I am compelled to share with you that DivAnn gave me such a wonderful birthday treat several weeks ago. I have not been able to stop thinking about it. She gave this diva CHOCOLATE BON-BONs as a birthday token. I must tell you ... it is so much easier to swallow a birthday when you have a bon-bon chaser.
Any other fantastic gift ideas you have gotten/given lately? Please share with the group. XOXO
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Luckily, the Irish like to Party
Parties have been coming at me full force these days (wedding, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and a surprise birthday party compliments of The Main Squeeze and Katherine), so I've made a vow to be more proactive ... and be the one talking about and planning parties, therefore righting the universe back where it belongs. St. Patty's Day is next and I do love me some Irish partyin', Me Prince/ss, so I've come up with pure gold for you to get you started on your St. P's Par-tay.
If you're going all formal, start with the invitation. But seriously, how serious can you take a St. Patrick's Day party? It's all about green and beer - that's not a slight in any way, just the part that needs to be embraced. So, how about making new beer labels that you put on a beer bottle and deliver (cold, of course) to your intended guests. How fun is that?! Variations on this idea are handing out beer mugs with info inside (and bring the mug to the party to fill with green beer! You can find inexpensive mugs or frosted mugs at K-Mart) or shot glasses. Evites are my latest preferred mode of inviting folks and they have great Irish themes (http://www.evite.com/).
For decorations, you really don't have to do terribly much as your guests will be drinking and eventually won't care or remember what your decorations were. I suggest green and white balloons and fresh clover (available at supermarkets). I have noticed at the Dollar Store while picking up items for a child's school project that there are tons of things, including large felt Leprechaun hats in assorted varieties. If you want to get a little fancier, I suggest decorating with fresh flowers such as daisies, Bells of Ireland, Emerald Roses, white tulips, or white daffodils. Very shi-shi!
Your soon-to-be -intoxicated bunch need some sustenance, because as much as some people would like to think, you really can't live on beer alone (at least after college). I suggest nibbles and a meal to off-set the alcohol absorption. Start with green M&M's (won't you be the talk?!), guacamole, sugar cookies complete with green food coloring, and cupcakes with green and white icing.
Yet, we professionals realize that finger foods/ bar food doesn't do nearly as much as pure MEAT to absorb alcohol. To that end, I suggest a slow-cooked meat item you and your guests will adore. Please note this is NOT a last minute throw together as the meat must cook forever (but it is TOTALLY WORTH IT!).
Corned Beef and Cabbage
6 carrots, sliced (or baby carrots, but please use more than 6)
2 onions, chopped
2-3 lbs. corned beef brisket with seasoning
2 garlic cloves, minced (reduce if there is a lot of garlic in the seasoning pack that usually comes with the c.b. brisket)
a can of beer (See, your theme is in the meat!)
2 Tbsp. yellow mustard (you can use brown mustard, but it could compete with the seasonings that accompany the meat)
1/4 C. brown sugar
1 C. chicken stock
8 wedges of cabbage
Layer the veggies in the bottom of a 4-6 quart crock pot. Rinse the brisket under cold water. Dry with paper towels. Place meat in crock pot and cover with seasoning. Pour beer over, followed by a good mustard coating. In a separate bowl, combine brown sugar and water; then pour it over the brisket. Cover and cook on low for 11-12 hours. Remove meat and wrap in aluminum foil to keep it warm. Add cabbage wedges to the liquid and cook for about 30 minutes.
I suggest serving potatoes and apples as side dishes. Oh, and salad makes a great green side dish as well!
Besides your green and white frosted cupcakes, for the occasion of St. Patrick's Day, I suggest having a luscious dessert beverage .... Irish Cream, but of course!
1 C. light cream
1 14 oz. can Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 2/3 C Irish Whiskey
1 tsp. Instant coffee (!)
2 Tbsp. Hershey's chocolate syrup
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. almond extract
Combine all ingredients in a blender on high for about 30 seconds. Bottle and refrigerate. This will keep for a few months ... like it will last that long!
Busy Pumpkin, please note that these two centerpieces of your party use only two appliances/pots for cooking. Love that the clean up is minimal!
Your guests will think they've been transported to Glocca Mora after this scrumptious party and feast!
Wishing you much luck, my little Clover!
