My Love Affair....

with my teddy bear.


C'mon, ya'll! I know you were wondering, "What has she gotten herself into now?" But you know me better than that...my Boo is my numero uno love affair.

This guy comes pretty close to second though. I'd like to introduce to you Teddy Little Bear Franklin. He has been a part of my life since I was three years old. He has caught many, many tears, heard all of my embarrassing moments, even times when I wet the bed, he was there. He was there when I was afraid of the dark and found out that I had to wear glasses when my twin sister didn't. He want on vacation with me just about everywhere, except for Disneyland because my dad didn't want me to lose him while on one of the rides.

I humanized him while I was growing up. I knew that he "felt" things. Like the one time, boy cousins that we were visiting in Missouri sprayed bathroom cleaner on him. I cried and cried. "It would make him sick. He'll never smell the same." I hated those dumb boy cousins.

When TV Boo was 5 years old, I entrusted Teddy to her. She was afraid of the dark, terrified in fact. I told her how he had helped me through so many tough times in my life and now he was hers to help her through hers. One thing, I made her promise that she'd always take good care of him and not let anyone tear him up. Teddy went with her to summer camps, gymnastics meets, overnighters at her friends houses and even when she ate, Teddy was there, while she pretended to feed him some of what she was eating. As he grew more fragile, she sewed the outfit that he is wearing now.

One sleepover at church, she was laughed at and Teddy was made fun of. The boys said that he had the mange. She vehemently stuck up for Teddy telling them that she didn't care how he looked, the he was very valuable.

When TV Boo went to Texas, she left Teddy here with me. She knew that I could use the comfort of her not being close by. She was so very homesick that I surprised her and sent her a box filled with goodies and backed on the very bottom was Teddy. She cried tears of joy to have Teddy back.

TV Boo is here in California with me as is Teddy. She has decided that Teddy needs to be where he is safe from harm. So, he has a special place in my curio cabinet. As I walk by, I think of a little song that was on one of my kiddie albums...

Me and my teddy bear, have no worries have no cares, just me and my teddy bear, just play and play all day.

Precious memories of my childhood include my Teddy Little Bear Franklin.

Back view - I brushed his "fur" in a side part and he's now bald.

What do you have that reminds you of your childhood or that you cherish?

Last Night I Cried

I cried even though my big brother would've called me a wimp for shedding tears over him.

I cried because I realized that I no longer have a big brother to lean on, laugh with, gain wisdom from and to share the greatest joys in my life.

I cried because Craig made my twin sister and I a part of his world. From him, we learned wrestling moves (he was a wrestling coach), to laugh at life and not waste time on B.S. He valued us and proudly called us his little sisters.

As I cried, I reminisced over the one night when I was sound asleep in my bedroom when there was a knock on my window. Then another harder knock. Then a high pitched voice. I bolted to my sister's room, shaking. We both hesitantly went back to my room to bravely look out the window. It was Craig. After a wrestling victory celebration, having lost his voice from yelling and cheering and have quite a few brews, he came to share with victory with my sister and I. We laughed out of sheer relief. Last night, I cried at that memory.

I cried for his children. I cried for his dream of opening up a high end restaurant with live jazz music that wouldn't come to life. I cried because millions of others who's lives he touched, will miss him too.

Today, I'm done crying (I think). I know Craig wouldn't want the tears. He'd want the laughter. So today, I'm going to laugh. I'm going to see the sky as bluer than blue. I'm going to smell the air and take in it's fragrance. And sing one of Craig's favorite songs louder than loud, "Whip it, whip it good!"

Vlog - Creative Saturday

Creative Saturday from Simone Moland on Vimeo.

Pre-menopausal cravings?

Is there such a thing or am I searching for an excuse for my out of control taste buds?

I am normally an "I can eat just about anything" kind of girl. As long as it's not crab poop - disguised as crab butter but I know differently, or liver, or cow's tongue (although I've never had cow's tongue...just thought of it mooing one minute and then silenced the next....is horrifying.)

