It's been what...two weeks since the last Friday Jambalaya? I feel like such a slacker. The pre-election post-a-rama wore my tush out and I just had to rest. I'm feeling much better though and am ready to get this thing going. Shall we?
Real World
- Because I'm working so much, I'm now close to failing BOTH of my subjects. This does not set well with me, especially considering that a mere month ago, I had a low A/high B in both. School, work, marriage, raising a child, PTO...it's all very hard work people. Pity me.
- Speaking of college...this semester ends December 10th. *bows* Thank you, thank you, thank you. I really don't think I can handle any more at this point. I'm so effin' stressed out.
- Thanksgiving is almost here and I am not excited. Why? Because both Jason and myself are working that day. I usually cook a really big meal and we have one set of the parents over, but not this year. We're dropping Matt off at grandma's house the day before, then I'm picking him up after I get off work. Then I'll head to my mom's house for dinner and my little brother's birthday party. I really hate knowing that I won't be spending the day with Jason, but what can we do, right?
- Matt received an early Christmas gift from one of Jason's co-workers. I spent all last weekend watching Matt blow up aliens with plasma grenades and warthogs. That's right...Matt has a limited edition Halo 2 game. I personally don't think a six year old should be playing a game such as that, but I've been overridden by the boy, the husd, and half of the police officers Jason works with. *deep sigh* It's funny because we received two free months of XBox Live with the game and Matt is consistently coming in the top five out of like 12 every game. It's amazing! If these guys only knew that a 6 year old was beating their asses. Hehe...we've got to get that communicator.
- I'm still taking snail mail addys for Christmas cards. Just email me the information. My email is over on the side on the site. I need these within the next couple weeks so I can get everyone's cards out on time. If you don't feel comfortable giving me your snail mail, just request a digitial one from me. I'll have those online somewhere around the 20th. And make sure to include your working email and blog url, if you have one.
- If you're in the military and you know someone who doesn't have anyone who will be sending them anything, please email me so I can get some cards and goodies together. PLEASE don't post the information here on the site. You can email me at at my Gmail account. You'll find it on the sidebar. I want to make sure that ALL military men and women are getting something this year. I'm sure that I'll be asking my fellow bloggers for help if the list is too big, so be ready to volunteer!
- BlogExplosion has totally consumed my life. No really, it has. For two days, I kept getting this message saying that I had visited every site in rotation...craziness! That's a lot of sites people. I'm obsessed with my credits. I refuse to let them get below 300. I spend an average of three to five hours a day just clicking...and clicking...and rating...and clicking. I now know how crack addicts feel. I have yet to hit the elusive and much coveted 100 credits, but I've lucked up about 10 times already with the 50 credits. I've hit it!
As of right now, I have 359 482 credits. I've had over 2,300 hits from BE, and I have 21 referrals under me. If you have a blog and you haven't signed up for BlogExplosion yet, you're crazy. You're missing a goldmine of traffic. But the best part is finding new blogs and meeting new people. BE people rock my socks. :)
- A few people have asked me about the snazzy GMAIL button on the sidebar. Well, you too can have one, all you have to do is click here. You can generate a button for Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo, AOL, MSN, and many more. And oh yeah, you're welcome.
- Spammers are now affecting me away from my blog. Dig this: I was in Wal-Mart today and I was looking at some track pants. I look and see these t-shirts with sayings on them. I move in closer and as I look down on to the ones closest to the bottom of the rack, I see "Play Texas Holdem" written across the front in glittery letters. I almost choked on my gum. I was like "No fucking way! The spammers have gotten hold of these quality Wal-Mart t-shirts!" I had to step back and breathe for a moment...then I backed away and exited the store. You know you're blogging way too much when stuff like that freaks you out.
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Ask Me:
I asked you a few days ago to send in your questions to me and I've gotten quite a few already. You can keep sending them in, but here's what I have so far:
Cucumber: I could have asked this last time. And maybe I missed it somewhere: What are you studying at Armstrong? Major I mean. Oh, and are you still thinking about the Birthday thingy? Mine is the 7th ;^)
My major is English w/Teaching. Hopefully in four years, I'll be teaching your teenagers. *evil laugh* Yep, I'm still trying to get the birthday party planned out. It all depends on if I'm working or not. Woo hoo! One day apart. :) We'll have to do birthday shots.
John: Did you ever post a picture for the boobiethon?
No, I'm afraid that I was sooooo busy with school and the fire and all of that junk that I wasn't able to get my picture submitted in time. But expect some boobie pics this year. I'm thinking something red...and satin...with bows. :)
Hugh: Miss Dizzy,
Will we ever use cars that fly? Thanks so much.
