Merry After Christmas

I hope all of my friends had a lovely holiday yesterday. Yes, I've been MIA for a bit, but holidays are always crazy and I don't think sleep happened a lot in the last week.

Here's what I've been doing. My cats, have a good sense of humor!

More Decorations

Tree

Getting Ready To Make Cookies

I'm still not sure how I feel about doing cookies this year. Cookies were my dad's favorite thing. He ate more cookies than anyone, I swear. We used to call him the cookie monster.

I didn't make many last year, as my heart just wasn't there.

I'm going to try this year.

I'm going to make about 4 or 5 different kinds, depending on the time I have and depending on what the cats will let me make without pulling out my hair too much.

Pictures will be forthcoming

What cookies do you have at your holiday gatherings?

Making Meal Plans

Trying to find ways of making economical meals that everyone in the family will like is damn hard. It is also hard to find things that are economical that aren't related to pasta.

I have so many pasta dishes that I could make, but eating noodles every day is pretty rough.

So far I know before Christmas I can make

Tuna casserole or tuna patties

Fish tacos

scrambled eggs with noodles

bacon ranch mac

pasta bake

Still trying to come up with some other cheap dinners

~sigh~

Merry Minions!

If this doesn't make you smile...well...I don't know what to say.




I freaking love minions!

The Crud Has Found Me Again

I have gone years without getting much more than a sinus cold. This year, I've had two bouts of the crud in less than a month.

Blech

Blergh

ARGH!

I am totally miserable and nothing I take is making it any better.

I think I need to sleep for about 48 hours, not that even 12 hours of sleep is possible

Starting the Decortating

I'm hoping the tree will be up next week, but this is what I've got up so far.

Its Been A Rough Week

I'm depressed.

There, I've said it.

Its out there.

I'm having a rough time coping with my dad's death, even though it has been a year. People tell me it is time to move on, but I'm really having trouble with that.

Then there's mom. She's beginning to like the hospital as much as my dad and that really scares me. I was close with my dad, but my mom is truly my best friend. The thought of her not being around scares the crap out of me for many reasons.

I guess with everything that has been going on lately I've been finding it hard to do much of anything, besides the care giving that is part of our daily routine.

I really just need a break from everything.

Surviving Leftovers

Thankgiving always brings a lot of leftovers. I hate getting sick of turkey so quickly after the holiday.

The secret is to shake things up a bit and don't overdo it.

The day after Thanksgiving I refuse to make anything with turkey for a main meal. if anyone wants a sandwich, that's fine with me, but I won't do the turkey thing two days in a row.

I always make stuffed shells, because since discovering that simple recipe, it has been a bigger tradition than the main dinner itself.

Today dinner is just mom and me, so there will be an absence of leftovers.

Tomorrow, I'm going to do turkey pot pie, coz I'm not not a fan of tetrazini. (did I even spell that correctly)

The secret to surviving leftovers is to not force feed your family them every day. If you need any of my recipes, just give me a holler and I'll share.

So Much For The 30 Days Of Blogging

Tuesday night mom had a CHF spell and that just sent me into a tail spin. I don't know how I managed to get Thanksgiving done.

It sure as hell wasn't easy.

I'm still so tired from all the running and work I did in the last few days.

I just hope this is the last time for a long while that I have to deal with hospital stuff. I'm getting too old for this.

Stupid Cough

About a week ago I ended up with a cold. I was totally miserable. I had a cough, but it seemed to go away.

Until this weekend.

The cough is back with a vengeance.

I have always been a person that gets a cough that lingers and when I cough so hard that my head feels like it is going to explode.

Yay for misery.

Especially when I've got a big dinner to cook this week. Not that it matters, since no one comes for Thanksgiving anymore, and they never did even in the past years.

It is lonely.

I enjoy cooking, but I only cook for the same people all the time and no one comes to visit.

~sigh~

Found In My Sink

This is the first time since we moved into the new house that one of my cats found their way into the bathroom sink.

I'm surprised that it took so long and even more surprised that the cat that decided to nap her was Midnight.

Isn't he a cutie pie?

Home At Last

We brought mom home this afternoon, but not after a huge curfluffle with the wheel chair van. After we got her settled we went over to the old house and started to bring stuff over.

So much stuff.

I swear we'll never have it all out of there.

