A Delicious Fourth of July Appetizer!

My friend made this wonderful corn dip last night for our tailgate party after our baseball game. It was so delicious and everyone raved about it. She was kind enough to pass her recipe on to us so I thought I would share it with you.

Hope everyone enjoys a happy and safe Happy Fourth of July weekend!

HOT MEXICAN CORN DIP

Mix together:

• 1 bag of Freshlike lightly seasoned Southwestern Blend frozen vegetables
• 2 cups of mayonnaise
• 1 cup of shredded Parmesan Cheese
• 3 cups Colby/Monterey Jack cheese
• 1 can diced Jalapeno Peppers

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes
Serve with tortilla chips

WHITE CASTLE IS GIVING AWAY FREE SLIDERS!

In honor of White Castle's 88th birthday, they are giving away free sliders. One to a customer per visit.

Click the link to obtain your coupon. FREE WHITE CASTLE SLIDER

The coupon expires July 12, 2009. Happy birthday White Castle!

Bon appetite!

Do You Procrastinate?

Do you often start something and leave it unfinished? I know I am guilty of this. I always seem to have all of these "great" ideas swarming around in my head, but I have yet to implement them, or even to get some of them written down on paper. The next thing you know, its afternoon and I am still left with unfinished business. I need a plan... and a lot of organization!

Fortunately, I found I am not alone. Visit Spark an Idea Thursday and get some great tips on how to get some motivation during these sluggish days of summer.

Schools Out, Schools Out!

I look forward to the slower pace of summer. No more 6:00 a.m. alarm (unless I chose to,) no more racing to make coffee so I can speak intelligibly when the kids ask questions.

They do ask questions…a lot. They do talk… a lot. My coffee helps…a lot.

I even get a few quiet minutes to stretch my creaky body in bed and “collect my thoughts” as I like to explain to my hubby, unless of course I get mauled by a 70 pound lab with a bladder issue. Oh well, at least I still get my morning kisses – Yuck.

Then its “on with the show” as usual. Let the dog out, let the dog in, feed the dog, (Oh no, where’s my coffee?)

Hopefully the kitchen isn’t too much of a disaster since we have 2 ravenous teenage boys who enjoy their main meal at midnight consisting of – everything in the house. After the kitchen sweep, time to check my e-mail and phone messages.

Right about this time, my almost 12-year-old daughter is up, trying to plan her social life for the day. At this age, she is not content unless she is at a friend’s, with a friend, or a friend is here. (Yeah, we bailed on the idea of her having a sister) Her friendship train starts as soon as her feet hit the floor. She seems to think her day is not complete unless it involves a sleepover. “But mom, it’s summer, why can’t I sleep over, why can’t Susie Q sleep over again!” I guess she hasn’t realized that the adults work year round, not just during the school year. She also hasn’t realized that she requires about 10 hours of sleep each night, which a nightly sleepover will not provide. She also doesn’t realize that she can’t “Because I said so!” (see Mom song post below).

Meanwhile, the two boys are still sleeping peacefully, and we don’t expect them up for quite some time.

She is acting more like a teenager every day… eye rolling, it isn’t fair, your mean, etc. I guess it was only a matter of time before the three hormonal teens worked together in their plight for summer freedom.

I love them all, even when they try to outsmart me. I just need to stay one step ahead of them.

So much for the relaxing pace of summer!

Coffee helps… a lot!

"The Mom Song

As I was telling my own son to "brush your teeth, be polite, put your clothes away" I received this hilarious and awesome video from a friend called "The Mom Song".

This was originally performed by comedienne Anita Renfro. This version is performed by Patti Harshey from the Northland Church.

Wow, she really nails it! Enjoy.

Wishbone Dressing Giveaway

What perfect timing!

With the grilling season upon us, I have been racking my brain to find new and different recipes to try on the grill. We have already used Wishbone Salad Dressings as marinades in the past and our meals were delicious. Our 2 teenage boys loved it and even our picky eater, our preteen daughter ate all of it. She is a “chicken freak” (so we still tell her everything is chicken even though she has been onto us for quite some time!)

