Tuesday 4 Meme- Books/TV

 
Books/TV

Welcome to Tuesday 4 in memory of Toni Taddeo...
This week let's talk about books and TV programs you enjoy.

1. Are you enjoying a book right now and would you tell us about it? I am reading
a book a co-worker let me borrow called Commonwealth by Ann Patchett.  It is good

so far, but I am not sure what direction it is going.  I have not read anything about this

book.

2. Do you have a list of books you are looking forward to reading in the near future?

Oh definitely.  I add to this list all of the time.  I have a list at Goodreads.

3. What's on television (or YouTube, etc.) at your house?  I am filling this out and the news

is on.

4.What series have you followed religiously and why? (can be TV or book series)  I have 

several tv shows I watch.  The Good Doctor, New Amsterdam, The Black List, Clarice, 

A Million Little Things, Magnum P.I., Prodigal Son and many others.  I like to distract myself

with watching tv and reading.  There are several authors that I read many if not all of their books.

Sunday Stealing- Cooking

 

 

 

 

 

1.  How often do you make food and eat it?  4-5 times/week.  I am not home on Friday, I am 

visiting my mom and we usually eat out one day on the weekend.

2.  Do you consider toasting bread, preparing instant noodles, or boiling an egg to be cooking?

Why or why not?  I do.  Those skills are needed to be able to put meals together and even 

though they may not be hard to do, they are still part of cooking.

3.  What’s your favorite dish to make?  lasagne or cheesy burritos.

4.  Cooking or baking: what’s more fun? What’s more difficult?  I enjoy cooking more, but

only because baking takes so much more time.

5.  Who did most of the cooking in your house when you were growing up?  my mom, but my

dad cooked a lot too and anything I learned about cooking was from him.

6.  How have you learned the cooking skills that you have?  My dad from baking and my

Granie from cooking with her at her house.

7.   Have you ever taken a cooking course? If so, what did you learn? If not, would you like

to do one? What would you like to learn?  I would love to take a cooking course.  I would

just like to learn to make good easy things...or even how to bake some new things.

8.   Have you tried cooking food from another culture? What did you prepare? How was it?

Not really.  The Mexican dishes I make are probably Americanized.

9.   Is it cost-effective to do your own cooking? Can you save money by cooking?  I think it is

more healthy to cook at home, but probably more cost effective too.  I do think you save

money by cooking.

10.  Would you rather do the cooking or do the washing up afterwards?  I enjoy cleaning

up more.

11.  Do you use recipes to cook? If so, where do you get the best recipes? Do you get them

from friends, family, online, or from cookbooks?  I make up recipes or learn from other

people.  I do not follow recipes when I cook.

12.  Have you ever tried to prepare some food and just totally ruined it? What happened?

That has never happened so far.  I did catch a pan on fire once, but I was able to

save the food.

13. Do you prefer cooking at home or eating out at a restaurant? Why?  eating at

a restaurant. We are tired when we get home from working all day.  

14. Is cooking a social activity for you? Do you like to do it with other people, or do your prefer

to do it alone?  I like to cook either way.  Karl and I both cook during holidays and

that is fun.

15. Do you have a lot of cooking equipment? How often do you use it all? Do you have any

pieces of equipment that you rarely ever use?  We have some casserole dishes we do not

use as much as we used to.  I do have a lot of stuff for cooking, but we do use a lot of it.

Saturday 9- Fooled by a Feeling

 

Fooled by a Feeling

Saturday 9: Fooled by a Feeling (1979)

 
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.
Chosen because next week is April Fool's Day. 

1) Some believe that the practice of playing tricks on one another on April 1 dates back to the 14th century because it's mentioned in Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales. Geoffrey Chaucer is considered one of England's greatest poets. From memory, quote a bit of poetry for us. (It doesn't have to be English, or great.)  Rose are red, violets are blue, sugar is sweet and so are you.  *sorry, nothing was coming to mind.

2) When Crazy Sam was a little girl, her mother would prank her on April Fool's Day by slipping a rubber worm or plastic spider in her lunch box. Did you/do you carry a lunchbox, either as a student or an adult?  I carry a lunch box to school every day now as an educator, when I was a kid, not as much.  I did from time to time though.