Almost all of my CDs have made it over and are hiding in the basement. There's still so much to bring over and much to get rid of. I don't know that there will ever be enough time to do it all.

It's been a busy day and I'm totally exhausted now. I feel like I could sleep for a week  or more.

Quick Update

I've spent most of the day in Jefferson Hospital with mom and my sister.

The surgery was done almost an hour late, but all went well and that's all that matters.

So now we can breathe a sigh of relief and take a nice long nap.

YAY!

30 Day Writing Challenge

Today's topic is turn ons and offs

Is it a horrible thing that this isn't something that I think about anymore. How sad is that? I think that over the years I've become totally asexual.

I don't know that anything turns me on anymore.

OK, David Tennant, Benedict Cumberbatch and Peter Capaldi turn me on....but that's just on a general hotness scale.

However when it comes to turn offs

Hatred, bigotry and asshattery turn me off. In fact, if you display these types of qualities, I'm probably not going to want to talk to you let alone anything else.

30 Day Writing Challenges: Concerts

Today's prompt is concerts that I've attended.

Oye, I've been to a lot of concerts, but since my father got sick, I haven't been anywhere let alone concerts.

But let's see here are some of the artists I've seen over the years.

The Monkees, Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney, Def Leppard, Duran Duran, Poison, Stevie Nicks, Elvis Costello, The Moody Blues, Nick Lowe, Ron Sexsmith, Rockapella, Gordon Lightfoot, Lady Antebellum, Deni Bonet, Sarah Marince, Love and Rockets, The Devlins, Cheap Trick, Michael Crawford, Peter Noone, The Grass Roots, The Turtles, Davy Jones..I'm sure I'm missing a few...

Boy do I miss concerts

30 Day Writing Challenge: Places Ive Lived

Today's prompt was actually yesterday's prompt.

Where have I lived?

Charleroi, PA

That's pretty much it.

I've only lived in two houses though. This is my current abode though. Isn't it cute?

1 Year Has Passed

Nov 16 marks one year since my dad passed away.

Anyone that says that things get easier lies. Each day that passes hurts more and more.

The other day, I could hear the sound of my father crying in my head. I wanted to sit on the hospital bed or anywhere and wrap my arms around the man that I've loved all my life, but I can't, because he's not there and he never will be again.

In the year that has gone by, so much has changed in my life. I've bought a house for one. I've left behind a huge part of my life when we left that old house.

My dad was such a huge part of my life. We were together almost every day of our lives and life without him is just so empty. It is very hard to go on. I don't know how my mother, who spent over 60 year of her life with him is holding up as well as she is.

I can offer this advice to those of you who still have parents to hold on to.

1. Never miss an opportunity to say I love you.

2. Don't hide from the illness, some of the best times I had with my father were in his final years. I will always cherish the times I sat on his hospital bed and held him.

3. Have patience. They don't always know what they are doing, and yelling only makes it worse. I know how hard this, especially when the illness is progressing rabidly or that their is dementia involved.

4. Take a lot of deep breaths.

It has been one year since my daddy left us, and the pain is still very very real.

30 Day Writing Challenge: Doctor Who...How I Love You

Doctor Who is the TV show that I've become addicted to. I didn't start watching until the third series of New Who, and that was after falling for Torchwood. I had caught several episodes of the classic series on PBS back in the 90s when it aired after Red Dwarf.

What to know something?

It scared me then!

Tom Baker scared the crap out of me, and yet I love him and Jon Pertwee to pieces now.

As for the new series, I refuse to claim a favorite as David Tennant, Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi have all been brilliant in the part. I like Christopher Eccleston but he only had one series, so he's not quite in the same caliber of love for me as the others, except maybe Paul McGann, who is just too damn awesome, even though the tv movie wasn't.

So yeah, I'm a proud Whovian!

30 Day Writing Challenge: What will I be when I grow up

Today's prompt is basically what do you want to be when you grow up. I wish I knew. I hope when I'm older I'll be a lazy old women with a dozen cats.

I would love to spend more time baking or taking photographs. I would love to travel, but I don't pretend to think there will ever be money for that.

I wish I could think of some spectacular thing that I could be doing 10 years down the line, but I imagine 5 or 10 years down the line I'll still be living paycheck to paycheck, only I'll be doing it without any help from my family and that makes me fearful that I won't be living in a cardboard box somewhere.