So, I thought we would break her in easy and start with this chicken dish:

I have decided to try the Chicken Satay with Spicy Peanut Sauce. We love to grill on skewers and in addition to grilling the chicken, we will be grilling our favorite vegetable kebobs brushed with Wishbone Italian.

I will let you know how the “crowd” rates it!

Check out The Frugal Girl’s blog review and leave a comment for a chance to win a $100 grocery gift card and a Wish-Bone prize pack worth $46.10.

Good luck and happy grilling!

Friends

Friends put things in perspective. They give you advice and let you know what a horse’s ass you are. Then they tell you they love you. They are your family. They tell you that even though you can be a horse’s ass, you are a beautiful, kind, worthwhile addition to the world we live in.

Here’s to friends and family, and to our friends who are our family!

How Has The Recession Affected You?

Almost every day, we are bombarded by news on the "Recession" and the statement "Due to today's economy"... blah,blah,blah. With jobs being lost and high gas prices, some of us are finding small ways to help save a few bucks.

In our home, we are being very careful about leaving lights on, doing laundry in cold water whenever possible and taking advantage of coupon circulars as well as online coupon savings. I find myself stocking up when things go on sale a lot more than I did before I know this is just the tip of the iceberg, but so far it has helped with our utilities and food expenses.

I have subscribed to several money saving blogs, which have given me many great tips on simple things to help save money on groceries.

Of course, the obvious still holds true: Keep eating out to a minimum, when driving, plan exactly where you need to stop so you don't backtrack, waste gas (not to mention driving around aimlessly) and fortunately, we always have a great breeze when the windows are open, so the air is staying off as long as we can stand it!

Has the recession affected you? If so, how. Have you changed jobs, lost a job, are you riding the bus to work instead of driving, carpooling? What about your energy and grocery bills?

I would love to hear your comments and suggestions.

Opening Night!

Last night was opening night for the fifth year of our grade school production. This year the performance was the Wizard of Oz, a fitting tribute to the 70th anniversary of the original motion picture starring Judy Garland.

As I am every year, I am completely astonished at the talented kids at our school. To think that a few years ago, we didn't even have a stage to perform on, the one small Christmas performance was done in our church right on the altar and the musical didn't even exist. We have come so far and I am truly touched at how the parish parents work together to help the directors put on a show that rivals a high school play or even a professional theatre performance, even though the kids are only ages 10-15. The funny kids, the shy kids, the musical kids, the dancing kids, everyone has their place to shine. Our directors, John and Kristi Jung have a gift, a gift to see a talent in everyone and teach them how to bring that to the stage. They work many hours to get it just right and it shows each year in the kids remarkable performance.

By the looks on those adorable smiling faces, the kids are having a ball and the memories will last a lifetime!

Break a leg tonight OLV Grade School Players!

The Nieman Marcus Cookie Recipe

This is an email that was forwarded to me today from a good friend. Enjoy!

I love it when the little guy strikes back!
**This is really worth reading**

A little background: Neiman-Marcus, if you don't know already, is a very expensive store; i.e., they sell your typical $8.00 T-shirt for $50.00.

THIS IS A TRUE STORY!

My daughter and I had just finished a salad at a Neiman-Marcus Cafe in Dallas , and we decided to have a small dessert. Because both of us are such cookie lovers, we
decided to try the 'Neiman-Marcus cookie.

It was so excellent that I asked if they would give me the recipe, and the waitress said with a small frown,"I'm afraid not, but you can buy the recipe."

Well, I asked how much, and she responded, "Only two fifty. It's a great deal!" I agreed to that, and told her to just add it to my tab.

Thirty days later, I received my VISA statement, and the Neiman-Marcus charge was $285.00! I looked again, and I remembered I had only spent $9.95 for two salads and
about $20.00 for a scarf. As I glanced at the bottom of the statement, it said , "Cookie Recipe-$250.00."

That was outrageous!

I called Neiman's Accounting Department and told them the waitress said it was 'two fifty', which clearly does not mean 'two hundred and fifty dollars' by any reasonable interpretation of the phrase.

Neiman-Marcus refused to budge.

