Nostalgia!

TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED the 1930's 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's !!

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant.
They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes.
Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-based paints.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when werode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking.
As infants & children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, booster seats, seat belts or air bags. Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat. We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle. We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and
NO ONE actually died from this.
We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank koolade made with sugar, but we weren't overweight because .

WE WERE ALWAYS
OUTSIDE PLAYING!

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.
No one was able to reach us all day.
And we were O.K.
We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride downthe hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.
We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVD's, no surround-sound or CD's, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet or chat rooms.......... WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!
We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.
We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.

We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and, although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes. We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them!
Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!!

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!
These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever!
The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.
We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned
HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL!
If YOU are one of them .. . . CONGRATULATIONS!
You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated so much of our lives for our own good.

And while you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave (and lucky) their parents were.
Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors,doesn't it?!

And before 1970, we played out side at recess when the wind chill was less than 32F. We also played tackle football on paved streets without helmets and pads.

Quote for the Day!

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take,
but by the moments that take our breath away."

Got Milk??????

Can anybody guess whom this angelic little guy is???? Just goes to show you that he was way ahead of his time. He coined the phrase "Got Milk" before it was ever thought of in the media!!!

Here's the Proof! Before & After

Going to the Movies!!!

This is the next movie on my list to see. I loooovvvveeee Denzel and the other gentleman isn't half bad either. Hope it is good, I will let all of you know. 

Another Great Recipe!

Apple Rice Pilaf with Toasted Almonds Recipe

Ingredients
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 onion, finely chopped
1/4 Golden Delicious apple, finely chopped
2 cups apple juice
2 cups enriched long-grain instant rice
1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted

Instructions
In a medium saucepan, melt butter and saute onion and apples over medium heat until soft. Add apple juice, increase heat to high, and bring to a boil. Stir in rice. Cover and remove from heat. Let stand for 5 minutes. Remove cover and stir in toasted almonds. Serve.

Brazilian Beauty

I received this picture today of my niece who lives in Manaus, Brazil in the middle of the Amazon Rain Forest. She is such a little beauty that I had to post her picture for all to see. She is bi lingual, speaks Portuguese and English and smart as a whip. We lost her grandmother a few months before she was born and I believe that grandma reintroduced herself in Naja. She would have been so proud to have this little girl as a grandchild and I am sure she is sitting in heaven with a big smile on her face right now! 

Frustration!

Well I had thought that I would work until age 66 retirement age, but after today I say "Screw That". I am so sick of guys taking credit for the things that we oh so superior women do that I could scream. I researched a vendor at work and found one that was cheaper than anyone could believe and they thanked the guy next to me at our meeting for doing such a great job and he kept his mouth shut, do you believe it. Why should I try when I get no credit. My last job was a group of men who were secure enough that they actually thanked me when I contributed instead of not giving me any credit. Can you tell that I am pissed off. This is all new to me. I have always given credit where credit is due and would like that same respect at work.

Lemony Chicken

I highly recommend this recipe. It is great. You can find the lemon curd in with the jellies in your grocery.

Lemony Chicken
Recipe courtesy Sandra Lee
Ingredients
1 quart buttermilk
1 tablespoon lemon zest (from 1 lemon)
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, tenders removed, cut in strips
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup cornstarch
Vegetable oil, for frying
For Sauce:
1 (11-ounce) jar lemon curd
1/4 cup chicken broth
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
Instructions
Add enough oil to cover the bottom of a large frying pan by 1/4 to 1/2-inch depth. Heat oil
to 365 degrees F.
Meanwhile, whisk buttermilk and zest together in a medium bowl. Add chicken and set aside. Sift together flour and
cornstarch into a shallow dish. Remove chicken from buttermilk mixture and dredge in flour mixture. Fry chicken strips
until golden brown, about 4 to 5 minutes. Carefully flip chicken and continue cooking another 3 to 4 minutes. Drain on
paper towels.
While chicken is frying, make the sauce. In a small saucepan over low heat, melt lemon curd, stirring constantly. Add
remaining ingredients and heat through. Drizzle sauce over chicken and serve.

Thought of the Day - My Update for Ruthie!!!

Not Again!!!!

Well we had our second snowfall this week. I am truly sick of winter now. Nature has pulled enough tricks out of it's pocket for now. Where was this snow at Christmas when we wanted it?????? This little guy below here looks just like what has been falling out of the sky by the thousands this week. Only this guy is cute the snow is not. OK I am officially pissed off because Spring does this every year. It teases us and conjoles us and makes us believe in sunny skies and warm temps and then just when we are true believers it spews it's cold wet icky snow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Amazon Experience

This is the cover for a CD that my brother is creating with pictures and movies from the Amazon with English and Portuguese on it. He lives in Manaus, Brazil, in the heart of the Amazon and is a wonderful photographer. These pictures were all taken by him!