30 Day Writing Challenge: Its The End Of The World As We Know It

Today's prompt wants to know what I'd do if I knew the world would end tomorrow. Some people would try to get so much packed into the day, but traveling wouldn't be worth it. I'll have seen all that I was meant to see. It wouldn't be a memory anyway.

I think I would spend my day telling everyone that I loved, just that. That I loved them. There's nothing worse than never being able to say that last goodbye to someone that means the world to you. I've had to do it twice, first with my grandmother and then with my dad.

No matter how much you want to see or do things, your family is precious, well at least mine is, and I'd hate for any of them to think that I didn't love them.

There's nothing else I could do that would make any sense to me.

30 Day Writing Challenge

Today's prompt is to post a photo of someone I fancy. Other than celebrity crushes, there is no one that I fancy right now. My life is too complicated to even try to fancy anyone. It isn't worth the aggravation anymore.

I'm fat, I'm ugly and I have too much baggage.

30 Day Writing Challenge: Celebrity Crushes

Oh my, today's topic is pictures of 5 celebrity crushes. And it's hump day! What a perfect topic for the day.

So here it goes...5 hump day hunks! Benedict Cumberbatch, cos who doesn't love him! Elvis Costello, cos he makes geeks sexy! David Tennant, just because! Matt Smith because I'm a cougar! Peter Capaldi because he's just damn awesome.

And yes, I think most guys who have played the Doctor have a certain appeal...I could add Peter Davison, the young Tom Baker and Paul McGann to my list.

30 Day Writing Challenge: 3 confessions

I didn't do the print screen of my desk top because there is nothing on my desktop. My desktop is boring, hence my post of my too eventful weekend.

Today's prompt is three confessions

Confession 1:  I'm not a huge fan of turkey. Each year I find myself liking the bird less and less.

Confession 2:  I hate doing dishes. It is my least favorite household chore.

Confession 3: I've watched very little Classic Who and I'm terribly ashamed of that fact.

Another Weekend From Hell

Some people actually relax on the weekends and they get things done.

I was doing great on Saturday until supper time when my sister's dog decided to go all apeshit on my little chihuahua.

So Sunday morning was spent driving to Castle Shannon with a dog who had a scratched cornea and wasn't too happy.

$439 later she's doing much better and Powder is banished from our house. Poor thing, but I'm not taking any chances that they won't get into another scuffle and Scratty is a tiny little shit of a dog, who thinks she's a big shit of a dog.

We are so lucky she wasn't hurt any worse.

Of course, brat that my Scrat is, she bit the vet tech causing me more problems. She also took a chunk out of me when I was trying to put her eye ointment on later in the evening.

All this a few days after my mom got out of the hospital with a bout of congestive heart failure.

Oh and the little dog also doesn't like the cone of shame and has managed to take it off at least 3 times since she got home.

ARGH!

30 Day Writing Challenge: Favorite Quote

Favorite quotes..I have a few but this one is my absolute favorite


“Some books should be tasted, some devoured, but only a few should be chewed and digested thoroughly.” ― Francis Bacon

30 Day Writing Challenge: Food for Forever

OK, so I already failed at this, because yesterday I made supper and after we ate I fell asleep for the rest of the night. I didn't watch anything on tv or do anything.

The day 10 prompt is a pretty bad one but I'll give it a go. If I could only life off one food and drink for the rest of my life, what would it be?

Yikes!

I like food a lot, hence my fatness, so that makes this a difficult question. Plus it isn't healthy, not that I'm good at eating healthy. Plus it is damn boring.

I think I'll eat crepes and juice for the rest of my days...the crepes filled with either cottage cheese or nutella and banana and topped with a fruit syrup.

Now I'm hungry for crepes. Anyone want to take me to ihop or Later Alligator?

30 Day Writing Challenge: Pet Peeves

Hmmm Pet Peeves


1. People that can't park ANYWHERE. I have a stronger desire to kill at my new home, because people really don't know how to park here at all.

2. Infomercials. I wish cable channel would stop with these things when they hit certain times of day. Seriously, no one buys this shit, air something else.

3. People who blame you for things that they did wrong.

4. People that use their phones for all forms of communication except talking. People cannot carry on conversations anymore.

