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Showing posts from October, 2008

Trick or Treat!

You tell me-a year ago today was the last day off I had from blogging! Tomorrow, I start getting twice th credit for the same amount of work, because I'm participating in both Blog 365 and NaBloPoMo. Lately, it seems like there are two posts per day, so who knows? It might be another 60 post month. I bought candy for Halloween like we always have. You know, the quantity you need when carloads show up in your neighborhood OR the people who live in the single family home side of Stepford bring their kids to the townhouse side of Stepford, just so the kids can get twice as much candy in the same amount of area? On our side, we had a reputation to uphold and the treats were plentiful. This year, the kids that did show up REALLY liked the fact that they were each getting 4 or 5 pieces of candy each. It was a bit of a let down to not have as many of the kids come to call here-I get a kick out of checking out the costumes. It was a year of changes. Gameboy decided he couldn

I'm a Regular Frankie Fan

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This is the pumpkin Chef and I collaborated on for Monday night's Scout meeting. I think if we'd had it lit properly, we would have won for scariest. What do you think? Happy Halloween!

In The Velvet Darkness, of the Blackest Night...

Burning Bright, (what's up your @ss?) There's a shining star (that must hurt) No matter what or who you are... Ahhh, Rocky Horror Picture Show. I've lost count of how many times I filled my handbag with toast, toilet paper, rice, cards, a bic lighter, newspaper, a water pistol and rubber gloves. Many a Friday or Saturday night in college, I'd either go with friends or hop a train to Lynbrook and see it solo. It's on TV right now. That's like going to an amusement park and no one is there. The fun of RHPS is the AUDIENCE participation. The come backs to all the lines. When I moved to Maryland, the nearest showing was in DC. Thus, the only time I got to yell "That man has no F'ing neck!" is when I went back up to Long Island for a weekend visit. Once here in Florida, one of my CM's portrayed Eddie in a Play Along cast at the theatre that shows it in St. Pete Beach. Too far for me to drive over and back home at 2am. It ends u

Desperate, Are you Serious?

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No, I Didn't Forget

My post for What's For Dinner Wednesday didn't go up because the picture was blurry. In my haste to eat my meal, I believed the camera that usually tells me when a picture is blurry. This picture passed muster, then when I looked at it, I realized that it looked bad. You'll get a food picture and post later. Blame it on mourning for the grater...

Eulogy For A Kitchen Gadget

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Alas, poor Grater I knew it well. A fellow of infinite cheese, of most excellent minced onions. It hath bore me on his back a thousand times lots of cheese, potatoes and veggies, and now how abhorr'd in my imagination it is! Alas, we have looked at the box style graters several times in the past year, and each time, said "Yea, but we have a fine model at home. One that serves us without complaint." And lo, we pass by the kitchen gadget aisle with nay but an empty cart. Sleep well, my friend.

Another Day, Another Waterlogged Phone

I washed my phone last night. It didn't need a bath, and I hadn't planned on it. However, we'd pulled the jackets out in haste yesterday because it was cold. Last night, I got the bright idea to wash them, forgetting that I'd gone through the neighborhood with Gameboy selling his greenery with the phone in my pocket. It is currently airing out. I'm afraid to turn it on. Ed's went through this a couple of weeks ago. Fortunately for him, Jane had her old soapbar phone (ours crapped out in one way or another right before getting these a year ago). This means if mine is toast, I have to buy a new one. Damn.

Mom, Are they Zombies

I've exposed my child to a video. Not the original, the take off. After about a minute, he is incredulous. "Mom, those are dancing zombies" in a tone that says that zombies are cool, but dancing zombies? They're off the hook. Do you think I should show him where these zombies got the idea to dance like that?

The Things that You Don't Think About When You Live in Florida

It was cold this morning. No, not 65 degree cold. That was last night, with Chef requesting that I turn on the heat in the car on the way home from scouts. No, it was 40 this morning. Too cold to let Gameboy stand at the bus stop in his shirt sleeves. The kid needs a coat. (Chef got the hand me down). There are maybe a dozen days each year that they need a coat, but yes, he needs one. Off to shop.

