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      Thursday, January 01, 2009


otherstuff
11:55 AM - 01/01/2009

The topic: How sad is this?
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Man.  My heart is breaking.

bigcry

      Friday, January 02, 2009


otherstuff
08:23 AM - 01/02/2009

The topic: Mario Kart
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Another game I suck at.  But it’s sure fun! 

I did come in first on one game.  Out of about ten.  Where I placed 12th.  In last.  Well, not all, one game I was fifth and one I was eighth.  But all the rest were dead last.

And I don’t like the ghost track.  I kept falling into nothingness.  Brian did, too, and was yelling “how do I back up? how do I back up?” as he floated off into space.

      Saturday, January 03, 2009


salestuff
10:45 AM - 01/03/2009

The topic: I ordered the prettiest beads yesterday
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I got two sizes of the round one. 

I’m looking forward to getting back into beading.  It’s nice to have a thumb that isn’t horribly painful.

      Sunday, January 04, 2009


otherstuff
08:36 AM - 01/04/2009
I'm listening to San Diego Chargers Song

The topic: We watched the Charger game
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We watched the Bolts beat the Colts.  I rooted for the Bolts, but I like Peyton Manning, too.  But I LOVE Darren Sproles.  Fourth quarter last night, I confessed this to Brian.  I said “I love him”.  Brian just laughed.

I’ve followed the Chargers this year, but not actively.  Which means I don’t put on the game and sit in front of the set and watch it for the duration.  No, I’ll have something else on, then click over to the game and see how things are going.  It’s been less frustrating that way.  After we lost the game due to bad officiating, and then lost games by one point at the very end, I just figured it’s not worth the energy.

So, I cut back on watching.

And I don’t care to watch with Brian, because he yells at the television.  I mean, he’s less into the Chargers than I am, yet he yells at the screen, calling out “morons” or “idiots” and I want to throw the remote at him to get him to stop.  It really affects my enjoyment of the game.

He came home from looking for stuff for his tractor around 3:30 and asked if there was anything on television.  I said “the Charger game is on at five.”   A little before five, I went into the family room, got the cable set to the right channel and got my lap blanket, my Stephen King book and got ready.  Brian actually shut down his work station for the night and came in and kicked back on the loveseat.

I set down the ground rules.  None of this calling them idiots and morons.  If he started doing this (Naf, you’re gonna love this) I told him I would change the channel and we would watch a movie.  He said “really?”  I said “yes, we will watch “Mama Mia”. (The musical was in a box full of Christmas gifts we received, the only presents we had to open, since my mom is gone.)  I only had to threaten him once during the game. 

I finished my Stephen King book late in the third quarter, then put my full attention on the game. 

When the game was tied at the end of the fourth quarter and they had the coin toss Brian said “the Chargers are going to win”.  I asked how he knew this.  He said “look at the Chargers, they’re all happy and smiling, the Colts are not”.  The Chargers won the coin toss.  The Colts had some monumental penalties called against them right at the time we were going to have to turn over the ball and give them possession.

And Brian reminded me of something I’d said years ago, half serious.  That it’s all pre-determined before the season even begins. And you know, looking back at this season, when the Chargers were 4 - 8, and they beat Denver, I laughed.  I said “okay, now just wait, the newspapers and uber fans will be all ‘WE’VE GOT A CHANCE AT THE SUPERBOWL!!!!’”.   And sure enough, that’s what happened.  Denver kept losing.  We kept winning.

I mean, come on! 

I sit here smiling, shaking my head in amazement. 

And I’m in love with Darren Sproles.


tales from the parkside
12:13 PM - 01/04/2009

The topic: 52 weeks ago today
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Was the last morning my mother got out of bed in her own home.  The meds she’d been prescribed the previous Friday were too strong for her fragile brain to handle.

It seems like it was forever ago.

      Monday, January 05, 2009


catstuff
12:15 PM - 01/05/2009

The topic: How cute is this?
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funny pictures of cats with captions
more animals
 

      Tuesday, January 06, 2009


catstuff
08:05 AM - 01/06/2009

The topic: It’s TUMMY TUESDAY #121!
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And today we have a tummy we haven’t seen in a while.  None other than Mister Georgie Porgie Puddin’ Pie, curled up on the arm of the sofa. 