When I have a craving for something, there is usually a reason behind it. For example, I crave Ben and Jerry's Chunky Monkey when I'm feeling blue or just a need to pat myself on the back. I sweet potatoes in the fall, because subliminally, they are orange and orange represents to me, fall. I crave collard greens when I'm thinking of corn bread because, well, they go well together.

Lately, my cravings have been for fried jalapenos. There's no fancy recipe, just fresh jalapenos, sliced and dipped in egg and then in corn meal and fried. No, I keep the seeds in, for the heat satisfaction. When I fry them, anyone in the house will start to cough of sneeze so I don't do it very often unless I'm craving them.

When I go through this period of craving, I eat whatever it is that I crave for weeks until finally, the craving disappears, only to be replaced by something else.

Do you crave and if so, what do you crave?

Being honest

Baby Boo is back with her mom and I am so worn out. One thing I realized is that times sure have changed since I had kids. Parents are way more cutthroat and competitive. For instance, I take Baby Boo to storytime at the library for kids her age. They sing songs, do crafts and listen to the teacher read stories. I noticed that first of all, most of the parents there only wanted their kids to sit next to another kid that appeared to be "smart". Little Heather Sue sat next to Baby Boo and instantly, her momma said, "Honey, why aren't you sitting next to your friends?" Heather Sue was 4 years old and could give a rat's you know what who she sat next to. Then, as the kids pointed out different colors, the parents were smug when their kid knew the right color before the other kids. It was like I had stepped into this, "My kid's smarter than your kid" clique. So, Baby Boo, being that she is not paper trained (toilet trained that is) and isn't use to socializing with kids her age, she was a tad slow on the colors and songs and even the dancing. She became the laughing stock of the parents who smirked at her for yelling, "Bwown" 20 seconds after the other kids. They laughed when instead of her doing hand movements, she cut the rug and danced instead. Okay, maybe they weren't laughing at her for not being smart, maybe they were jealous that their kid wasn't taught to let loose and have some fun. At craft time, once more, Baby Boo sat at a table where two parents literally moved their kids to other tables. One being a boy and the other who's mom said outright, "C'mon, let's sit by your friends." Baby Boo showed them. She smeared glue stick on her wreath like it was marker. Then, painted it with glue stick some more. I looked around to make sure the other parents weren't glancing our way and I quickly stuck the leaves on her wreath. She colored it with glue stick once again and then, declaring it "done", she did what she thought was the "right thing to do" and stuck it on her head. Of course, she walked around with pride, wearing her wreath as a hat. The teacher said, "Oh my! She's wearing a wreath on her head." I smiled and said, "Yes, she's very creative that way!" and I meant it. So, we walked hand in hand out of the library with her wearing her wreath inspired hat.
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I've been given two wonderful awards from Menopausal New Mom. Her blog has become one of my favorites. I love her sense of humor and honesty and find that I relate often to what she shares. So thank you, MNM!

The first is the Lemonade Stand Award. In spite of circumstances beyond our controls, sometimes the best thing to do is make lemonade out of the lemons in life. So many bloggers I follow or enjoy reading have done that. I unfortunately don't follow the award rules so this award is for all of you because there is not a single one of you that hasn't been able to live through those lemon moments.
The next award is the Honest Scrap award. As a part of the rules, I am to award others for their honest and open blog wisdom. Once more, this award is yours! As a part of the rules, I have to list 10 honest things about me....

1) Boo has a few possible job opportunities in Utah so we may be relocating. I have no relatives or people that I know in Utah and it frightens me to think I'll be out there on our own (if it works out that way). Yet, I'm exhilarated by the possibilities too.

2) I am a book junkie and have way too many books that I have yet to read, yet I can't resist buying more at the used stores.

3) I treat my puppies like they are little people and hate when they appear to be sad or bored. I admit that I give them too many treats but they've suckered their way into my heart.

4) I'm considering going to school and getting my physician's assistant degree. I've always been fascinated with the medical field. Maybe this is MY time.

5) I'm torn between learning Swahili and Korean and Mandarin Chinese so I'm learning all three with Rosetta Stone.

