Happy Easter!

 A little Doctor Who Dalek humor for the holiday!

Top 5 On Friday

Top 5 artists that sound better now then when they first started out

1. David Bowie: I'm not saying his early stuff wasn't stellar, but I am saying that at his age he's still a force to be reckoned with. Listen to his new album The Next Day, and you'll hear Bowie rocking just as hard as he did in the 70s.

2. Nick Lowe: This man is like a fine wine, he gets better with age. He may not be doing power pop anymore, but his music is still better than just about anything else out there and it has a maturity it lacked in his Cruel To Be Kind days.

3. Elvis Costello: He's not angry anymore. Pun intended. EC is an artist that proves that he can do just about anything at any age. Sadly no one pays much attention and he's one of the most brilliant songwriters of the last 30 years.

4. Erasure: As a whole, Erasure's sound hasn't changed much since they started out in the mid-80s. What has changed is the caliber of the songwriting

5. Blake Shelton: In this case, couldn't stand his earlier stuff...love everything he's done recently

Cat Thursday

From The True Book Addict

Kitkat sleeping on her brother Midnight

Bootsie in the wheel

That's It...Everything Is Broken

20 minutes before I head out to work, my nephew calls me to come upstairs.

He hears a strange noise in the bathroom.

Yup.

Really strange.

The sound of water spraying the walls.

One of the pipes to the tube had a leak. You know, like a soda can that has a hole?

Well the walls and floor got a good washing.

Had to call a plumber.

Found out a few things.

1. We need a new sink and faucet in the bathroom.

2. The bathtub faucet is vintage (OLDER THAN DIRT) and may not be able to be fixed, and if it is...insert $$$$ here. And if we need a new bathtub..just kill me now.

This is further proof that no matter what we do, we cannot get ahead.

Stuffed Beef Bundles

This is one of my favorite recipes. Mini Meatloaves.

Great comfort food, and even better when accompanied by roasted potatoes and cauliflower

The recipe comes from a 1973 Better Homes and Gardens cookbook.

I cut the meatloaf recipe in half to make it for 4, but kept the gravy and added a jar of mushrooms

List of Ingredients

2 cups packaged herb-seasoned stuffing mix (Stove Top Stuffing)

1-3/4 lb. ground round or ground sirloin

1/3 cup milk

1/2 cup quick-cook oats

1 egg

2 12-oz. jars Kroger Home Style beef gravy

Recipe

Prepare stuffing according to package directions.

In a separate bowl combine meat, milk, egg and oats. Mix well. Divide into 8 patties on wax paper; pat into a 4-6 inch circle. Put 1/8 to 1/4 cup prepared stuffing in center of each meat patty. Draw meat over stuffing and seal. Place beef bundles into greased 4-quart baking dish.

Pour gravy over meat. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 90 minutes (1 1/2 hours).

Makes 6-8 servings.

My Car Hates Me

It has been a long time since I said that, but I think my Focus has finally lost its love for me.

My drivers side rear turn signal is not working.

The rear light however is working.

ARGH!

I'm hoping this is a quick and easy fix, because there's too much month and not enough money right now.

Top 5 On Friday

Top 5 albums that didn't live up to the hype

Paul McCartney - Chaos & Creation In The Back Yard: One work...BLECH

Elvis Costello - North: A beautiful album but oh so very boring.

Duran Duran - Red Carpet Massacre: It is a massacre all right.

U2 - How to Dismantle and Atomic Bomb: This is an example of when bad albums happen to good bands

Madonna - MDNA: 1 good song on this album

Cat Thursday

Silly cat goodness brought to you by The True Book Addict

Now for a few pics of my furbabies

Randomness

~ Finally listened to Justin Hayward's new album and I have to say I enjoyed it. Read my review here

~ This is one of my favorite country songs right now



~ Been reading a lot lately and this week I've really read some great books back to back. That seldom happens to me. Oh and if any of you like Cozy Mysteries, you want to check out a book called What's A Witch to Do. It is fab!

~ My favorite show right now is The Neighbors. I hope they don't do anything to ruin it for me. I used to love Mike and Molly but since they started trying for a baby, the funny  has disappeared.

~ Snyder's Chocolate Dipped York Pretzel sandwiches are too freaking good. It is no wonder why I'm fat!

~ Our internet hates me.

~ Had to buy cheap cat food for my heathens. Not looking forward to litter box duty for the next few days.  (Yeah TMI, I know)

~ Plan to review the new David Bowie CD in the coming days. I've heard good things, and I hope it lives up to my expectations

Blog Envy

As many of you know, and my waistline can attest to, I love to cook and bake.

Whodathunkit?

I like to take pictures of my creations when I'm done so I can share my joy with my friends, but my kitchen just isn't photogenic.

These are the Pecan Divines I made last night. The recipe came from the cozy mystery Fudge Cupcake Murder by Joanne Fluke, which I'll be reviewing on my book blog in the next day or so.

I have so many recipe sites book marked and saved  that I could probably be baking from now til the end of time. (And I'd be bigger than a house). I only wish my camera could capture my creations as well as the other food bloggers out there.

I really love making cookies. I find the process very relaxing, except when my father is parading around the kitchen. Then I lose what's left of my mind.