You know Hugh, I was just pondering that same question last night. I do think that cars will one day fly. I believe it'll happen within the next 10-15 years. I suggest reading up on Skycar. It's cool.
Thanks so much for the questions guys. I enjoyed reading over your emails. What fun! If you have something you'd like to ask, please use the form on this page.
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Recipes:
Look for an entire post with Thanksgiving recipes on Monday. Today though, I've chosen to post the recipes of the dishes I cooked up today. Enjoy.
- Tahitian Chicken:
2 Tbsp. Flour
1 tsp. ginger
1 (6 oz.) frozen can pineapple-orange juice
3 lb. Chicken, cut into quarters 16 oz. can chunk pineapple
Green Pepper, sliced
Brown in Bag
2 tsp. soy sauce
Coat bag with flour. Add chicken and rest of ingredients. Shake well. Make six ½-inch slits on top of bag and seal with tie. Place in pan and bake at 350 for 45 minutes.
- Lemon Garlic Steamed Broccoli:
24 ounces broccoli flowerets
2 cloves garlic -- minced
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Salt --- to taste
Steam broccoli till tender but firm, 4-6 minutes. Heat the oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat, add the garlic and saute one minute. Add the cooked broccoli, lemon juice and salt to taste, cooking briefly to combine.
- Yellow Rice:
(I made the Vigo brand rice, but here's a recipe if you want to do it from scratch)
2 tablespoons oil, Spanish extra-virgin olive
1 tablespoon annatto seeds
¼ cup sofrito
¼ cup onion, sliced
½ teaspoon garlic, minced
¼ cup sauce (Goya), Spanish style
¼ teaspoon cumin, ground
1/8 teaspoon coriander, ground
2½ cups water
2 cups rice, medium grain
salt & pepper
Start off by making the annatto oil. In a small pot, heat the oil and annatto seeds over medium heat. When it starts to sizzle, lower it and cook gently for about 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and let it sit for another 5 minutes. Using a fine strainer, strain the oil into a medium pot and discard the seeds. Heat the annatto oil over medium heat and add the sofrito and sliced onion. Cook for a couple of minutes and then add the garlic. Stir for 30 seconds and, when you can smell the garlic. Add the sauce, cumin, coriander, water, rice, a good amount of salt, and pepper. Boil for three minutes and then lower the heat, cover, and simmer for about twenty minutes. You want all the liquid to be absorbed and the rice to be tender. Fluff it with a fork and cover it again for a few minutes.
And for dessert...
Caramel Apples:
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
6 Golden Delicious,
Red Delicious or Fuji apples
3 ounces white chocolate
3 ounces semi-sweet chocolate,
finely chopped
1/4 cup coarsely chopped
natural pistachios
Red Hots or other small candies
Gold Leaf (optional)
10-inch square piece of styrofoam
6 popsicle sticks or small wooden dowels
In heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine water and sugar. Over low heat, stir mixture gently until sugar is completely dissolved. Increase heat to medium low and cook, without stirring, until mixture is a dark amber color. Remove from heat and carefully stir in heavy cream (mixture will bubble up and spatter a bit, then subside.) Set aside to cool and thicken. Cover styrofoam with waxed paper to catch caramel drippings (this will be a stand for caramel apples). Insert popsicle sticks into bottom center of apples. Dip top half of each apple into thickened caramel. Insert bottom of popsicle sticks into styrofoam, allowing apples to stand upright so caramel runs down sides of each apple. Refrigerate to harden. Meanwhile, melt white chocolate in top of double boiler above gently simmering water; stir until smooth. Transfer melted chocolate to pastry bag fitted with small (#1) writing tip. Drizzle thin, random strips of white chocolate over each caramel apple. Repeat melting and drizzling with semi-sweet chocolate. Decorate each apple with pistachios, Red Hot candies, and a few small pieces of gold leaf, if desired. Serve or refrigerate to serve later.
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Quotes of the Week: Special Post-Election Edition:
- "Dear wonderful, loving friends from abroad,
We Ohioans are an ornery sort and don't take meddling well, even if it comes from people we admire and with their sincere goodwill. We are a fairly closed community overall. In my town of Springfield, I feel that there are some that consider people from the nearby cities of Columbus or Dayton, as 'foreigners'- let alone someone from outside our country." --- Springfield, Ohio
- "Have you not noticed that Americans don't give two shits what Europeans think of us? Each email someone gets from some arrogant Brit telling us why to NOT vote for George Bush is going to backfire, you stupid, yellow-toothed pansies ... I don't give a rat's ass if our election is going to have an effect on your worthless little life. I really don't. If you want to have a meaningful election in your crappy little island full of shitty food and yellow teeth, then maybe you should try not to sell your sovereignty out to Brussels and Berlin, dipshit. Oh, yeah - and brush your goddamned teeth, you filthy animals." --- Wading River, NY *Woah...slow down there skippy...*
- "KEEP YOUR FUCKIN' LIMEY HANDS OFF OUR ELECTION. HEY, SHITHEADS, REMEMBER THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR? REMEMBER THE WAR OF 1812? WE DIDN'T WANT YOU, OR YOUR POLITICS HERE, THAT'S WHY WE KICKED YOUR ASSES OUT. FOR THE 47% OF YOU WHO DON'T WANT PRESIDENT BUSH, I SAY THIS ... TOUGH SHIT!" --- PROUD AMERICAN VOTING FOR BUSH!