They would not refund my money because, according to them, 'What the waitress told you is not our problem. You have already seen the recipe. We absolutely will
not refund your money at this point.'

I explained to the Accounting Department lady the criminal statutes which govern fraud in the state of Texas. I threatened to report them to the Better Business Bureau and the Texas Attorney General's office for engaging in fraud. I was
basically told , 'Do what you want. Don't bother thinking of how you can get even, and don't bother trying to get any money back.

I just said, Okay, you folks got my $250, and now I'm going to have $250 worth of fun.' I told her that I was going to see to it that every cookie lover in the United States with an e-mail account has a $250 cookie recipe from Neiman-Marcus. for free.

She replied, 'I wish you wouldn't do this..'


I said 'well you should have thought of that before you ripped me off!' and slammed
down the phone.

So here it is!

Please, please, please pass it on to everyone you can possibly think of. I paid $250 for this, and I don't want Neiman-Marcus to EVER make another penny off of this
recipe!

NEIMAN-MARCUS COOKIES

2 cups butter
24 oz. chocolate chips
4 cups flour
2 cups brown sugar
2 tsp. soda
1 tsp. salt
2 cups sugar
1 8 oz. Hershey Bar (grated)
5 cups blended oatmeal
4 eggs
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. vanilla
3 cups chopped nuts (your choice)

Measure oatmeal, and blend in a blender to a fine
powder. Cream the butter and both sugars.. Add eggs
and
vanilla, mix together with flour, oatmeal, salt,
baking
powder, and soda. Add chocolate chips, Hershey Bar,
and
nuts. Roll into balls, and place two inches apart on a
cookie sheet.

Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees. Makes 112
cookies.

PLEASE READ THE RECIPE AND SEND IT TO EVERY PERSON YOU KNOW WHO HAS AN E-MAIL ADDRESS!
THIS IS REALLY TERRIFIC!!

Even if the people on your e-mail list don't eat sweets, send it to them and ask them to pass it on.
Let's make sure we get these ladies $250.00 worth.
Enjoy the cookies, they are good.

Disappointment

Everyone has to deal with disappointment at some time in their life. Yesterday, my son was no exception. Being the true die hard sports fanatic, he has spent the greater part of his life participating in just about every sport known to mankind, but his true love is baseball. For many years, when asked what he wants to do “when he grows up” he proudly announces, “I am going to be a major league baseball player.”

Yesterday was the final cut for the freshman baseball team. He did not make it. To say this was a crushing blow would be an understatement. My husband had to deal with the fallout, as each player was called behind the bleachers to have their fate revealed to them. Our son stoically held it together until he got in the car and he could not hold it in any longer. This year it was not to be.

Ironically, my husband and I have always wondered when this day would come. We think back and we really don’t remember our son ever losing, getting cut, not being one of the best. You see, he has always been the smallest, but his big heart, natural raw talent and love of the game has always gotten him through every time. Not this time though, because the other players are bigger, stronger and can hit further. Welcome to high school!

I know he will be okay. I know in time he will understand that with disappointment comes learning - learning that you have other gifts and talents which you have not developed, learning that you will always get another chance to make the cut and learning that it really is not the end of the world, although it may seem like it today.

Mothers

Sitting here in the hospital while my mom is undergoing back surgery has given me some free time, well lots of free time. Time to think and time to write about what is on my mind. Ironically while my mom is in surgery, it is also my birth mother's birthday. I am going back and forth, wondering and worrying about both of them, all the while keeping my game face on, which I have gotten quite good at. Is mom doing okay with the surgery. Is the doctor going to come out any minute and say everything is fine? I haven't talked to my birth mother in almost a month. Is she doing okay? Is anyone celebrating with her? The knot in my stomach will not go away. It wasn't there this morning. Oh that's right, I had my game face on then. The dentist just called, I forgot my son's appointment this afternoon. Another blonde moment I guess. The receptionist seemed a bit irritated but frankly, I have more important things on my mind and his teeth can wait another week.

So today could be a day of double celebration any minute, knowing the mothers are okay, one 6 states away and one right behind the double doors. My heart says it will be.