Book of Randomness

Thanksgiving is quickly approaching, and thankfully, I don’t have to be responsible for it this year. I’m excited to say, I don’t really even have to help plan it! I only have one responsibility this year, and it is something I could do in my sleep!

My responsibility at Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter and any appropriate holiday is to make the classic green bean casserole. You may be wondering why I have this task at EVERY family party?

I don’t follow the recipe!! But I will share my secrets… for the first time on paper (or screen rather).

From the French’s Website.

Ingredients

• Green Beans – Two cans of FRENCH CUT beans. This is VERY key. The recipe calls for cut green beans, but I have found that the french cut mixes better with the other ingredients.
• Cream of … – You might be surprised here again. The recipe calls for cream of mushroom, but YUCK! Somehow around the age of 12 (when I was given been responsibilities) I accidentally started using CREAM OF CHICKEN when no one was looking. My bad! Except it was GREAT! So much better! Use one whole can.
• Milk – You can use whatever milk you choose. Add just a dash of milk, no more than a 1/8 of a cup, unless you like them runny.
• Onions – One LARGE can of the REGULAR French’s Fried Onions. The recipe calls for the cheddar kind, but seriously? Cheddar and mushrooms?

What to do!!

• Turn on oven to BAKE at 350 degrees.
• Mix in a 9×13 Pyrex dish: 2 cans of beans, one can of Cream of Chicken, milk, and 1/2 of the fried onions.
• Use fork to make sure it is laying reasonable flat in dish.
• BAKE at 350 degrees for 30 mins
• Remove beans from oven. Top with remaining 1/2 of fried onions. BAKE for 2-5 additional minutes until the onions are brown (or to your liking)!

If you listen to my recipe instead of the “classic” from French’s you will have the perfect combination of gooey and crunchy. I promise if you give this version a shot JUST ONCE, you will never, ever, want to go back!

A relative of mine learned the hard way when she went shopping for the ingredients once and not only bought the cut beans, but also the cream of mushroom. That’s when the ENTIRE family decided I was the only one allowed to make them ever again!

It’s easy to make, but it’s such an important part of the holiday menu!

P.S. You might also be wondering why I didn’t switch out any of the ingredients for healthier choices. My family and I decided right off the bat that when it came to our traditional holiday meals, we were not going to go our usual route of substituting. The holidays are so rare and important to our family, that it is a cause for celebration!

I’m sure many of you have heard the story about Elena Desserich, the 6 year old girl who lost her battle to Brain Cancer. Her incredible story centers around the 135 notes that she left behind for her parents to find around the house. Please read the story from From MSNBC.com/Today Show, and consider purchasing the book that her parents have released including all of the notes. The profits from the book will be going to research.

Such a great story!

One of 135 Notes:

The Book:

You can also read more about Notes Left Behind and Elena Desserich from their website NotesLeftBehind.com

I grew up with cats, dogs, turtles, etc. Not all at the same time, and not in mass quantities, but…

I never thought it would be weird to not have a pet in my home. I was doing fine in college with friends and roommates always present, and never seemed to feel alone. My junior year was a little different since I was living off campus with a biology major (with classes AND labs to deal with) who also had a part time job AND a boyfriend. Needless to say we rarely saw each other.

…and then one fateful night when I was roaming off to the library on campus, I crossed paths with a roughly 7-8 month old cat who was meowing like crazy under my stairs. I felt bad for the clearly distraught little animal, but I had to go, and what on earth was I going to do with a cat that HAD to belong to someone? After a few hours I returned to my apartment only to find the same little cat, who by this time was throwing up from dehydration. I took her in fed her, gave her water and waited for the owners to come and get her.

It’s four years later and I’m still waiting for someone to pick up my crazy little cat. The night I found her is the last time she willingly followed me around. She is what I would consider a ferrel cat (not a mean one). She is afraid of EVERYTHING.

I’m not sure what is going on up in her tiny little head but it is pretty funny sometimes.

Anyway. The point of this post was to talk about how even though I live with people, and other animals, the fact is that sometimes the cat is the thing that cheers me up.

