Sorry Mike...

So, God decided that dogging weathermen was not so Christmasy, so he sent a blizzard.  Sorry Mike Morgan, but in the future, if you could tone it down just a notch, I'd appreciate it.    

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!! 

Mike Morgan is a drama queen.

I apologize for all of you "out of towners" who get to hear my rant against local weathermen.  I should preface this by saying that I, like all good Oklahoma-bred children, were taught that Gary England IS the supreme authority on all things Oklahoma weather related.  I believe this with all my heart.    I *stormcloud* Gary England. 

Have you ever noticed that Mike Morgan is just wound a little too tight when it comes to weather.   Seriously, if it's April or May, and you want to watch something on NBC,  Fughetta 'bout it.    Mike Morgan will be on there flappin his yap about dime sized rain drops in some county 80 miles away.  He preempts more tv shows than any other network weatherman around here. 

That's why when channel 9 preempts something, you know it's serious. If Gary breaks in, it's to say... Get off your hiney and get in the 'fraidy hole because your house might blow away.  

Anyway, same rule applies to winter weather.  I know we get some nasty ice storms, but I remember last year when Mike Morgan predicted 1-3" of ice and it didn't even rain...   All it did was make everyone rush to the store like it was the apocalypse and stock up on canned goods and bottled water, while it takes me 30 minutes to make it out of the store with some toilet paper.   Last night, MM said that there was a "100% possibility of a winter storm".   (Isn't there always a 100% possibility?)  Meanwhile, the weatherman in shining armor said only a 80% chance of precipitation  (not even snow for sure) and nothing about accumulation.

 Mr. Morgan came out with this prediction today....

And guess who's out of toilet paper...

Saving you the embarrassment...

It's been cold the past couple of days... I'm sure my "northern" friends are laughing at me, but the wind chill yesterday morning was -5.   I wore so many layers I could barely get my pants buttoned. (At least, I'm telling myself it's because of the layers.)  

Yesterday, I was pulling out of the parking lot to go home when husband called.  I took my glove off to answer my phone (iphone drawback) and quickly put it back on because it was sooooo cold.   We finished the conversation and rather than take my glove off again to hang up the phone, I quickly brainstormed my other options to end the call...  (Unfortunately "just wait until he hangs up and the phone disconnects" wasn't one that came to mind at the time.) 

Just so you know, you can't hang up the iphone with your nose. 

But, you're welcome, to all those people who watched my attempt to do so in 5 o'clock traffic yesterday.  I'm sure it was amusing.

A is for Apple

The other day, I was reading to Avery from a past issue of Elle Decor (ok, so we were just looking at pictures)  when we stopped on a 2-page spread of a kitchen.

Apple!  Avery exclaimed.  I looked all over the double page and didn't see any apples.  Interested to see what she thought was an Apple, I asked where were the apples.  In the bottom corner, barely visible was a tiny bowl filled with apples.  

My first reaction was, "Whew, she's not blind like her daddy."  (Ha!  Love you Husband!)  and secondly, this girl is obsessed with apples.  
Apples are the second most requested food for little A, right behind cheerios (which actually sounds more like "turtle" when she says it).  Heaven forbid if she's in the kitchen when you open the refrigerator door and she happens to see an apple in the crisper.  APPLE APPLE APPLE!!   Mommy, APPLE!  Dada, Apple!  APPLE!!!  So needless to say we are never short on apples around here. 

Since honeycrisp apples (our favorite) are in season, we've been buying the 3-lb boxes so that we always have them on hand.  And even though Avery could eat apples everyday, I get tired of them and look for ways to spruce them up. 

Here's one of my favorite apple dips... cream cheese makes almost everything better.

Carmel Apple Dip

1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened (Neufchatel Cream Cheese works well too)
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla

BEAT cream cheese in small bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until creamy. Add brown sugar and vanilla; beat until well blended.

SPOON into serving bowl.

SERVE with apple wedges for dipping.

The best way to spread Christmas cheer, is singing loud for all to hear...

Forget what you learned from Buddy the Elf... it's not true... Now, it may be true if the statement was "The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear in the proper venue."  I could go along with that.

However, singing loud Christmas carols is NOT the best way to spread Christmas cheer when you're singing at the top of your lungs in Target while meandering down the baking aisle at a snail's pace when I'm creeping behind you just praying I can get to the unsweetened cocoa before you get to the chorus of Jingle Bells. 

*Warning: Going into a store to pick up 4 things and spending over an HOUR trying to get around people standing/singing in the middle of aisles may cause Bah Humbug-ness.