Wordless Wednesday

Shtraighten up!

Over the course of this past weekend I've had a chance to chat with numerous people, listening to a few people speak. I've been to the dentist, church, visited with mom, went to the movies, talked with friends- different spots where I've come in contact with lots of different people. I've been noticing the way people speak, and the phrases they're using, and frankly it's ridiculous. So here's a rant...

Straight, street, strike, strenuous. Say them out loud. Did you say shtraight, shtreet, shtrike, shtrenous? If you did, do you realize there is no SH in any of these words? Do people other than New Yorkers pronounce this way?

Bottle, butter, better. Say them out loud. Did you put ANY sound in the middle representing the double "t?" I can't even spell how the person I ran into this weekend pronounced these words. They totally eliminated the double "t", and produced a "back of the throat" kind of spasm of a sound. I know this pronunciation is not unique to this person because my parents pronounce it that way too. Even the typical NY way- "boddle" and "budda" is bedda than eliminating the middle sound completely. Must be a Queens thing?

Three, threat, thrash. Say them out loud. Did you forget that there is a TH sound in the beginning of these words? Makes it confusing when one says " I saw him trashing around on the ground," when one means "I saw him THRASHING around on the ground." I KNOW this is a New Yawk way of speaking.

Truck, Train, Trade. Say them out loud. Did you say "Chruck, Chrain, Chrade?" It's a slight mis-pronunciation, but one that might cause the listener to think you're uneducated. And that's not the case in the people I heard these from! They ARE educated people. Is it laziness?

What is coming up this Saturday? February 14th? What? How did you pronounce it? If you said "Valentime's Day" you're not getting a card from me. Hallmark spells it with an "N". It's not TIME for a VALENTINE! Get it right. You sound stoopid. Likewise LIBERRY. No such word.

"Not for nothing..." (or, more commonly, "Not f'nothin'...") What exactly does this phrase mean? Supposedly, it means "for a good reason", but the way I hear people use it- it's almost like a an announcement that what is going to be said is very important. More important than anything I have to say. Chances are if you said this phrase nothing is that important.

"It is what it is..." If I hear one more person say this I'm going to scream. What a dismissive phrase! I find it's said mostly when one wants to end the conversation. It's funny- I can track the usage of this phrase around my office. One of the contractors started saying it, then the Project Manager who deals with him started saying it, then our receptionist started saying it, now one of the temps says it. I like Urban Dictionary's 3rd definition of this phrase- "Used often in the business world, this incredibly versatile phrase can be literally translated as 'F*ck it.'" What, don't want to over think what we're talking about? Don't dismiss me, damn it! UD's 5th definition sums up what I feel when I hear this phrase-" What incredibly vapid, stupid and unoriginal people say when they cannot construct a proper thought, retort or sentence." Amen.

Lol! OMG! And other spoken text-speak nonsense... It's funny the first few times you use it. When you start to use it to replace real English- not so funny.

I'm not saying that I speak perfect English. I'm well read, but often mispronounce words that I've only seen in print. Correct me, please. I don't want to sound like an idiot.

Don't forget these giveaways! You still have a few more days to enter.

Giveaway Thursday

I'm going to try to find giveaways on Thursday, since alot of the blogs use the weekend as their deadlines. I stress the "try!"

Mudpies and Mary Janes is giving away a Glade Sense & Spray. I love the flameless candles!

Bloggy Giveaways has a giveaway for a Double Heart Tag Sterling Silver Bracelet from Bracelents.com.

Frugal Mommy of 2 Girls is giving away a Love Bottle! A plastic alternative to carry around your water.

Comfort Joy Designs has an adorable Carolyn's Kitchen apron! Housework was NEVER so sexy!

Frugal Rhode Island Mama is posting a $10 Gift Card Giveaway to CVS!

If you comment on any of these giveaways, let me know! Leave a comment here.

Wordless Wednesday- why they almost didn't make it to school...

Picture removed to protect the innocent.

Links to Giveaways

The Bloggy Giveaways Carnival is going on this week. Here are some of the links for some great giveaways! I've found so many new sites and new products tonight!

