Archives for January 2010

Obligatory Snow Post ’10

So, it snowed here today. Sort of. I mean, there were some flakes that fell from the sky, and occasionally they came down fast enough that we looked at them and said, “Oh, that’s pretty,” but in terms of anything that would enable us to make snowballs or snowmen or snow angels or snow creatures of any variety at all – well, um, NO.

But we had such a great day. Alex, our sweet neighbor B. (she’s not just four – she’s four AND A HALF) and I went for a huuuuuge walk, and the two young’uns ran up and rolled down every single hill. We had a blast. It was just one of those times when the gray weather was our friend, and it was hands-down my favorite day of 2010.

(Yes, I know that 2010 is only seven days old, but still. Big fun. I would share pictures except that I didn’t take any because our camera battery was dead. You’ll just have to trust me.)

Now earlier this week I was all set to make a bunch of tailgating food for tonight’s game, but when I started reading through your comments on yesterday’s post, I got a great idea from Gina. She mentioned that she was making sliders, and that immediately struck me as something David would love. So I shifted strategies, went to the grocery store yesterday afternoon, cooked everything late this afternoon, and may I just say? The sliders? HUGE BIG GIGANTOR HIT.

I had about a half a bag of frozen rolls leftover from Christmas (I prefer Rhodes, but this was some other kind), and this afternoon I put the rolls on cookie sheets so they could thaw and rise. I seasoned about a pound and a half of ground chuck, and after I mixed it up I made 12 small patties, then covered them and put them back in the refrigerator.

And since I recognize that reading a step-by-step, pictureless rundown of how I made sliders is only slightly more exciting than if I were to read you an instruction manual about food processor assembly, I’ll just cut to the chase and make a list of everything I put out on the counter for slider assemblage.

– sliced rolls
– hamburger patties (adorably small-ish)
– ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard
– Provolone (oh wait – I forgot to put out the Provolone, but I’ll still leave it on the list because it would have been delicious)
– Ranch dressing (made from the little Hidden Valley packet)
– grilled onions (I used 1/2 sweet onion)
– bacon (I cut six slices in half, then fried them)
– sandwich stacker pickles (cut in half)
– salsa (this brand is our current favorite, and MY WORD it’s tasty)
– avocado (I don’t really have anything else to say about the avocado, but I seem to be on a roll with the parenthetical additions, so I thought I’d write something extra in the interest of consistency)

So there was all of that stuff, and then I made homemade French fries (the kind where I put about two inches of oil in a Dutch oven on the stove and then COOK UP SOME SLICED TATERS), and I think it was one of my fellas’ favorite meals ever. D loved being able to fix different kinds of burgers, and I loved that I found a new way to use frozen rolls. Alex loved that we had hamburger patties AND bacon. He’s sort of a fan of meat.

Okay – I need to give the game my full attention. Bama’s up 24-21 with three minutes left, and they just recovered a fumble on UT’s three yard line. So clearly it’s time to do some yelling because remember, I THINK THE PLAYERS INSIDE THE TV CAN HEAR ME.

Have a great weekend, everybody.

And for at least the next three minutes: Roll Tide.

Edited to add: today is the last day to enter the $500 L’Bel Paris giveaway – don’t forget to enter!

Linky Interwebby Awesomeness 01.06.09

So much good stuff on the interweb today.

– Travis has a great word for this fine Wednesday.

– Lindsay breaks down the finer points of snow panic in the South. I laughed out loud.

– Annie demonstrates the proper way to fold a fitted sheet. And I am eternally grateful.

– Jon shares some wisdom about appreciating the gift of invisibility.

– And finally, if you want to see some Southern snow panic (Lindsay’s phrase, not mine) in action, check out the ABC 3340 weather blog. A TREASURE, I TELL YOU.

Just Like The Snow When A Ray Of Sun Is Felt

It’s the strangest thing, but this song has been on my mind all day long.

The strangest thing.

Not to mention that this little nugget-o-wisdom is still running on repeat in my brain: “Love is more powerful than flying.”

