The Sun's Frying My Brain

You may want to click on that button down below for added ambiance for the following entry.....

As they say in Jamaica.....soon come!  Well.....at least not this year.....but damn straight.....you'll find my lily white ass somewhere in the Caribbean next year!  Picture this.....just the Big Boober and I.....the two of us laying on a pure white beach.....the azure waters lapping at our toes.....and the lilting tunes of reggae working it's magic on our poor tired spirit.  What that all adds up to.....REJUVENATION!!!  After this past week, I've got myself so incredibly worked up on doing a trip to the Caribbean, that come hell or high water.....and as Gawd is my witness.....it WILL happen!!!  I'm tired of being tired.....I'm tired of being angry.....I'm tired of getting screwed over and over.....what I am ready for.....I'm ready for good things to come our way!  So I'm putting on my big girl panties.....getting rid of "those poor Fleetwood's" attitude and making some changes.....BIG changes!!!  Now I can't do anything about the trip just yet.....we be po'.....but I can do something about all the crap that's visited our front door.....as in kick it to the curb and get over it!

New day.....new me.....soon come!!!

Like My Week Can't Get Any Better

Didn't think I had another rant in me.....but lo and behold.....the mail yesterday changed all that!  After a rather full day of running errands.....I swung by the mailbox and had the Big Boober check the mail.  As he took a quick glance over, he came across a piece of mail for jury duty.....I said a quick prayer that it wasn't for me.....WRONG.....the Big Boober said it was for yours truly!  I can't tell you how much that sucks on so many levels.  Don't get me wrong.....I've served on more juries than is humanly possible.....in fact.....I've served on enough juries to last this gal two lifetimes.  Ever since I was old enough to vote.....the powers that be felt I would do them justice by being an honored member of their society.  So serve I did.....got paid a pittance.....and chalked it up as doing my civic duty.  I did this over and over and over.....as soon as the 6 months was up.....BAM.....there was another call for jury duty.  I've served as a juror on every level of justice.....and most were BORING!  I know I shouldn't complain this time.....but things have changed since the last time I served.....which was roughly 6+ years ago.....right before our daughter was murdered.....right before I gave up all hope for justice to be served for OUR daughter.....right before I despaired that her murderer would never be caught.  Now it's 6 years later and my feelings haven't changed one stinkin' bit!  I wouldn't be a viable juror for either the defense or the prosecution.  The law has failed us, and continues to fail us.  I will walk in those hallowed halls.....and my prejudice for the judicial system will be unfailing.....is this the type of juror that anyone would want?  I hope not.  I joke when I say this.....but in another century past.....I would have been the one to say.....hang by the neck till dead!  I'm so not the person they want on this jury!

Prove I'm Broke

Wasn't exactly sure what I was going to share with you today.....but had full intentions of being a happy camper!  Guess what?  That ain't gonna happen!!!  This lightning crap has taken so much out of Dan and I that we've been doing tag-team down-ness for the past week.  Last week it was all I could do to give a damn.....in fact, the Big Boober told me that my Give-A-Shitter was broke!  Man, he wasn't kidding.  It got so bad that I needed to find myself a mantra and repeat it whenever I was feeling defeated.....the voice I heard over and over was Cher's, saying, "SNAP OUT OF IT."  Not sure what I'm talking about.....check this out.....



So I said it in the morning, noon, and night.....I even said it while I was laying in bed!  It did work.....in fact, this weekend I was pretty up.....then again, I had the Incredible Miss M to make me forget all my woes this weekend!  Then came Monday!  Why is it that Mondays have to always mess with your head?  Why is it that trouble ALWAYS has to start on a Monday.  It was a week ago yesterday (Monday for those who are across the date line) that lightning decided to visit us here at the Gulch.  Then a week later we're STILL dealing with lightning related stuff.....as in.....insurance.....pricings.....checking and rechecking for electronics that have bitten the dust.....getting people out here to fix what's broken or tell us it really truly is fried.  Does the insurance company REALLY think that we're sitting on fat wallets around here?  Do they REALLY think that we've got the money for every item over $200 needs to be checked by a professional?  Why don't they send one of their people here to check everything.....sounds like a terribly simple and brilliant idea, if I may add.....but NO.....that's not the way they work.....at least it's not the way our insurance company works.  Getting the hint that ol' Anne here isn't a very happy camper.....BINGO!

