Warning
When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn’t go, and doesn’t suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we’ve no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I’m tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick the flowers in other peoples’ gardens
And learn to spit.
You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
And eat three pounds of sausages at a go
Or only bread and pickle for a week
And hoard pens and pencils and beer mats and things in boxes.
But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
And pay our rent and not swear in the street
And set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.
But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.
My mother, dear one that she is, treated two of my daughters (don’t worry – the third had no interest whatsoever) to an adoption at Mollycoddles. This includes adorable baby, adoption process (minus a visit from a social worker), a picture, a check-up, baby’s first “bath,” and matching hospital wrist bands. Uh huh. It doesn’t get much better than this.
Also included in the package is a check-up (because pneumonia frequently attacks baby dolls) anytime you come to the mall including immunizations, and a stroller to borrow for your visit to the mall. So who gets to go to the mall a lot? Where do those two dear little ones want to spend their time with Grandma or their Daddy-Daughter date? And who gets to be followed/attacked by strollers in the mall?? Who, I ask you?
Anyway, I must say, however, that these incredibly expensive strollers that we borrow for free are wonderful for one very important reason. They have rubber wheels, not hard plastic. So the draw attention to themselves, but they make very little noise. Thankful for little things…
Some of you know (some might not care), but we learn at home. We decided to do it for many reasons, but they all boiled down to we could, and it is what is best for our family right now. So. Math examples per my kindergartener:
“I had eight candies, and mommy ate one. Now how many do I have?”
If someone, we’ll call them “Mommy,” helped purchase costumes, helped children to dress-up, including, but not limited to, make-up application and last-minute costume adjustments. In addition said “Mommy” also took children to the location of choice and helped them go through THREE floors of said location, in search of candy and general merriment. Should said “Mommy” be entitled to limitless dipping into the candy repository?
I’m asking for a friend, you know.
To help someone I’ve never met:
Enchilada-Style Burritos
1 Package frozen bean and cheese burritos 2 Tbs. butter
2 Tbs. all-purpose flour 1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce
1 3/4 cup water 1 1/2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. beef bouillon granules 3/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. salt 1 cups (8 oz.) shredded cheese
1 can (2 1/4 oz.) sliced ripe olives, drained 1/3 cup chopped green onions
Place frozen burritos in a greased 13×9x2 in. baking dish; set aside. In a saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour until smooth; gradually stir in water. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Pour over burritos. Sprinkle with cheese, olives, and onions. Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 35-40 minutes or until heated through. Yield: 6 servings.
This is great with a green salad. Enjoy!
Sticky Rice Balls with Peanut Sauce
2 cups sweet (sticky) rice 1/2 can coconut milk
Wash rice. Mix rice and milk in saucepan, then flatten with spoon. Add enough water to be about 1/2 – 3/4 inches above rice. Bring to a boil, then cook on low heat until fairly dry (lid on). It takes a good 20-30 minutes. Watch carefully, rice may look moist on top, but be dry on the bottom and liable to burn. Put rice in a microwave-safe dish, cover with plastic wrap and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Taste and see if it is soft and sticky (watch yourself, hot sticky rice will burn. I speak from experience) – if not, microwave a few more minutes. When done, take out and make balls. Now there are TWO ways to do this. You can do it by hand. This is authentic, and painful. You can also use a cookie dough scoop and just drop it on the plate. Then it isn’t a ball, so it would be a sticky rice dome. In any event. Make ‘em and cool ‘em. Cover loosely with wrap.
Peanut Sauce
1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter 1 can coconut milk
1 tbs. soy sauce 1 tsp. lemon juice
1/8 tsp. garlic powder 1-2 Tbs. brown sugar (depends on how sweet you want it)
Cook together until smooth and creamy, stir often. Skim off any oil on top. Serve with rice balls/domes.
Now a word from my girls. They like these, they get excited about eating them. But then, we have been known to be weird far before this.
Enjoy!
Filed under: random
Except when I snag my blouse front on the door knob of the door leading INTO the sanctuary of the church. Thankfully, for once, I was moving slowly enough to disentangle myself before I treated people to something they did NOT want to see.
Filed under: family
We returned, be-ribboned, to take our places at home, and to shower thoroughly. Ugh. We spent the morning doing our class feis. This is an Irish Dance competition. A chance to show off your steps, be judged, and see how you compare to the next girl (there are very few boys). This one was only for our school, so it didn’t “count.” But I think anything that builds moral like this one did is worth more money than I could pay.
I had the girls dance any dance they knew some or all of. And they did well! And they followed the mantra “Just keep dancing, just keep dancing.” I was so proud. Way to go ladies, way to stand tall, smile and do your best!
I’m fine with spilling my brain guts all over the internet. I am leary of embarrassing my kids/husband/family/acquaintances, so I try to be careful. I am so thrilled with Word Press, because they have taken the duh out of so many things for me, but I can’t load badges, I can’t host stuff, I’m a little overwhelmed. So I’ll ignore it all. Ha!
I have decided to take part in NaBloPoMo. As my mother says “WHY????” Not sure. Just cause I thought I might like to. No, it won’t help me with a future career. No, it won’t help me complete my college degree. No, it really serves no useful purpose. So I’ll do it anyway!
While we are on the random stuff, I got myself a free tattoo. On my sitter-downer. Free, you say? Uh huh. Here is what you do. Go into your daughter’s room. Bend down low to look at the bottom shelf. Get up too quickly while keeping your butt way out too far and slam it into the corner of her desk. Voila! You have a Johnny Jump Up tattoo – for free!