Squeeeeee!

Trailer Addict put the Harry Potter Trailer up over the weekend. Instead of the original November release, we've got to wait until next year. Boo, but YAY! for the trailer!

Ghosts of Halloweens Past

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I was visiting The Planet of Janet and she does a feature called Fun Monday (NaBloPoMo draftees, there's another themed day for you!). Today's is all about Halloween and features some picture of Janet in costumes from years ago. She invited readers to post their pictures in costumes and tell of Halloween's past. I don't have a single picture in a Halloween costume. It's a shame, because there are some good ones to show, too. My earliest Halloween memory was when we still lived in Rockville Centre and Mom took us over to the Woolworth's in Baldwin to get boxed costumes one year. I must have been five and it was the first time we'd gotten boxed ones. Anyone over the age of 30 has to know what I'm talking about, the flammable, simply shaped costumes with the mask that would make your face sweat, even though it was very cold outside. I remember it being the day before laundry day and not having clean shirts for me, so I went out in a sweater and corde

Suzanne's Soundtrack Sunday

Or "Why I Don't Seem to Follow Billboard Anymore" In my youth, I was an avid follower of Billboard. After all, it's where Casey Kasem got his stats for "American Top Forty." In my disk jockey tenure, every two years, I'd pick up the latest copy of Joel Whitburn's "Billboard's Top 40" guide. It was almost a necessity in AC and Top 40 radio, so that when someone requested a one hit wonder or wanted to hear a song by an artist and it "wasn't their big hit, but it was still pretty popular", you had the answer at your fingertips. This was back in the 80's and 90's, when I enjoyed a good percentage of what comprised the Top 40 charts. My career in radio was short lived-the lure of a real paycheck was too great. Soon after, I stopped following the Billboard magazine or charts. Poor Joel Whitburn no longer got the royalties from my purchase of the 19.95 softcover copy of his guide biannually. Billboard and I had to

A MeMe From Paula

My buddy from Rhode Island, Paula, has sent this one my way and if I'm going to send it back, I might as well share it with y'all, right? And Paula, I'm dying for some Quahogs-think you can come down and bring some? :) 1. Do you like blue cheese Salad Dressing? Can't eat it, I'm allergic. I probably would like it, though, because there aren't many cheeses I don't like 2. Have you ever smoked? nope 3. Do you own a gun? no 4. What Kool-Aid flavor is your favorite ? Tropical Punch.(changed the tense, we still drink it around here) 5. Do you get nervous before a doctor's appointment? No, that's what happens when you're a frequent flyer 6. What do you think of hot dogs? Kosher, baby. Nathan's, Sabrett's, Hebrew Nationals. Grilled is best, but I'll happily chow down on a dirty water dawg, too. 7. Favorite Christmas movie? It's a Wonderful Lifef 8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Sweet Iced Tea with lots

NaBloPoMo, Take two!

Last October, I was nervous, excited and worried that I couldn't go the distance. That I'd fail in my quest. I tried anyway. 361 days later, I haven't missed a single day. Of blogging. Yeah, thirty days posting non stop SCARED me. That was last year. Now, I am so totally psyched that on the first of November, I can honestly say it has been a year since I last had a day where I haven't posted. Is it cheating that I'm doing both NaBloPoMo and Blog 365? If you're contemplating participating in NaBloPoMo, I have a few things to say about the experience: *You'll make some wonderful friends (waves at Sarah , Mary , Lotus and everyone else! I am now wondering why I thought I met more of you during NaBloPoMo!) *It's easier if you have 'themed' days. If you don't like the ones that are out there, make up your own. Some of the themes I've seen: MeMe Monday, Talkback Tuesday, Wordless Wednesday, Thursday Thirteen, Fun Photo Friday, Scroll

Shamu as a Halloween Host

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Last year, we went trick or treating at Sea World and had a moist, but quite enjoyable day. This year, several things were different: *Ed had to work. *We had friends with us. *It was sunny. *It was VERY crowded for off season. It was a good, but long day. Some pictures and some snippets of info, because Kracken decided to rattle my head and it still doesn't like me for that. If I had it to do over again, knowing that I'd have a headache, hell yeah I'd ride. That coaster is awesome! If you're wondering: The meal deal is a GREAT value if you're going to be in the park eight hours, which was our plan with our desire to stick around for Shamu Rocks. Mid afternoon, we went to Mama's Kitchen and got a snack for free, and had lunch and dinner each. Bob suggests we do this next time and get there early enough for breakfast. (Okay, as long as we avoid all cake like substances! ;) ) Trick or treating is set up along the same trail as last year, but it seemed lik

Where Can I Get A Keyboard Transplant?