3) In 1998, Burger King got into the April Fool's Day fun by promoting a special "Left Handed Whopper," supposedly designed to perfect for a leftie to hold. Describe your perfect burger.  It would be a burger from a restaurant, medium well with ketchup, mayonnaise and mustard on in.  I actually order burgers with everything and take off what I do not want.  I like the essence/flavor of all of it, but I do not necessarily want to eat everything.

4) In this week's song, Barbara Mandrell sings that she followed her heart into her lover's arms. Are you more often led by your heart or head?  It depends.  I am going to say my head though.  I feel like at my age I should know better.

5) She knows now she was wrong for believing her man loved her. When did you recently admit you were wrong?  Oh geez, I do not keep track of wrongs and rights, but when I am wrong I say so.

6) Barbara Mandrell recalls being able to read music before she could read words. Can you read sheet music?  Not really.  I tried to watch the notes move when I was in choir, but no, I can't read music.

7) Barbara had her own TV variety show in the 1980s and, in the 90s, acted on the daytime drama, Sunset Beach. The soap opera's producer, Aaron Spelling, was a huge fan of Barbara's and was thrilled to finally meet and work with her. Tell us about someone you really enjoyed working with, and why.  I think my favorite co-worker is Lori...she is/was a Pastor's wife...her husband died this year from covid.  She is the most positive person I have ever met.  She never has a bad thing to say about anyone...and I mean never.  I was around her a lot.  I enjoyed being around her type of personality.  I feel like people like her make everyone else better.  She lifts you up and just takes glory in everything around.  I missed working with her this year...I was at the elementary this year instead of the primary school because of covid.  This picture was taken on a Dr. Seuss crazy hair day.

8) In 1979, when this song was released, a top-of-the-line Sony Walkman sold for $150 (approx. $500 in today's dollars). Did you have a portable cassette player back in the day?  I did and I loved that thing.  It was not a walkman, but I didn't care.

9) Random question: What's the first thing you thought of when you woke up this morning?  I think I always think...why is it time to get up already?  Hee, hee

Sunday Stealing- Blog Challenge

 

 

 

Blog Challenge

  

1. An unforgettable day in my life.  I am going to go with 9/11.  Josh was 3 years old, I woke up

that morning and looked out the window and thought it is such a beautiful perfect day...not a

cloud in the sky.  I got on my computer and a friend in Australia was asking "what is going on

in the US"?  I turned on the Today show to see the first airplane hitting the world trade tower.

Josh watched the Nick Jr. channel while I was freaking out.  I remember the whole day and how

scared I was and many days after that as well.

2. My favorite snacks  chips, but it depends on my mood which ones and chocolate.

3. My biggest fashion accessory  I wear a scrunchie in my hair a lot, my wedding ring and my

watch. I do not wear accessories much anymore.  Sometimes a scarf in the winter.

4. My biggest celebrity crush  It was probably Keifer Sutherland at one time.  When he was in

24 saving the world.

5. One Hobby I would like to learn  piano

6. My OCD habits  since covid, I have to wash my hands, sanitize them and then lotion them.

I do this a lot more than in the past.  I am a handwasher too working with kids, but it is in 

overdrive now.

7. If I could eat one last meal  I have thought about this before.  I see shows where they ask the

person on death row what their last meal would be.  I really do not know.  I have a lot of favorites.

If I could eat my Granie's cooking again though as my last meal, that is what I would do. 

She was an amazing cook.

8. Working on my fitness  I need to do that.  During covid I walked everyday and when I went back

to work and I am eating healthier, but not working out.  It doesn't seem to matter, I still need to

lose weight.

9. What I spend money on  I spend a lot of money on bath and body candles, soap and hand

sanitizer, I also spend a lot on beauty products from Ulta.

10. My favorite recipe  I think we just had a question like this, I do not use recipes very often,

but a favorite item for me to make is lasagne and cheesy burritos.

11. The best part of each season  spring- everything is turning green and blooming and getting

warner, summer is fun because we can swim and stay out late also 4th of July, fall the leaves

changing and the holidays, winter I enjoy Christmas and snow.  I enjoy them all.

12. A life lesson I’ve learned  forgive and forget

13. My inspiration to blog-  many years ago...about 20, I was part of the country graphics

community.  We all had little country family websites and decorated them regularly.  I met

a lot of friends that way.  My friends Susan, Gloria, Kat, and Tammy are still blogging and

Wynne is back blogging...be sure to welcome her back to blogging.  My friend Toni, who we

lost a year ago was in that same community. Well at some point we started blogging, and to 

be able to stay in touch, I started blogging. It was hard, that was a big community. Many of

those friends are on facebook now, but it isn't the same. I kept my blog over the years and I 

have met new friends like you!  I love meeting people and we help each other so much.  I love

learning how other people do things and what they use for products, etc.  I love the diversity

of it.

