A couple of weeks ago I took a vacay day on Friday and done laundry and cleaned house and ran errands because I finally had AIR. Yes, my heat pump went ca-put the Sunday before.  This was evident when I woke up in the middle of the night and was sweating like a bangee.  I thought it was maybe the 4 little ones that were all cuddled up to me but then realized that they were NOT cuddled up to me.  Just to clarify the 4 little ones are my 4 Chihuahua’s (which actually belong to my daughter but live with me, which is a story for another time).   Anyway I discovered they were not all cuddled up to Nana but laying all over the bed panting from the heat.  Because, of course it was 150 degrees outside, well not really but it was pretty darn close.

And of course I did what I always do and come Monday morning I called my baby brother and cried HELP.  He is the fixer in the family especially since my dad past away 6 years ago.  So as usual he will jump right on it and get it fixed or find someone who can.  God love his little heart, he tries, he tries really hard but working 60 hours a week, an hour from home as a construction supervisor and then coming home and working every other waking hour on his farm and with his cattle, well let’s just say he gets a little overwhelmed and sometimes forgets things.  So I call him again on Tuesday morning because even though it was only 130 degrees Monday night, it was very hot and very hard to sleep or cook or do anything but sit and sweat and complain.  His first words were “I forgot about you” but do not worry I will call you right back.  That was at 8:30 am, at 2:30 pm I still had not heard a word so I call him back and he says “I forgot about you again” but I will have someone there tonight.  The son of a guy he works with.  I won’t bore you with all the details but after several phones call and several more times of being forgot about finally on Thursday night I got air which took less than an hour to fix and only cost me $100.  Thank goodness because I have been out several thousand dollars for vehicle repair in the last couple of months and the thought of coming up with several thousand dollars to replace a heat pump, well probably would have landed me in a mental institution in a catatonic state.  Thank you so much baby brother I love you! My puppies were so happy and jumping for joy, literally, because they were no longer melting in the heat.

Oh yeah back to my point, (I get side tracked sometimes – Sorry!)I took a vacay day Friday to get all my work done that I had neglected all week because I was sitting, sweating, and complaining.  Then on Saturday, I rode with my other brother and my momma to pick up one of his kiddies about 2 ½ hours away.  We stopped and ate (which was really the reason I went but don’t tell him), well that was a disappointment.  I didn’t eat all day saving up for the occasion because of this strict diet (yeah right) that I have been on for 3 weeks.  All I can say was the restaurant we picked should have been an awesome steak house and ended up being crap and they forgot half our food.  I was pretty ticked off that I wasted a ca-zillion calories and $20 on slop.

We then proceeded to a half hour of entertainment at the local opry house which included my niece’s friend, it was very entertaining and I tell you what they have some very talented younguns in those parts!

But here is the kicker, I arrive home at 11 pm after basically being in a car and on the road all day to find that there is a bonfire behind my house and several strange vehicles in my driveway.  Did I mention that my 23 year old son and his girlfriend are living with me? Well that is also a story for another time.  Just let me say “Momma cleaned house and yard and driveway” Don’t think I will be seeing any of those culprits any time soon.  Including my son and his girlfriend, they didn’t leave their room for 2 days.

And as for Sunday, I cooked and also done one of my other favorite things, laid back in the recliner watching sappy Lifetime movies.

Hello world!

I love reading blogs, I love reading about other people’s lives, their heartaches, their victories, recipes, ups and downs.  I have always wanted to write so I thought why can’t I do this blog thing, so I am going to give it a try.  I have had many ups and downs in my life.  These are a few of my downs – I lost my husband to suicide a few years ago then lost my dad who was a very important person in my life and I have a 23 year son who is a drug addict.  These are a few of my ups – all three of my children are healthy adults, my mom is healthy, I have a wonderful best friend and several really good friends, I have a secure job, a roof over my head and food to eat.  My plans for this blog is to share some of my life with you, some funny and some sad.  I also will include recipes of mine from time to time and will try to include pictures with them.  I have a lot of drama and sometimes get myself in pretty funny predicaments and would like to share these events with you.  Hopefully you will enjoy them.  I also feel like this blog will help with the stress in my life kinda like therapy.