Buongiorno, Bitches!

Peach Bellini

I ordered this Peach Bellini yesterday at a new Italian Restaurant near us, and it was heavenly. It was perfect after walking outside in the heat. The restaurant is called Brio, and it was excellent. I ordered a Bacon, Egg, Cheese, and Tomato Pannini from the brunch menu and it was the best egg sandwhich I've ever had. They soaked the tomatoes in balsamic vinegar, and that made them burst with flavor. I know that sounds dorky, but it's true. I ate half and took the other half home for dinner. It was just as good reheated in the microwave.

We didn't have room for dessert, but I promised Barnaby I'd make a cheesecake at home for later. He wanted a lemon cheesecake, so that's what he got:

Yummy Lemon Cheesecake

The crust was made with half honey graham cracker crumbs and half chocolate because I had one package of each left. It doesn't taste any different than using all honey grahams. I was a little worried that the chocolate grahams might not be that good with the lemon flavor, but it's fine.

I woke up at 8:00 this morning with the bottom of my left butt cheek throbbing. I've been alternately using the heating pad and an ice pack. Hopefully it's just a fluke and will go away. I didn't do anything yesterday that could cause a flair-up that I'm aware of, and I'm for sure doing nothing today to make it worse. I guess I'll read magazines and maybe crochet a little.

I've been taking short, slow walks with Fletch the past few evenings, and I'll continue to do that. I just don't believe that's enough to cause the sciatica to return. If anything, it should help things.

We spent all morning watching recorded episodes of Cash Cab. We love that show! It comes on the Discovery Channel if you're interested, but I don't know what times. We just have our TIVO set to record them all whenever they're on. We had 29 episodes to watch as of this morning. Some of those may be reruns, but we haven't come across any yet, and we've probably watched at least 20 in the past couple of weeks.

What else? Hmmm...

Oh! I'm going to San Diego the first of October with my sister to visit my other sister who lives there. Lordie, I hate to fly. I'm going to wear my sleep mask and blast my iPod in my ears so I can't hear the engines fail, I mean, hear the engines running. And I only have an entire month to worry myself silly. Oh the joy.

The NASCAR race is tonight in California. It usually runs late because of the time difference, so I better go take a nap and get all rested up. That Peach Bellini at Brio was so good, I got the stuff at Walmart to make my own. They were nice enough to put the ingredients right on their menu.

Ciao, Bitches.

No Time for a Title

I have just enough time to slap some pictures up and tell you a little about them...and away we go!

The absolutely perfect lipstick color for me. And I mean perfect! Do you know how hard it is to find the perfect lipstick color? I believe I've mentioned this before. Anyway, this picture makes it look darker and browner than it is, but it's Maybelline and the color is Chestnut. It's a pinky-brown, just a little darker than my lips. You can wear it no matter what color your clothes are. It's very natural-looking.

Okay. Listen up, girls! This mascara is fantastic, and I came upon it by accident. The first time I used it, it nearly gave me a heart attack. Let me explain.

I got it as a free sample at Sephora when I bought something else there. I didn't read the label on it that says, "Stop painting your lashes...TUBE them!" That should have been a clue of what was to come, but like I said, I didn't read it.

So I wear the mascara all day long, and it doesn't smear or smudge or budge AT ALL! I was really happy until I went to take it off and I saw what appeared to be all of my eyelashes floating in the water in the sink! Well, of course, The Drama Queen went running into the living room screaming at Barnaby that all of my eyelashes had fallen out. I ran around the living room in a big circle screaming, and then ran back into the bathroom with Barnaby chasing me screaming, "Let me see! Let me see!" He looked into the sink and gasped, the same as I did. "Oh my God! Your eyelashes are in the sink! Stand still and let me see your eyes!"

To make this very long story just a little shorter, we finally figured out that I still had eyelashes on my face, and that the stuff in the sink was little rubber glove-like thingies that had evidently been coating my lashes. Weird!