He’s doing well, has started going out back again in the evening.  I don’t know what he does out there, but he seems to like it.

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If you’ve got a Tummy Tuesday blog entry, feel free to post the link in the comment section or trackback to this entry. And if you put a link back to this page, then more kitties will get to show off their tummies!

      Friday, January 09, 2009


otherstuff
09:35 AM - 01/09/2009
I'm listening to Jack Jezzro - Guitar Romance
The current weather is going to be nice

The topic: Sunset during a fog
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It's not often you can stare directly at the sun. Last Friday, I caught a glimpse of the sun setting behind a fog bank. The fog came in on Thursday night and just hung around all day Friday. It sure made for a nice sunset visual.

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disneystuff
11:35 AM - 01/09/2009

The topic: A quick trip
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Brian had to go to Los Angeles to check on some fabricated glass to make sure it was acceptable. He asked if I'd like to go to Disneyland. It would be either Monday or Tuesday. I said I wasn't really gung-ho on Monday, but maybe Tuesday. Oh, can't do, I have an appointment. But I could blow it off! He said "No, go to your appointment, you need to go." So, Tuesday morning he says "let's go, you can miss your appointment." And I did! He dropped me off on Harbor and I walked in with all the other guests, my first stop was Disney's California Adventure. I went over to Soarin' Over California, where there was NO line! I've got pictures to prove it! It was walk on and I did. I love that ride.

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I kicked around for a while, wanted to go on the Golden Zephyr, but it was down for refurbishment. I walked over to Hollywoodland and got a bottle of water and an apple. From there I walked over to Disneyland. In the Esplanade, I found our brick, smiled at it, then got in line for Dland, a short line, then went inside. I walked over to Fantasyland, checked stuff out and was going to get on the train, got tired of waiting for the train and walked back to the front of the park. I was there by myself for less than two hours. I waited in front of the train station for Brian and when he arrived, we had lunch at Carnation Cafe. Where I took a video of my coffee. Neither of us was touching the table.
After a really nice lunch, we did a little shopping. I got a longsleeved teeshirt for those times it's too warm for a sweatshirt and I don't want to bother with a jacket. Then we hit Tomorrowland. Time was a consideration because we did want to get home before sundown and we didn't want to hit traffic. The line for Space Mountain was twenty-five minutes, so we passed on that and went into Buzz Lightyear, where I got my highest score ever, 77,700. The highest before was 6,200 or thereabouts. I never realized you can see the little laser light from your spacegun and now that I knew that, I got more points. From Space Mountain we went back to Fantasyland and rode the carousel. Brian took a picture of me looking at the crowd.

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And I took a bunch of pictures from the ride itself, this one was my favorite.

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So, this little spur of the moment trip was fun! I'd do it again.

      Thursday, January 15, 2009


catstuff
11:31 AM - 01/15/2009

The topic: Washing the pee pads
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In our laundry room, I use pee pads.  I’ve actually started to double up on them.  This started back with DeeJay when he would pee in front of the litter box.  The litter box is plastic, the urine would get under it and it was a nightmare to clean.  So much easier to just put pee pads there.

For a while, I used the disposable pads, but that was a problem when cats would come along and try to cover up the urine and pull at the pad and rip it to shreds. And once again, pee got under the litter box.

Washable pee pads took care of this.

But I never expected that washing the pee pads would be such a nightmare.  We’ve got a front loading washing machine, I love it dearly, but these pads never seemed to smell fresh after washing.  I’d started running them through two wash cycles.  A heavy duty cycle with Biz as a pre-wash and Oxyclean and Kirkland brand HE3 dry detergent in the first wash, with an extra rinse cycle thrown in for good measure, then a second cycle where I’d use vinegar.

I’ve always like Nature's Miracle products, they’ve got a fresh, light, clean scent. And using it on a regular basis seems to keep the cats from peeing in the same spots.  Well, the last time I ordered the stain and odor removal product, I ordered some Nature's Miracle Laundry Detergent out of curiousity.  And earlier this week it got here.

I had a full load of pee pads (I have a diaper thing I put them in).  I did one regular load with this product and I can’t believe how great it is!  After the first wash cycle, when I opened the washer door, it smelled good!  No icky smell, nothing to assault my tender olfactory senses.  Just clean.  I smelled “clean”.

