FLASHBACK 1996

"i'm thankful for the blessing and the lessons that i've learned" 
july 12. noah is turning 8 today. party's cancelled. there will no be going outside today. hurricane bertha is blowing in and dumping buckets of rain. did i say buckets? i should say olympic~size pools of rain. countless olympic~size pools. boo.
september 5. thursday. there's no school today. stupid hurricane fran is swirling around in the atlantic and threatening our way of life. i spend the entire day getting the house locked down. i take care of care of my neighbors house, too. they conveniently went out of town. there are no last minute trips to the store because i am already stocked up. bring it on. the ex's granny is staying with us. i am starting to cook before we lose power. BAM! too late. the ex runs out to pick up hot food...it might be the last one for awhile. just as the tail of the car clears the driveway, a huge tree falls across it. yep. he narrowly escaped certain death. we eat whoppers and french fries by candlelight. thank god for radios and battery operated tv's. we let george elliott keep us updated on the storm track. after a few short hours of sleep, we wake up to trees and powers lines down everywhere...EVERYWHERE. it will be  3 weeks before everybody has power. ugh.
FLASH FORWARD october 29, 2012
hurricane sandy makes landfall. she destroys atlantic city. she shuts down new york city...the city that never sleeps. millions are without power, or lost their homes to flooding. close to 100 people have lost their lives. 
FLASH FORWARD today
it's november. and even though we should be thankful everyday of every month of every year, we have deemed this month as the month of thankfulness. and, with the images of hurricane sandy's devastation, we are all thinking about how blessed and lucky we are. everyday people will share 1 thing they are thankful for. so what am i thankful for?
#1~i am thankful i no longer live in the direct path of hurricanes. 
#2~i am thankful for 3 boys that, mostly, act like grown~ups. mostly.
#3~i am thankful for a bk who loves me and takes care of me.
#4~i am thankful for food in my belly and a roof over my head.
#5~i am thankful that my parents are happy and healthy.
#6~i am thankful for dear friends.
#7~i am thankful for my brother, sister in~law, and nieces that are not only family, but also, friends.
#8~i am thankful for a bk that pretends that i am a good cook.
#9~i am thankful that the bk and i have jobs that allow us to occasionally splurge on cheesecake factory pumpkin cheesecake. 
#10~and most importantly...i am thankful for cheesecake factory pumpkin cheesecake!!
so tell me...what are you thankful for?

           

 
east coast storm a brewin...

^sandy's path^

               

 

     

 

                         

 

show your thankfulness by donating to disaster relief...just click on one of the following links...:)

americares.org

the american red cross

FLASHBACK 1966

"won't you tell me how to get...how to get to sesame street!"
cookie monster is born today. created by jim henson, he was first used for a general foods commercial that never aired. eventually, he made his debut on sesame street...gobbling down cookies and teaching children about the letter c. he is now, and will always be, my favorite muppet. 
FLASH FORWARD 2006
people are a little ridiculous. we, as a nation, are getting heavier and heavier. and so are our children. but parents don't want to take responsibility for that. they want to point fingers at EVERYBODY else. including cookie monster. cookie monster stepped up and started teaching healthy eating habits, saying "cookies are a sometimes snack" and admitted to loving fruits and vegetables. poor cookie monster. he ate cookies...and ONLY cookies...the entire time i was growing up, and i was only allowed cookies as a "sometimes snack". now he has to eat fruits and vegetables because today's parent doesn't want to take the time to teach their child healthy eating habits. 
FLASH FORWARD today
in honor of cookie monsters birthday, i am gonna share a fabulous cookie recipe passed down from the bk's grandma! 

BUTTERSCOTCH COOKIES

1c butter (room temp)
1 c brown sugar
2 sm pkg instant butterscotch pudding
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3 c flour
1 tsp baking soda

cream together butter and brown sugar. add in eggs and vanilla. add butterscotch pudding. sift flour and baking soda together, then slowly add to wet ingredients (mixing on low or with a spoon). you may not need all of the flour, but you should add enough to be able to handle the dough. roll dough into 1 1/2" logs and wrap in waxed paper. chill for at least 1 hour, preferably overnight. slice roll into 1/4" slices and bake, in a 350 degree oven, for 8~10 minutes. cool before icing. 

ICING:

1 c powdered sugar
2 tbsp milk
2 tbsp light corn syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
food coloring (optional)

mix all ingredients together. add food coloring to desired shade. 

eat a cookie or two today...just remember NOT to eat the whole box!!!!

                                            

^okay...i cannot stand "call me maybe" but this is pretty awesomesauce^

FLASHBACK october 27, 2012

"O~H~I~O!!!!"
okay. i know. that was just 5 short days ago. but...
osu v penn state. evening game. close to halloween. we know it's gonna be fun! and extra people will be there. the food needs to be amazing! bridgey has pigs~in~a~blanket, skyline dip, queso dip, meatballs, mini sausages. she sees all these dishes on pinterest that are made like mini~muffins. she decides to create her own. PIZZA MUFFINS!!!!! yep. that's what i said. and you really need to try them!!

PIZZA MUFFINS:

1 box chef boyardee pizza
shredded mozerella (of course, you can use whatever you choose)
mini pepperoni (or meat of your choice)
mini muffin pan

pre~heat oven to 400 degrees. mix pizza dough according to package directions. divide dough evenly between muffin cups. add sauce, provided in package, evenly in muffin cups. add meat, as desired, to each muffin. top with cheese. bake for 25 minutes. 
enjoy!!!