It cost $25, and as far as I know you can only get it at Sephora or online. It's totally worth the $25, I promise! There are two kinds, and I got the kind without fibers to make your lashes longer. I don't need longer lashes, just thicker. The company that makes it is called Blink, and you can see the rest in the picture. It might be spelled B-L-I-N-C. I can't remember.

Dang good! The garlic flavor is very mild. I spinkle more garlic powder on mine because apparently I love dragon breath. Popcorn=Good, Breath=Bad

I put my pawpaw's rocks on a shelf in my office like I said I was. I like it.

Gotta go!

RIP Heidi

My neighbor sent me an email to tell me her German Shephard, Heidi, died on Sunday. I've spent time with her dogs and walked and fed them a few times when they've gone out of town. I didn't ask her any details because I didn't want to upset her. I'm assuming that she died basically of old age.

Heidi was a beautiful dog and very sweet. She was about 10 years old, had chronic ear infections, and was completely deaf because of it.

RIP, Heidi!

Dullness

Nothing is going on. I'm boring. I'm bored and sleepy. My back feels great. Blah, blah, blah.

I'm going to a follow-up appt with my back doctor just to say I feel great, then I'm going to the grocery store. Wow. I bet you couldn't wait another moment for that big news.

I think there are some pictures in my camera for my blog, but I can't remember what they are. I'll post them later and blather on about something, I'm sure.

Bye.

New Pet Peave

Well, it's not really a new pet peave, but I've noticed this happening a lot lately...

You men are the absolute worst offenders in the magazine section of any store you can name. It's always a man or a teenage boy standing at the magazine rack reading a magazine directly in front of the women's magazines so no one can look at the magazines to PURCHASE.

If you're so damn cheap that you don't want to spend $3 or $4 to purchase a magazine and TAKE IT HOME to read it, at least step back away from the rack so other people can shop, dammit! I nearly lost my shit yesterday at Wal-Mart. I wanted to casually take a magazine off the rack and commence to wildly beating a man about the head and face with it. But I didn't. I guess my meds are working afterall. Hee.

And just so I'm not being totally negative...here are some things I love:

• The $1 Menu at McDonald's
• Drive-Thru Pharmacies
• No Line at Starbucks
• Amethyst
• Finding Pennies on the Ground
• A Baby's Feet
• Men with Curly Hair
• The Smell of Warm Yeast Bread
• Clean, Crisp White Shirts
• Having Really Short Hair
• The Dry-Erase Board on my Fridge
• Black & White Photos
• Everything about Autumn

Did that make up for my pissy beginning? I hope so.

I'm going to get cleaned up and see if Barnaby wants to go to the mall. I'm on a mission for some sunglasses even though I hardly ever wear them because I can't see without prescription lenses, but I hate the prescription sunglasses I got.

I let the people at Lens Masters tell me what looked good, and that was a mistake. Every time I liked a pair, they'd say they were too big for my face. I should have just said I like them and it's my money so shut the hell up and order them please, and your ass is too big for YOUR face.

But, again, my meds must have been working and made me agreeable and pleasant. Yes, I need meds to make me pleasant and not rip your face off at the least little thing. So what? You wanna fight? Huh? Do ya? Do --

Ah-hem. Excuse me. I kinda got distracted there.

I had a toasted Cinnamon Raisin English Muffin with Apple Butter for breakfast this morning, and it was so good! Okay, I had two...and a banana. What? They were small!

Sunny Saturday Morning

My parents live in a gated retirement community, and they had Casino Night at their clubhouse last night. Barnaby and I went with my dad and had a blast. I love hanging out with seniors. We played Texas Hold'em Poker most of the night, and I wandered off on my own and played a little Black Jack.

At the end of the night, you traded in your chips for raffle tickets. They had about eight prizes, and you could put all your tickets on one thing or spread them out amongst however many you wanted. They had some really nice prizes, but the most coveted was the Coach handbag. We didn't win anything, but it was still a really fun time.