14. What’s inside my closet?  Lots of clothes and shoes.

15. Let me brag a minute.  I was on Spring Break this past week and I was able to get a lot done.

I got my hair cut and colored, went to the chiropractor, got a gift ready for my co-worker Tina...

her birthday is coming up and she made such a big deal of my 50th birthday, it is her turn now. 

I got the house cleaned and put away Winter decorations from outside and put out Spring.

I cannot wait to plant flowers, but I do not do that until May.  It is cold here still.  I love getting

things done on breaks. I read a book too.  Oh and Josh and I ate in an actual restaurant Tuesday 

night. We have been ordering take-out, but we ate in the restaurant this time.  The restaurants are

open here and have been, but now we can say we ate out for the first time since covid.  It was

kind of nice.

Saturday 9- ORDINARY PEOPLE

 

ORDINARY PEOPLE (2005)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) In this song, John Legend sings that both he and his girl have "room to grow." What about you? In what areas would you like to improve?  Maybe working out more and eating better.

2) He sings that when he hangs up in anger, she calls him back. Are you quicker to anger, or quicker to forgive?  Quicker to forgive.  I have been quick to anger though and I learned it doesn't really get me anywhere, so I just forgive and move on.

3) "Ordinary People" was John Legend's first big hit. He originally wrote it for The Black Eyed Peas, but -- happily for him -- recorded it himself. Have you ever purchased a gift for someone else but then decided to keep it yourself?

I don't think so.

 

4) Ordinary People is also the title of an acclaimed novel by Judith Guest and an Oscar-winning film. Are you familiar with either the movie or the book?

I don't think so, but I looked up the movie and it looks good.

5) John is married to Chrissy Teigen, who gained fame as a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model. When is the last time you dove in? Were you in a pool, lake, river or sea?  Pool

6) John unexpectedly proposed to Chrissy on vacation, but he was afraid airport security would ruin the surprise when they went through his carry on very thoroughly. He worried she would see the ring box and he'd have to drop down to one knee right there at the airport! Tell us about one of your flights: your first, your most recent or your most memorable.  I have never flown.

7) John is currently a coach on The Voice. The other coaches are Nick Jonas, Kelly Clarkson and Blake Shelton. Of those four singers, which is your favorite?   I like the music from the Jonas Brothers, so I will say Nick Jonas.

8) In 2005, when this song was popular, Johnny Carson died. After he retired from The Tonight Show in 1993, he traveled extensively and discovered he especially enjoyed photographic safaris in Africa. If time and money were no object, where would you go on vacation?  I would plan to travel all over, but I might hit a beach first.  Maybe a trip to Hawaii.

 

9) Random question -- In your typical day, what's the longest you usually go without saying a word to another person: all day, a few hours, an hour, or five minutes?  Probably like 5 minutes working at a school, it is not possible to just be quiet.

Tuesday 4 Meme- Cooking

 

Cooking

Welcome to Tuesday 4 which we keep going in memory of our dear friend Toni Taddeo.
This week how about talking about cooking tips and advice? We probably all have some

things to pass along!



1. What is the most valuable kitchen utensil you have or one you use often and

 could not live without?  My Pampered Chef items.  I have a small spatula and a 

stoneware cookie sheet small and a large and they are all amazing.

2. Do you have any fancy gadgets like air fryers, etc in your kitchen? How are they

working out for you?  We use our InstantPot a lot to make our food.  It is fast and 

there are so many good recipes for using it out there.  Karl likes to cook with it, I 

tend to cook the traditional way...in the oven or stovetop.

3. Do you have any step or labor saving ideas that make cooking and meal

preparation easier?  Karl using the InstantPot makes everything go fast.  When

I am cooking, I will make extra and freeze it for another time.  I recently made

lasagne and meatloaf and we froze a second pan for another dinner.