To top off all of this aggravation.....on Sunday I ordered a sundae for dinner.....that's what you can do when you're an empty nester.....and damn it to hell.....they got it wrong.  I actually sat there in the Transformer and hemmed and hawed about getting out in the sweltering heat to make them get it right.....but I knew if I didn't do something about it right then and there, that I'd stew about it all night long.....like I didn't need to add a messed up ice cream dinner ruin my evening.  So I trudged all the way across the parking lot.....up on the sidewalk.....and groaned as I stood in the long line.....until all my huffing and puffing got some moron's attention in the shop, and he decided to help my sorry ass.  Problem solved!  Then on Monday.....yes, the same messed up Monday.....I stopped at a fast food restaurant (the REALLY famous one that sounds Irish) to get a breakfast sandwich.....since I was starving after fasting for blood work.....anywho.....I placed my order.....repeated it.....had the guy who took my money repeat it.....AND had the guy who handed me the bag repeat my order.  For the love of Pete.....as I'm about a block away I unwrap my sandwich.....you got it.....it was WRONG, WRONG, WRONG!!!  I turned the Transformer around and walked into the REALLY famous Irish sounding fast food restaurant that screwed up my order.....and proceeded to give Jerk #3 the evil eye.  Problem solved!

Today is pedi day with my Mom.....1) my regular gal better be there, because she's good.....2) the other gal who filled in for my regular gal the past two times better not be there, because she's a sado-masochistic pain lover.....and last but not least.....3) I better be pampered damn well because I deserve it!

I don't know about you, but I really don't feel an iota better after this rant!  Hey.....upside here.....this entry officially warrants as my rant of the week!  So with that said.....I carefully get off of my soapbox.....don't need to add a broken leg to my oh so wonderful week!

Butter Pecan Ice Cream

When I first tasted this ice cream, I seriously thought I'd died and gone to heaven!!!  Homemade ice cream is not like it used to be.....that is if you have one of those new fandangled electric ice cream makers.  In fact, check the Amazon ad after this post.....and the Cuisinart machine that you see on the left is the one I own (and LOVE)!!!

Butter Pecan Ice Cream
adapted from allrecipes
Printable Recipe (currently not working)

You'll Need

• 1/3 cup pecans, chopped
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1-1/2 cups half-and-half
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a small skillet, melt the butter.  Once melted, add the pecans, and saute until light browned, stirring frequently.  Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, stir together the brown sugar, eggs, and half-and-half, and cook over low heat until nice and smooth.  Reduce heat to a simmer, and continue to cook for an additional 2 minutes, while stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat.

Stir in the heavy cream, vanilla, and pecans, blending well.

Set up your ice cream maker according to the package directions.

Carefully pour the ice cream mixture into your ice cream maker and let it run until done (again, according to your ice cream maker's directions).

At this point, the ice cream will be at a soft-serve stage.....VERY YUMMY!!!

Serve yourself a bowl, then transfer the remaining ice cream into a container with a lid, and place in your freezer.

