FLASHBACK august 1964

"love, love me do, you know i love you"
john, paul, george, and ringo began their first u.s. tour on august 19, 1964. they had been here before, for a quick visit (a couple concerts and television appearances). this time it was a month long tour. 30 concerts in 23 cities. it was the beginning of the british invasion. 
i love the beatles. i mean...i LOVE the beatles. i must have worn out the grooves on my parents' white album. their music takes me back to many different places in my life. even music they put out individually has a special place in my memory.
my uncle plays the white album every time i visit. he tells me when he heard it for the first time: just before he left the states on a plane for vietnam.  we all have that album. that album that takes you back to a life changing moment in time. what's yours?

FLASHBACK april 2009

 "give me a head with hair, long beautiful hair"
let me start by saying...i am not afraid to experiment with my hair. it's been long. it's been short. it's been in between. it's been blond (natural). it's been very dark brown. it's been red. it's been blue. it's been pink. sometimes on purpose. sometimes not. so now it's april 1, 2009 (nope...i didn't just make that up). my hairstylist can't fit me in for a cut and color before i fly home for a "girl's night". it was supposed to be just a few close friends. it had quickly ballooned into a major blow-out, as most parties do. i needed to look good! a friend of mine said "don't worry...i can help you". tiffany always put streaks of a beautiful red in my blond hair. i need the color touched up. i needed a trim. my friend trimmed the ends. the cut looked great! she colors my hair. me "are you sure that's the right shade?". her "yes. i'm positive. sit back and let me do this.". me "okay? but if you screw this up we're going to be in a fight.". rinse out the color. "what's wrong? you look funny". blow dry the hair. O...M...G!! we are definitely in a fight.  this was not the first time i had fuchsia hair. it was just the first time someone who had cosmetology training had done it. it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know: red and white=pink. red and blond=fuchsia!! her "i can fix it!! i can fix it!!". two hours later it was platinum and fuchsia! she did not fix it. i spent the entire night crying. how was i going to attend a girl's night...with a bunch of women i hadn't seen in 20+ years...with pink hair. i waited until tiffany's shop opened. i met her there with my hoodie on. tiffany "what...did...you...do?" me "blah blah blah...yadda yadda yadda (incoherent jibberish)". tiffany fixed it.

   

 
it's national bad hair day. let your freak flag fly...

      

FLASHBACK may 1986

"i can bring home the bacon...fry it up in a pan..."

not my fried chicken

when i moved out of my parents' home and in with my ex-husband, i couldn't cook a thing. no. seriously. not toast. not eggs. not anything. i was lucky to pour myself a bowl of cheerios without disastrous results. yet, i was determined to learn. with no internet or cooking shows, i relied on my mom and grandmas for cooking tips. they bought me cookbooks and mailed me tried and true recipes. i failed at all of them. my biggest, most epic, cooking fail came with a request from my nephew, and partner in crime. keith "aunt chrissie, i want fried chicken." me "sure. i can do that." off we went to piggly wiggly. chicken, flour, milk, eggs, oil. i got this. i fried that chicken to a golden brown. colonel sanders got nuthin' on me! the nephew said it was the "purdiest" fried chicken he had ever seen. we took a big bite. BLECK!!! spit spit cough cough...we looked like vampires! blood from that undercooked chicken running down our faces. it would be another 15 years before i would ever fry chicken.
FLASH FORWARD today
with the invention of the internet and pinterest, i have many tips and tricks at my immediate disposal. i can see pictures of what it's SUPPOSED to look like, instead of just relying on my grandma's description. i still make mistakes. and some of those pinterest recipes are not as good as they look. but i am having fun trying.
this morning i made "cinnamon roll french toast". we saw someone cook it on our favorite show "diners, drive-ins, and dives". jamie "mmmmm...that looks ghud!" me "not a problem. i can do that". i opened the cinnamon rolls. did i mention that opening cans of biscuits or rolls is the scariest...thing...ever? okay. maybe not ever. THAT would be peanut butter. but i digress. 35 minutes later, we had a yummy breakfast of cinnamon roll french toast, bacon, and coffee. one problem. we really would have rather just eaten the cinnamon rolls. it was a total waste of rolls. it was delicious, because it's base was cinnamon roll. but, it has been decided, that in this house, if we want french toast, we'll just have french toast.
should you have a deep desire to toast your cinnamon rolls, you can find the recipe on my bird food page.
happy cooking!!