-Check out Mommyhood is Thankless, a new blog I found with SO much going on I just keep clicking and clicking and clicking. She's runnng a giveaway for some awesome all-purpose sauce from Country Bob's. Go forth and comment!
-Mudpies and Mary Janes is giving away a Cupid Corn Cupcake Soap from Serah's website. These are so cute!
-Funky Monkey has alot of giveaways on her blog, but I commented on the giveaway for the Rifle T-shirt at Field Dressed. I'd give it to MR to commemorate his deer!
-Frugal Mommy of 2 Girls also has alot of giveaways on her blog. If I win the Expressions Paperie gift certificate, I'm giving it to Ms. Messana- Zombiegirl's teacher. She writes the nicest notes. I think I'll give her a gift certificate at the end of the year anyway. They have some beautiful things!
-Frugal Mommy again has a giveaway to Persnicketea, a very funky tea shop. Check out the names of the tea blends, and tell me you can't wait to try Carpool Queen!
-Robyn's Online World is giving away a $50 Amazon Gift card! I need that!
-Thrifty & Chic Mom is giving away a water bottle from Earth Lust. I might just get that Green Parsley water bottle anyway if I don't win!

I'll post more tomorrow. My migraine has escalated to the point where now I'm lying down and typing at the same time. If you enter any of these giveaways, please comment and let me know which one you entered.

And don't forget to check out my new Etsy.com shop. I have a few things for sale, and more on the way! Search "sew mama soo" in the search bar.

Rest in peace, Anne Lord

My mom's best friend past away today. She was our Aunt Anne.

Anne and my mom were my Girl Scout Leaders for awhile. They hosted tables at the Calendar Party at St. Barnabas every year, and we went to ceramic class together for years. Anne was a regular at the Cookie Exchanges at my house, and has been to all the important events in my life. Even though she wasn't a family member, we considered her one. Anne was probably the single most generous person I know. She donated her time and talent to a church that wasn't hers, gave gifts and cards to kids that weren't hers (they were mine) and could tell a story that would result in tears streaming down your face and your stomach clenched from laughing so hard. She was extremely crafty, and mom, myself, Anne and Diane would do craft sales together. I have many things made by Aunt Anne, and still marvel at her talent.

The last few years saw Anne suffering from a rare type of cancer. She was diagnosed around the same time as my mom. They didn't talk as much as they used to, since they were both going through such a tough time with tests, radiation and surgeries. I have a heavy heart knowing I didn't get in contact with her to tell her I was thinking of her all the time, that I said her name out loud along with my mom's name when I was in church naming those who needed prayers because they were sick. When her daughter came to bring her to Florida to take care of her, I procrasinated sending flowers and a card. I can only hope while in heaven, she knows that I love her, and truly appreciated the friendship that she showed to my mom, myself, and my kids.

Lesson learned? Tell the people in your life how much you appreciate them. Be generous with your loved ones. Keep in touch regularly. Say I love you. I doesn't hurt. Really, it doesn't.

Thanks and a Link to a Giveaway

Thanks to everyone who told me my pictures were mixed up in my last cow post. Did I tell you how much I hate Blogger when it comes to posting pictures? If anyone can clue me in how to seamlessly add pictures without having to go back and delete all the extra lines it adds, please let me know!

Anyway, I fixed the picture of my darling cows so go back and look!

Heart of Mary has a giveaway on her blog for some great patterns. Please post a comment on her blog, and if you win, and don't sew, I'll make the item for you! She's giving away the patterns for Favorite Things' Wallet Purse and Lazy Girl Designs' Chelsea Tote! I would love these! Most of you know that I gave/give bags and other stuff made by me for gifts. I'm thinking of showing off a little and posting all the things I made for Christmas gifts. Stay tuned.

Insomnia is good for the Blog

I can’t sleep. I’ve been lying awake for hours. I have so many thoughts running through my head to lie there gives me a headache. There is so much stress in my life right now to lie there gives me heart palpitations. So I got up around 4 am to do something constructive. Either laundry or blog. Guess which one I chose.