If you're going all formal, start with the invitation. But seriously, how serious can you take a St. Patrick's Day party? It's all about green and beer - that's not a slight in any way, just the part that needs to be embraced. So, how about making new beer labels that you put on a beer bottle and deliver (cold, of course) to your intended guests. How fun is that?! Variations on this idea are handing out beer mugs with info inside (and bring the mug to the party to fill with green beer! You can find inexpensive mugs or frosted mugs at K-Mart) or shot glasses. Evites are my latest preferred mode of inviting folks and they have great Irish themes (http://www.evite.com/).
For decorations, you really don't have to do terribly much as your guests will be drinking and eventually won't care or remember what your decorations were. I suggest green and white balloons and fresh clover (available at supermarkets). I have noticed at the Dollar Store while picking up items for a child's school project that there are tons of things, including large felt Leprechaun hats in assorted varieties. If you want to get a little fancier, I suggest decorating with fresh flowers such as daisies, Bells of Ireland, Emerald Roses, white tulips, or white daffodils. Very shi-shi!
Your soon-to-be -intoxicated bunch need some sustenance, because as much as some people would like to think, you really can't live on beer alone (at least after college). I suggest nibbles and a meal to off-set the alcohol absorption. Start with green M&M's (won't you be the talk?!), guacamole, sugar cookies complete with green food coloring, and cupcakes with green and white icing.
Yet, we professionals realize that finger foods/ bar food doesn't do nearly as much as pure MEAT to absorb alcohol. To that end, I suggest a slow-cooked meat item you and your guests will adore. Please note this is NOT a last minute throw together as the meat must cook forever (but it is TOTALLY WORTH IT!).
Corned Beef and Cabbage
6 carrots, sliced (or baby carrots, but please use more than 6)
2 onions, chopped
2-3 lbs. corned beef brisket with seasoning
2 garlic cloves, minced (reduce if there is a lot of garlic in the seasoning pack that usually comes with the c.b. brisket)
a can of beer (See, your theme is in the meat!)
2 Tbsp. yellow mustard (you can use brown mustard, but it could compete with the seasonings that accompany the meat)
1/4 C. brown sugar
1 C. chicken stock
8 wedges of cabbage
Layer the veggies in the bottom of a 4-6 quart crock pot. Rinse the brisket under cold water. Dry with paper towels. Place meat in crock pot and cover with seasoning. Pour beer over, followed by a good mustard coating. In a separate bowl, combine brown sugar and water; then pour it over the brisket. Cover and cook on low for 11-12 hours. Remove meat and wrap in aluminum foil to keep it warm. Add cabbage wedges to the liquid and cook for about 30 minutes.
I suggest serving potatoes and apples as side dishes. Oh, and salad makes a great green side dish as well!
Besides your green and white frosted cupcakes, for the occasion of St. Patrick's Day, I suggest having a luscious dessert beverage .... Irish Cream, but of course!
1 C. light cream
1 14 oz. can Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 2/3 C Irish Whiskey
1 tsp. Instant coffee (!)
2 Tbsp. Hershey's chocolate syrup
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. almond extract
Combine all ingredients in a blender on high for about 30 seconds. Bottle and refrigerate. This will keep for a few months ... like it will last that long!
Busy Pumpkin, please note that these two centerpieces of your party use only two appliances/pots for cooking. Love that the clean up is minimal!
Your guests will think they've been transported to Glocca Mora after this scrumptious party and feast!
Wishing you much luck, my little Clover!
Friday, January 2, 2009
Trapped in a Cleaning Frenzy
I'm starting the New Year's off in my kids' closets. So far, it's been a Yard Bag of trash and a Yard Bag of donations per room. I haven't even gotten to my closet yet.... And the tree is still up... er ... all 4 trees are still up. The upshot of having Critically Ill Main Squeeze before Thanksgiving is that the live tree is still moist due to the fact that we acquired it later than usual. Silver linings abound.
Oh! And The Main Squeeze got his PICC line out before Christmas, so he is merry, hence so am I.
Regards from the battlefront, Poodle!
Oh! And The Main Squeeze got his PICC line out before Christmas, so he is merry, hence so am I.
Regards from the battlefront, Poodle!