- "Who in the hell do you think you are??? Well, I'll tell you, you're a bunch of meddling socialist pricks! Stay the hell out of our country and politics. And another thing, John Kerry is a worthless lying sack of crap so it doesn't surprise me that a socialist rag like yours would back him. I hope your cynical ploy blows up in your cowardly faces, you bunch of mealy-mouthed morons!" --- United States
I really have to stop now before I start pissing myself. I love ya Guardian. Thanks so much for helping to re-elect President Bush. On behalf of 51% of the nation...I say thank you...you bastards. 
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Entertain Me:
- Jen is an evil cow for messing with me. She got me with this. I'll get ya!
- FetusMart...hmm...interesting. And no, they're not human fetuses, so everyone can just calm the hell down. Cute.
- Jennifer Garner is... Elektra! That's right, the official site is now online and you can download wallpapers, play Ninja Assassin, and all sorts of things. The trailer is also online as well. Now, I'll be the first to admit that I thumbed my nose up at the idea of this movie. But after watching the trailer and what seems to be an actual plot, I have to say that it looks interesting. In fact, it looks pretty damn good.
- This is where ugly bridesmaid/wedding dressed go when they die...DRESS HELL! *cue dramatic music* These dresses are SOOOOOOO fugly.
- Wanna know what really scares the shit out of me? The Six Flags Dude. OMG...when that commercial comes on the tv, I almost piss myself. He reminds me of that nasty old crazy man from "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre". You know, Grandfather? OMG...I'm freaking out.
- I FINALLY watched "Mean Girls" the other night...and holy shit what a great movie! Maybe it's just because I love the whole getting-back-at-the-high-school-bitch thing. It was hilarious. If you haven't seen it yet, watch it!
- One movie, strike that, TWO movies I would NOT recommend would be "The Girl Next Door" and "Walking Tall". Boring...stupid...slow...blah. Not even worth me typing about them. Stupid movies. Do not watch.
- Remember my little movie date last weekend? Well, Savannah SUCKS people. We're not one of the markets that's showing "Bridget Jones 2", so we ended up getting tickets to "The Incredibles". Man...what an AWESOME movie! It is, hands down, one of the best animated movies of all time, if not THE BEST. You don't have to have kids to see it. There were just as many adults there as there were children. But if you do have children, I HIGHLY suggest let them experience seeing it for the first time on the big screen. Without giving anything away to those of you who haven't seen it, I want to say that what makes this movie so great is that it has an actual plot. I found myself laughing and yes...crying. Pay the $8 and go see it already! And make sure to preorder it!
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Harry Potter News:
- Guess what's coming out Tuesday???
*does a dance* Jason says that if I'm REALLY good girl, I might just get it as an early birthday gift. I suppose I should be REALLY good then, eh? *wink wink nudge nudge growl* The things I do for you Harry.
- Harry? Hermione? Dopplegangers??? That chick looks JUST like Hermione.
- Mugglenet has some unconfirmed information regarding the release date for book six. June? No! Why must we wait so long? I can't do it. Besides, that doesn't sound right at all. She should be at least 3/4 of the way through it already. Chop chop Mrs. Rowling, your fans are anxiously awaiting this book!
- Mugglenet also confirms that David Yates with be the director of "The Order of the Phoenix". It's safe to say that most people in America have no idea who Yates is, but you British fans will recognize his name from the BBC series "State of Play".
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Memes and Quizzes:
-
You Are a Liberal Republican |
 When you tell people that you're Republican, they rarely believe you. That's because you're socially liberal - likely pro-choice and pro-gay rights. You're also not so afraid of big goverment, as long as it benefits people and not politicians. You are the most likely of any Republican type to swing over to the Democrat side sometimes. |
I can live with that. Sounds about right.
-
You are the Hungarian! You just HAD to buy that
CHEAPO Hungarian-to-English phrasebook...
What Monty Python Sketch Character are you?
brought to you by Quizilla
-
You Have Sex Like a Democrat!