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Back in the days when dinosaurs roamed the Earth and I had a Headstart 286 computer (ok, there weren't dinosaurs in 1991, but there was Prodigy (*P) and *that* HAS gone the way of the dinosaur), peripheral problems were easily fixed. Mouse started skipping? Just unlock the ring, take the gray rubber ball out of the mouse, spray some canned air in there and your problem probably was solved. If it wasn't, you went to your nearest computer store and got the part you needed. If there wasn't a store nearby, you opened the massive Computer Shopper and ordered the item and a week to ten days later, you were good to go. Back then, laptops were huge and cumbersome. I know, because I sold them and I did. not. want. one. Time passed. We got windows, we loathed windows. Al invented the Internet and we used Netscape to browse it (causing the death of *P and the birth of AOHell) I moved to selling software and peripherals and if my 3.5" floppy drive crashed (which it did), I

Stuffed

I think the Suzanne family has been completely converted. If I even mention the possibility of making pizza dough, the men are beholden to whatever I say. They're luck y I don't use this to my advantage. See, I've figured out the cheese ratios that these things are as close to NY pizza as they're going to get without having the right water and a brick oven. Psst, if you're using mozzarella, or even a 50/50 split, it's not going to turn out right. I mentioned on the way to voting that I was thinking of making pizza and Ed resembled Homer Simpson when he has the Forbidden Donut. It was rather humorous. Three pizzas later, we all are filled to the gills. Other than the occasional foray to Palace Pizza (the best darn pizza in Lakeland-heck, the best Italian food in central Florida, too), we're definitely in he make it ourselves camp. It's a pretty darn good place to be, in the camp that knows the secret to good homemade pizza.

Frequent Flyers, the IEP Edition

Normally, I'd put this in Aspergersville, but that wouldn't be fair to the school. I'd griped considerably at the beginning of the school year, because I felt that Gameboy's placement was inappropriate, that his teachers weren't the best fit (or one in particular). Since then, I've had a change of opinion. This was due, in large part, to the fact that when I started going Mama Bear on the school and persisting when the answers I was getting from one teacher in particular were cop outs. (The other two have been incredible, OTOH). We're all on the same page as to what Gameboy is capable of and what is beyond his abilities. Yesterday, we had an IEP meeting. One Mrs. H, the IEP coordinator convened due to an encounter Gameboy had with the school psychologist when he was being bullied by another student. This happened at the same time that I flipped out over an interim report that had a ZERO nine weeks in without a single contact from the teacher, and three

What I Did Today

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For the past few weeks, I've been wearing my opinion on my shirt: Today, I put my passion to paper: If your state offers early voting, please take advantage of it! Even if we are on different sides of the political aisle, your vote is important! In 2004, we waited in line for two hours to cast our votes. Today, we waited 45 minutes. It beats waiting in line on November 4th! Oh, and in this Florida county, there will be NO hanging chads. We had a a paper ballot that we filled in bubbles with ebony pencils.

We've Been Boo'ed!

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For those unfamiliar with this, it's a GOOD thing to get Boo'ed! Think of it as a form of Ring and Run, but the person doing the Ringing (or in this case, knocking!) leaves a bag full of goodies! Inside the bag was all of this yummy stuff! Awesome! The concept is that you spread the Boo throughout your neighborhood by Boo-ing two more of your neighbors. We'll be heading out to Target shortly to get the stuff to spread the wealth (and some chocolate for Gameboy to enjoy, but I'll let him partake of the items with dye right before bedtime.) Happy Halloween!