One wash.  One cycle.  One capful and these pee pads just smelled great.

I’m hooked. 

I won’t use it for regular laundry, but for the pee pads and badly pissed on cat bedding?  As Sarah would say “you betcha!”


otherstuff
11:49 AM - 01/15/2009

The topic: Hey, have you backed up your important stuff lately?
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You know, your photographs, your email correspondance, your registration codes, your music, your little movies?  Stuff that you can’t easily replace if you can replace it at all?

No?

Then do it.

Last year, I got a 1 terrabyte external drive.  I got this to back up all my photos, music and little movies I’d taken throughout the years with my digital cameras or my videocams.  My photos, music and movies are all on separate external hard drives.   At the end of last year, on a Friday, I finally cleaned up my office space and set up the new hard drive.  My intention was to fully backup all drives the following week.

That Sunday night, the POS WD 500GB external hard drive that had all of my movies on it crashed.  I sent it out for recovery, but so far they’ve only been able to recover thirty movies.  There were hundreds on it.  The best he can figure out is the drive got hot and just warped.  He’s doing it with software and when I get it back, I’ll hold on to it in hopes that some day, there will be something more affordable to have it done in what’s called a ‘clean room’. 

My intentions were good.  My timing was not.

So, once again, if you’ve got something you can’t reconstruct, something that will be gone forever should you have a hard drive crash, don’t put it off, back it up as soon as you can.

My baby kitty videos, my mom videos….gone. And it didn’t have to be that way.

Oh, and if you’ve got external hard drives?  Good idea to turn them off if you’re not using them.  ‘Cause they might get too hot and warp the hard drive. Like what happened to mine.


foodstuff
04:52 PM - 01/15/2009

The topic: Dinner menus
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I’m finding that if I have something in mind for dinner, something that I have all the ingredients for, that I tend not to graze during the day.  Because I know what’s for dinner.

It seems when I was growing up, there were certain meals we had every week.  There weren’t seven of them, but at least three or four.  The ones I can remember offhand are meatloaf, fried chicken and always on Sunday, we had roast beef.  There were the nights we had fish sticks or spaghetti or lasagne or just soup or some sort of canned thing.  But we always ate at home and we always ate well.

Nowadays, I’m tired of take-out food, don’t really care for a lot of it, there are some I could eat every day (Mexican or Taco Bell).  Of course, we could go out to eat, but I don’t always feel like prancing out the door at six at night to go sit down someplace, and wait for them to take my order, for them to bring my order, for them to clear the table and bring the check, then to pay for dinner.  And, occasionally, wait for change. And it’s rarely less than thirty bucks.  Just drinking water drops the bill, but lately, I’d rather not go out.

I’ve just recently rediscovered that I like to cook.  This may change in the summer, when it’s horribly, terribly hot.  I’ve got issues ($$$$) with running the A/C, just to cook a meal.  Who knows, maybe this will be the summer I start to barbeque.  Getting back to the subject at hand…..

What’s for dinner tonight?

Chicken Tortilla Casserole

Preheat oven to 350°

1 pkg (12 count) corn tortillas
6 boneless skinless chicken breasts (cooked)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can diced chili peppers (hot, medium or mild)
1 minced onion
1 large can red enchilada sauce
1 lb cheddar cheese, grated
1 5oz can evaporated milk

Cut cooked chicken into bite size pieces.
Cut tortillas into small squares.
Combine soups, milk, enchilada sauce, chili peppers, onion for the sauce.

In 9 x 13 baking dish layer ingredients:
Tortillas
Chicken
Sauce
Cheese

Bake for one hour, or can be microwaved if desired. Serve with salsa and/or sour cream.

I found that twelve tortillas is way too much.  Probably eight or nine would be fine.  And six chicken breasts, shredded, is a lot of chicken.  Here’s an idea.  Use the extra chicken and tortillas and make tacos the next night!

      Sunday, January 18, 2009


otherstuff
07:48 AM - 01/18/2009

The topic: People are idiots
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Friday, we had a chiropractor appointment at 5:30.  We had to swing by the bank to make a deposit for the company.  It was already after five when we left the house.