Yes. Yes it is.

Anyway, I’ve decided to hold off on any sort of regular “Bachelor” re-caps for now. Don’t get me wrong: I want to write VERY LONG posts about it – but I feel like I need to see how the season pans out. And I’ll just leave it at that.

In other news, it’s supposed to snow in Birmingham Thursday, so I have been furiously checking our ABC station’s weather blog to see if they’ve gotten the graphics department in on the action yet. I’m thinking that by midday tomorrow we’ll be seeing either WINTER STORM ALERT ’10 or WINTER STORM WATCH ’10 all over our local news. Maybe even WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY ’10 – with a big piece of cracking ice in the background. IT MAKES ME SO HAPPY.

Since Alabama is playing Texas for the National Championship Thursday night, some people on one of our local sports radio shows have been VERY VOCAL INDEED that they will not – WILL NOT – tolerate any sort of local weather bulletin that interrupts the football game. They’re not kidding around. Because why does it matter if the roads are icy if the Tide is rollin’? I’d go so far as to say that if even a half a centimeter of the WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY ’10 graphic partially obscures the logo on Nick Saban’s shirt, ABC had better run for cover.

I mean, would Bear Bryant tolerate any sort of weather-related game-watching distractions? I THINK NOT.

Of course I’m cheering for Alabama in the game – it’s an SEC school playing for the National Championship, for heaven’s sake – and I’m curious: will you be cheering for either team? Or will you be hoping and praying for a “House Hunters” marathon on HGTV? And are any of y’all cooking a special menu for the game? We’ll definitely be eating tailgate food for supper at our house Thursday night.

IT’S THE RIGHT THING TO DO.

Assorted Variety Of Random

1. Garden Salsa Sun Chips are delicious.
2. “The Sing-Off” could have been so much more.
3. I’m totally in love with the color turquoise right now.
4. The state of Alabama is a little fired up about football right now. This is one of many reasons I am so thankful to live here.
5. I have never seen Titanic. And yet my heart still goes on.
6. I will watch any television show about people buying a home.
7. Oatmeal cookies are underrated.
8. Current fashion obsession: Sandra Bullock’s orange sweater / navy pants / gray & white striped scarf outfit in The Proposal.
9. I have no desire to see Avatar.
10. I feel like I have no idea how to successfully put on eye make-up. Still. And I’ve been wearing make-up for A LOT OF YEARS.
11. The new season of “The Bachelor” is supposedly more family-friendly than previous seasons, but hopefully it’ll be just as cheesy (FINGERS CROSSED).
12. Watched Duplicity. Thought it was two different movies in one. Which, I guess, is consistent with its title.
13. Why has nobody made a reality show about women who genuinely like each other and enjoy each other’s company and are, you know, FRIENDS?
14. Just a little more than a week until the new season of “American Idol” begins. Feels like the last one just ended.
15. The other day I watched the last few minutes of the “90210” where they change the Hollywood sign to “W Bev Hi ’93,” and I had the sobering realization that THAT WAS OVER FIFTEEN YEARS AGO. Time stops for no man, y’all. Not even Brandon Walsh.

A Handy Resource

Hey bloggy peoples –

I have a big night of TV in store, what with the Very Special Episode of “Iron Chef” on the DVR, not to mention a rented copy of “Star Trek” just waiting for my undivided attention, but I wanted to pass along this info before I forgot. And trust me: I will forget about four minutes into “Iron Chef” if I don’t tell you right now.

Our church is doing something this year called The Radical Experiment. And earlier tonight, when I was looking at the Scripture readings for the week, I realized that I can link to the Family Worship Guide that our church is putting out each week, and it struck me as something that might interest some of you.

There’s an original song that you can download and sing, a coloring page for your kids, a Bible lesson for the family AND suggestions for age-appropriate activities you can do with your kids – all corresponding to the Scripture readings for the week. It looks like the curriculum is going to be incredible. You can check The Radical Experiment website for updates each week.

Okay. That is all. I’m going to watch TV now.

Hope y’all are having a happy new year!