Oy Vey Iz Mir

Okay folks.....I seriously had a nice lineup of blog entries for today and the rest of the week.....but unfortunately, I've been knocked down a few rungs.....no thanks to Mother Nature.  The Big Boober did some jigger rigging and managed to piece together a computer for me to at least put this mini rant together for you.....but I'm not counting on this being a permanent thing.  What happened, you may ask???  Mother Nature sent us a gift on Monday at 1:05 PM.....a direct lightning strike (probably to the breaker box)!!!  We think we've found everything that got fried .....some of the electricals that have said bye-bye are 3 TV's, computer, laptop, garage door opener, lathe, etc, etc, etc.  For those of you who may ask.....yes, we had surge protectors on the computers and most everything else.....and they too were fried!!!  Insurance has been contacted.....but with the deductible.....I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we'll get enough back to replace the essentials.....what it won't cover, then oh well, we'll have to live without.  To say this sucks MAJOR is a silly understatement!  To top that all off.....when I pulled up Blogger it showed I had comments going back to June 7.....WTF!!!  Then there feels to be a strangeness in this house.....me thinks "there is a great disturbance in the force".....(name that movie).....which can be attributed to the lightning strike!!!  Anywho.....I tried to respond to emails a couple of nights ago using my cell phone.....but that task drove me out of my friggin' mind.....then I thought about heading over to my son or mother's house to use their computers.....but all my stuff is here, and that task also seemed to be a royal pain in the ass!  So here I sit never wanting to get out of my nightie.....feeling defeated, angry, and bummed.....things just NEVER go right at Coyote Gulch.....and decided that I need to deal with all this crap without anything else cluttering my mind.  So I'm going to take a few days and 'gitter done.'  I'm counting on life.....as WE know it.....will be back to some semblance of normal come Monday.....and "Calamity Anne's Adventures" WILL return then too.  Have a great rest of the week.....and please, for the love of Pete.....STAY SAFE!!!

HAR HAR.....I still have an iota of a sense of humor left in me.....check out the Amazon ads I put in today.....they're all lightning related!!!  I'm such a card!!!

Pineapple Chicken Tenders

If you're looking for a dish that you can put together in a snap.....AND.....cooks in a snap.....then this is the dish for you!!!  I give this one my easy-peasy-tasty too-stamp of approval!!!

Pineapple Chicken Tenders
adapted from allrecipes
Printable Recipe (currently not functioning)

You'll Need

• 1/2 cup pineapple juice
• 1/4 cup packaged brown sugar
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 pound chicken strips
• Wooden skewers

Soak the wooden skewers for at least 30 minutes.  This will prevent them from burning on the grill.

In a small saucepan, mix the pineapple juice, brown sugar, and soy sauce.  Cook over medium heat until the mixture almost comes to a boil.

In a medium bowl add the chicken strips.  Pour the pineapple marinade over the top and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat your grill to medium heat.

Thread the chicken strips onto your wooden skewers.

Lightly oil the grill grate, this will help prevent the meat from sticking.

Grill the chicken strips roughly 5 minutes per side, or until the juices run clear.  This process happens quickly, so don't run off and do something else!

 

ENJOY!!!

Serves 4

I'm In LOVE!!!

You heard that right.....I'm in love with my newest acquisition from Hobby Lobby's no longer 80% off aisle.....but their 90% off aisle!!!  I reluctantly scanned what was left.....knowing that just about everything I'd set my eyeballs on was either going to be broken, cracked, chipped, missing parts, or was butt ugly!  Then I spied two clocks.....and from my vantage point of almost 5-1/2' above them, they looked pretty darn good.  I picked up the first one.....noticed a couple of itty bitty dings here and there.....nothing a dab of paint couldn't heal.  Being the smart one.....got that way after too many times being the dumb one.....I placed it in my cart to quasi-claim it until I could check out the other clock.  The other one was a little more worse for wear, but I decided to leave it for the next shopper who couldn't live without it.  Here's my newest love.....

Would you believe that it stands a tad over 2 feet tall.....and yes, that's a working pendulum!!!  For the time being it's going to stay black.....though I'm kind of itching on repainting it.....but, the color has yet to come to me.

Want to know what I paid for this beauty?  First, I'll let you see the original retail price.....

Drumroll, please.....I got it for ONLY $7.00!!!  Yes, yes, yes.....$7.00!!!  Can you tell how excited I am about this find!  My, my, my.....lucky duck me!!!

By the way.....I found out who the next shopper was for the other clock.....the Big Boober!!!  Yes indeedy.....he decided for what the clock parts would cost, that he was getting a steal of a deal by buying that clock.  So I'll keep the wooden case and do a bit of magic.....he'll take the clockworks.....and we'll both transform those parts into something new and exciting.  What that'd be.....I haven't a clue!

I'm off to do another happy dance!!!