Free spirited... mostly. You're a little guarded.
You crave free love, but you're a unsure about letting go.
You've done some kinky shit, but you still like to have a few ground rules.
And if you feel like breaking them... oh hell! You'll just sneak around.
P.S. You could be gay. You haven't decided yet.
What Political Party Do You Do It Like?
More Great Quizzes from Quiz Diva
M'kay....
Which celebrity would you... 1. ... want to be best friends with? Gwenyth Paltrow. I LOVE her. She's so classy.2. ... go to a premiere/award ceremony with?
Someone extremely hot and classy...like Ewan McGregor or Jude Law.3. ... choose as a boyfriend/girlfriend?
I cannot believe you're making me narrow it down to just one. Okay, it'll be a toss-up between Keith Ur and Ewan McGregor. They both seem like a lot of fun. Oh and they're both hot pieces of eye candy.4. ... want to work with?
*taps chin* Again, Gwenyth Paltrow.5. ... want to see less of?
Michael Moore and Paris Hilton. *scrunches up nose*
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Politics:
- This thing looks like one of them thar fancy trailers. I live in Georgia, I should know.
- Elizabeth Edwards has been diagnosed with breast cancer. I think you'll all agree with me that she needs as much support and prayer as we can give her...Prayers for Elizabeth Edwards.
- Looking for a great restaurant around NYC? Don't try this place if you're a Conservative...
Freemans Tuesday night the 16th of Nov. the Bush twins along with 2 massive secret service men tried to have dinner they were told by the maitre 'd that they were full and would be for the next 4 years upon hearing the entire restaurant cheered and did a round of shots it was amazing!
- I found this petition through BlogExplosion, then Jen sent it to me, so I'm going to pass it along to you...U.S. Marine Kills Wounded Insurgent.
- This the last time I make fun of Kerry...I promise:
Welcome to the Waffle House. Turn up your speakers and grab your cowboy hat. Woo doggie.
- Celcius 41.11: The truth behind the lies of F911.
- ana Republican...looking good! If I can laugh at it, so can you.
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Top 5 Blog Posts of the Week:
5. The Art of the Blog: Pictures Too Terrible for TV
4. Michelle Malkin: The Death of Bradley McGee *This made me cry* :(
3. Industrial Waste: Packing Meat Holy shite!
2. Wizg: Bridezilla Marries Big Gay Al
1. V Stands for Vampire: More Musings on Why Liberals Exist
Special Mentions:
These are posts that didn't quite make it on the top list, but they were too good not to link to and I just couldn't put them in any sort of order. :)
- WorldNetDaily: Mychal Massie: You Bet There's Racism *READ THIS*
- Downtown Chick Chat: Stop the Insanity
- Da Goddess: 200 vs 40 Pt 1 / Pt 2
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Friday Music:
I think there's something here for everyone this week. Enjoy folks. And if you like what I'm putting here, please let me know. If no-one's taking advantage of the tunes, I'll probably stop with this section. Comments...feedback...always a good thing.
You know the rules:
- DO NOT STREAM!
- Right Click/Save Target As.
- Files will stay up for 24 hours and then they're gone forever. Please delete these from your computer. Don't want the music nazis after you do ya?
- If you like the music, purchase the cds! Keep the music flowing people. If you can't do that, at least click on the purchase links and help me get to the next tier.
- A bloody "thank you" would be nice.
Right. Learn it. Know it. Live it.
Melonie Cannon - Tennessee Road / Purchase
Melonie is the daughter of famed Nashville writer/producer Buddy Cannon. She's awesome and I love her. That's all there is to say. Oh yeah, go buy her cd!
Peaches - Operate / Purchase
Peaches is uh...interesting to say the least. This song is from the "Mean Girls Soundtrack". I like the beat.
Sarah McLachlan - Silent Night
This song will give you chills. It's absolutely breathtaking. No-one can sing a song, Christmas or otherwise, quite like Sarah. *bows*
Cheech & Chong: Santa and His Old Lady / Purchase
Ha! "Comin' down the street with no chus on his feet..." It's just not Christmas without Cheech and Chong man!
Doris Day & Bing Crosby - Baby, It's Cold Outside
This is one of my favorite holiday songs! I've sung it so many times over the years that I've actually mastered sounding just like Doris Day. It's scary really.
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Et Finalement:
I know, I know. I said I'd have this thing up five hours ago, but I decided to tweek it a bit. Okay, I tweeked it a lot. Now tell me honestly, how many of you missed my Friday posts? Come on, raise your hands a little higher. Ahh...I knew it! I have you all wrapped around my little finger. ;)
Have a great weekend! Remember, Thanksgiving recipes on Monday!