Friday, December 5, 2008
Christmas Hints
Please feel free to look back to my Christmas postings from last year ... as I have been remiss a lot lately in my posting (excuses are: wedding that was beyond a nightmare due to Critically Ill Main Squeeze and the ensuing recovery and ensuing sinus infection that is raging behind my face). Nonetheless, I'm still thinking of you, my Sweet Poodle! And I had to pop in for a moment to share this reinforcement with you.
I have said for years on the radio and in person and in writing that men want the gift of gadget for Christmas (that, and lovin', but I digress). It is a tragic mistake for men to assume that their lovely diva wants the same type thing. Really, resist that thought pattern with all your might. I submit for your viewing pleasure the attached, which I can only hope was inspired by my lectures on this topic.
http://creativity-online.com/work/view?seed=5e32d548
Gentlemen, please take notes.
Alas, I must retire now to my steaming cup of whatever it is I cannot taste.
XOXO
Marjorie the Married Main Dish
I have said for years on the radio and in person and in writing that men want the gift of gadget for Christmas (that, and lovin', but I digress). It is a tragic mistake for men to assume that their lovely diva wants the same type thing. Really, resist that thought pattern with all your might. I submit for your viewing pleasure the attached, which I can only hope was inspired by my lectures on this topic.
http://creativity-online.com/work/view?seed=5e32d548
Gentlemen, please take notes.
Alas, I must retire now to my steaming cup of whatever it is I cannot taste.
XOXO
Marjorie the Married Main Dish
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Mental Note: Resist Spaghetti Day at Your Kid's Elementary School
When we moms get busy, we start to feel guilty about not paying enough attention to our kiddos. Personal reference: impending wedding (next week), heavy work load, normal never-ending amounts of laundry, etc. PLUS a child's birthday this week. So, one of our coping mechanisms to make our tots feel the mommy love is to go have lunch at the school when you can squeeze it into your mid-morning routine (yes, they eat lunch very early, which is why the afternoon snack is an essential MEAL).
I blatantly disregarded the lunch menu and was relieved that I could not only squeeze in lunch with one child, but both. Mine have the fortune of eating at 10:45 a.m. and 11:00 a.m., so I can get a visitor's pass and hang in the lunchroom for about 45 minutes and make BOTH boys feel like a million bucks. Sounds like the end of a little guilt, no?
So, it was Spaghetti Day. Let me just explain in as few words as possible how disgusting spaghetti + Kindergartners equals. I went to stand in line to get the unknown meal and my eyes rested on short noodles of spaghetti. I realized it was 10:45 and I was looking at spaghetti and felt terribly woozy. I managed to pass on lunch somehow and decided I'd just sit with the child(ren) and enjoy their precious company.
Once I got to the table with the Kindergarten class, the situation worsened. Despite wiping their faces kind of, the kids all took on an orange pallor. One kid I sat next to (not mine, thank God!), managed to get a small amount of sauce on his right ear (the side next to me, naturally). I thought at least twice I was about to have to run for a breath of fresh air.
Those sweet peas kept asking me if they could get me some iced tea. Really, I just couldn't imagine swallowing anything at that juncture. I must have looked a little green ... which certainly would have clashed with their bright, smiling, orange faces
Mercifully, their lunch time ended. When the 3 helpers in the class came to wipe down the tables, I had to flee. Really couldn't take that.
Nowhere was safe, though. I went to the second grade child's class table. Interesting dynamic in second grade: The girls realize that the boys eating habits leave a lot to be desired and split to the extent they're allowed what with the rule being that they HAVE to all sit as a class in a line of about 4 tables. There were 2 girls on one far end of the outermost table, 5 or so boys in the middle table (mine in the middle of this 3-ring circus, of course) lined up on one side so they have to lean over each other's food to talk to the ones on the outer edges, and the teacher and about 6 other children (notably the remaining girls) at the other far end table. Not catching on quickly and ever-hopeful that second grade would be less gross, I sat across from my child, who, again, was in the middle of the pack of boys .... ahem ... eating his green beans with his fingers. What a proud moment that was for me. Had it been night, I would have run out into it screaming my lungs out. Alas, it was not even noon.
The only improvement - and believe me, it was an improvement - was that their faces all seemed to have relatively normal tones. A small mercy.
While I managed to survive, I simply cannot close my eyes to sleep because Spaghetti Day at Elementary School flashes before me and my legs wobble and the rest of me feels totally shaky.
