Cookbook Whore

I'm kinda poopy today. I never did really get to sleep, and it's gloomy and depressing all around me. Weather, world events (Israel/Gaza, Yellowstone rumblings, etc.), the economy is still tanking, gas is going back up and every day I see a new business closing. I guess you have to keep hoping for the best, in your personal life and in the world, but it sure is hard right now. I have a particular thing that is bugging the crap out of me, but there is nothing I can do. I am destined to slam my head into a wall, no matter WHAT I do.

On the upside, I am a cookbook whore, especially ones with beautiful pictures. I got this sauce book for 6 bucks at the used bookstore. It has a brandy chocolate sauce I must make.

Preoccupied Lately

I'm lying in the dark, just the light of the Crackberry, thinking about things I'm supposed to forget about. Sometimes I wish I could shut my brain off and go to sleep. No such luck. What about you? Are you plagued with thoughts you wish you could stop? Things that could drive you crazy if you let them? Yeah, it's probably just me.

Well, I'm a little preoccupied apparently and I'm not making sense anymore so goodnight.

Don't Mess With Me

Church. ;-) Not only did I get the hiccups, but I also had to retrieve some casings from down the front of my bra. LOL.

How I Relax

Blonder. Going to the shooting range today, you know, to relax. Then I'm going to eat meat. Need meat.

Hair

Hair place is open! I threw my yoga pants on (Nichole should love that), a white T-shirt and my Sketchers, and off I go! I was desperate.

Pillows

I like lots of pillows. Jim does not. Men think pillows are ridiculous and annoying. I woke up this morning surrounded by all my pillows, and because it looked funny, I took a picture. I'm sorry it's not a good picture, I took it while still in bed.

When I was a little girl, I thought the inside of 'I dream of Jeannie's" bottle was the coolest, a big round fluffy couch with lots of pillows. I would make forts with blankets, and always put every pillow in the house in it, along with my stuffed animals and a deck of cards. I liked making card houses. Aahh, childhood.

Perhaps I should get up.

Photography

As requested.

CHERYL’S MOCHA CHOCOLATE SAUCE

INGREDIENTS: YIELD:

WHIPPING CREAM 2/3 CUP
HERSHEY’S COCA POWDER 1/2 CUP
SUGAR 7 OZ
LIGHT CORN SYRUP 1/4 CUP
BUTTER 1/3 CUP
VANILLA EXTRACT 1 TSP
TRIPLE SEC 2 TBSP

PROCEDURE:

IN A SAUCE PAN, COMBINE WHIPPING CREAM, COCOA, SUGAR, AND CORN SYRUP. STIR UNTIL BEGINS TO BOIL, THEN LET BOIL FOR ONE MORE MINUTE UNTIL SUGAR IS COMPLETELY DISSOLVED. REMOVE FROM HEAT AND ADD BUTTER AND VANILLA. LET COOL THEN STIR IN TRIPLE SEC (OPTIONAL). THE TEXTURE SHOULD BE GLOSSY AND FAIRLY THICK. (NOT RUNNY, BUT WILL RUN OFF SPOON)

MAKE YOURSELF ESPRESSO CAFE MOCHA!

Going to Mom's

OK, all dressed. Going to my mom's house by way of coffee stand. Taking the good camera with me, just in case. I'm feeling 'photograph-y' today. ;-)

OUCH

I could have died and bled to death. You should have seen all the blood come spurting out. It was alarming. This is the cleaned-up version.

I sliced the back of my heel open shaving. What an idiot. Hope you don't faint at the sight of blood. Every time I try to walk, it opens the wound back up and the air hitting it sends me through the roof. I guess I'm a wuss.

Can't decide what to do.

I was going to spend the day at the salon getting my hair touched up, but they are not open today. Poo. I have nothing fun to do. I could clean. I could work. I could organize. But I want to have fun. I could go see my mom if she'll have me. The holidays are nice for relaxing, but I'm too restless right now to just sit around and relax. Too much going through my mind. There IS something I could do, but I don't know. I have to think about it.

I've been playing with my camera, as you can see. Really boring stuff, though. I'd love to take a photography class or something soon, or maybe even a Photoshop class. Not that I need more on my plate.  If I go out today, I'll take the camera with me. I might go see a friend of mine. I just don't know. Maybe I should start off with a nice shower and get myself together and go from there. I have to do SOMETHING. I'm bouncing off the damn walls.

Shutter Click Happy

We got a Carl's Jr.!

Not a lot to do on New Year's Day, but the new Carl's Jr. is open! Wheee! The only one in this state that is even semi-close to where I live. I know it probably seems odd to you, but I got addicted to that damn place in California! Best burgers EVER. There are 5 million people here. I'm not kidding. I have no thawed food at home, so here I am. Great way to start off my better eating resolution. HA.

Happy 2009!