Well, at the top of the hill, at the first stop sign, there was a little dog running in the street, looked to have a slight limp, with a blue leash hanging from its collar.  Nobody in sight chasing this little dog.  Brian had to stop for the stop sign and, of course, I got out of the car.  Tried to get this little dog.  It wouldn’t come near me.

On the way up the hill, Brian following slowly, the first oncoming car stopped and started tossing some of those fried potato tots at the dog, hoping to get close enough to grab the leash.  Dog seemed kind of interested, but went running off.  Still going up the hill, the dog ran into someone’s yard and started talking to the dog behind the fence.  I was hoping to get close enough to grab the leash.  The lady who lived in the house came to the front door and started yelling at the dog to get out of her yard.  Gee, thanks.  I said “I’m trying to catch that dog”.  She says “it’s not my dog.”  I understand that you old bitch, it’s not my dog, either, but I hate the idea of it running loose out here with a leash attached to its collar.  The dog runs out of that yard.

Cars keep coming down the street.  I’m in the middle of that side of the road.  The dog is between the cars and me.  These drivers do not see the dog (the sun was down, it was getting dark and the dogs coloring blended with the road).  These drivers do see me.  These drivers do not slow down. 

I hold out my arms, hands up, motioning them to slow down! slow down!  This catches their attention, they do, they see the dog and stop.  Still, I cannot catch the dog. 

Probably about a quarter of a way up the hill, the dog goes down this side street, more of a lane than anything else, a dead end. There are kids out in front of the house at the end.  And they see the dog and start yelling for him.  He runs down to them and sits and waits while one comes up to get him.  I yell “is that your dog?”  And yes, it surely is.

Now, that dog had to be loose for a good fifteen minutes to make it down to where we first saw him.   Because you know dogs don’t run in straight lines. No, they sniff here, they sniff there, they check this out and look at that.  Then there was the time it took me walking him back up the hill.  This dog has been loose for probably at least a half hour.  With a leash dragging behind him.

When I got back in the car, Brian is all pissed off.  Not at me, not at the dog, but at the owners. How can you have a dog, on a leash, running loose? Did the kids take it for a walk and it got away and they figured it would follow them home?  Did they have it tied up outside and it got loose from the rope (I’m sure we’ve all seen dogs tied up to ropes in someone’s front yard) and the kids just didn’t notice it was gone? 

The mom did come out of the house when she heard all of the shouting and maybe she’ll pay more attention from now on.  I sure hope so.  Younger kids can’t be trusted to keep an eye on Sparky, you know?   They don’t know all that much about responsibility at that age.

If we hadn’t been in a hurry, Brian said he would have driven down to that house and had a talk with the owner.  He was so mad, he said he might just do the same the next day.  But, he didn’t. 


foodstuff
08:14 AM - 01/18/2009

The topic: How did this happen?
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Last night, I was going to make mixed burritos, with the leftover chicken from Thursday night and refried beans. Whip up a little guacamole, a little dab of sour cream, add some onions and grated cheddar cheese. It would have been lovely.

I could not find a can of refries in the pantry! I moved everything in that cupboard and there was not a sign of a can of refried beans.

How could this have happened? How could I have not known that the can I used in the chicken quesidillas (I’ll post the recipe next time I make it, I actually made my own vinaigrette for the marinade, it was awesome, I’m going to make more and use it on my salads) last week was the last can I had.

Bummer! There must be a huge rip in the universe.

We had take-out Mexican instead.


catstuff
08:44 AM - 01/18/2009

The topic: I just love Marco to death
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But sometimes he does things that scare the hell out of me.

The past couple of weeks, he’s started going up in the rafters in the evening when I prepare the cat dinners.  With the majority of the other cats, this doesn’t bother me.

But Marco is seriously overweight.  The only toy he plays with, we can’t use any more, not since I saw that Ron Howard was eating them (the little sparkle, porcupine mylar balls, the one inchers…Marco won’t play with the larger ones).  He had the bad injury to his hip when he fell off of the railroad ties when the neighbor dogs rushed the fence,and he’s just not a spry cat.

He jumps up on a cat tree and from the cat tree to the top of a storage cupboard, those big rubber things with doors, and from there, up into the rafters.  Then he can’t get down.  He walks from one side to the other on boards, but when he thinks he can negotiate the 2 x 4s, I get pretty shaky.  I’ve gotten him down three times, Brian got him down the night before last. 