What's For Dinner Wednesday

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Recently, I found a recipe for Root Beer Pulled Pork that sounded too good to be true. Put a Boston butt in the crock pot, add a quart of root beer and voila, in 5 hours, you have tender meat, ready for pulling. I didn't believe it could be that simple, so the first time I made it, I added mustard and garlic to the country ribs that I had on hand. It turned out very tender and tasty. It still needed something, but I'm no sure what. We know when a meal is a hit when the kids start nagging us to make it again. They started about a week ago-can we have the Root Beer Pulled Pork? It's gratifying to make something and know that you weren't the only one who liked it. This time, I put the simplicity to the test with the Boston Butt that was waiting in the freezer. I decided to follow the recipe this time and only used the root beer. I discovered that it needs more than this-and I use name brand stuff. I ended up adding mustard, garlic and salt at the very end. I thin

Hi, my name is Suzanne and I'm a Blogaholic

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Admitting it is one thing, curing the addiction is another matter entirely. Especially when I don't want to stop reading. There is one thing that this addiction has done, and that is made my bookmarks woefully disorganized. I'll read a blog, like what I see and bookmark it to come back later. Alas, that doesn't always happen and then my folders are overstuffed with things that I'd probably really like but don't even have clue where to begin. Then I end up spending a half hour sorting what I can into tidy, organized goodness, but still have stuff to sort. Always. For instance, my toolbar has a Blogs folder that has about a dozen of my "Do NOT skip reading these today" favorites: Major kudos to Ed for showing me how to do folders in my toolbar. Thanks, honey! You all don't want to know the mess that was my bookmarks before the man showed me the path to organized links! When I started Blog365, there were so many new bloggers that merited checking o

Remembered Just In Time

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That Sea World is having their Halloween event this weekend. Woohoo, free candy! We had lots of fun doing this last year, rain and all. I've got to figure out whether we're going Saturday or Sunday. Anyone local want to join us? If so, tell me which date works for you. (Bob, phone call on the way, lol!) It's a good thing I picked up the felt to complete Chef's costume last night. He wants to be this guy: Channeling my Mom here, because I'm making my own pattern for the vest. He's got a shirt that's pretty close to the real deal. The hair is going to be the tough part, and it is nearly every year (except the one year he shaved it off to be Anakin!) Gameboy is easy, he wants to reuse his Harry Potter costume. All he's asked of me is to buy him a wand. I think I can manage that one!

Several People Need YOUR Help

And if you have a blog, please help get the word out. One of my favorite bloggers is asking for help for some strangers friends. One is dying of Non Hodgkins Lymphoma and is in dire need of a bone marrow transplant. Matt says it much better over here. DVTS and Factor V Leiden kick me off the registry candidate's list. If you have it in your heart and body, please consider registering .

Borrowing a MeMe

Once again, I'm borrowing a MeMe because, well, er, I, um, ah actually LIKE the darn things. There, I said it. You don't hate me now, do you? I mean, I don't fill my little corner of the blogosphere with them. Instead, I just pepper them in here and there, kind of like the lace doilies your grandma made you but you never used. (My Nana? Never EVER made a lace doily. That's why I resort to using MeMe's!) Anyway, this one comes from the lovely Grandy . It's hard to believe that in about two weeks, it'll be a year since I've been reading this lady's hilarious musings on life. If you don't read her blog, take some time to check her out-because she's a riot! Anyway, she posted 19 New Things About Grandy, and I figured it's my turn. To write 19 New Things about Suzanne, because, well, Grandy already wrote about Grandy and anything I wrote wouldn't be new stuff about Grandy. Besides, everything I know about Grandy I learned from re

Yummy, Tax Deductible Popcorn

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A few weeks ago, I mentioned how Chef and Gameboy had their fundraisers for Cub and Boy Scouts. Gameboy's fundraiser information was posted, but I needed a code before I could tell you about Chef's fundraiser. Did I mention that these are TAX DEDUCTIBLE? Chef's Cub Scout pack only does one fundraiser each year, just as Gameboy's Boy Scout troop just sells the greenery that I posted a couple of weeks ago. The pack sells Trail's End popcorn. Yummy popcorn. Really, really addictive caramel corn! Ordering is easy. If you're local, contact me by the 27th of this month and we'll put your order in. You pay when we deliver your popcorn. (and you get to see us, too-bonus!) If you're far away, but want to order, you just click here to go directly to the Trail's End website. You will need to enter Chef's scout key for his pack to get credit, so be sure to enter TEXUV46 in the "enter order key" box. (You also get different options than

Greeblepix October Contest.