5. Cliff hangers: These things annoy the crap out of me, especially with books that you have to wait a year or more to learn what happens and tv shows where you have months to wait...unless its Sherlock, then you have years and years and years.

6. Doctors who don't listen

30 Day Writing Challenge: Things To Say

Three things I want to say to different people.

I'm going to have a conversation with people I don't know because that's more fun. Plus, it would cause less trouble too, if I actually said things to people in my life...if ya know what I'm saying.

Justin Hayward: For the love of God, please please please record one final album with The Moody Blues. As much as I love December, I hate to think of that album being the band's swansong of original material. Please don't hit me for saying that.

Peter Capaldi: You are the most brilliant Doctor of the new series.

Steven Moffat: Would you do a reboot of Coupling or revisit that series, it was damn awesome.

30 Day Writing Challenge: Reading

The challenge for today asks, Do you read and what are your favorite books.

The answer to this one is obvious, a resounding yes. You just have to look at my book blog, A Chick Who Reads to know exactly how much I love to read.

As to my favorite books? That's a question that is really as hard to answer as what bands are most important to me.

I'd like to say that my favorite books were by classic authors, but I really can't. My all time favorite book does count as a classic, but it was really almost a penny dreadful, and that's Gaston Leroux's The Phantom of the Opera. I've read that book at least 5 times. It is also one of the only books that I've re-read. Another favorite classic is Les Miserables. I was forced to read this book in high school and I hated it then. I read it again a few years back and my opinion has changed. I'd love to read the full unabridged version one day.

I love the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich. They are super silly and funny. I also love Jean Plaidy's novels about the royalty in Europe.

I think I have more favorite authors than favorite books. I'm not much of a re-reader as there's always something new out there waiting for me.

30 Day Challenge: Most Important Band/Musician

Asking me who the most important band/musician is cruel and unusual punishment. They don't call me the music whore for nothing. There have been so many artists that have been important to me over the years; The Beatles, The Monkeess, The Moody Blues, Duran Duran, Erasure, Elvis Costello, Oingo Boingo. The list goes on and on.

Each band represents a certain part of my life. The Beatles and The Monkees were part of my growing up. Duran Duran, Oingo Boingo and Cheap Trick were my high school years.

I could go on and on. Let's just say that I've always loved music of many genres. Right now, I'm still loving Celtic Thunder and Keith Harkin. I love me some sexy Irish men.

30 Day Writing Challenge: 5 Places You Want To Visit

Today's topic is 5 places that I'd like to visit. I'm going to stick with places I stand a chance at seeing. Sure I could say London or Paris, and I wouldn't be lying, but unless the money fairy visited me, I'll never get there, so let's stick with places that are more feasible.


1. Put-In-Bay, OH: I read a book that took place in this town a few years ago. It is part of the Lake Erie shores and islands. It also has a cool boardwalk, and I love a great boardwalk.

2. Thousand Islands, NY: I have long since wanted to see Boldt Castle. This is one place I'll probably never be able to afford to get too, but a girl can dream.

FYI this is what Boldt Castle looks like.

3,  The Serpent Mound: This is an Ancient Alien thing.

4. I would love to spend a weekend at Landoll's Mohican Castle. Can you sense a castle theme here?

5. The New River Gorge Bridge in WV. How could you not want to see something so beautiful

30 Day Writing Challenge: My Tumblr Name

Today's prompt is the meaning of my tumblr id.

Tumblr, I've never really got into it. I do have an account, but I've not used it in ages. My id is A Chick Who Reads.

The meaning behind it?

Well, I'm A CHICK WHO READS

There's really no meaning behind my id other than the obvious. That's also my Twitter id as well. I wish I had a story to go behind it, but nope, nada. nothing.

The only thing this prompt did for me, was to make me spend 3 hours trying to get back into my tumblr acccount.

BLECH.

That said, the only thing tumblr is good for is finding crazy stuff like this

30 Day Writing Challenge: My Day

Today's prompt is to write about my day in great detail. I wish there was a lot to write about on this subject but there isn't much to say here.

