This may surprise you

I love to cook and bake. I own hundreds of kitchen gadgets that have been left to suffer in my cluttered kitchen drawers. But, the one thing I have NEVER owned is an electric can opener. NEVER. Nor do I want one. Sweetie has offered to buy me one, but I'm not sure if its because he thinks I'm deprived, or if its because he despises my can opener. At one time, I even had a vintage hang on the wall contraption with a hand crank that I bought at a flea market. It was WAY cool. Wish I still had it. Even in this hurry up and rush around world of wonderful technology, I honestly don't want an electric can opener.

This is what I own:

It is a smooth edge can opener from Pampered Chef. They are $17.50 and can be ordered from www.pamperedchef.com. I've had mine for about 10 years now and I love it. It has opened literally hundreds, maybe even thousands, of cans. I know that I have to turn the little handle exactly 12 times to get a lid open. I know that there is a slight flat spot on the roller that causes it to get stuck sometimes. Its getting a little worn out and I'm thinking of buying a new one.

I went to my parent's house a couple of weeks ago and made dinner and when it came time to open up some cans of vegetables, I had to get my Dad to open them because I don't even know how to use an electric can opener. My family thinks I'm strange and that it's funny. Glad I can bring such entertainment into their lives.

Last night I was at my parent's again to make dinner and I successfully used the electric opener, ALL. BY. MYSELF. It has been decided: I still prefer mine.

What kitchen gadget do you enjoy using that others might not?

Sleigh Ride

"Just hear those slepgh bells jinling, ring-ting-tingling too, Come on it's lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you" ...so sings Johnny Mathis.

If you read my previous posts you know that we have snow in Ohio. SO, I ordered sleds from amazon.com for thekidlets. If you've been to any of the local MART stores, you know that sleds cost upwards of $30. These were less than $15 each. (One was only $10.95) Even with shipping I spent less on three sleds than I would have for just one at the store. They arrived yesterday. I'm so excited!

This is what I ordered:

The one on the left is a blow up type thing, shaped like a peanut with low places for "seats" The one on the right is a rigid styrofoam thing, much like a surfboard with a highly polished bottom. It is a FAST sled.

I got called in to work last night but when I got home at 9:30, I opened the box, took a sled and went outside, dress clothes and all, and threw myself down the hill in my front yard. It was fun! I'm not sure what my neighbors thought of it but I really didn't care. I looked like I was smuggling SnoKones in my cleavage. I begged Sweetie to come outside and play with me but he wouldn't do it. He said that he was "old and fragile". When that excuse didn't work he said he was "warm and cuddly". That didn't work either. The he said "Baby, it's 10:00 at night!" I told him he was a big sissy. (actually, I used a different word that ends in -ssy. You can figure it out. )That's OK. I don't care if I am 37 years old. I'll dress in layers. I'll have someone to play with when the kidlets get here this weekend. He can stay in and be warm if he wants to.

Get outside and do something fun. Stop acting your age and go sledding with your kids. Build a snowman. You'll have fun. I triple dog dare you!

Snow Update

I don't have a "real" blog post today, but I wanted to let you know we got 5 inches of that wretched white stuff and it is a whopping 6 degrees outside. I won't even tell you about the windchill. Let's just say all of the brass monkeys stayed home today.

Bundle up, stay warm and don't go out if you don't have to.

Just say no to snow!

They (whoever "they" are) say, "If you don't like the weather in Ohio, just wait five minutes and it will change" That right there is some truth told, let me tell ya. I swear, this state is the only place you can use your snow tires, windhsiled wipers and the sunroof all in one day.

True to form, the weather is changing and I don't like it, not one bit. I'm having a temper tantrum and stomping my foot about it. Snow is on its way from some arctic region north of here and the temperatures are dropping. Fridays high is 4 degrees. 4!? That isn't even a temperature! BRR! Please bring me balmy, sunny weather. I'd be forever indebted.

Being the native Ohioan that I am, I'm going to make the best of it. There is plenty of firewood. I'm putting the flannel sheets back on the bed. I'll dress in layers. I have plenty of hot cocoa in the cupboard and I'm going to go buy sleds for the kidlets. I hope it isn't too cold for them to play outside. If it is, I guess I'll have to get my butt kicked playing Pictureka.

Whatdo you like to do when its cold outside?

20 questions....

Let's play! Copy and paste this into your blog and answer the questions yourself.