Check out more great finds.....

Southern Hospitality

Coastal Charm

This Little Girl...

This little girl has the enviable knack of making all the bad things go away.  She can turn a day that should have surely been filled with sadness.....into a day full of fun.

This little girl doesn't know it yet, but she has the capability of melting two very gullible hearts into a big pile of gooshy love.

This little girl looks into your eyes with an innocence that tells you things will always be alright.

This little girl loves this big guy so much.....to you my dear readers, he's the Big Boober.....to her, he's just Pops.  These two have their own unspoken language.....it's all in the way they look into each other's eyes.

This little girl recently made Pops and Bopbop (that'd be yours truly) forget that there was a darker day in our not too distant past.

This little girl brought love and laughter into both our hearts on this most recent day.

This little girl softened those memories that will never go away.

This little girl put peace into our hearts.

This little girl reminded us that life has to go on.....if not for her.....then for ourselves.

Now for a little history.....Saturday, July 10th, was the anniversary of the murder of our 20-year old daughter, Amanda.  That is the day that the Big Boober and I knew in our hearts that Amanda ceased to be the person that we all knew and loved.  What remained that day was just her body.....one that she didn't need anymore.  Three days later on July 13th, the doctors informed us that she had died.....what a cruel joke.....because before the night was through, we got a call that she was still alive.  Then two days after that, on July 15th.....she was officially declared brain dead.  For those of you who aren't aware of it.....we donated many of her body parts, bone, skin, etcetera to others who so desperately needed them.....so in retrospect.....our dear Amanda lives on.  2010 marks the 6th anniversary of her passing on to a much better place where she can tappity tap on the computer all the live long day.....she can play with all the little children that she so dearly adored.....and she has hopefully taken that trip to Japan that was on her wish list.

Then there was that little girl who made these past few days something special.....she reminded us to love life and to celebrate the good memories.....and it was now time to let the bad ones of that fateful day just go away.  Sounds simple, doesn't it?  But childlike innocence is just that.....simple.

Hamburger Stroganoff

I took a few liberties with the ingredients.....so what else is new.....and I think I came up with a deliciously simple, but satisfying dish.....at least the Big Boober and I gobbled it all up!!!  Bottom line.....this is good stuff Maynard!!!

Hamburger Stroganoff
adapted from Simply Recipes
Printable Recipe (currently not functioning)

You'll Need

• 3 tablespoons butter, divided
• 1 pound ground chuck
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Pepper, to taste
• 1 cup yellow onion, chopped
• 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
• 1/3 cup water
• 1-1/4 cups sour cream, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 8 ounces egg noodles

Get your large pot of salted water boiling in preparation for the egg noodles.

In a large sauté pan, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter over medium-high heat.  Once the butter has melted, add the ground chuck and cook until nice and brown.

Drain the excess fat from the pan, and remove the meat to a platter.

Reduce the heat to medium-low, then add 1 tablespoon of butter to the sauté pan.  Once the butter is melted, add the onions and sauté until soft.

Remove the onions from the sauté pan, and add them to the meat.

PASTA.....add your egg noodles to the now boiling water, and cook according to the package directions.

While the pasta is cooking, add the final tablespoon of butter to the sauté pan, and increase the heat to medium-high.  Once the butter has melted, add the sliced mushrooms, and sauté until browned.

Add the water to the mushrooms, and deglaze the pan, making sure to scrape up any browned bits.  Let the water reduce by half.  Once it has reduced, lower the heat to the lowest setting.

Remove the sauté pan from the heat, then mix in the sour cream and paprika until smooth.

Return the sauté pan to the simmer, and stir until well blended, making sure that the sour cream doesn't boil.

Stir in the lemon juice, salt, and pepper, and mix well.

Add the meat and onions to the sour cream mixture, and continue cooking until heated through.

If desired, you can add additional salt and pepper, to taste.

Keep the stroganoff on the lowest heat setting until the noodles are done cooking.  When the noodles are al dente, drain.

Serve the stroganoff on top of the egg noodles, and enjoy!!!

Serves 4