People can make you happy, sad, mad, etc. but pets really only know how to make you happy. Sometimes the cat seems like the only person on my side, and sometimes it is just nice to know I’m not completely alone.

Hey I’ve even had a fish do that before. No matter what your animal of choice is, I highly recommend finding a companion you can live with. And since there are so many out there, please check into local animal rescues or humane societies. You can find cats, dogs, bunnies and birds at most of them.

Make sure you find a pet that will fit with your lifestyle too.

Good luck finding your new friend!

HAPPY ALMOST HALLOWEEN!!!

I may be too late in getting to most of you, but I’m sure there are still a few of you last minute pumpkin carvers out there. If in fact you have already carved your pumpkins, keep this in mind for next year.

I experimented (not by choice) with artificial pumpkin carving this year… boy was it fun…

One would assume that since you are working with a foam like material versus a unpredictable and often times gooey fruit that it would not only be easier to cut, but also a cleaner experience.

One would also assume that these would be good for kids… if I were a kid, I wouldn’t have been strong enough. My fingers still hurt!

Things I Discovered or Observed:

• They are strong little boogers when you don’t want them to be (aka trying to poke in the knife) and weak when you want them to be strong (aka when you are trying to carve intricate designs.
• They are INCREDIBLY messy. It looked like I had been shaving styrofoam all day. Definitely do not wear black when you are working with them.
• You can try and try, but you will NEVER get a clean edge.
• Similar to the previous bullet, cutting is terribly difficult in some places which causes you to not be as accurate.
• They lack the great characteristics of natural pumpkins such as those little flaws we have all learned to love. The pumpkins also only come in certain shapes.

Helpful Hits

• If you chose to use a Dremmel tool, be VERY careful. The foam cannot always stand up to it and you will quickly lose control (you can imagine what Mr. Olantern can turn out looking like).
• After carving the pumpkin, use the Dremmel sanding tools to “buff” the edges. It won’t be perfect, but it will help.
• White pumpkins look really cool with a simple ghost face.
• If you ignore my warning, DO NOT try anything more intricate than a simple face.
• If you ignore me still, cut all of the fine sections first to make sure most of the pumpkin still has its strength.
• These artificial guys make a perfect decoration intact, which is just about the only way you will see me needing these ever again.
• DO NOT USE A CANDLE!!!!

Good luck to you who decide to try them out despite my best efforts to warn you!! Talk to me after it looks like it snowed in your house.

If I were you, I would consider these good “craft pumpkins” and not “carving pumpkins.” Paint them or stencil them just don’t cut them!

For example:

From Michaels’ Website

I do not seek out two-buck-chuck, but it is a great thing to have around the house for the last minute wine needs or to add to a dish. It is never GREAT but it is also never AWFUL. It usually is decent tasting wine and you can stock up on it at the $2 price (although I hear it is $3 in NY… bummer). Apparently, Trader Joe’s can afford the cheap price since the wines are left over from different wineries… which is why some are better than others. That could be a rumor though….

So on to the moderately priced wines that everyone should give a shot.

Sidenote: I am not a wine connoisseur (and in fact, I didn’t even know how to spell that), I am just a girl who is trying to learn more about wines by experiencing, tasting and listening to people who think they know what they are talking about. Also, I typically lean towards white wines, but I am open to just about any… red, white, pink, sparkly, bubbly and you name it. Just keep that dessert wine away from me. Especially one flavored like a peach.

Back to the wines…

When I need to bring wine for a special occasion or I just do not want to be thoroughly embarrassed by my poor wine picking skills, I try to be loyal to these brands.

• Beringer-Smooth tasting wines. My favorite is their Chardonnay
• Barefoot-Love the wine AND the bubbly (champagne peeps)
• Yellowglen Sparkling Wines- Pink is one of my favorite wines/champagnes. Smooth tasting with lots of bubbles. The bottle is adorable and who can fault the pink color of the liquid!
• Kendall-Jackson-Always a decent taste!
• Francis Ford Coppola Winery-What can I say? They are a talented family!

