Try as I might, I just don’t get it!

There are some things in this world that just confound me. You know the kind of things I mean, for example:

Why is it that you always have a great hair day the day you have an appointment to get it cut?

Why does a neighbor always drop in on days when you really just want to be alone?

Why is it raining when you come out of the movie theater even though it was sunny when you went in and no rain was predicted?

Why do you always get stuck behind somebody going 10-15 miles under the speed limit only on the days when you’re late for work?

Why is there no such thing as a perfectly made new car, or new appliance, or new electronic device, or new anything for that matter?

Why does my cat Emmie always (and yes, I mean always) toss her cookies on my bed’s newly washed coverlet?

And why, for the love of all God‘s creatures, is it that March 2012 is the warmest March on record but April 2012 is as chilly and dreary as it can get?

Done with the whyning.

Bye.

… thanks for listening!

A Stat Hound’s Woe

Posted by goodoldgirl

So, I all but ignore my blog for a few days and what happens? Not a thing!

No one (well, hardly anyone) visits my blog for days – and days – and days.

What gives? Do I have to write a new post every day? Really?

So many books. So little time!

Can’t do it. Got too many other things to do! For example …

Reading: my stack of books-to-read is growing, and growing
I need to fill out my 1040 – yep, I pushed it to the edge this year (haven’t even started)
Work, work, work, work, work
Emmie and Ollie (my cats): they need some attention soon or they’re going to blackball me out of the family (caught them in a corner whispering the other day, nothing good can come from that)
My garden: pitifully small as it is, I still had to take a big chunk out of last Saturday to clean it up and get it ready for Spring planting (that’s assuming Spring ever comes back, been pretty chilly here the last few days)
House cleaning: nah, that one won’t fly
Sore ankle? oh, never mind

So, have I convinced you that I’ve got a lot on my plate?

Speaking of plates, it’s time to fix dinner.

AACK!

Let me think. What’s in the fridge?

I know! I can make Good Old Girls Shrimp Fried Rice and broccoli with cheese sauce. Only takes about 40 minutes! Here’s how:

1 Box of Frozen Broccoli with Cheese Sauce (I like Green Giant)
1/2 Pound of small shrimp, peeled and de-veined
1 Bag Uncle Ben’s Whole Grain Boil-in-Bag Brown Rice
2 eggs
2-4 Tbsp. Butter or Margarine
1-2 Tbsp. Finely Chopped Onions (can use dried if you don’t have fresh onions)
Garlic Salt (as much as you can stand)

Follow directions on box for frozen broccoli. Green Giant requires 12 minutes in boiling water – on each side.

When you turn over the broccoli, put the rice in a pan of boiling water per instructions on box. If using Uncle Ben’s, takes about 12 minutes to cook.

Good Old Girls Shrimp Fried Rice

Melt butter in saute pan, add onions, add eggs and scramble in pan (chop into small bits while scrambling), add garlic salt to taste. When eggs are done, add shrimp, stir and let simmer. When rice is done, drain and add to egg and shrimp mixture. Mix well. Serve with broccoli and bread of your choice. (I like the Wheat Bolillois from the Walmart bakery. They freeze nicely and are easy to heat in the oven.)

Serves two to four, depending on how hungry you are.

Yum!

PS: My daughter loved this when she was a kid.

A bookie’s life calendar.

Posted by goodoldgirl

When I was a kid, my life calendar was all about the next holiday and not having to go to school.

It wasn’t so much that I didn’t want to go to school but that I didn’t want to have to get up so dang early. (They could have made school start at ten instead of eight and I’d’ve been a happy camper.) The getting up early, though, wouldn’t have been such a problem except that it interfered with staying up late the night before. So why does a kid need to stay up so late — it’s all about the books.

Yep, this girl’s a reader. My life calendar these days is measured in books instead of days and weeks.

And holidays? They’re just one more opportunity for a family squabble, so who needs ’em!

I can’t remember a time in my life when I wasn’t holed up somewhere reading a book. It drove my grandmother bonkers. She hated to see me inside reading when my brother and sisters and cousins were out playing. She used to make me watch afternoon soap operas with her to keep me from reading but I’d have an open book across my lap, sneaking peeks and distracting her when I needed to turn the page. (I’m pretty sure she knew I was doing it but, as long as I kept up with the soaps’ story lines, she let me get a way with it.) Granny loved her soaps. Wonder what she’d have thought about blogging.

Back to topic …

I read while waiting in the drive-up line and I read while waiting at red lights, too. (I get a lot of beeps from the cars behind me.)

I read while I should be watching what I’m cooking on the stove. (I’ve developed a real affinity for charred food.)

I read while I’m watching TV and, yes, I’ve even been known to read while I’m blogging.

It’s a sickness, this book thing, and there is no cure.

Yikes!

What is your passion? What keeps you going day after day, year in and year out? What’s the big thing on your life calendar?