Next up Funfetti Cake Batter Cookies! Those will have to be pretty, right?

Another Weekend Down The Drain

Well its almost Monday and I look back at my weekend and I see what I've accomplished.

1. Grocery shopping
2. 2 loads of laundry
3. Went to the YMCA 3 times and discovered muscles I forgot I had.
4. Found a new appreciation for That 70s Show.


Yup..I had a great weekend, and you?

Top 5 On Friday

Top 5 songs you wished everyone loved as much as you

1. Siouxsie & The Banshees - Turn To Stone



2. Elvis Costello - Man Out Of Time



3. Nick Lowe - Let's Stay In And Make Love



4. Gordon Lightfoot - Inspiration Lady



5. Duran Duran - Box Full O Honey (the only good song on Red Carpet Massacre)

Cat Thursday

From The True Book Addict

Here are some funny pictures I've found on Facebook this week and some of my own little furbabies

Can't Keep My Eyes Open

I don't think the whole dad at the hospital thing that happened when we lost an hour of sleep was a good thing.

I can't function at all.

I'm totally tired, because in those 2 days I averaged only about 4 hours of sleep a night.

Then things go back to slightly closer to normal and I'm still not getting much sleep. I can't keep my eyes open at all.

And I can't stay awake past 9 ish....which means I'm not getting anything done either.

ARGH

Dad's Home

On a happy note, I brought Dad home from the hospital today. His stress test went well, showing no signs of heart problems.

He is on Xanax now for his anxiety.

Which for some reason has this song stuck in my head....as a result.

More Tests

Dad's doing better, but he has to have a nuclear stress test tomorrow.

I hate that I can't be there for him.

I so frustrated and annoyed with life right now.

However, I have done a lot of cleaning.

The garbage man is going to hate me on Wednesday.

Tea and Sympathy

Dad is in the hospital and he's not doing well.

I'm at my wits end and as always it feels like everything is on my shoulders.

I'm worried about dad. I'm worried about mom who doesn't know how she could cope without the man she's been married to almost all her life.

My church does not care.

Do you hear that, Mary, Mother Of The Church, you do not care.

Why?

Because we are poor.

We live in a house that is heated by space heaters.

It is cold.

I don't make enough money where I work to fix things. I struggle to keep the house clean and laundry done.

I have no extras.

I don't go out to eat. I don't buy frivolous things.

My computer is 5 years old and is the only thing that connects me to people anymore.

Not once has a priest called us, and I used to feel Father Jerry was a friend.

I don't anymore.

I don't know what to do.

Any programs that are gov't funded would require a lien being placed on our house. This is unacceptable. If they went to a nursing home, they would be separated, which is even more unacceptable.

We can't win for losing.

Cat Thursday

From The True Book Addict

And here are some of my furbabies, before they moved in with me

Here Today...Gone..Today

This is the scene outside my house this morning around 8:30. There was about 6 - 7 inches of heavy white snow on the ground.

It looked like a winter wonderland.

This is the kind of snow you want to see around Christmas, not anytime in March.

However, by lunchtime the bulk of the snow was melted and we were left with a slushy disgusting mess.

Boo hiss snow!

You couldn't even last a single day.

A Little Good News

Most of you know I do a little writing on the side. Well, today I got an email saying that one of the reps for a musician that I recently reviewed wanted me to post my review to my websites.

That's a first.

I feel kinda proud of myself right now.

If you want to read my review and check out a gorgeous song from the CD click here.

The artist is Bogdan Ota and the album is called Day of Wrath. I always find it difficult to review instrumental music, so that's another reason I'm excited that my review was well received.

Its great to get some news that actually makes me smile for once!

I'm Frozen

I can't function.

I've churned out 2 reviews in the last few days and I still have one more to go before tomorrow is over.

I've had the new Justin Hayward CD since Wednesday and I haven't taken it out of the shrink wrap.


Oh and I'm cold. Our house is so freaking cold I can see my breath as I'm typing this. I have fingerless gloves on to keep my hands warm.

All I want to do is curl up somewhere and be warm.

Oh and I see in our weather forecast we just may be getting some snow on Tuesday night. Just what we need. However, I wish if we were going to get snow, we'd actually get some, as opposed to this flurry crap that's been happening every day this past week.

Where's that groundhog? I want to hit him with a stick!

Retail Therapy Anyone?

Today was one of those days.

Our house is broken? Have I mentioned that?

Woke up to find one of the breakers had been tripped last night and none of the things that were plugged in were working.

Yee ha!

Thankfully we flipped the breaker a few times and voila! everything worked again.

That is how my day started.

From there on, I just couldn't function.

Not to mention, my sister's cat Mew passed away today.

Mew was such a sweet little furbaby and she had 13 wonderful years with my sister. I know she'll be missed.

So after all that, I decided I needed to do some shopping so I could feel better. I bought a dress a top and a sweater online at Kohl's.

Sometimes you just gotta shop.

Top 5 On Friday

Top 5 Country Songs

Miranda Lambert - White Liar



Blake Shelton - Honey Bee



Little Big Town - Little White Church



Loretta Lynn - Coal Miner's Daughter



Dolly Parton - Jolene