The gadgets!!

Yellowglen Pink and Yellow are supporting National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (October) by giving $1 for every bottle sold during the month! Check in out on Making Memories.org and support them in their quest.

That means drink people!

Also, BevMo! has great deals on wine and champagne, especially during their 5 Cent sale. I can usually find Pink! I believe the sale is about to start again!!

My FAVORITE book EVER! Ok maybe it is my favorite possession….? I guess that could be stretching it, but this book is definitely WAY up there.

So what is it you may ask?

Freakin’ Fabulous by Clinton Kelly. I feel hesitant to share this with everyone because, well if I share, then you may become more fabulous than I am… oh well. The more fabulous people the better!

Everyone has seen the TLC show What Not to Wear on at least one occasion (and if you haven’t, you must be living under a rock). Clinton is half of the hosting duo, Clinton and Stacy. Clinton is also touring the country’s Macy’s stores for Make Over America (sadly I was not chosen ) He is undoubtedly funny on the show, and it translates perfectly into his book. He had me laughing cover to cover.

Freakin’ Fabulous is like my new life bible. I have only had the chance to read it all the way through once, but I frequently refer back to it. I actually began to annoy my friends and family by saying… “Clinton says….” or “According to Clinton…” I even had my DAD quoting the book!! Weird.

By the first few pages of the book you will wish Clinton was your best friend!

Freakin’ Fabulous is the book that you need if you want to know “How to Dress, Speak, Behave, Eat, Drink, Entertain, Decorate, and Generally Be Better than Everyone Else” according to its sub-title!

Highlights of the book… according to moi!

• Dress: Includes everything you need to know from accessories, to tailoring, dressing for certain occasions and a page of very ugly shoes (clearly the DON’T page)
• Speak: Definitely the section I need to read again… and AGAIN. The proper use for words. My greatest accomplishment so far has been taking the “s” off of the end of anyway! The pretty pictures and doodles help my learning… what can I say, I’m a visual person!
• Behave: Don’t butter the entire roll!! Holding wine glasses, eating oysters, texting with company and even a section on “bodily functions.” This section is definitely a must read. Did you know you should never bring your own food item to a party unless requested? I did not know that one, but you can ruin the theme/atmosphere.
• Eat: Four recipes you should MEMORIZE, cutting onions and other great recipes.
• Drink: I was laughing from the first page of this section as Clinton says, “Gin has made me do a lot of stupid things, but I forgive it.” Obviously there are drink recipes in the section, but my part is the section on wine; descriptions, how to serve, how to order and which wine pairs best with your food.
• Entertain: Plan for 1 bottle of wine per person!! Now that sounds like a party! Covers food to serve, music, booting people at the end of the night and making the potty smell nice! The “Mac and Cheese with Bacon” looks and sounds delicious… although it reminds me of the overeating experience I had at Yardhouse.
• Decorate: I cannot wait until I have my own house to be able to do all of this!! Room by room tricks, organization (“Kill the Clutter”), and fresh flowers. Never include baby’s breath or ferns IN an arrangement! Clinton suggests using Flowerbud.com for flowers.

  The book is full of color and information. Clinton has done an amazing job with this book balancing entertainment and information. I suggest it to EVERYONE. Give it to your girlfriends for their birthday or as a bachelorette party gift.

  You don’t NEED a reason, just get the book for crying out loud!! You will thank me later!

My FAVORITE book EVER! Ok maybe it is my favorite possession….? I guess that could be stretching it, but this book is definitely WAY up there.

So what is it you may ask?

Freakin’ Fabulous by Clinton Kelly. I feel hesitant to share this with everyone because, well if I share, then you may become more fabulous than I am… oh well. The more fabulous people the better!

Everyone has seen the TLC show What Not to Wear on at least one occasion (and if you haven’t, you must be living under a rock). Clinton is half of the hosting duo, Clinton and Stacy. Clinton is also touring the country’s Macy’s stores for Make Over America (sadly I was not chosen ) He is undoubtedly funny on the show, and it translates perfectly into his book. He had me laughing cover to cover.