My work days are full of routine. The day starts at 5:45 a.m. when the alarm goes off. I mistakenly called a family friend instead of my sister who I usually wake at this time. I later had to explain and apologize to that friend. (I would have killed me...but thankfully I didn't wake this person up when I made the mistaken call)

After that, liter boxes get cleaned and I get ready for work. As always, I was running late, but I did make it to work on time! Yay me!

Spoke to my buddy Yunko at work, but other than that, it was a pretty uneventful day.

Came home, made baked chili for dinner and passed out candy to the trick or treaters. For the first time in years we had tons of kids and the candy was gone 20 minutes into the hour.

After supper, watched Dr. Ken and Rachel Maddow then took a nap.

That was pretty much my day.

A snoozefest definitely, which is why I've probably been so lax at blogging in recent months. There just isn't much to say anymore.

Hope your day was more exciting.

30 Day Writing Challenge: Likes and Dislikes

Today's topic are 10 likes and dislikes. Such fun!

Likes:

1. Doctor Who: I love everything about this show. I like that is constantly evolving. Its Sci-fi, for sure, but it has drama and comedy and unfortunately at times, it has romance. (I hope that part is gone for awhile). My favorite episodes usually involve historical figures and even though they usually get a lot of the history wrong, the are still great episodes.

2. Cooking: I didn't learn how to cook until I was in my 30s, but once I got started, I really found that I enjoyed it.  I love making cookies, and it was one of the things I did for my father, because he had such a sweet tooth. That's why I haven't really been able to do much baking in the last year. It is too painful for me.

3. Animals: I'm a crazy cat lady, but I also love dogs and llamas and deer, and bunnies and cows and chickens..and well, I love animals. I like them a heck of a lot more than I like most people.

4. Sitcoms: Aside from Doctor Who, most of the tv shows that I enjoy are comedies. I do like dramas like Sherlock and Downton Abbey, but I prefer giggles most of the time. My favorite sitcoms now are The Big Bang Theory, Dr. Ken, The Middle,  The Goldbergs and The Muppets.

5. Ancient Aliens: Speaking of tv shows, I'm addicted to this show and its strange ancient astronaut theories. Some of the stuff is definitely nonsense, but there are other things that will make you think. I also believe that you have to be totally foolish to thing that in the vastness of the universe that we are the only living beings out there.

6. Books: I need a library of my very own, I really do. I'm working on that right now. My cookbooks and regular books need a proper home! Oh and I have 2 nooks and a kindle. Nuff said there, right?

7. Jon Stewart: I miss him so much on The Daily Show. I do love me some Trevor Noah though, but there was something special about Jon. I think because he really cared about a lot of the stuff on the show. I also love that he's fighting for animals too, which is a cause close to the heart of his wife, who was a vet tech.

8. 60s music: Yup I love all the psychedelic stuff and the bubble gum pop of that era. That was when music was really good and when it didn't matter so much how you looked, but whether you could crank out a quality tune.

9. Photography: I don't do it as much as I used to, but I love getting the perfect shot, even if it is with my phone's camera.

10. Coffee: Starbucks is my drug of choice, nuff said.

Dislikes

1. Over hyped books and movies: Twilight, The Hunger Games, heck even Star Wars, I'm sick to death of stuff that gets rammed down your throat at every turn.

2. King of Queens: I don't know what I hate more about this show Leah Remini or Jerry Stiller.

3. Republicans: I can only take so much crazy and right now there's too much of that on the elephant side of the political spectrum.

4. The Kardashians: This might fall in the over hyped things. I'm so sick of seeing them everywhere.

5. Reality TV: Thanks to reality tv we have number 4 and a host of other obnoxious personalities that have absolutely no talent.

6. Extreme temperatures: I don't know what I dislike more, 90 degrees or 10 below zero.

7. People that don't follow through: I hate when people promise things and then never ever do them.

8. When people don't replace the damn toilet paper roll. How freaking hard is it?

9. People that are allergic to garbage. If something is empty or you have a wrapper, throw it away!!!!!

10. Not getting more than 6 hours of sleep. (On my like list...sleep would be number 11)

30 Day Writing Challenge: Things about Myself

Bilbo is playing around with a 30 day challenge, and I decided to find one too, because I seriously need to get back to blogging and well as many of you can see, I'm really lousy at it anymore, and that makes me sad, so I'm going to give it ago.

Things About Myself

What to say about myself?