Happy New Year! Well, it's 2009. I hope all of your dreams come true this year. It's time for all of us. Holy crap on a cracker, what a year 2008 was for me! I can't even begin to tell you. My whole life tipped on its head. I lost my job, my grandparents passed, I took many trips to California, and I met some rather interesting individuals, to say the least. I wish I could get more into that, but it was quite an experience. I learned a lot about myself through all of this, and I am forever changed. For reals.

I'm going to bed.

I'm trying to stay awake.

This is not usually a problem for me, I'm a night owl. But I'm tired tonight. Hope everyone else is having more fun than me. Sorry Juice, I wasn't up to the drive to "Mucklevegas". I didn't know it was two hours from me. All of a sudden, I'm in a funk. Not a good way to start the new year, but I do have an hour left.

No plans yet.

I'm sure I'll have a date with the couch and the Crackberry.

Does anyone have New Year's plans after 35? The last time I got crazy was 1993. There was beer dripping from the ceiling. Now? I'll probably be blogging at the stroke of midnight. HOLD ME BACK! LOL.  When I very first got the internet back in 1995, I was in a chat room and didn't even realize it was midnight. Yes, the addiction started way back then. I do have some champagne in the fridge, may as well drink it. My mom was iffy about driving all the way up to my house, so I don't know if I'll have a champagne buddy or not. My mom is funny when she drinks. Hi mom! ;-) In the waitressing years, I was working making serious bank. Now it's just another day. Another day in paradise.

Anyway, if you want to ring in the new year with me, I'm sure I'll be here on the CDM Bloggery. Those of you who have my phone number can text me, then we can be super cool together on New Year's Eve!

Just for fun.

I was told to use each letter of the Alphabet and relate it to myself somehow with a word or phrase. Alrighty. Whatever.

A - Anal Retentive. I am a perfectionist, especially with paperwork and projects. It takes me a millenium to paint a room because every single little spot has to be right.

B - Blackberry. It is an appendage.

C - For Cheryl AND CrazyDogMama!

D - Dogs. Love 'em.

E - Email. Can't live without it.

F - Fun. Love to have it.

G - Google. Use it every day.

H - Horror movies. Awesome!

I - Intense. I am very intense.

J - Jittery. I drink a lot of coffee.

K - Kabobs. Love to make them, love to eat them.

L - Longing. I'm doing that.

M - Mochas. Drink them almost every day.

N - Neurotic. Who me?

O - Orion. I like constellations and looking at the stars.

P - Photography. I love it. I want to get better at it.

Q - Quirky. That would be me.

R - Raising Hell. I'm good at it.

S - Sultry. Someone told me I was "sultry" once. I went with it.

T - Tulips. So pretty.

U - Ulcer. I think I have one.

V - Voracious. My appetite for many things.

W - Writing. I do a lot of it.

X - X-Men. I used to draw the comic book characters from this comic when I was young.

Y - Yearning. I do this too.

Z - ZZZZZ. I either can't sleep or sleep too much.

Sweater Boots!

For those of us with oversized calves. It is ALL muscle, I'm telling you.

So, what has CrazyDogMama been up to? Well, I left work yesterday and went to my mom's to promptly take a nap. Then, we went out for Mexican food and went shopping. I've GOT to stop with the shopping, but I only bought socks and maybe another cheap movie. I already had the boots. I am in all black today, I'm in mourning my money.

What's in store for my New Year's? Stay tuned. I don't know yet.

California Dreaming

I looked at my California pictures last night while I was *attempting* to organize them. What a mess. I am missing the sun and the pool and the fun right about now. We've come into what I call the "boring months", and if you've read my blog for any length of time, you know I hate February. HATE it. I know I've never explained why, but it is some pretty heavy stuff that is sensitive and personal. Some really bad things have happened to me in more than a few Februarys, one of them on Valentine's Day, which is why I generally don't celebrate it. So, fuck February. Maybe something good will happen in February 2009. You never know. I'd like to put my past in the past. For Good. Sometimes if you replace bad memories with good ones, you can recover.

Anyway, back to California. I'm probably going back this summer, hopefully for 2 weeks, unless I can come up with a way to get somewhere else. I'm not holding my breath.

I look like Holy hell today.

I don't even want to post a picture. Bad hair day, bad face day, bad everything day. Don't look at me today. I spent my usual time getting ready, but it was futile. The planets must not be aligned correctly. It could be my attire. I have on black slacks, a purple lace top and hiking boots. No, it's the hair. and my breakout. Enough to put a girl in a pissy mood. This is the day when I will run into somebody from Highschool, or a cute guy, or some old boyfriend and I look like I have been camping. LOL. It's Murphy's Law. To remedy this, I'm going to go get my nails done and go tanning. Maybe I'll make a hair appointment. Something. Normally I wouldn't care this much, but I've really been trying to improve and take care of myself. I have all these new clothes, makeup, etc. and it's a lot of work! It is like working on a car for 6 months and it won't start. Frustrating.

There is NOTHING going on. Nothing. I have no exciting news, nothing fun to talk about, and nothing stupid has happened to me today. Yet. I'll work on it.