Then I see Potter on top of one of the cupboards.  Potter, with three legs.  I’m able to get him down and I’m ready to tell Brian to fix it RIGHT NOW so that the cats can’t get up there.  I’m serious, I was having heart palpatations.  I didn’t, what I did do was move the cat trees, something in my control.  And since I did that, I haven’t seen Marco up there.  Oh, I did see him sniffing around the cat trees, but he was on the floor, where it’s safe.

*sigh*

Good thing I never had kids, huh?


otherstuff
10:52 AM - 01/18/2009

The topic: Yay!
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I noticed this morning when I got up that it was light outside, lighter than it’s been in weeks. 

Which means we can start walking again!

Yay!  I’m so excited!  I know that sounds silly, because, after all, we do have the most awesome Wii, but it’s hard for me to get on the Wii Fit, even though it’s lots of fun. Once I’m on it, I’m okay, but there’s always something I have to do, like read the paper, surf the net, watch something I recorded last night….you know, that fat assed, couch potato stuff that I do so well.

Once I’m walking again, oddly enough, it won’t be hard for me at all to get on the Wii Fit. 

It’s the getting started that’s hard.


otherstuff
11:01 AM - 01/18/2009

The topic: The parrots
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If anybody who reads this goes over to my other site, lisaviolet's family album, where I keep my photos and videos, you might have seen the one with the birds flying over. I think it’s also posted here somewhere.

Well, last week I was able to get better pictures of the bird, since they were in a tree that had a lot of sunlight hitting it.  And here they are!


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catstuff
11:26 AM - 01/18/2009
I'm listening to Rod Stewart's Maggie May

The topic: The new guys
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I snapped a couple of shots of Bobby and Pancho last week.   They’re both doing very well, fitting in nicely.

Pancho, looking regal.  He’s wearing his winter coat (which he most certainly doesn’t need today).  He goes through phases of wanting lots of attention and just wanting to do stuff by himself.  But he’s good about being picked up and smurgled and he knows his name, comes out of hiding when I need to see him.


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And here’s Bobby, you’d never know he hadn’t lived here all of his life.  He’s finally settled in. There’s the occasional spat with other kitties, but he’s usually pretty good about not starting things (and he’s the one who starts things).  He thinks he found something under the leaves in this picture. As far as I know, he never did find anything.


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otherstuff
12:08 PM - 01/18/2009

The topic: This is a beautiful Southern California day
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Days like today are the reason people move here.

Right now, a little after noon, the outside temperature is 78.3° in the shade. There’s a small breeze, stirring up the air.  The leaves are rustling in the liquid amber tree (where the leaves came from in the picture of Bobby below). 

Listening to Shakatak right now, the song “Lovely Day” from their Magic CD and it certainly is. 

I want to grab a glass of wine, a book and go sit in the sun and read.

Or maybe take my little bitty kite outside and fly it. 

I love days like this.

      Monday, January 19, 2009


otherstuff
09:17 AM - 01/19/2009
We found a penny on our walk this morning
I'm listening to Daryl Hall: "Holding Out For Love" Can't Stop Dreaming (Liquid 8)
Wii Fit says I'm down .4 lbs

The topic: We started walking again
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And it was very nice.  I put the Lumix in my pocket and shot a couple of photos along the way.  I took this one when the walk was almost done, we were just up the street from the house.  It was lighter outside than this photograph would have you believe.  It was full light outside, about a quarter to eight, and I was surprised how it looks so dark. but that’s just the way the sun was hitting the clouds (which are gone from this view right now)..


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Something I read this past weekend underscores the need for aerobic exercise, you know, that which makes your heart pump, makes you breathless (just a little) and sweat.  That aerobic exercise helps the elasticity of your brain and this helps stave off Alzheimer’s and dementia.  As does weight loss.  (I’m workin’ on it, I’m workin’ on it!)  They don’t totally prevent it, but can help keep it at bay for years. 

Brian’s maternal grandmother had dementia.  He’d forgotten about this.  My mom had dementia, but I don’t know how much of that was natural and how much was due to the amount of alcohol she drank (the doctor told me she had “alcohol related dementia” last year).  So, if walking and Wii Fitting and riding the stationery bike help me to keep my wits about me, for a longer time, I’m just going to have to resign myself to the fact that exercise, is indeed, a good thing.  It may not taste as yummy as a scoop of coffee ice cream and a scoop of chocolate ice cream smooshed together at Cold Stone with a Heath bar mix in.  But it’s lots better for me, from top to bottom.