4. What is your favorite recipe of all time? Would you share it with us?  My favorite

 recipes to make are lasagne and cheesy burritos.  They are basic.  I don't really use a

recipe for either.  The lasagne is lasagne noodles, spaghetti sauce and hamburger meat,

mozarella cheese and ricotta cheese...layer and bake.  The cheesy burritos are hamburger

meat with burrito seasoning, velveeta cheese with rotel tomatoes...you put the meat in a

burrito soft shell and roll them up. It makes about 6-8, then you pour the velveeta and rotel

...they are mixed together as if you were making rotel dip...pour cheese on top of the burritos

and bake in a dish.

Have a  very Happy St. Patrick's Day!  I am off to get my hair cut and colored tomorrow. 

I am on Spring Break this week.

Sunday Stealing- Ask Anything

 

Ask Anything

 

 

1 Do You Sleep With Your Closet Doors Open Or Closed?  Closed

2 Do You Have Freckles?  no

3 Can You Whistle?  yes

4 Last Song You Listened To.  I can't remember

5 Name Something That Relaxes You.  Blogging, playing games and watching tv

6 What Sounds Are Your Favorite?  Listening to Josh, my dogs barking, kids laughing

7 What Do You Wear To Bed? cotton pajamas

8 Do You Sing In The Shower?  not very often

9 What Books Are You Reading? The Good Daughter by Karin Slaughter

10 Do You Believe In Magic?  no

11 Can You Curl Your Tongue?  yes

12 Have You Ever Caught A Butterfly?  I think so when I was young.

13 Name One Movie That Made You Cry.  Black Beauty made me cry several times.

14 Peanuts Or Sunflower Seeds?  Peanuts

15 Are You A Heavy Sleeper?

Saturday 9- Too Ra Loo Ra Loo Ral

 

Too Ra Loo Ra Loo Ral

Saturday 9: Too Ra Loo Ra Loo Ral (1944)

 

Selected because this Wednesday is St. Patrick's Day. Unfamiliar with this week's song? Hear it here.

   

1) Bing Crosby sings that he learned this song from his mother. Can you recall a song from your early childhood?  I remember learning some nursery rhymes when I was young. Rock-a bye Baby stuff like that.  My dad sang them to me.

 

2) Bing was NBC's first choice to play TV's Columbo. He turned down the role because, by that time, he was in his 60s and just didn't feel like working a full week anymore. Peter Falk eventually got the part and played Det. Columbo for 10 seasons. Do you enjoy detective stories, whether on TV, in movies or in books?  I do enjoy movies and tv shows about detectives, but I do not enjoy reading them very much.

 

3) Bing could trace his family back to County Cork. While it's said that on St. Patrick's Day everyone is Irish, can you honestly claim Irish heritage?  I am adopted and do not really know much about my heritage.  I am going to do one of those tests one of these days.  It would kill my mom if I did anything like that while she is still alive.  She is so weird like that.  If you have any recommendations for the heritage tests let me know.

 

4) Other than St. Patrick, what is Ireland famous for?  It is famous to me for no snakes.  Ok, how about potatoes?  I don't know.  It is beautiful there?  How about beer?  Ireland makes me think of green lush hills.

5) "The wearing o' the green" is one way to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. Will you wear something green in honor of the day?  maybe. I have to go out that day and get my hair done.  

6) Have you ever had green beer?  I think I did in college.

7) Have you ever ordered a Shamrock Shake from McDonald's?  I have!  I worked there in high school and I had one then.

8) A four-leaf clover is considered good luck. Do you have a lucky charm?  no

9) Speaking of Lucky Charms, they are magically delicious.  What brand of cereal is in your kitchen right now?  We have some honey nut cheerios.  I do not eat much cereal though.

Tuesday 4 Meme- Traveling

 

Traveling

Welcome to Tuesday 4 and new questions. We continue this meme in memory

of Toni Taddeo and hope you will enjoy it enough to continue coming back.

Lets talk about Travel...

1. How far have you gone from home and where did you go? We went to Kissimee, FL for our honeymoon and back again to Disney World when Josh was about 5 years old.  It is 16 hours

and 39 minutes  from Missouri.  It was 1,129 miles.  This is a picture of Josh at Cocoa Beach.

We took a day and went to the ocean.  This vacation was two weeks.  We had so much fun.

That is Karl in the background.  This was around 2004.