We have no plans for the rest of the weekend except for the NASCAR race at Bristol tonight -- my favorite race of the year! We may go drink coffee and people-watch at the mall, but that's about it.

Y'all have a safe & happy weekend!

Oh, the Pain!

My upper body was paralyzed with pain yesterday from CROCHETING. Lordie, I'm a pathetic old woman! I guess I can only crochet an hour per day without causing major muscle screaming. At that rate, it will take me 9 years to complete an entire project. Like it doesn't take long enough as it is. I will not stop crocheting! You can't keep me down! I will keep getting up and crocheting again!

But seriously, what the heck? I walk for a few days and blow out a disk. I crochet for a few hours and can't move. I type too much and get tendonitis and a ganglion cyst. I'm a freak.

Okay, enough of the whining. If I whine too much I might get a brain tumor so I should just move on.

Big News! A new Chinese Food place just opened near our house and they deliver sushi rolls! We ordered from them last night, and their food is really good. We are very happy about this because until now, we haven't had anyplace around here that delivers good Chinese food. The sushi rolls were just a bonus. And they are Japanese not Chinese, by the way. I got a salmon roll and Barnaby got a California roll with our dinners last night. Our entrees were big enough for at least two more meals each. Now we just need some good hamburgers around here.

Random: It feels like Friday today.

Check these out:

My grandfather was an avid rock hunter and collector, and I selected a few of them to keep when he died. I love these rocks. I found them in a box the other day and took them out and washed them again. I'm going to put them on a shelf somewhere where I can see them all the time.

I don't have anything else to talk about today. Guess I'll finish up here and wander around the house and find something to do.

Sianara.

Celebrity Fun

This was supposed to be just a random celebrity picture and comment entry, but I kinda of got carried away with the men.

Jack's Black's Wife Looks Like She's Grossed-Out

David Beckham, Whoa...

Yum!

David's Wife, Victoria
Love Her

Love Them Together

DeCaprio -- Not Sexy At All! Don't Get What the Fuss is About. I never got what girls see in him. He's very boyish and UNmanly to me.

Jon Bon Jovi
Love Him -- Love the Music

Kevin Costner - Yummy

Josh Holloway
He's kinda dirty. I Desire Him.
Double Yum!

In the "I Don't Know Why" Category
No Laughing!

Antonio Banderas
Don't Usually Go for Latin Men, But...

And Lastly, Of Course, My News Men:

Anderson Cooper
So handsome!

Still My Boyfriend:
Shepard Smith

Tuesday

My New Room and Bed-Mate

Just to clarify about the eye make-up in my last entry...I would never go out in public with that kind of make-up on! I scared myself a couple of times that day when I'd catch a glimpse of myself in a mirror and see that hideous make-up. I'd forget I had it on and go in the bathroom for something and startle myself. Hee.

It was a great day yesterday. It was dark and rained all day long. I crocheted all day and baked some homemade pizza dough and a Mexican Pizza for dinner. I made a second batch of dough and made some Rosemary-Garlic Bread Sticks. Today is supposed to be the same as far as the weather. I probably won't bake anything since we have bread sticks coming out our ears, but I probably will crochet some. Or maybe I'll drag out the jewelry stuff and try it again. I spent about two hours Saturday morning trying to make a bracelet, but I didn't do very well and ended up with nothing. It's harder than it seems it should be to work with that leather. It would help if I had some instructions. I gave up and went to Hobby Lobby for more "stuff" that will hopefully make it easier. I just haven't given any of it a try yet.

Work has been slow lately, which is fine with me. I've had a lot of time to do what I want.

I don't have a definitive verdict yet on whether the steroid injection worked. It's definitely better, but I still have times, especially the last five or so hours of the day, when it's the same as before. It can take a series of two or three injections before it works, but I'm hoping I don't have to go get any more this time. I'm going to give it more time and maybe go to physical therapy a few times before I decide. I have a follow-up appointment next week, and I'm hoping he'll start me on therapy then.