I figure I’ll post something innocuous and not ranting or raving. So I’ll write about the newest addition to my kitchen. MR made me a cow shelf for Christmas. Before we put it up, I had to paint the kitchen. It was gray because I wanted a neutral background for the white cabinets and the colorful Fiesta dishes that can be seen through the glass cabinet doors. We went to Home Depot and picked out a softer gray- I thought the first gray was too harsh. After about a half hour of painting, I looked back at what I had already painted and couldn’t tell where I had started. I had picked out the EXACT same color. It is a little softer, however, in the finish- it’s satin. So we hang the cow shelf, and I’m finally able to unwrap my cows!

My collection started with this baby given to me by my Great-Grandmother, Ida Arfmann , about 25 years ago. I used to go over to her house once or twice a week when I worked at the tile store. I’d go over for lunch, and she’d always served me bologna sandwiches. I always ate them, even though I hate bologna. This cow creamer was always on the table filled with milk for our tea. I commented each time I used it that it was throwing up in my tea. It always made her laugh. She’d tell me stories for that hour, and as I’d leave to go back to work she would thrust into my hands some trinket that she had lying around the house. One day it was this cow creamer. So started my collection.

“I never saw a purple cow, I never hope to see one. But I can tell you this right now, I’d rather see than be one!” Original poem by Gelett Burgess, adapted to this version by Ogden Nash. Sung to me by my Grandmother Francis Arfmann. I quote this here because these two cows are two of my favorites. I sang this to two of my under-30 friends after seeing a purple cowhide pocketbook for sale on the streets on NYC. They looked at me like I was crazy. Not because I was singing, but because they had never heard it before.

These two creamers are not like the conventional standing creamers. They’re resting. The black

one was bought on Ebay (like most of them) and has pretty gold accents. The blue and white cow should be with his cousins on the Delft shelf, but I like how they sit together.

The Delft cows. Only two of these cows are creamers. The two little ones on the plate are actually salt and pepper shakers. The small one behind them is a toothpick holder, and the one behind that is a sugar bowl. I bought these as a set on Ebay. The sugar bowl is missing her lid, but other than that they’re in great shape.

These three were found on Ebay under the Vintage Fiesta listing. I guess it was fate that two of my collections came together in one listing. Red is a creamer, yellow is a salt shaker and blue is the pepper shaker. These cows have never been packed away since they go so well with all my Fiesta.

I collect only realistic cow creamers but I couldn’t resist this square boy. He looks like he’s looking out of a box. I don’t know why a square cow creamer would be made, but he does fit perfectly on the shelf. His brother next to him was purchased in Vermont in a huge antique center.

This little girl is probably my oldest cow. She was listed as being about 60 years old when I bought her a few years ago. There aren’t any markings on her, so who knows? She has a sweet face!

This little one is my tiniest cow. She only holds one serving of milk, and has pretty violet decals. Zombiegirl likes this one the best.

This cow was one of my earliest purchases. I can’t remember if it was my second cow or my

third. Anyway, I bought this one to match the one my Great-Grandma gave me. It’s a sugar bowl, and is almost a twin of my first cow creamer. Bought in an antique center in New Jersey.

These two cows aren’t functional at all. They’re replicas of two cows that appeared in Cow Parade NYC back in 2000. The girls and I went on a scavenger hunt armed with all the cows that were placed all over NY, and took pictures of about 200 of them! We saw MOOMA, by Karen Nelson and Nicole Gaenzler, but we didn’t see the Fiesta cow, which was created using pieces of Fiestaware. I think that art cow was in another city. Anyway, I have replicas of each of them, given to me by my family at various holidays.



This is my newest acquistion. I bought this one on Ebay right after Christmas. She's tired, but pretty! She's Royal Crownsford Ironstone, made in England.

So my cows are out of the closet and into the light, residing on a beautifully crafted custom shelf made by my talented husband. Thanks, MR! I love it! And I love my cows! And if you look at the first picture carefully, you’ll see my favorite mug, Cowoline!

Enough. I’ve already typed this twice after my PC died, and I have to get ready for work. I’ll sleep on the train…

Hello? Anyone out there?

Today my co-worker told me he found my blog. Which isn't very hard since I posted the link on Facebook, and it's in my email signature. It is a little disconcerting. The first thing I said was "Ooh- don't read my blog!" To think someone whom I work with everyday getting a glimpse into my lunatic ravings made me a little embarrased. I write specifically to 3 or 4 people as well as thousands of unknown web-lurkers. Yeah, I know Soulspeak reads my blog, and she works with me everyday- but she already knows I'm a lunatic, and I tell her all this shit anyway. And my soccer moms are just as nuts as I am, so no worries there. But I respect this specific co-worker's opinion, and I'm a little worried that he'll think I'm shallow for even writing a blog.