Taylor Hicks Rocks!

Every week this guy just gets better and better. I was so blown away by him last night. Everyone thinks that Chris will win it but I have to say this guy is so unique and so much fun to watch that I am going to be dissapointed if he is not making albums and doing concerts. It is so refreshing to see someone a little different. Everyone cast your vote for him!

Oh The Weather Outside Is Frightful

Talk about a day from hell and it has to fall on a Monday. We had warnings that we were going to get a Spring snowstorm but none of us were prepared for this. Our only salvation is that the smart people stayed home from work and school so there wasn't as much traffic. It was only us dedicated morons that were on the road slipping and sliding our way to work. There has to be a high place in heaven for the people who are so dedicated as to try to make it to work on a day like yesterday (there had better be because most of us will die young from the stress). Of course all of my bosses were not at work. Well at least I got to leave early so all was not lost. I actually got home in time to watch Dr. Phil and Oprah (now I know why I go to work everyday). I realize how much I have lost touch with the world of daytime TV. Why in the earth would anyone want to go on national TV and air their dirty laundry for the whole world to see just for 3 minutes of fame????????? Oh well the older I get the more cynical I get. Fat people are no longer responsible for their size, cheaters are victims of their unhappy lives and we are all a mess! What happened to personal responsibility? Oh well enough venting, I know that spring is peeking it's head around the corner just enough to tease us and one of these days I am going to get up to go to work and there will be sunshine and birds singing and blue skies and it will be 75 degrees outside!!!!!! I am waiting! I am waiting!

Fashionista Find!!! My Shopping Experience!

I never fail to marvel at the strides of modern fashion. They now have a jean that makes you sizes smaller by holding in your middle age stomach and pulling in your rear end and the true craziness is that it really works. I went to Nordstroms this weekend and decided to try on these marvelous jeans and whoaaaa!!!! I had to go to a size 8 (I am usually a 10) and they make you look fantastic and they are sooooooooooo!!!!!!! comfortable. At last I can stay true to middle age (vowing never to be uncomfortable in jeans again) and get the look of being poured into my jeans with no protrusions in the front. What more could an old broad like me ask for??????????? Well it would be nice if they didn't cost $100 but what price is beauty I ask you? Everyone run don't walk to Nordstrom's or to any other store that carries these jeans and buy, buy, buy. It will be the best purchase of your lifetime. As soon as I hem the pair that I got I will put on a picture of the new slimmer looking me in my not your daughter's jeans (Tummy Tuck). 

Grandpa & Sadie

Grandpa just moved into assisted living and here he is with his dog in his new digs. Grandpa has been waging a valiant fight with cancer for a long time and he is a real trooper. He is 85 soon to be 86 years old and even took a trip with me to the Amazon at 83. Soon after he was again diagnosed with cancer and has been down a rocky road but doing great now. Congrats Dad on you new digs!!!!

Blog, Blog, Blog, Blog

Well this blog things seems to be going well, I hope to get more inventive as time goes on and figure out what to put on and what to leave off (as if I have ever figured that out in my life). At my age the months seem like weeks and the weeks seem like days. The older one gets the more it seems that you are in fast forward. You want to savor more as you get older but time is really against you. Not that I am that old but if I could give any wisdom to the younger generation, savor every minute and don't waste time on things that bring you down or stress you (this is especially for Ruth) because each day is a gift and you will soon enough reach the fast forward of your life and wonder where it all went. You know the old saying time is money well to me time is priceless!

This is my sentiments at the end of this day! 

Spring is in the air this morning! 

A Milestone!

Well, I made it through another birthday yesterday. They just keep coming and coming and coming. A conflicting time for me, happy and sad. My birthday was yesterday, March 7th and my mother who passed away a couple of years ago's birthday is today the 8th. There is something about sharing a special date throughout your life with someone else and when that someone is your mother you take it for granted until they are gone. It just causes a little more reflection around that time. On a happier note I am still having them which is better than the alternative. My best gift to my mom would be not to be sad but to celebrate the person that she was and she could be a pill! I am so looking forward to spring again and the beauty of Minnesota that time of the year.

Meanderings from Me!

I have decided to start a blog since it seems the fashionable thing to do. I learned this from a very smart young lady in San Francisco. It seems that this is a great way to keep in touch with everyone around the country and since modern families are spread out all over, (mine included) that I would start this blog and see how it goes.