I'm a fat girl who loves to cook and read and listen to music. (Well not as much with the music as in my past)

I am a first time homeowner this year, and my house is just a little bit possessed. We have outlets and fixtures that randomly start working for no reason and I think the former owner's husband might still be hanging around. If it isn't him, than I'd say my daddy's spirit has followed us to the new house, not that I have any problems with that.

I am a die hard Doctor Who fan, and I don't really have a favorite Doctor, because whoever the current doctor is, is the one I love. I also love Torchwood and the Sarah Jane Adventures. Sarah Jane and Donna Noble are my two favorite Doctor Who companions and my favorite epis from New Who are Vincent and the Doctor, Mummy on the Orient Express and The Unicorn and the Wasp.

I love books and I have a book blog called A Chick Who Reads which I update pretty regularly. I read many genres, but historical fiction and mysteries are my favorite genres. (Historical mysteries make me giddy.

Music has always been a driving force in my life. There are too many artists in my "loves" category to mention, but I would be remiss if I didn't say my life would be different if I had never heard Elvis Costello, The Moody Blues, Gordon Lightfoot and Celtic Thunder.

I am a caregiver for my mom and up until Nov 16, 2014, I was also the caregiver for my father. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't miss him terribly.

Is that enough?

Cranberry Corn Muffins

I was flipping through the latest issue of All You magazine where I found this awesome little muffin.

Its not really a recipe

Its Jiffy corn muffin mix made according to package directions.

Put a Tbspn of batter in the muffin cups and then put a tsp of cranberry sauce over it and top with remaining batter. To pretty it up put a fresh cranberry in the center and bake at 400 for about 15-20 minutes.

They are yummy and going to be an addition to our Thanksgiving table.

Hump Day Hunks

Its been awhile since I did one of these

My Favorite Comfort Food

I love rice casserole. It is a wonderful dish for a cool fall or winter day. It has very few ingredients and most are ones you have on hand in your pantry.

Its one of the casseroles that mom always made and its one that I really love and most everyone that has it enjoys too.

Ingredients
1/2 c chopped onion
1 lb ground meat
1 can cream of mushroom
2 cans of chicken noodle
3/4 c of uncooked rice
water

Directions

Brown ground meat with chopped onion.
Drain excess fat
Add 1/2 cup of water and the rice and cook for about 5 minutes
Transfer to a 2 qt baking dish and mix with the soups. I would also add another 1/2 cup of water to help the rice cook
bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until bubbly and rice is done.

* Check periodically stirring and adding water if necessary.

Serve with your favorite veggie and cranberry sauce (OK that's just my preference but I love it)

This Is Why I Love That 70s Show

I feel this way an awful lot.

A New Favorite Recipe

If you like cajun seasoning and alfredo, I've got a great recipe for you. I apologize for no pictures, but it was so good, we just kept right on eating.

It is super simple and super reasonable and will feed at least 4 people (who like to go back for seconds)

Cajun Sausage Alfredo

Ingredients
1 ring of smoked sausage
1 package of frozen onion and pepper mix (I used bird's eye)
2 jars of Alfredo sauce (I used the Walmart brand, but use your favorite basic sauce or make your own if you are so inspired)
1 package of rigatoni or any other similar pasta
2 tsp Cajun seasoning

Directions

Prepare your pasta according to package direction

Cut sausage into rings and toss into pot at medium to heat through, then add frozen veggies.
(If your veggies aren't thawed drain liquid once they soften)

Add sauce and then the spices. I would add a tsp at a time and taste. I'm sure I used more than the 2 tsp in mine, but it all depends on how much kick you want your sauce to have.

Add pasta and serve.

This is a meal that doesn't take much time to prepare and one you can easily feed 4-5 people with for under $10 bucks.

Its definitely a winner in my book and the same with the rest of my family.

I'm A Bad Blogger

Damn, it seems I can't blog anymore. I don't know why, other than the fact that I don't want this blog to be so ho hum and sad sounding.

I really thought that my stress levels would come down at some point, but we've been in this house for almost three months and to tell the truth, things have become more stressful.

I hope some day that things will change, because I used to love blogging, but I don't want my blog to be a place of negativity and that's what my life feels like at this point.

So when I have something positive to post, I will be here, and maybe even at other times, but for now I guess it will be sporadic at best.