Freakin’ Fabulous is like my new life bible. I have only had the chance to read it all the way through once, but I frequently refer back to it. I actually began to annoy my friends and family by saying… “Clinton says….” or “According to Clinton…” I even had my DAD quoting the book!! Weird.

By the first few pages of the book you will wish Clinton was your best friend!

Freakin’ Fabulous is the book that you need if you want to know “How to Dress, Speak, Behave, Eat, Drink, Entertain, Decorate, and Generally Be Better than Everyone Else” according to its sub-title!

Highlights of the book… according to moi!

• Dress: Includes everything you need to know from accessories, to tailoring, dressing for certain occasions and a page of very ugly shoes (clearly the DON’T page)
• Speak: Definitely the section I need to read again… and AGAIN. The proper use for words. My greatest accomplishment so far has been taking the “s” off of the end of anyway! The pretty pictures and doodles help my learning… what can I say, I’m a visual person!
• Behave: Don’t butter the entire roll!! Holding wine glasses, eating oysters, texting with company and even a section on “bodily functions.” This section is definitely a must read. Did you know you should never bring your own food item to a party unless requested? I did not know that one, but you can ruin the theme/atmosphere.
• Eat: Four recipes you should MEMORIZE, cutting onions and other great recipes.
• Drink: I was laughing from the first page of this section as Clinton says, “Gin has made me do a lot of stupid things, but I forgive it.” Obviously there are drink recipes in the section, but my part is the section on wine; descriptions, how to serve, how to order and which wine pairs best with your food.
• Entertain: Plan for 1 bottle of wine per person!! Now that sounds like a party! Covers food to serve, music, booting people at the end of the night and making the potty smell nice! The “Mac and Cheese with Bacon” looks and sounds delicious… although it reminds me of the overeating experience I had at Yardhouse.
• Decorate: I cannot wait until I have my own house to be able to do all of this!! Room by room tricks, organization (“Kill the Clutter”), and fresh flowers. Never include baby’s breath or ferns IN an arrangement! Clinton suggests using Flowerbud.com for flowers.

  The book is full of color and information. Clinton has done an amazing job with this book balancing entertainment and information. I suggest it to EVERYONE. Give it to your girlfriends for their birthday or as a bachelorette party gift.

  You don’t NEED a reason, just get the book for crying out loud!! You will thank me later!

It may be a little late in the season to discuss boating safety, but since I am fresh off of a boating trip I thought I would share a little bit about what I know and just learned. This is definitely not a complete (or anywhere close to it) list, so check out some boater safety sites before you go on your trip.

Obviously the key thing is to put kids in a life jacket!! It doesn’t matter if they think they look stupid! We ALL look a little silly in them!

Orange Flag You HAVE to have an orange flag up when you have people in the water. Whatever you do, do not forget this and have a friend run over. Major party pooper.

Remember to turn off the prop when your friends and family are getting in and out of the boat.

Drinking High on the list of things NOT to do. Drinking and driving anything is a bad idea. Places that are frequented by “partiers” like Havasu have a zero tolerance policy, meaning if you test positive for ANY alcohol, they are sending you to the big house.

No Wake Zone Always obey this rule. You never know who is watching. Breaking the “No Wake” is like rolling a stop sign… it just gives the cops a reason to pull you over. (My friend was almost arrested because of this)

Wave Runners The passenger is always supposed to wear the safety key. Luckily the cops who almost arrested my friend gave us this lovely tidbit. It makes sense, how else would you know if they fell off?

Also remember that people do not pay attention to wave runners. Keep an eye out for boats in your area.

Lights Boat lights are very important. It is illegal to have a boat out in the water without having lights on it.

Sunscreen Wear it, re-apply it. There is nothing worse than a burn – they make you feel like an idiot because you can’t do something so simple. Plus peeling and skin cancer are hidious side effects.