      Tuesday, January 20, 2009


catstuff
08:41 AM - 01/20/2009
Wii Fit says I'm down 1.3 lbs

The topic: It’s TUMMY TUESDAY #122!
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And s-t-r-e-t-c-h.......


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Sagwa shows how to do it kitty style.

After a stretch, he gives me a look.


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If you’ve got a Tummy Tuesday blog entry, feel free to post the link in the comment section or trackback to this entry. And if you put a link back to this page, then more kitties will get to show off their tummies!

      Wednesday, January 21, 2009


foodstuff
09:29 AM - 01/21/2009
Wii Fit says I'm down .2 lbs

The topic: Last night we had
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stuffed bell peppers with Mexican rice and pinto beans on the side (note to self: get more long grained white rice, brown rice wasn’t quite it for Mexican rice).

So, I ask Brian if he has any input on tonight’s dinner. He said “how about chicken?”  Okay, chicken it is. 

I get out my handy dandy allrecipes cookbook (the book is "tried and true favorites top 300 recipes")and found a recipe that look pretty simple and pretty good.  Since I’ve decided I want to try my hand at cooking again (at least until it’s too hot to cook), a nice thing is a full pantry.  Gives me more choices on what I can make.

So for tonight’s dinner I will be making Tomato Chicken Parmesan.  I won’t use as many chicken breasts as they call for, I’ll only do four, which should take care of one night of leftovers.

Tomato Chicken Parmesan

Ingredients

  • 2 eggs, beaten
    1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
    7 ounces seasoned bread crumbs
    6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
    1 tablespoon vegetable oil
    12 ounces pasta sauce
    6 slices Monterey Jack cheese

    Directions

    1. Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C)

    2. Pour beaten eggs into a shallow dish or bowl. In another shallow dish or bowl, mix together the grated Parmesan cheese and bread crumbs. Dip chicken breasts into beaten egg, then into bread crumb mixture to coat.

    3. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium high heat. Add coated chicken and sauté for about 8 to 10 minutes each side, or until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear.

    4. Pour tomato sauce into a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish. Add chicken, then place a slice of Monterey Jack cheese over each breast, and bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes or until cheese is completely melted.

I’m also thinking about making a loaf of walnut raisin bread.  Since we’re not bringing sweets into the house, I thought maybe Brian would like to make some toast for an evening snack.  To have with his hot cocoa.

UPDATE:

Din was very good, we have a new entry into the rotation…  Click “but there’s more” to see pictures and get my thoughts on what I’d do differently next time.


But wait! I'm not done yet!
I've got more to say!


entertainmentstuff
12:16 PM - 01/21/2009

The topic: Oliver & Company
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The Disney flick.

I’ve never seen it.  I just checked my stash of Disney VHS videos and there it is.  Still in the shrink wrap covered package.   [cool smile]

We’ve got lots of Disney VHS movies, Brian’s aunt and uncle owned a video store once upon a time, back before VHS movies were affordable.  Then the big video rental places started, you know, like Blockbuster, the prices of movies dropped and there was no longer a place for their store and they went out of business, liquidating their stock.

I got one each of the Disney videos they had (if I didn’t already have it). I think they sold them to me for a buck a video.  Nepotism.  *laughing*  I’ve even got the famous “Little Mermaid” with its questionable cover art. 

After that, if a video came out that we didn’t have, I bought it.  And it appears that I bought Oliver & Company to add to our collection.  But I never watched it.

A Musical Gang of Animal Outcasts inspired by the story of Oliver Twist! On February 3rd, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment will release OLIVER AND COMPANY: 20TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION on DVD! Oliver, an adorable stray kitten (voiced by Joey Lawrence), takes Manhattan by storm leading a pack of resourceful pooches (voiced by Billy Joel, Robert Loggia, and Bette Midler) against a would-be kidnapper. Disney’s 27th full-length animated film features original songs performed by Billy Joel, Bette Midler, Huey Lewis and Barry Manilow. Bonus material includes animated shorts, A History of Animals in Disney Films featurette, and much more!