I'm going to enjoy the wonderful dreary weather! Buh-bye.

That just reminded me that I had a long involved dream about David Spade last night. We were moving in together and looking at an apartment that cost $1800 a month. I haven't seen him on TV or a magazine lately so I have no idea why I dreamed about him. It was a fun dream, though!

Freaky Eyes

I bought some weird eye shadow colors that are out now and played with them today. Barnaby may or may not have slept with Cat Woman this weekend...and he loved it. Ah-hem!

Pumpkin Bundt Cake, Sort Of

I gathered all my ingredients to make a pumpkin Bundt cake this morning but was lacking one very important ingredient: the pumpkin! Dang it, I would have sworn I had a can. I did have a large can of sweet potatoes and decided to use that instead. They're basically the same thing, right?

The cake turned out fantastic! I used THIS PUMPKIN CAKE recipe and substituted a 29-oz can of sweet potatoes (drained), 1/2 cup of applesauce for 1/2 cup of the oil, and omitted the nuts. I just wasn't in a nut mood today. I was really surprised at how moist and delicious this turned out. I may substitute sweet potatoes for the pumpkin from now on in this recipe. Mine only took about 53 minutes to bake, so be sure and check on it before the hour is up if you make it. Nobody likes dry cake!

The lovely bruise from my IV on Tuesday:

Is that gigantic, or what? Jeez!

It's dark and rainy here this morning, and I'm loving it. I hope it stays this way all day!

The ice pack worked wonders last night. Barnaby and I were both asleep before 8:00 p.m. He feel asleep because he golfed yesterday and got too hot and had a headache. I'm definitely not leaving the house today and taking it easy. Looks like I have a perfect day for it.


I'll have to bake something fun today like bread or cinnamon rolls or something. You just can't have a rainy day with no great baking going on! I should have all the ingredients I need already.

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Since I don't have anything interesting to tell y'all about creepy phantom voices in the night, I'll tell you about the fabulous deals I got yesterday while shopping. (I know you men are excited to hear this.)

I was all about the Clearance Rack stuff yesterday. I got two tank-type tops with lace on them at Target for $2.49 each. I nearly always sleep in tank tops, even in the winter. If it's really cold, I'll add a pair of sexy long john britches. I'm such a lovely vision in those.


I got two pairs of thong sandals at Fashion Bug on clearance for $4.98 each:

Ooo, Fancy!

And I got this Honeysuckle Eau Du Toilette and Rose Salve at Bath & Body Works:

*****************

I haven't made any leather bracelets yet. I have quite a bit of stuff to work with, though, so maybe I'll try again this weekend.

I'm off to surf some blogs and bake something! Have a good weekend...

How Bizarre

I went to the bank and then decided to go by Target and get some ink for my printer. But first I stopped at Payless Shoes and looked around. And then I went to Fashion Bug and browsed around, and then I stopped into the Bath & Body Shop...and then I needed some limes and carbonated water for my sour limes that I am addicted to.

My back, she is aching. Maybe I overdid it just a tad. Ya think? I didn't mean to go all of those places, it just happened. I'm sure the 40 lbs of dogfood and 35 lbs of cat litter didn't help things either. Doh!

I happen to have some homemade ice packs in my freezer. I read in a magazine that you can make your own gel-like packs to freeze and use for just such occasions. The recipe is 1 part rubbing alcohol to three parts water if you're interested. Put 1/2 cup of rubbing alcohol and 1 1/2 cups of water in a ziplock baggie and freeze it. It works great!

I made another apple pie the day before yesterday and used two cans of pie filling instead. However, I failed to cook the pie longer and it flopped. It was all gummy and gross. So if y'all make that pie and double the filling, remember to cook the pie for at least an hour and get the crust good and brown. I ended up throwing mine away. Hmpf.

I'm going to lie down with my homemade ice pack on my back now. I'm sure I can rummage up some pain medicine to go along with those muscle relaxers and fix myself right up. I'll be no good the rest of the day.

