I Feel Pretty . . .

Oh, so pretty,

I feel pretty and witty and bright!

And I pity

Any girl who isn't me tonight.

Quick! Name that musical.

This overly enthusiastic cat is Lucinda Gooseberry. Remember her? Well, she has filled out a bit since you last saw her, so I understand if you don't recognize her. 

She's quite the sport, let me tell you. As you can see, Stinkerbell has dressed her in a most charming pink t-shirt emblazoned with the title "Spoiled Princess." And to sort of top off the whole look is a little homemade tiara that Stinkerbell made just for her.

Let's be honest here. How smart can this cat be, really, if it lets a child dress her like this? And do you see her struggling any? Seriously, Girlfriend has claws. Can she not use them?

As a matter of fact, you probably aren't going to believe this at all, but the crazy cat actually purrs whenever Stinkerbell is controlling her like this. Which is pretty much 24-7.  

So, as I was saying, it looks like we are the lucky owners of yet another cat with just enough brain cells to maintain life support.

Southwestern Corn Dip

I have a super easy, super yummy appetizer to share with you today. It uses mostly stuff from your pantry too, so it's great for last minute get togethers.

I originally got this recipe from the Barefoot Contessa. She found it in our local newspaper when she was visiting us one summer, and we've made it many, many, many times since then. We love it.

Here's what you need: Monterey Jack Cheese, mayonnaise, canned corn, shredded parmesan, 1 jalapeno pepper, diced green chiles, roasted red peppers, and sliced black olives.

First, spray a baking dish with cooking spray.

Then start draining the canned stuff and then dumping it all in the dish. I like to mix it all up in the baking dish, but you can do that in a bowl first if you want. I just hate doing dishes.

You don't need a ginormous jar of roasted red peppers like this, I just happened to have one this large. The Renaissance Woman tells me that you can find these at the dollar store.

This is what they look like.

Isn't it pretty?

From here, you just add the mayonnaise and the cheeses, mix it, smooth it down, then pop it in the oven.

It comes out looking like this. It's great with tortilla chips, but you can just eat it with a spoon if you are so inclined.

Enjoy!

Baking Bonanza

I just love this time of year. I've always enjoyed baking and playing around in the kitchen, and the holidays are the perfect excuse to go overboard in that department.

And do we ever go overboard. As you can see, we get the whole family involved. Here we are assembling treats for our peeps.

We love our peeps.

If you see anything here that tempts you, and you think you might like to make any of it, you can find the recipes here. Some of the recipes are super easy too, in case you have a need for any last minute treats.

How about you? Have you been doing any holiday baking?

Holiday Bookmarks

As promised, and with at least an hour to spare, I give you holiday bookmarks. I'm giving these to my students and my kids' classmates this year. I'd stick them in the girls' stockings too, but then they would know that I'm Santa Claus. Thanks to Peanut Head, the girls still very much believe in the Fat Man.

What do you think of these little Santa stamps? I love Santa.

I have a thing for snow people too.

And you know me, I'd never turn down a cookie.

Now that you've seen all the designs, below are the jpgs. for the bookmarks. Don't forget to click on each of them to get the best resolution before you save them to your desktop. Otherwise, they might be blurry and that would probably make you mad.

If you need a refresher on how to turn out the finished product, go here.

When I posted the birthday bookmarks, someone asked me why the heck a bookmark needed a magnet, and I couldn't respond to the question because there was no e-mail attached to the commenter's profile. I hate that. People ask me questions all the time, and I can't respond for that reason, or because a commenter's blog is set to private, or worse yet, it's an anonymous comment and I don't even know who it is. How am I supposed to respond to that?

I really didn't come here to whine tonight. Sorry about that. Anyway, to answer the burning question, the bookmark doesn't need the magnets, they're just nice to have. Think about it.

You're having a hard time? Okay, I'll illustrate.

Peanut Head picks up my book with an average, everyday, garden variety bookmark in it, he yells "Go long, Clyde!" and he launches it across the room to the fictitious dog.

Now I ask you, is your average, everyday, garden variety bookmark going to stay put? 

No. It is not. It's going to jump ship the first chance it gets and then you will never be able to finish your book. Do you really want that?

I think not.

With the magnetic bookmark, the magnets cling to your page and they don't let go until you pull them apart. It's every magnet's dream. No lie.

I hope that clears things up. Enjoy the bookmarks!

Pecan Pie

I'm such a slacker. I wanted to get this recipe up before Thanksgiving, but I didn't make it in time. Not even close. Here's hoping you can use it for a holiday dinner or something.

I originally got the recipe from the "Dear Abby" column in the newspaper. I've been making it for years and it's Peanut Head's favorite. Even better, it's super easy to make and practically fail safe.

Here's the recipe card.

I'm putting the finishing touches on the holiday bookmarks, and I promise to get those up for you before Friday. It would have been done sooner, but I'm a slacker. Sorry.

There's Always Something to be Thankful For

Every day when the girls and I get home from school, we have a little ritual we do where I yell at them to hang up their coats and their backpacks, they ignore me for ten minutes, I yell some more, then finally they succumb to the nagging and hang the stuff up.  Once that's done, they empty out their backpacks and make a pile for me on the kitchen table with all the papers they brought home.

Well, I found this little gem in Zoe Bug's pile, and it was so dang cute that I just had to record it on my blog so that I could have it forever and ever. It's a picture of a little girl holding a tissue up to her nose and here's what it says:

Little Molly Peters

Stuck her finger up her nose.

She pulled it out, examined it,

And wiped it on her clothes.

Now Molly is a lovely girl,

That is not really the issue.

But she will have no friends until

She learns to use a tissue.

How cute is that? Wait, it gets better. Stinkerbell delivered the punch line when she said "I don't wipe mine on my clothes. I eat them."

And that, my friends, is just one more reason I am thankful to be teaching sixth graders instead of first graders. I mean, I looooooooooove first graders, but they do eat their boogers. It's a fact.

And there are much, much better things to eat than boogers. I wouldn't even waste one calorie on a booger. Well, I did when I was in first grade, but I don't do that any more.

I eat much differently these days. I might even have mentioned this before, but I know how to throw me down some food.

That's right. On Thanksgiving, I made myself miserable, I ate so much. It was so bad that I couldn't even lie down because I was getting a pain in my left collar bone, which I'm pretty sure was my body trying to eject a lung to make some room for my overindulged meal. It was awful.

But that's not my point. My point is that I have a lot to be thankful for. Even though a booger eater lives in my house.