Well, somehow I got invited to review videos last year, Disney videos with kitty cats in them (cats rule, dude!) and I get advanced notice about upcoming videos and if I’m interested in reviewing what they’ve got, I just respond to the invite.  And I got the 20th Anniversary Edition of Oliver & Company on Monday. 

So, as soon as my cleaning chores are done today (like that ever happens), I’m going to pop this puppy in the DVD player and watch it!

Review to follow.

      Thursday, January 22, 2009


catstuff
02:28 PM - 01/22/2009
Wii Fit says I'm up 1.3 lbs. Told you dinner was good.

The topic: Med refill
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Well, somehow I got invited to review videos last year, Disney videos with kitty cats in them (cats rule, dude!) and I get advanced notice about upcoming videos and if I’m interested in reviewing what they’ve got, I just respond to the invite.  And I got the 20th Anniversary Edition of Oliver & Company on Monday. 

So, as soon as my cleaning chores are done today (like that ever happens), I’m going to pop this puppy in the DVD player and watch it!

Review to follow.

      Friday, January 23, 2009


otherstuff
09:35 AM - 01/23/2009
Wii Fit says I'm down 1.1 lbs

The topic: Rainy day
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Brian doesn’t have a full schedule today, so we’re going to go see Gran Torino, with Clint Eastwood.  He mentioned a couple of weeks ago he’d was interested in it and it’s been out long enough that we can use our discount passes.

This rain was supposed to have started yesterday, but the storm was weaker than expected.  But we’ve been getting light showers here for a couple of hours.  We went walking in it this morning, but only got sprinkled on a couple of times.

Right now, it’s just cloudy and cool.  A far cry from the warm temperatures of the last two weeks. 

Winter’s here!

      Monday, January 26, 2009


entertainmentstuff
11:01 AM - 01/26/2009
We found three dimes and seven nine pennies on our walk this morning

The topic: Oliver & Co
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© WDSHE. All Rights Reserved.

Okay, I told ya last week I was going to watch this and review.  I watched it last night, here’s my review.

I liked it, it was an okay movie.  A little dated, a little sad (the Twin Towers, still standing). 

The musical numbers were fun, the dogs had me laughing.  The beginning, with the kittens for sale and one lone kitten not getting a new home, but being left in the cardboard box and then the skies opening up and the rain coming down had me in tears.  What can I say, I’m a softie for a red kitten, who nobody wanted, left to fend for itself in the pouring rain.  My thoughts were “I’d like to find the effing morons who left those kittens there and give them a piece of my mind!”

I had to keep reminding myself “it’s just a movie, it’s just a movie….”

But it got better, it got lots better and the music was good, toe tapping good, Bette Midler as Georgette was right on and I wanted to reach right up and grab Tito and bring him home.  But then I’ve always had a crush on Cheech Marin. 

It’s not a long movie and like most Disney movies, there is a lesson to be learned and a happy ending.

The extras…

There are a couple of tunes from the movie, a few Disney shorts, a game and a scrapbook, just to name a few of the available bonus features. 

I found the scrapbook most interesting.  It has the concept art, storyboard art, all the way through to the publicity.  Helps to understand how these things come to be.  I used to like visiting the Gallery above Pirates at Disneyland, where you could see concept art and I miss it. 

I tried my hand at the game and it’s pretty easy, good for kids.  A learning experience, but they’ve made it fun.

All in all, I recommend this video.

Two paws up!

The official release date is next Tuesday, February 3rd.

Oliver and Company (20th Anniversary Edition) is in pre-order status on Amazon right now.


otherstuff
12:13 PM - 01/26/2009

The topic: End of the year stuff
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I have to do end of the year payroll reports.  You know, W2s?  I’ve got state and federal fourth quarter reports to do, year end payroll summary reports to fill out, a W2 form to fill out and give to Brian’s brother (his only employee). 

It probably won’t take long.  I’m sure it won’t, not nearly as long as it used to take when I had to type everything out and Brian had three employees, but I sure am having a hard time getting started on it. And this stuff has to be postmarked, the latest, Saturday. 

Bleh.


foodstuff
12:17 PM - 01/26/2009

The topic: Leftovers week
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This week will be chock full of leftovers. 