Oh, yeah. Wanna hear something weird and creepy before I leave you? As I was drifting off to sleep last night, I clearly heard a male voice say, "I feel like I'm going to die." I swear I'm not crazy y'all. I really heard it and it was plain as day. I hadn't taken any pain medicine or anything. Bizarre, huh?

I Lived

I had the epidural injection yesterday and all went well. They knocked me out to do it, and I slept after we got home nearly the whole time from 3:30-8:00 this morning. Supposedly I'll start feeling the effects of the steroid and feel better each day until Friday when I'm dancin' a jig. That might not be exactly how he said it.

Janis, tell your husband it was a breeze! He should go do it if he needs it. Even when they didn't put me to sleep when I had it done a few years ago, it wasn't that big of a deal. The doc said that most everyone uses anesthesia for it now.

I'm going to eat breakfast now and be a slug the rest of the day -- doctor's orders!

Apple Pie

Five-Minute Apple Pie

Pie Ingredients

This is all you need to put a great apple pie together in five minutes or less. Saturday morning I took the pie crust out of the refrigerator, slapped half of it into my pie plate, opened the can of pie filling, shook a tiny bit of extra sugar and cinnamon on top of the filling, slapped the last half on top and fluted the edges, sprinked more cinnamon-sugar on top, and threw it in the oven. I swear it took less than five minutes. I must have a deep-dish plate because the pie looked kind of small inside that plate, so next time I'll use two cans of pie filling. The pie was perfect and didn't fall apart or anything. YUM. Even Barnaby ate it, and he usually won't eat desserts if they're not chocolate.

Speaking of Barnaby, I still need to think of a new name for him. I'll ask him what he wants his name to be and get back to y'all.

Soup is Good Food

We're just hanging out on a Friday night doing nothing. We're about to decide what to have for supper even though it's already 8:30 p.m. Barnaby has been golfing, and I've been here trying to get over the sweet sickness from having too many mini Reese's cups. (Gastric Bypass patients call it "dumping," and although the doctor who did my VGS said I shouldn't have that with the type of surgery I had, he's SO WRONG.) I had about six, and about 30 minutes after I ate them, they knocked me on my ass. Okay, maybe I had eight or ten -- who counts? I went and laid down and groaned for 20 minutes, and in about 30 minutes, I was over it. It's an awful feeling.

Barnaby has decided to have a sandwich, and since I'm a sandwich snob and don't want a sandwich without really fresh bread and alfalfa sprouts, I'm going to have some soup. I am a food hoarder, so there are at least 10 cans of Campbell's Soup in my pantry at any given time. I don't have it that often in the summer, but you have to have it just in case.

These are the must-have-at-all-times Campbell's Soups:

Chicken Noodle (Duh)
Bean with Bacon (My personal favorite)
Vegetable Beef (Barnaby's favorite)
Tomato (Just because it's good)
Cream of Mushroom (For cooking)
Cream of Chicken (For cooking)
Cream of Celery (For cooking & eating by itself)

I just went and counted...I have 15 cans of regular Campbell's Soup and 5 cans of Campbell's Soup at Hand soups. That's about normal. I have all the above and also a can of Cheddar Cheese, Split Pea & Ham, and Cream of Potato.

Soup is one of those foods that is always better than you think it's going to be. It makes you feel good, too, -- not too heavy and warm in your tummy.

This concludes today's lesson on soup.

I got my hair all whacked off yesterday! (Hee, I said whacked off.) It's back to being really short again, and I love it. I packed up all the hair pieces I bought at the mall and stored them away. I'll probably decide to grow my hair out again some day and might need it. I'm thinking not though, because this short hair is just so easy and neat and clean. I love it. And besides all that, it's too dad-gum hot outside for hair!

I'm off to eat dinner!

