hello......

....anybody home?
where did you go prolific word spewer?
why did you runaway
why did you leave without saying GOODBYE?

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IF there is anyone out there....i imagine that is what they might have been saying when suddenly i disappeared without a word.....without a trace

THE LAST thing i remember contemplating as somewhat blog-worthy was right before Thanksgiving.......WOW! now THAT seems like an eternity ago......and i'm not even sure i remember WHAT i was thinking of blogging................................................h'mmmm

well, i guess i will just have to move forward and forget what i have already forgotten.

Thanksgiving was a lot of fun. we had TWO dinners....
the Wednesday before thanksgiving we sat down with our 'OUR HOUSE' group and enjoyed a Thanksgiving meal.....then on Thanksgiving day i took olivia luke & george to my cousin' perri's house for thanksgiving with the familia. luckily pk came with me. the boys & the dogs didn't exactly start off loving each other......but by the end of the night they were all bffs!!!

scott & i ventured out at 230am on black friday to stand in line at bestbuy in 31 degree temperatures.......in hopes of finding some REALLY GREAT deals.......well he ended up with TOYSTORY the boxed set....and rob got an awesome (if i do say so myself) christmas present.....we went to bedbath&beyond (well scott went, i was still in line at bestbuy) for the NINJA and i got the most awesome turntable-tapedeck-cdplayer/recorder......then it was kohls......babiesRus.......a nice relaxing stop at mimi's cafe for a late breakfast (yes it was only 10am!!!!) then to target.....and home by 2pm.......we did some serious shopping damage - but we got just about everything we set out to find at pretty good prices! plus we had FUN

it was the week AFTER thanksgiving that i ended up sick......VERY sick.  swollen glands painful ears high fever.......had to go to the doc & get checked out. his first thought was mono...but luckily (or not?) it was just a terribly bad double ear infection!

it took FOREVER to recover from the ear infections.......and soon i realized that there would be very little holiday prep time......so once again - no christmas cards........and no christmas candies or cookies....but i did manage to get a triple batch of NUTS & BOLTS made and all the presents wrapped by christmas eve......

christmas was lots of fun rob & i went to the black's after christmas mass to share in the joy of the boys FIRST CHIRSTMAS (ok not REALLY their FIRST christmas...but the first one that they had a concept of santa coming the night before and leaving them the most awesome gifts!!!) then rob had to go home to sleep and work and i went to the movies (another family tradition)

.....NYE was tons of fun.........i got to pretend i was julia (as in CHILDS) for the day.....i made boeuf bourguignon to celebrate both new year's eve and scott's birthday........he mentioned that he liked chocolate cream pie too - so i got to make a childhood family recipe - bishop's pie......amy provided tons of appetizers and several bottles of wine and some tequila.......patty and aaron and aaron's brother derek came over to celebrate with us......and dave (next door) came by too.......poor luke, almost made it to midnight ~ but instead went to bed about 10 minutes before the ball dropped.....rob stopped by before going to work and tom got home from work before the clock turned to 2011......tons of FUN on new years eve and not a single picture to prove it........

sunday jan 2 i went to help olivia put together her gingerbread house....but 10 minutes after walking in the door i suddenly got a HUGE chill and within a few minutes was building a bad fever......i soldiered up and went to work on monday, but monday afternoon i got a text from amy saying that she had taken george to the dr's and confirmed that he had pneumonia...............well it didn't take a genius to realize that i had gotten sick from hanging out with him.....and on tuesday i went to my doc's and found out that i TOO had pneumonia.....................so there i was the first week of the year and already sick!!!! blah!!!

and here we are almost ready to start the 2nd month of the year and i am finally feeling healthy and whole again.....went to the club 5 times in the last 14 days and hoping to keep building my stamina & regaining muscle strength by going to the club more and more often over the coming weeks.

this morning my cousin susan called me and YES!!! i am now going to the summer MEGA COUNTRY SHOW.......kenny in april ..... tim in jun ....jason in july.....toby and sugarland in august and rascal flatts in september.............................with awesome opeing acts like billy currington, uncle kracker, luke bryan, eric church, justin moore and corbin easton.......VIP parking & a party before every show....it promises to be an AWESOME SUMMER!!!!

what would you do....

if you didn't have to 'worry' about bringing home the bacon? if no matter what you chose you would receive enough dough to pay all your monthly expenses (including housing/food/gas) have enough to spend on socializing and put away for a rainy day?

this is not a trick question.
this is not a 'i would sleep late & party all night & do whatever i felt like at the moment' scenario

this is based on the fact that we need money to live, but we often do jobs that give us the money yet we shortchange ourselves because we are not really living.  only exsisting.

i would take pictures. photography has always been my passion since i first held a kodak instamatic with square flashcubes. then i would write. i would write stories and articles and essays and poems and i would incoporate the photos i took into the words i write. lastly i would scrapbook.

to encapsulate my vision of what i would do if i could create my dream job......

i would take pictures of 'YOU' (whoever was willing to hire me) i would capture 'YOUR' story in words and then i would save 'YOUR' memories in a scrapbook that 'YOU' would be able to keep forever.