We have:

beef and guacamole tacos
lasagne
chicken parmesan
stuff pepper
chicken tortilla casserole


The beef for the tacos is leftover from last night.  I also cooked enough mashed potatoes to serve with the stuffed pepper. There’s only one of those and Brian can have it, I’ll just have a salad. 

Easy cooking week.  A good thing because after doing end of the year payroll stuff, I know I won’t be in a mood to cook much

      Tuesday, January 27, 2009


catstuff
09:19 AM - 01/27/2009

The topic: It’s TUMMY TUESDAY #123!
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I was gonna use this one, of Rory under the blanket and Sagwa on top of her, because I didn't have any others, but.....


click for a larger pic

Last night, I found Niecey all nice and comfy on the sofa and I grabbed her pic to use for today's official tummy entry. Ain't she sweet?


click for a larger pic

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If you’ve got a Tummy Tuesday blog entry, feel free to post the link in the comment section or trackback to this entry. And if you put a link back to this page, then more kitties will get to show off their tummies!


catstuff
09:24 AM - 01/27/2009

The topic: Ollie doesn’t budge
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See, I'd probably have moved him to start with. But Brian tries to be nice and Ollie gets more and more uncomfortable and finally moves.

click for a larger pic

catstuff
09:26 AM - 01/27/2009
Wii Fit says I'm down .9 lbs since Saturday

The topic: Keeping stuff clean
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Have I ever whined about how difficult it can be?  I’m sure I have.  But here’s an example. 

I’ve told you about the pee pads I get.  For the cats who know where the litter box is and know that’s where you poop, but don’t get the concept that you can also pee in the box, and pee in front of it instead (ongoing problem since DeeJay), I use pee pads to prevent the urine from going under the plastic litter box and being very, very difficult to keep clean.  Believe me, if you’ve ever smelled cat urine that’s been under a plastic container for weeks (where the HELL is that smell coming from?) you would do everything in your power to prevent it. 

Sliding these pads under the litter box has helped, immensely.  I double up on them and change them daily.  The dirty ones go into this diaper container we got at Wal-Mart.  And when it’s filled, I wash them (using that ubercool Nature’s Miracle laundry detergent).

So, last week I take the container outside and hose off the inside and the outside, wiping it down as I go.  I left it out there to dry.

About a half hour later, I went out to see if I could bring it in, and see what I saw?


click for a larger pic

A closer look:


click for a larger pic

Yep. Some cat sprayed it while it was drying. Cats. Gotta love 'em.


otherstuff
10:58 AM - 01/27/2009

The topic: Rat bastards
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I don’t know if I mentioned this here, but last year, Citibank raised our interest rate on the credit card we had with them.  It was raised from 10.99% to 16.99% for no good reason.  They just “did an audit” and “adjusted” some of their accounts.  I didn’t make late payments, as a matter of fact, it was paid in full each month.  Rarely did it carry a balance.

Well, neener neener neener you thieving, pillaging, steaming piles of dog crap.

      Wednesday, January 28, 2009


salestuff
06:41 AM - 01/28/2009

The topic: So, end of the year tax stuff
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I have to fill out this form for the California State Board of Equalization because I have a resale certificate. Which means I don’t pay sales tax on things I buy that go into the jewelry I make.

I can only deduct this portion from what I actually sell.  For example, I buy ten beads at a buck each, that’s ten dollars, add 7.75% tax and it’s $10.78 to me.  Not a lot, right?  So, I use one bead in a necklace I sell in California for nine dollars.  I charge $9.00 plus 7.75% tax, or .70 cents for a total of   $9.70.  Of this .70, I can deduct the sales tax I originally paid on the one bead. Less than eight cents. 

So, I listed out all of the invoices from my store last night.  Thirteen.  Yeah, thirteen. And the grand total that I sold last year?  Wait for it….

$172.94

Brian just laughed.  He said “and how many thousands have you spent on beads?” 

Oh, shut up.

Hey, you guys, go buy something!

      Friday, January 30, 2009


entertainmentstuff
05:22 PM - 01/30/2009

The topic: Space Buddies
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This movie looks interesting….it looks really cute

Puppies!


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lisaviolet is seventy something, married with no kids, takes care of lots of cats, likes taking photographs, loves Southern California weather and spends altogether too much time avoiding her responsibilities.

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