Okay, folks! I do believe I've found the one I'm sticking with for awhile. Thank ya, Jesus! It only took HOURS upon HOURS. I hit the jackpot today and found lots of them I liked, AND the girl who made them was willing to help me figure out how to get them to work with Blogger. Actually, the one I ended up with was from a different page that was linked on her site. Both links are in my sidebar if you're interested: www.thecutestblogontheblog.com AND www.onecuteblog.blogspot.com.

The MRI Results:

The MRI showed a bulging disc and inflammation in the same disc I had surgery on before. It was very clear on the MRI that it wasn't like the others. Good news is that it's not scar tissue from the previous surgery so it may be helped with the epidural steroid injections. I am scheduled for an injection next Tuesday. Yea! I was really relieved that he saw that I actually had a problem and that it wasn't scar tissue that would require surgery to fix. Maybe the injections and some physical therapy will work this time.

I also got some long-lasting anti-inflammatory medicine and a muscle relaxer.

I can't hang around. Gotta go!

Okay...

I spent ALL DAY yesterday looking at templates and trying those I liked. I either didn't like them once I got them in there, or they didn't work right. I'm going to keep looking today, but not all day again. That was too much on my poor little brain. It hurt.

There is so many really cool ones out there. I really like the dark ones, but I worry that those will make it too hard to read. Of course, the really really great ones you have to pay for. The ones I liked were mostly between $70-$80. If I were really ambitious, I'd make my own! It just seems so daunting to have to do that. Surely it's not that hard?

I'm going for the MRI results on my back today at 1:00. I'm hoping it's something that will get better with epidural steroid shots. I think I'm out of luck if it's scar tissue, though. I'm not going to worry about it until I know something for sure. Who said that? Where is Pam?!

I'm back to the searching. I'll be back later today or tomorrow. See ya. Y'all be good.

Birfdays and Bracelets

I can't believe it's Friday already. Man, this week has flown by.





Today is Barnaby's birthday. We had dinner at my mom & dad's house with my sister & her hubby. I made a chocolate cake with bananas in the middle, which is Barnaby's favorite. Weirdo. Here it is...

What it says makes no sense so don't even try to figure it out. We were limited on letters, okay? We thought it was funny. Since I am limited as to information I can reveal here, it may not make sense to anyone who doesn't know him, but it did to us.

My mom made giant pork chops, corn on the cob, pea salad, and biscuits. I brought a broccoli casserole (Paula Deen's recipe) and the cake. She also had an angel food cake and peaches and strawberries for anybody who didn't want the weird banana & chocolate cake.

Here is Barnaby sitting at the dinner table with his b-day presents. He did not match his shirt to the wrapping paper on purpose, but it looks good, huh? He got a phone call just as I was taking the picture and was about to get up. He's on call for work, but he didn't have to leave, thank goodness. That would have sucked.

Check out that curly ponytail. I'm jealous!

I have been looking everywhere for leather bracelets like the ones I have on in this picture. The very thin and delicate ones are hard to find anywhere. I had to order the one with the silver on it that says, "Love," online, and there weren't that many to choose from there either. So...

I got the bright idea to go to Hobby Lobby and Michaels and get the stuff to make my own. I managed to get everything except the little silver charms. Neither place had any with holes on two sides for bracelets like this. I'm going to go online when I'm finished with this and try to order some if I can find them. Neither place had a How-To book for leather jewelry either, so I'll have to try and find some directions online too.

Barnaby and I just winged it the other night and sat and made four bracelets. They're okay, but not exactly right. The simpler the better as far as what I want.

My dermatologist's office called and the biopsy was benign and nothing to worry about. Woo-hoo! I get to keep my face.

My MRI results are in and I have an appointment next Wednesday with the back doctor so he can tell me what he sees. Oh, the suspense is killing me. Actuallly, it's my leg that is killing me.

We're going to try and get more video over the weekend. I've had a request to video the dogs ringing the bell for a treat, and of Fletch ringing the hanging bells at the back door to go outside.

Have a great weekend!