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You've seen this picture before, but I'm entering it in the October Greeblepix Contest . The prize this month is awesome, a $250 camera rental from http://prophotorental.com/Default.asp?c=202036 It'd be so cool to check out a digital SLR! My entry, taken at Epcot a couple of weeks ago: Go check out Aimee's blog and http://www.greeblemonkey.com/2008/10/october-greeblepix-contest.html!

Suzanne's Soundtrack Sunday

What do you do when you enjoy singing Choral music and aren't in a choir? You can't exactly go down to the Karaoke bar and request "Ecce Gratum" from Carmina Burana or "Kyrie Eleison" from Schubert's Mass in G. Let's face it, if you're a choir geek without a choir, you're out of luck. I am an unabashed singer of anything, anywhere. I'm the chick in the Beetle that passed you with "Break Forth, O Beauteous Heavenly Light" cranked up to 11, singing the Alto part. That Monsoon sound system is great for good stereo separation of four part harmonies, btw. (Just thought my fellow choir geeks might want to know this, in case they're contemplating purchasing a VW for audio quality, not love or German engineering.) You're wondering "Okay, geek, what do you do when you're a choir fangirl and you aren't in a choir?" Well, there is ONE event each year that is the Superbowl of choral singing, the one place whe

Sweet Treats from Yesterday

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I'm siting here, watching Unwrapped. Marc Summers is extolling the virtues of my favorite stuff, CANDY! The upsell at a commercial break was about Slopokes. I mentioned that they were like BB Bats. Ed had never heard of them, and he knows candys. It ends up the man who resurrected the Slopokes also makes BB Bats and Kits, candies that I remember from the 70s (and may *still* have stuck in my teeth today!) It makes me think of those favorite treats when I was a kid. A quarter or a buck meant I was buying candy. These are the ones I remember buying and enjoying: Reggie Bars (but only for a few weeks before I got those braces) Violet Mints and Teaberry gums Charleston Chews (they came in a lot of flavors back then, but vanilla is the best) Space Dust/Pop Rocks Sugar Babies Zotz (I found some in Saint Augustine, but they only had sour apple) Clark Bars Fun Dip Ice Cubes Bazooka Gum Necco Wafers and conversation hearts Mary Janes Pixy Stix Chunky Bars Oh, and I forgot a few-Razzl

A Good Day Fishing

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Ed and Chef across the lake. Gameboy came out to the car from Scout meeting on Tuesday night "I volunteered to work the Fishing Derby on Saturday." The same derby I hadn't signed Chef up to participate in! I was happy that my son is starting to take initiative and seek out the community service on his own, but worried that his brother would be disappointed. Not to worry. An email later, the Scoutmaster informed me that there had been a vacant slot-so one would play and the other would earn his service time towards ranks. The fish were biting, so the time breezed by. The leader who coordinates this activity has taken a shine to Gameboy (he's a very nice, grandfatherly type who seems to know just what to ask Gameboy to do that is within his abilities). I'd given him my cell phone number and let him know we'd be on the other side of the lake. Alas, he forgot to save it his phone. There wasn't that much for Gameboy to do, so the last 45 minutes, he came

Not Just Another Day For Me

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I still want to pick up the phone and see what's cooking. Sometimes, I see Steve Jerve on the news and think of your meteorologist crush. I go by a store you used to frequent and think fondly of the deals you scored and shared with others. There should have been more time to hear your stories of when you were a kid and the stories of us kids. You were a great storyteller. The older I get, the more I find that I am just like you. Instead of thinking that's bad, I realize just how good that is. I wish you were here to celebrate so many more birthdays. You looked forward to each one with relish. I miss you so very much. I love you, Mom.