Other helpful ideas…

• Wear boardshorts when you are wakeboarding or tubing (no one wants their bottoms coming off or going up there tush).
• Take your earings out when tubing. Not only can they fall out, they can go right through your earlob.
• Take plenty of food and water. Boating (especially in the sun or doing activities) can be physically exhausting.
• If you are riding wave runners, or on a boat, make sure the plugs are in… you don’t want to sink.
• Did I mention sunscreen??
• If you rent a boat make sure it has an anchor, large bimini top and a sound system.

  If you do rent a boat, or borrow it, make sure it is in good working condition. Nothing can ruin a boating trip faster than a dysfunctional boat.

First off, thank you to Nicole at Teleflora for actually taking the time to respond to my post on Flower Deliveries. I think it shows something about a company who takes their time to stay in touch with their customers.

On another update note, and not to take away from Teleflora, but when one receives sage advice, one shares.

I received the suggestion from Clinton Kelly (yes that one) to use a website called Flowerbud.com. I immediately trusted the suggestion because according to Freakin’ Fabulous, (which I will write about later this week) Clinton believes in always having fresh flowers in your house (even if it is only in one room). So he is clearly familiar with the website.

Flowerbud.com offers more unique arrangements than some of the others. The site offers detailed descriptions of why they named it the way they did, and which flowers will specifically be in the arrangement. You can still search by occasion like the others offer.

My Favorite Arrangement

What I found most interesting about the site is the “grand boxes” they offer. The boxes are the wholesale options that are perfect for parties or weddings. You can choose from many different flowers such as roses, tulips and sunflowers. Flowerbud.com even has a DIY Wedding Flowers section. If you do decide to do your own wedding flowers, they also offer a 10% discount on flower samples.

While I have not had a chance to use Flowerbud.com, I highly recommend that you give it a try!

Thanks Clinton!!
Freakin’ Fabulous: How to Dress, Speak, Behave, Eat, Drink, Entertain, Decorate, and Generally Be Better than Everyone Else

Do you ever worry about your friends that live out of the area? Like a few close friends that you just can’t get to when you know they need you most?

One of my best friends lives a couple states away, just out of my reach, and she has been having a tough year. She is going to grad school, so she is in a foreign state surrounded by the few friends she has met so far through school.

Of course with all of this modern technology we can talk all of the time, but I can’t give her that hug you know she needs every so often. So what do you do?

A few days before Valentine’s Day this year, she was having a really rough time. After giving it some thought, my other best friends and I (all of us friends from high school) found a good way to cheer her up.

FLOWERS!! Yes, that is right, we used the classic sending flowers trick.

It was my first experience with sending flowers. Period.

I’m guessing I lucked out because you no longer have to call up a florist in the destination area, and you have the convenience of having pictures of all of your options.

So for a few minutes of work and $30 (we split the $90 bill three ways), we had the perfect cheer up for my friend. She received a HUGE purple bouquet of flowers at her door step on Valentine’s day.

No matter who you are, a girly girl, a sporty girl, grandmother, mom, sister, friend, etc. if you are surprised with flowers, you can’t help but to be happy. When you aren’t expecting anything, it truly is one of those situations where it is the thought that counts. Regardless of how much was spent, what kind of flowers, and any other details, your initial thought is just surprise and happiness.

My friends and I searched around the typical websites, which I have listed below, and eventually landed on a bouquet from Teleflora. Most of the websites offer similar options and prices, the Telefora website just happened to have one that matched what we were looking for.

Prices usually start at $20, and go up to nearly $100. You are bound to find something you are looking for, for your friend, anniversary, birthday, “I’m sorry” and any celebration.

But do you really need an excuse? Just picture the look on your loved one’s face when they get a beautiful package of flowers delievered for absolutely no reason. If you split it with some friends like I did, you can get a great bouquet without breaking the bank.

You should really check it out, and make someone’s day!! Or even month depending on how long the flowers last!

Also keep in mind that you can find fruits, stuffed animals and just about anything delivered.

• Teleflora
• FTD
• ProFlowers
• 1-800-Flowers