.....so, where do i apply for this 'job'

lol.....if only fantasies weren't so inviting!
oh well....back to the grind....

martha stewart alice waters spring chickenfried steak inspired casserole

i am writing this down for scott so that he can take it on the next foodnetwork star when he decides to win the title.........(this is the original, some alterations are necessary)

soak chicken thighs in buttermilk for 12-24 hrs (use skinless boneless)
dredge in flour
dunk in buttermilk
coat with panko
fry
drain

fry tater tots (enough to cover bottom of casserole dish)

layer tater tots & fried chicken in dish
cover with shredded cheese (this time used mexican blend & mozzerella)

cut tree meat to small chunks and brown in large frying pan
add chopped onion & garlic
stir in one LARGE can cream mushroom soup (think would also use fresh sliced 'shrooms if the persons eating dish like mushrooms)
whisk in one bottle of 2buck chuck

let simmer & reduce for approximately 20 min on med-low heat

when cool pour over chicken/tot/cheese

bake covered in oven at 350 for 1hr

top with french's french fried onions and return to oven without cover for 10-15 minutes or until onions are toasted.

foggy

i'm kinda in a daze with all the stuff that's happened...

i'm missing my friend paula more than i thought i could. it saddens me to think.
i got a text from stokes this am thanking me for making the recording. he's going to incorporate the story into the song and then share a copy of it with me.
work is crazy busy in a catch-up kind of way.
we're getting closer to the holidays & i'm afraid that is going to affect me in a bad way.
i don't want to fall into a funk but i fear that i am falling......

looking for something to keep me afloat *sigh*

...hold your head high. Don't ever let 'em define the light in your eyes. Love yourself, give them Hell. You can take on this world. You just stand and be strong


And then FIGHT LIKE A GIRL.....(bombshel)



we knew each other for such a short time, but i remember that first day we made contact. FINALLY a kindered sprit living here in this same small town. oh the concerts we have seen. the stories we shared......because of you i got an 'official' meet & greet with our guy gary!!!!

i am so glad you got the chance to live your life to the fullest you never once gave up hope. oh i know there are so many things that you had to leave 'undone', but you did all that you could.  truly you are an inspiration to me and to countless other friends you have met along the way.

RIP PAULA, my friend you will be missed

favorite songs of my lifetime

when i die i hope they play these songs. ......they are intricately woven into the patchwork memories of my life...

IF I WERE A CARPENTER......would you marry me anyway, would you have my baby.

DELTA DAWN......what's that flower you have on, could it be a faded rose from days gone by.

GARDEN PARTY....you can't please everyone so you got to please yourself

EDELWEISS.....blossom of snow may you bloom and grow, bloom and grow forever

LIGHTS.....go down in the City, and the sun shines on the Bay, oh i wanna be there in my City....

AFTERNOON DELIGHT.....my motto's always been when it's right it's right.....sky rockets in flight...

JUNKFOOD JUNKE......in the daytime i'm mr natural, just as healthy as i can be, but at night i'm a junkfood junkie, good Lord have pity on me.

COME SAIL AWAY......set an open course for the virgin sea, cause i've got to be free, free to live the life that's ahead of me

TWO OUT OF THREE AIN'T BAD.....you'll never find your gold on a sandy beach, there ain't no Coup De Ville hiding in the bottom of a cracker jack box

SUMMER GIRLS......summertime is in the air, and summer girls are everywhere

COME AS YOU ARE....as i want you to be, as a friend, as a friend, as an old enemy

BE AS YOU ARE......i wanna go where i can lighten the load, drive a little while on the wrong side of the road......hang with the locals a the Quiet Mon, be a tourist, a beach bum, a star....

LIFE AIN'T ALWAYS BEAUTIFUL......but it's a beautiful ride

GLITTER IN THE AIR..........have you ever wished for an endless night, lassoed the moon and the stars and pulled that rope tight

You talk too much You never shut up!!

RUN DMC is running through my brain......as i sit here and start TYPING AGAIN!!!!

and TRUTHFULLY i have NOTHING left to say. i just have words bobbling around inside my brain causing me to not concentrate on the tasks at hand.

i envy those people called WRITERS.....the ones that are PAID to put words to paper (or in this case, screen).....those people that OTHER PEOPLE are hungry to read their next written words.......

i want to write.......i have LOTS of words in my head
but truthfully i have to tell myself no one REALLY wants to hear them....they are just a mixed up mumbo jumbo bouncing around aimlessly in my brain.