But wait a minute...

I call this guy 30 times a day for help with Autocad, Archibus, my PC and general corporate crap. He probably already suspects that I'm stupid, idiotic, dysfunctional. He puts up with alot from me, as well as the rest of my team. So what am I worried about? Hey, Rick- read me! Maybe you'll get some insight into WHY I'm so crabby all day! And that it's not only work that makes me crabby! Isn't this the whole point of blogging? According to Wikipedia, the definition of a blog is "A personal or corporate website in the form of an online journal, with new entries appearing in sequence as they are written, especially as dealing with reflections or opinion, and typically incorporating links to other articles." Why else did I post a blog if not so people can read it. So come on people- read my blog! I'm reflecting. And VERY opinionated. And I ain't got nothin' to hide...

To celebrate my realization that people might ACTUALLY read what I write, I'm having a giveaway. Tell me in the comments what your favorite Girl Scout cookie is by midnight Sunday, January 11th and I'll randomly pick a number and send the winner:

A $25 iTunes gift card. I actually have this in my possession, so no owesies.

Oh, and by the way, Zombiegirl is selling Girl Scout cookies (nice segue, ya think?) They're $3.50, and shipping is free. If you actually buy a box (or more) when you comment, I'll put your name in twice for the iTunes gift card!

Victory!

In November, I posted (almost) every day what I was thankful for. Along with that, I did a little rant (almost) every day. I ranted the first day about Stop and Shop not stocking soy yogurt and soy cream cheese. I asked them on their website to please stock these items, and I got back a wishy-washy letter back from James saying thanks for the suggestion. Well, I went shopping at Stop and Shop January 1st for our first annual Hunter's Feast- and what did I find? SOY CREAM CHEESE and SOY YOGURT! Yay! Victory is mine! Thanks, James- you have a customer for life!

So the Hunter's Feast was cool- all the camping families came over (minus one- guess who that was?) MR made awesome cutlets, and I burned the stew in the pressure cooker. (Anyone with experience with pressure cookers- please help! The thing still scares the crap out of me! ) Anyway, we made 2 packages of cutlets, and served the kids first. They snagged almost all the cutlets! Even with 2 platters of chicken nuggets available! I grabbed Andrew's cutlets, since he didn't want them, and Jodi was able to get Tyler's. Everyone ate, no one died, and they even complimented me on the food! Go figure! What was the crowd favorite? Mrs. Wilkes Sweet Potato Souffle.

Don't know Mrs. Wilkes Boardinghouse? Next time you're in Savannah, GA, pay a visit. Be prepared to wait an hour or so for the family style seating, but it's totally worth it. Down home cooking (only for lunch) for $16 a person. All you can eat! One year we went when Beena was around 8 year old. She managed to eat around 10 pieces of fried chicken. The large southern black women in the kitchen all came out to see the "little bitty thing that ate all that chicken!" They make you bus your own plate and glass, too! Of the Sweet Potato Souffle, Mrs. Wilkes said, "A lot of people buy my cookbook just to get this recipe." MR bought me the cookbook just so I could have this recipe! I modified it one little bit, though. I skipped the evaporated milk, used walnuts, and used grated orange instead of lemon. No marshmallows, either.

4 pounds sweet potatoes, pared and sliced
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup raisins
Grated rind and juice of 1 lemon
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
1/2 cup shredded coconut
Miniature marshmallows
Place the potatoes in a pot and add enough salted water to cover. Cook until tender. Drain. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Mash and whip the potatoes. Add the remaining ingredients (except marshmallows) and mix well. Pour into a greased casserole dish. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and cover with marshmallows. Return to the oven and continue cooking until brown. Yum!

I also made corn bread using a corn muffin mix and egg nog! Just put in enough egg nog to make the batter wet. It's a dense, tasty corn bread, great for the holidays!

And just to show you my man can cook, and yes, those are the deer antlers he mounted: