Where is my tomato sauce?!

You know, it just figures. You wanna make some homemade spaghetti sauce---which, BTW, I do EVERY time I make spaghetts--only to open the cupboard and find that you have no tomato sauce! What is up with that? All I have is some lame can of ready-made, generic-tasting, bland and boring spaghetti sauce that my daughter gave me, which she didn't want and I figured I could just throw in a recipe somewhere down the road. But down the road came tonight because I had no tomato sauce, and absolutely no desire to take a jaunt to the grocery store to buy more (it's a block away, but I'm lazy). What's a gal to do? Well, obviously, you just make the best of a bad spaghetti situation!

So I used the lame can of ready-make, generic-tasting, bland and boring spaghetti sauce and added my usual secret spaghetti sauce seasonings, and hoped for the best. But wait, the story does not end there! I have been using ground turkey to make my meaty spaghetti sauce for awhile now. I've been trying to eat healthier, avoid red meat more often, and since the Hubs seems to like it, all the better. But the ground turkey I bought for the sauce is NOT my usual ground turkey. No, the grocery store was out of my usual ground turkey, so I had to get some pre-seasoned Italian style ground turkey. And when I put it in the pan, it was unusually moist and sticky. No, gooey is a better word. Ewww. How does that even happen? It's just got added seasonings, so what gives?! Anyway, it was sticking to the pan like crazy and getting all weird on me! I had to wonder, what was wrong with the bird that gave its life for the ground meat in my spaghetti sauce, that in its current form looked like something not even remotely in the meat family! Sigh. Do you see the nightmare that is brewing here? This is no longer a bad spaghetti situation. No, no. This is a full blown, four alarm spaghetti disaster!

You have to understand, folks, I am a spaghetti sauce snob. I never eat ready-made spaghetti sauce on my spaghetti. Never. No, seriously. NEVER. I don't even like eating spaghetti at restaurants, because I don't like how it tastes. I'm sorry, but I just think mine is better. And why shouldn't I? I've been perfecting my spaghetti sauce for over 25 years! In fact, there's only been one restaurant in the last quarter of a century where I had spaghetti that I actually liked. That was at a local pizza joint in Weatherford, Texas (Thanks, MOM!). Best restaurant spaghetti I've ever had and I would actually eat it again!

But I digress...

Bottom line, the spaghetti sauce I made this evening just plain sucked! No measure of secret spaghetti seasonings could salvage the pile of pasta poo that was our dinner. Gotta give credit to the Hubs though; I'm sure he hated it too, but he ate two helpings...and even managed a smile when he was finished. Now that is true love right there, people. Forget roses, forget diamonds (OK, maybe that's going too far)...give me the man who will eat my spaghetti disaster--two entire helpings--and finish it off with a smile.

Note to self: BUY TOMATO SAUCE!

The Bugaloos

For my first post in the Flashback Friday category, I'm gonna chat about one of my favorite TV shows as a kid, you know, back in the day (the 70's, for anyone taking note). LOL. I was a huge fan of the shows created by Sid and Marty Krofft, who created not only The Bugaloos, but also the classic, H.R. Pufnstuf!

Meet the Bugaloos

The Bugaloos were a group of four teenagers, who just happened to have wings and antennae, and they lived in Tranquility Forest. They were British, and they also had a rock band--which, natch, gave them an excuse to squeeze songs into each episode. Their arch enemy on the show was named--get this--Benita Bizarre, and she was jealous of The Bugaloos and wanted their musical talent. So she was constantly trying to capture The Bugaloos or destroy them. Benita was played by the amazing Martha Raye...I recognized her later when she began as a spokesperson in Polident commercials in the 70's. And one of my favorite characters on the show was "Sparky." Sparky was a firefly, played in full costume by Billy Barty.

This show didn't run very long...just a couple of years. But it was a staple of my Saturday mornings while it was on. And since they lived in a veritable fairy land, this may be the reason that I have always had a fondness for fairies and sprites, and all kinds of fantasy creatures! So, does anyone else remember The Bugaloos?!

Yes, I Know my Husand’s Phone Number

OK, so here's the scenario. I'm working at my desk and the phone rings. It's one of the Hubs' customers calling, and it goes something like this...

Me: Hello?

Customer: I need to talk to the plumber.

Me: He's not here right now, but I can take your name and number and have him call you.

Customer: He's supposed to come to my house at 2pm today but I'm wondering if he can come at 1:30 instead.

Me: My husband would need to answer that for you. I can take your name and number, or you can call his cell phone to speak with him directly. Do you know his phone number?

{Prepare for WTH? moment #1}

Customer: You don't know his phone number?

Me: Um, yes I know his number, I'm asking if YOU know it.

Customer: I just need to know if he can come at 1:30. Can you call him and have him call me?

Me: {Exasperated by WTH? moment #2} OK, so you want me to call him, to tell him to call you, instead of you just calling and speaking with him directly?

