11/29/09

GIVING THANKS

So I'm pretty much near the end of my recent mission: to finish the entire left overs of the Pumpkin Pie I served for Thanksgiving. A HUGE pie, too, I might add. I've done a pretty good job at it, I must admit.

No wonder. It's delicious!! Given that in addition to the pumpkin pie, there was also a stunning, fancy schmancy lemon cake and a delicious pecan pie, there was plenty of leftover desserts. YIPPEE! Definitely up my alley. I froze the other two, but couldn't bring myself to freeze the pumpkin guy since it IS one of my all time favorites.

Actually, the entire meal was damn good. Better yet was the company I had. For five days, Linda's family was here. WHAT A TREAT! Elliot, Lauren and Shawn decided to take their first family vacation since Linda's death last year and I was THE CHOSEN DESTINATION! Who could ask for more?? Plus, my son... the delight of my life... was here, so all in all, I had the best company ever. In fact, it was my son and Lauren who actually made the pecan pie and for a first time effort?? THEY PASSED WITH FLYING COLORS. Oh yeah... the two of them also made a gingerbread house from a kit I had bought. You can see their finished product in the picture up above. Don't ask.

I of course always make the traditional turkey on Thanksgiving. I just never eat it. I MUCH prefer all the trimmings. I NEVER serve stuffing, veggie casseroles, cranberries, sweet potatoes, etc. unless it's for a holiday, so when Thanksgiving comes around, I'm ready to dig in. Besides... where the hell is the TASTE in turkey, anyway? I don't even eat sliced turkey breast sandwiches. Give me hot pastrami ANY day. Further... turkey never seems to fit into my High Carb diet, that I love so much. Pastrami?? A zillion calories. Turkey?? Practically zero.

Oh yeah... get this. After dinner we all watched an apropos movie later that night. Sitting down?? FOOD, INC. Can you believe it??? Just what one should watch after eating fowl. You should SEE what what these huge companies do to supply our stores! Oh my God... don't EVER eat anything but food from animals raised in free range, grass fed environments. Uh... luckily my turkey was in fact, free range, no antibiotics, etc. Man... this movie was something else, alright.

Actually, so was my holiday. Even withOUT getting up at 4:00 a.m. to do the Black Friday bit. Soooo not my style. I would never consider getting up at that hour. Unless of course, it's to make one of my many nightly runs to the bathroom.

HARRY POTTER

Get a load of this picture. It' me with my new HP look. Have a wand handy?? So far, this new look has been received with rave reviews. Too bad I can't see so hotsi-totsi out of them, however. They're like the lenses from hell, here. It always takes about three visits to the optometrist to get my prescription exactly right. This time it only took two. The lenses on the other hand, have so far, taken three visits and guess what? They're still not hunkee doree. I've been testing them all week to see if they'll work. I'm going with: CHECK PRESCRIPTION ONCE MORE. My final answer. I can't figure out if the distance part of the lens is correct or not. I'm almost thinking that maybe my former pair were better off. To become more exact, when in the car with others, I've been doing a sort of test. We drive along, we spot a street sign and then each of us tells at what point they can actually read the name on the street sign. EVERYone can read it way before I can! Like I practically need to be on TOP of the street sign before I can see what the hell the name of the street is! So not good for travel in a faraway city. Basically, I'm totally screwed and I know it. Am not thrilled about it, either. I can't remember whether or not I've mentioned in older entries, that I've got some crappy ass eye disease developing. Swollen retinas and retinal edema is the layman's description. The medical description is beyond pronunciation, trust me. It makes me sick to even think about it. Anyway, for the past week, my eyes have been watering and I'm sorta scared. I have no clue what's going on... thus ANOTHER trip now to the optometrist is now in order. I should almost set up a cot while I'm there. Shit... I kinda like the use of my eyeballs and sure will be upset when they're no longer serving me. Regardless, I LOVED reading the first four editions of the Harry Potter series way back when. Although, believe me... I never for a minute thought I'd be sporting Harry Potter lookalike glasses one day. This is something an old lady should even be doing??? Anyway, I never went beyond reading the first four volumes, given I pretty much got the entire picture by then. Harry's a wizard. Everyone else is a Muggle. His parents were killed by Lord Voldemont. The aunt and uncle were mean idiots. Harry goes to a school for wizards. Becomes the savior of the school. Etc. Etc. Bingo. End of story. I've even caught a couple of the films on HBO by mere default, given nothing else worth watching was on. Yeah... I know. A major loser for a woman my age, to be viewing this deal.
For now, however... I'm kinda liking my Harry Potter glasses. And, as long as no one uses the curse: CONJUNCTIVITIS!!! on me, I'll be pretty happy. Which by the way... for all you Muggles out there... is the command Harry gives should he want to damage an opponent's eyesight. Lucky for him, I'm already damaged.

11/6/09

That was IT, alright!!!

Man... I can't wait until tomorrow night. I've invited 10 of my friends to be my guests to see THIS IS IT and trust me... it will be FABULOUS. How do I know?? Because get this... I'VE ALREADY SEEN IT!! I swear... I walked out of the theater last weekend, and was so damn pumped that I just KNEW I had to treat my friends to the same experience. I loved it!! In fact, just now I got email from my college roommate and an earlier email from my high school sweetheart, telling me THEY'RE ON THEIR WAY. Uh... not together, needless to say. I LOVE when folks take my advice about checking out something great. Besides... would I EVER lead anybody astray? Absolutely not! Okay... first of all... you do not have to be a Michael Jackson fan to be sucked right into this documentary. Although believe me... it doesn't hurt. You DO have be wild for music, dance, behind the scenes production and/or creation, astounding rehearsals and sheer wonderment at just HOW does one create the most phenomenal rock concert featuring THE most iconic musical genius in the history of the world. Want to know how it's done?? GO SEE THIS MOVIE! You'll learn. By the way... there was no way this man looked like he was ready to die 10 days later! But that's another story altogether. I was sitting in the theater, not only astounded at the creative juices that were flowing, but naturally, as soon as I heard the first three notes of a song... boom! I knew which one it was, and I was humming right smack along! Oh yeah... I was also munching right along on my mandatory popcorn. I wouldn't even THINK of sitting through a movie without popcorn and a Diet Coke. Which reminds me... the drink and popcorn alone, cost more than the price of my ticket. What the hell is with THAT?? Regardless... Want to spend an amazing couple of hours?? GO! WATCH! ENJOY! You'll thank me later. Or, at least you SHOULD, anyway. It's just too bad that my brother isn't here for me to be able to make him go. He might balk at first, but believe me... by the time he'd walk out, he'd be as entertained as I was. At least he SHOULD, anyway. I love and miss you, Bob. Everyday of my life.