Please pass the Ambien.
I blatantly disregarded the lunch menu and was relieved that I could not only squeeze in lunch with one child, but both. Mine have the fortune of eating at 10:45 a.m. and 11:00 a.m., so I can get a visitor's pass and hang in the lunchroom for about 45 minutes and make BOTH boys feel like a million bucks. Sounds like the end of a little guilt, no?
So, it was Spaghetti Day. Let me just explain in as few words as possible how disgusting spaghetti + Kindergartners equals. I went to stand in line to get the unknown meal and my eyes rested on short noodles of spaghetti. I realized it was 10:45 and I was looking at spaghetti and felt terribly woozy. I managed to pass on lunch somehow and decided I'd just sit with the child(ren) and enjoy their precious company.
Once I got to the table with the Kindergarten class, the situation worsened. Despite wiping their faces kind of, the kids all took on an orange pallor. One kid I sat next to (not mine, thank God!), managed to get a small amount of sauce on his right ear (the side next to me, naturally). I thought at least twice I was about to have to run for a breath of fresh air.
Those sweet peas kept asking me if they could get me some iced tea. Really, I just couldn't imagine swallowing anything at that juncture. I must have looked a little green ... which certainly would have clashed with their bright, smiling, orange faces
Mercifully, their lunch time ended. When the 3 helpers in the class came to wipe down the tables, I had to flee. Really couldn't take that.
Nowhere was safe, though. I went to the second grade child's class table. Interesting dynamic in second grade: The girls realize that the boys eating habits leave a lot to be desired and split to the extent they're allowed what with the rule being that they HAVE to all sit as a class in a line of about 4 tables. There were 2 girls on one far end of the outermost table, 5 or so boys in the middle table (mine in the middle of this 3-ring circus, of course) lined up on one side so they have to lean over each other's food to talk to the ones on the outer edges, and the teacher and about 6 other children (notably the remaining girls) at the other far end table. Not catching on quickly and ever-hopeful that second grade would be less gross, I sat across from my child, who, again, was in the middle of the pack of boys .... ahem ... eating his green beans with his fingers. What a proud moment that was for me. Had it been night, I would have run out into it screaming my lungs out. Alas, it was not even noon.
The only improvement - and believe me, it was an improvement - was that their faces all seemed to have relatively normal tones. A small mercy.
While I managed to survive, I simply cannot close my eyes to sleep because Spaghetti Day at Elementary School flashes before me and my legs wobble and the rest of me feels totally shaky.
Please pass the Ambien.
Monday, October 13, 2008
It's Pumpkin Time, Pumpkin!
I know! I just LOVE pumpkins! And I use the word ... well .... liberally. They're just the most amazing things. The name is just so cute, n'est pas?
I promise to do more posting, Pumpkin. My topic will be Pumpkins. I apologize for the lapse in postings. It's just I'm about to get married to The Main Squeeze (SQUEAL!!!! IN A FEW WEEKS!!!!!!) and on top of all my work, the boys' soccer and fall baseball schedules, and my singing rehearsals (concert on Sunday), I've been a little remiss. My profuse apo-la-la-logies.
But it is fall and I do have a lot of info on pumpkins. I promise to share over the next few days.
XOXO~ MTMD
I promise to do more posting, Pumpkin. My topic will be Pumpkins. I apologize for the lapse in postings. It's just I'm about to get married to The Main Squeeze (SQUEAL!!!! IN A FEW WEEKS!!!!!!) and on top of all my work, the boys' soccer and fall baseball schedules, and my singing rehearsals (concert on Sunday), I've been a little remiss. My profuse apo-la-la-logies.
But it is fall and I do have a lot of info on pumpkins. I promise to share over the next few days.
XOXO~ MTMD
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Sarah theme continued
Frankly, I don't know what it is, but I just can't stop with the Sarah Palin topics. Oh well, here's another one for your perusal, Poodle.SPECIAL ALERT: Californians Turned Off By Wine With Remarkably Similar Name to a VEEP Hopeful
Is this news? I'm leaning towards "entertainment", which is the only reason I go anywhere close to politics.
Diva WineKnow put me on to this topic. Made me laugh. Check out this article on Fox.
http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/09/24/palin-syrah-wine-drinkers-balk-at-a-chilean-wine-with-hints-of-alaska/
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