Customer: Yes

Does anyone else see the inanity of this conversation? Wouldn't it just make a whole lot more sense, not to mention save a whole lotta time, for the customer to have just called my Hubs' cell herself?! To me, this is always the quickest way to go. I am always just amazed at how many folks would rather I take a message--when they could just call his cell phone (which is the first number listed in the phone book anyway!) and save all kinds of {their} time and {my} frustration!

But hey, I guess that would just take the fun out of it for all of us. ;o)

Favorite Books

Books can literally speak volumes...not just about the characters and settings within them, but about the person who reads them. These are a few of my favorites (in no particular order). I read all of these books before I saw each of the movies. I am not the kind of person who can enjoy a book after I've seen the movie; seeing the movie first would simply spoil the book for me! Instead, I need to read the book, and then I watch the movie as a means of bringing the story and the characters to life. How about you? Can you watch a movie and then still enjoy the book afterward?

Da Vinci Code: Smart guy, good with symbols, gets embroiled in a murder mystery at the Louvre, which forces him to use his skills to sleuth his way through cryptic clues, in a wild search for the truth about the Holy Grail and Mary Magdalene's role in the history of Christianity! This book was a page turner for me from beginning to end. I simply could not put it down! It helped remind me what is great about a really good book. And it became my all time favorite novel.

Da Vinci Code

The Notebook: Before this was a 5 star chick flick, it was one of the best love stories ever written, by one of my favorite authors, Nicholas Sparks. The basic plot is simple: boy meets girl and they fall in love, boy loses girl, boy finds girl again, boy loses girl again. But it ain't about the destination, it's about the journey. If you only read one book by Nicholas Sparks, read this one!

The Notebook

Bridges of Madison County: Photographer looking for bridges in Iowa finds them, along with a beautiful and dedicated farm wife. These strangers, having met solely by chance or by fate, soon realize they are soul mates and spend four days making love and memories that will have to last a lifetime. Man, break out the tissues, girls. Seriously, this is one of the few books I've ever read that literally made me cry! But I loved every nose-blowing minute of it. This is a love story for the ages.

Bridges of Madison County

Twilight: High school girl moves to Washington, meets a seriously cold boy, and they fall in love. And oh yeah, he just happens to be a vampire. So, as much as he loves her, he also kind of wants to--you know--suck her blood! Talk about your conflict of interests! Now I've never been one to read vampire stories, but I had to see what all the hoopla in the press was about. And what can I say, I was bitten smitten. It's actually not my all time favorite book, but I did love it. And I have been reading each sequel as well, and I'm really enjoying following these characters and the story itself.

Twilight

This is Us...Then


Yup, that was us, the Hubs and Me, 26 years ago, when our love was still in its infancy, looking so young and so sweet and so...80's! Even without the "81" on the Hubs' T-shirt, it's painfully obvious what decade we're in here. Seriously, look at my hair! That was Farrah feathering at its finest! And those glasses--they're half the size of my entire face. Whose brilliant optical mind of the day made those the requisite fashion statement for nearsighted young gals like myself? I can be excused, for I was young and knew not which look was right for my face! But the designer of those frames should be held accountable for the true spectacle they created! Oy.

For the record, regarding his ashen appearance, the Hubs is not a vampire (much as I might like to call him Edward when he's just out of earshot). The camera was not very far from us when we took this photo, and the flash just made him look a lot whiter than he really is. On the plus side, his stark white face actually makes my face look a little darker than it really is, and helps to distract the viewer from the zits that are lurking below my lower lip. Ahhh, adolescence. Isn't it a shame we don't get to linger there just a bit longer?!

John and I were married within 6-7 months of this photo being taken. I was 17. He was 21. We got married 2 weeks after I graduated from high school. In just a few months, we will celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. If I'm feeling brave by then, I will post an updated photo of us for comparison. OK, well, maybe I will, maybe I won't. There are just no guarantees in life, especially when we're talking about the 17 year old girl, who is now 42, and not exactly Miss America. But hey, anything is possible. So just check back in June!

Yes, I'm a Twilighter

OK, I admit it. I am 42 years old...not exactly in the target demographic for the whole teenage-bloodsucker-goes-vegetarian-in-the-face-of-true-love saga that is Twilight. But what can I say: I'm a true fan of the fanged one and the story and characters that go along with him.

Oddly, I'm old enough to be this blood sucker's mother. And truth be told, I don't think he is the absolute most handsome young man in the world. Stranger still, I'm not attracted to the actor who plays our beloved Edward Cullen (aka Robert Pattinson); rather, I am attracted to Edward himself (go figure). When I see photos of Robert, I think he's good looking, but if I didn't know he was also Edward, I don't even think I'd give him a second glance. There's just something about Edward (that face, those eyes, the I-don't-comb-my-hair-because-I-don't-have-to "do"). Both on screen and in photos, he is seriously, um, for lack of a better word, HOT!

My Favorite Vampire


[CRICKETS]

Oh, sorry, I lost my train of thought for a second. ;o)

Anyhoo, what more can I say? I'm a Twilighter!