2. Do you think the hassle of travel is worth the trouble?  I definitely do.  In my experience 

with travel, our planned vacations like that make great memories.  We have made day

getaways, but those are not the same and do not make the same memories.  It is worth

it to travel and spend some time making memories with family or friends.  This picture

is of the dolphins on the dolphin tour in Orange Beach, AL. 2009

3. Are there places you would like to visit or have plans for visiting?  I would love to go back

to Orange Beach, AL and spend some more time on the beach.  I would like to take a

vacation in the mountains and stay in a log cabin.  If we had the money, I would like

to travel all around the U.S.  This photo was taken at the top of a lighthouse in

Pensacola, FL.  Josh was fascinated with lighthouses at the time and we were able to stop

at this one.  Great view! 2009

4. What trip was the best you've ever had?  Orange Beach, Alabama.  We journal our vacations

and I wrote probably 8 pages of the things we did.  I loved the dolphins.  We were ocean front 

and our condo was great.  I got up every morning and watched the dolphins jumping in 

the ocean.  This was Josh and I in 2009 on the dolphin cruise in Orange Beach.

I feel very fortunate to have been able to take the vacations we have, but I really would

love to be able to take more.  We really do not get to go very often.  I did not share any pictures of our trip to San Antonio, but it was a lot of fun too.  We went to the Alamo, Sea World and 

Schlitterbaun water park.  We also went shopping at the outlet mall.  Ok, I found one.  

This is Josh at Sea World in San Antonio, TX.  I think that trip was 2012.  It was our last 

planned out vacation.  I hope we get to go somewhere again soon.

Sunday Stealing- Alec Clayton

 

Alec Clayton

 

 

 

 

From AlecClayton

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Do you put ketchup on hot dogs?  Yes

2. How many TVs in your house?  4

3. Do you put salt on watermelon?  no

4. Can you swim?  yes

5. Are your parents still alive?  my mom is

6. First car?  Ford Fairmont

7. Surgeries? tonsillectomy, c-section, gall bladder removed

8. What do you drink in the morning?  Pepsi 

9. Can you do 100 push ups?  no

10. Can you change a tire?  no

11. Tattoos?  none

12. Do you wear sunglasses?  yes

13. Do you have a phobia?  snakes and mice

14. Do you have a nickname? Ray Ray

15. Are you a picky eater?  a little bit

Saturday 9- Birthday

 

Birthday

BIRTHDAY (2014)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) In this song, Katy Perry sings that she wants to give her lover something good to celebrate every day. What is making you happy this fine Saturday?  It is going to be a nice warm weekend, so I am excited about that.  Sunny and near 70º F.

2) The video is all about baking a birthday cake. When did you most recently enjoy something home baked? Were you the baker?  My co-worker Tina is always baking me something and bringing it to school.  She is so sweet.  

3) Tell us a memory from one of your birthdays.  My 21st birthday.  I was in college and my roommates decided to throw me a birthday party.  We drank some beer.  My roommate got so drunk I found her in a closet all by herself in the dark.  I went out to the sand volleyball court and played volleyball with some friends that were at the party toward the end of the evening....so we were playing in the dark.  I went back to my apartment and had sand all over the bathroom from my shoes and clothes.  It was crazy and I do not do stuff like that anymore, but it was fun at the time.

4) This week's song shares nothing but the title with a Beatles song. (Here's a video of Paul McCartney performing it live.) Can you think of another title that's been used by more than one song?  Nothing is really coming to mind.

5) Similarly, this week's featured artist was born Kathryn Hudson and called Katy Hudson until she changed her name to Katy Perry to avoid confusion with the actress Kate Hudson. Have you ever met anyone else with your same name?  no not in person, but I have seen some people on facebook with my name.  Of course, I have met many people with my first name.

6) Katy and actor Orlando Bloom became parents to a baby girl in 2020. Bloom is best known for his work in the Lord of the Rings and Pirates of the Caribbean movies. Are you a fan of either of those film series?  I love both and love him as an actor.

7) In 2014, the year this song was popular, Prince William toured the United States and attended his first NBA game (Nets vs. Cavaliers). What's the most recent sporting event that you watched?  Last weekend I watched a Spring Training game of the St. Louis Cardinals.  It was good to see them again.

8) Also in 2014, Joan Rivers died. While best-known for making us laugh, she was a very successful entrepreneur, selling jewelry on QVC. Have you ever ordered anything from TV?  No, but my mom does all of the time.  She picks up some neat stuff.

 

9) Random question -- Have you ever been told you talk too much?  Goodness no.  I am kind of quiet.