1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before? Planned a funeral.
2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? My 2008 resolution was to obey the speed limit. It worked for about a month. For this year it is to stop using the phrase G*d D**n. I’m a work in progress.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth? No.
4. Did anyone close to you die? Yes. My husband died in Feb. later that year, 6 more people I was very close to all died within a month of each other.
5. What countries did you visit? No countries, but I did go to Missouri.
6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008? Mental stability, sense of self. 7. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? 2-11-08 It’s the day my world changed forever. It’s even tattooed on my back. 5-26-08 is the day I totaled my car.7-4-08 is a good one, too, along with 12-25-08.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? I began teaching classes.
9. What was your biggest failure? Not being able to keep track of things. Important things.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Oh, my, yes. I lost my voice in March, broke my finger in November, and in between all that there was too much to keep track of.
11. What was the best thing you bought? Board Games for the kidlets.
12. What did you get really, really, really excited about? My trip to Missouri.
13. What song will always remind you of 2008? Want To, by Sugarland
14. What do you wish you’d done more of? Appreciating what I have right here, right now.
15. What do you wish you’d done less of? Worrying.
16. Did you fall in love in 2008? Many times!
17. What was the best book you read? Sisters
18. What was your favorite film of this year? Wanted. Not because it was a particularly good movie, but because it was the first date for me and my sweetie.
19. Who did you miss? My husband, my grandma, my friend Jim. I miss my kids every day.
20. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008. You can’t waste a single day. NOT. ONE.

This is REVERB

I REVERB, do you? www.thisisreverb.com

Once my newphew asked me what my favorite food was. I toldhim I hve two: spaghetti, and hot dogs and macaroni and cheese. He laughed hysterically and I didn't understand why. He told met hat I like "broke food" - the stuff you eat when you can't afford anything else. That was several years ago and my tastes haven't changed. I LOVE mac and cheese in any way, shape or form and at any time of day. Now, don't get me wrong, I love a perfectly grilled chicken breast with a balsamic reduction wth oven roasted baby vegetables. I can be as gourmet as anyone, but when I want comfort food, I turn to mac and cheese.

Today for breakfast at work I had a cup of Kraft Easy mac. I nuked that sucker in the microwave and was happy.

Have you ever tried Easy Mac?

What is your favorite food?

Amyisms

It's cold, dreary and rainy. I'm tired. I have a lot to get done today. So, those, gentle readers, are the reasons why this post is going to be full of randomness.
Amyisms are things that I say that sometimes don't really make a lot of sense. They come from some deep seated strangeness inside my psyche, or maybe from The Man in the Flaming Pie (that is a Beatles reference, in case you didn't know.) Maybe its some kind of defect in my DNA because my regifting sister L mixes words up. (bay hale, carchoal)

These are some of my more frequent Amyisms. Feel free to use them at your own whim.

"You can put boots in an oven but that don't make 'em biscuits" (this phrase was actually spoken by the G-Man, Gerald Swingle during a bass tournament, but I made it mine)

"I'm about to fall down on you" (This is a refernce to the movie Falling Down, meaning I'm about to lose it.)

"We are going to have a Come to Jesus meeting!"

"Its gonna be all bad for someone." This is usually paired up with "Someone is about to have a bad day."

"I don't have kids of my own to beat." I used to tell my nieces and nephews this all the time. They thought it was funny when they were little. They still think it's funny now that they are grown.

"Get to gettin'!" (The translation for this is HURRY FASTER)

"I'm lobbying for an Amy Jo lane." I drive fast and think everyone else should, too. But they don't. Someday I will start a petition to have my very own amy Jo lane on the highway where only people who actually go the speed limit can drive.

"This is like trying to sort cats" used to describe a difficult task.

So, tell me, what -ism do you have?

You say you want a Resolution...

It's the new year and everyone and their brother is making resolutions. I think that resolutions are less about reaching a goal and more about changing yourself, so I always make strange resolutions...never "I'm going to lose 10 lbs." or "I'm going to be more organized". I think about ONE thing about me that I really want or need to change, and I give it a go. My resolution last year was to obey the speed limit. (It worked for about a month.) One year it was to be nicer to my sisters. (I was) another year it was to keep my check book balanced all the time. (I was good about 80% of the time)

So, I've been thinking about what I want to change. There are a lot. I want to be a more patient person.(you can stop laughing now) I want to be more tolerant. I want to be more appreciative of the little things. I want to learn how to let go of stressful things. I want to learn how to actually live my life, not just fill my time with busy work. I want to find out who I REALLY am, and what I REALLY like. Some are going to take more work than others. Some things I will be successful. Some things I will fail miserably. That's OK. What I'm truly hoping for is that the process...the being aware of it, making a concerted effort, recognizing it...will make me a better person and that the people who love me will see it.

But, on the smaller scale, I've decided to try and stop using a particular swearing phrase. Not so successful so far, but I'm working on it. I've got 363 days to get it.

What are you hoping for in 2009?