6) When my sister and I were little we would create our own recipes. Lately, I've been craving a taco dog. (Hot dog in a fried taco shell with cheese and taco sauce.)

7) I'm very germphobic so I wipe down my shopping cart before touching it, wash my hands with germ cleaner when I get in the car and hold my breath when I walk past someone that has been coughing without putting their hands over their mouth.

8) I have won two cooking contests. Another big name company stole my recipe but didn't give me credit for it.

9) I have a collection of Little Rascals videos and watch them when I'm in need of a good laugh.

10) I had my four front teeth knocked out when I was 3 from hanging upside down from a bar and falling face first. I hated to smile showing my teeth and even now, I have to practice in the mirror before I do.

If you decide to grab either of the awards, please link back to me and let me know. I would love to read your honest musings.

Scenes from the eyes of a two and a half year old and other stuff

First, before I get into my busy three days with Baby Boo, I've got great news...PJ at Seens From the Backs of My Eyelids has a GREAT and I mean GREAT blog giveaway going on. I so want to win!! Who doesn't need a $75.00 gift certificate to Amazon???
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Some of you asked for my Slump recipe. I am queen of creating recipes and this is one of those that isn't written from a recipe but from my head so here goes...

Slump

2 large cans of sliced peaches - do not drain juice from can (or fresh peaches) in pear juice (you can use a combination of fruit)
1 1/4 cups of brown sugar
2 teaspoons (or less depending on how cinnamony you want it) of cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 cup butter

Put all in large saucepan or heavy iron skillet. Simmer for 25 minutes....breathing in the aroma. Add 1 teaspoon of cornstarch to a bit of the mixture in a separate bowl. Stir until cornstarch is dissolved. Pour into slump mixture and stir. It should thicken up a bit.

Now for the dumplings...any pie crust recipe will do. But, add 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract, 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and stir until dough is thick enough to roll out. Roll and then cut into small squares. Dunk one by one into the slump. Let simmer in juices for 30 minutes. Serve with ice cream!

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Baby Boo and I have been "using our imaginations" the last few days. That means, basically showing her how to "betend". We made Sponge Bob and Patrick out of playdough which she creatively mixed all the colors together. We made a house out of blocks and of course, the block people all had voices too. (I am discovering that I may have a talent for voice over cartoon animation.) We made cookies and pizza and colored and took tons of pictures. But, for God sakes.....the girl has YET to be potty trained!!! I don't get it. She knows all the words to Sponge Bob. She knows a little of her ABC's but could care less that she smells like a septic tank. Reverse psychology didn't work. Even pointing out that she has two brand new packages of Dora and My Little Pony panties has not worked. Even as I type this, she is attempting to fashion coordinate what she is going to wear today. Mind you, it's going to have to "match" her pink princess pullups.

That's what's going on in my neck of the woods...what's going on in yours?

If you eat candy corn, there's no calories.

At least, that's what I think.

I'm a sucker for Halloween candy the day after. In fact, as my daughters were about 8 and 9, I started a tradition of having a family harvest party the day after Halloween. They did have the opportunity to trick or treat but in October, it's so cold that it's hard to feel any joy walking from houses that are 1/2 acres apart.

The family harvest party consisted of buying at least 15.00 worth of candy discounted by 70 to 85%. The girls never saw what kind I had bought but they knew that it was usually something good and quite a lot of it. Then, my then husband and I would hide the candy all over the living room, family room, and kitchen while the girls stayed in their room listening for us to yell, "Come and get it!"

They would scramble all over the place, lifting up vases, looking under the table and on doorway ledges until we were certain that they had exhausted the hiding places. Then, they dump it all and we'd count and find out who had more of what and then divide it so that it was even.

After that, we'd watch videos and eat junk food (and lots of candy). The girls loved this every year.

This year, of course, they were too old to do a candy hunt but I did go out in search of discounted candy only to find only gourmet candy corn at Walmart for 94 cents. So, I eenie meenied until I chose chocolate caramel candy corn.

The one consolation to not gorging on Reese's peanut butter cups or Twix bars is that candy corn is a vegetable, although sweet and I won't gain an ounce! :)