 

^this happened^

FLASHBACK 1803

"hang on sloopy, sloopy hang on..."
ohio was admitted to the union, as the 17th state, on march 1. it is steeped in history, from native americans to the civil war. which is why it should be no surprise that ohio is full of haunted history...so, in honor of halloween, let's take a little tour!

#1~the ohio state reformatory, mansfield: opened in 1896, the reformatory's history goes back to 1861 when the field, where the building sits, was used as a civil war training ground. and, like most prisons, it has a long list of horror stories: two corrections officers were killed while on duty, one in 1926 and, the other, in 1932. in 1948, two inmates were released for good behavior and, then, went on a killing spree. they murdered 6 people before being trapped at a roadblock. 1 was killed in a shoot out, the other taken to prison where he faced the electric chair. in 1950, the wife of the prison superintendent was accidentally killed when she knocked a gun off a table. it discharged and shot her in the lung. not  surprising, the events are suspicious. reported hauntings include: voices near the superintendents office, two men fighting near the pond, and many apparitions near the chapel.
#2~king's island, mason: how many of you knew this? yep. king's island is haunted. it actually appeared in an episode of "ghost hunters" with grant wilson and jason hawes. opened in 1972, king's island is located on property that used to be part of an ammunitions factory. employees, especially tram drivers, report sightings of a young girl, in blue, out in the parking lot.  there are also reports of "tower johnny", a teenage boy seen by the eiffel tower, and "racer boy", a young boy in white, seen by the racer. the white water canyon ride is haunted by a ghost that likes to throw rocks at observation tower 2.
#3~the golden lamb, lebanon: first established in 1803, it is ohio's oldest, operational, inn. many famous people have stayed here including charles dickens, mark twain, and harriet beecher stowe. the inn is said to be haunted by, at least, two spirits. the most famous is a little girl named sarah. sarah was the niece of inn manager, isaac stubbs. she died of a terrible fever in 1825. her hauntings are confined to one room, where she makes noises and knocks things off the wall. guests also claim to experience hauntings by ohio supreme court justice, charles sherman, who died at the inn in 1829. he is described as gaunt and gray. guests, also, claim to smell cigar smoke that is believed to belong to justice sherman.
#4~air force museum, dayton: housed at wright-patterson air force base, the museum dates back to 1923. people who are sensitive to the supernatural, as well as psychics, claim to feel an unsettling presence...some even claiming to see apparitions. many of the sightings are attached to exhibits. maintenance workers claim to see the pilot of the "hop along", a helicopter that  saw action during the korean war. the pilot was killed in a battle and his blood has stained the pilot's seat. workers, also, claim to see the apparition of a small japanese boy hiding under "bockscar", the plane used to drop the atomic bomb on nagasaki. a shadowy figure has been spotted near the under cage of "strawberry bitch", a WWII aircraft, and a maintenance worker claims to have been slapped by that spirit.
these are just a few of the many famous haunts of ohio. and 3 of them are super close to home. i sense an investigation coming on!!!

         

 

1.ohio state reformatory

       2. eiffel tower of king's island

                                                                                               3. the golden lamb

                                                                                               4. air force museum

^evp from king's island investigation^

                                            

FLASHBACK 1963

"you say it's your birthday...it's my birthday too, yeah...they say it's your birthday...we're gonna have a good time...i'm glad it's your birthday...happy birthday to you..."
okay...i wasn't around in 1963 so, technically, i can't flashback with an ACTUAL memory. but...i can tell you that something fantasical happened on october 30th of this year. the bk was born!!
FLASH FORWARD today
being born between october 23 and november 21...the bk and i are both scorpios. and the bk is, most definitely, scorpio! what does that mean, you ask? we scorpios feel like we are in control of our own destiny...basically, we live life on our terms. we are fearless and stubborn. and, just when it looks like we will self~destruct, we bounce right back. scorpios are ruled by mars (the god of war) and pluto (the god of the underworld) which makes us motivated, penetrating, and extremely intuitive. we make it our mission to know who is who and what is what. you can try to argue with a scorpio...you probably won't win. why? because we never give up and we are extremely resourceful. if we lose today, we'll punch you in the throat tomorrow. okay. okay. maybe not LITERALLY. but we will. i mean it. scorpios keep their emotions to themselves...basically, secrets to be used when needed. i will admit to not hiding my emotions as much as the bk. but, what people are seeing is nothing compared to what we're feeling...and how many mental ovary punches we are throwing. 
so, what about compatibility? when we first started dating, we actually looked it up. in a nutshell, we found that we would be either a perfect match or a disaster in the making. hmmmm...can you guess which category we fell under? we balance each other out. bk is very quiet. i am very outspoken. i inspire him to speak up, and he tells me when to shut up. he holds me back from throwing my punches, reminding me that karma will take care of it. and i...i taught him that karma exists.  did i say we balance each other out? never~mind. he keeps me in line. 
even if you don't really follow astrology, you ought to check out your sign. you will be amazed at the personality traits you share with people of your same sign. and check out your compatibility. it could help you understand your relationships. and, at the very least, you'll have fun learning.