Reviving the Home Base

Oh my gracious, it's been awhile I guess! Life happens. Did ya miss me? Are you even there anymore??

Merry Christmas

Old Fashioned House Dresses

Comfortable, old fashioned house dresses.

I have become my grandma. Maybe even my great grandma! Why? Well, it's in many more ways than just one, but for one, as I've hit the 50+ plus mark in my life, I'm more apt to speak my mind. I'm certainly way less polite about taking crap off of people anymore. For another, I am trying to stop letting other people's issues about me, bother me, and troubling my mind so much over such things. I guess you could say I've become very Crabby Road. And, I like it.

If you are out there in the public eye - especially across the interwebs - you will make many acquaintances (some will be authentic friends, some will be users disguised as friends), but you will also find that some people are just gonna dislike you, talk about you, gossip about you, gang up with their friends against you, and frankly, there are just some things that you have to accept in life, give them to God and let them go. And that includes those 'Takers and Haters' we have all encountered in this world today.

Yep, as crazy as it seems, even running an innocuous recipe website is gonna earn you some 'Takers and Haters.' I know! Crazy, huh?  It happens in day to day life, and it really happens in the online world. There are a few food bloggers out there in my genre who do not seem to like me very much. And they have gathered some friends together to dislike me equally. Why? They did something wrong, I called them out for it, they did not like being called out. Refer to that first paragraph above. There are those who are simply takers and just never content enough to be happy with their own successes, that not only do they take from others to boost themselves, but then have to target and tear down those they perceive as "competitors."

Dr. Phil wrote a whole book about the topic of these kinds of people, what he calls "BAITERS - folks who are Backstabbers, Abusers, Imposters, Takers, Exploiters and Reckless," and the "Evil Eight" identifiers to help you spot them in your life. We just live in a different world these days and wow, was that an enlightening read. If today's world and the behavior of people astounds you, read this book.

But... all of that is a topic for a whole 'nother post, now isn't it? ☺

My Grandma Mac, who lived to be nearly 100, once told me that was how she was happy and how she had lived so long. "I just don't let things bother me," she once told me. I am still trying to learn to do that Grandma!

Wow, was that a roundabout way to get to today's topic! Clearly I had a few things to get off my chest. Anywhoooo.... today, I am talking about house dresses, or if you'd rather, adult sundresses. Grandma dresses. I have taken to wearing, and loving wearing, simple house dresses.

Now, my husband and I are not fashionistas. We clean up pretty good, don't get me wrong, but we are most at home in our t-shirts and sleep pants or sweats 99% of the time when we are, well, at home. Pretty funny coming from somebody who actually second majored in fashion design in college and once upon a time put a lot of value into that. As I got a little older spending two hours to get ready in the morning gave way to just looking clean, well groomed and decent. With a one hour commute, each way, every single day with my last corporate job, trust me. I treasured that extra sleep much more than feeling like I had to look like I stepped out of a magazine all the time. Ain't nobody got time for that!

My Hurricane Katrina imposed retirement, pretty much limited my public appearances and truth is, I love being at home now and working from home with my blogs. I love it so much that I have declined a number of ideal blogging opportunities - being a judge for a cable network food show competition, being a contestant for another to be on a major network, and several gigs working with professional chefs to help promote national brands, just to name a few!

Once I weighed the pros and cons, I liked being at home, with my family, much more than traveling to Hollywood or L.A., just to boost my ego and attempt to gain me popularity. Maybe if I were truly 30-something, but at 50-something, nah. Not interested. In turn, my dress moved solely into being comfortable. Period. Comfortable, and a little too big for me t-shirts and sweats or sleep pants are the fashion style my husband and I sport more these days, but in the summer those sweats can be a little too much.

I once worked a case up in Minneapolis that kept me there over a week and I discovered that most of the women I was around in the courtroom and the law office, did not have on a stitch of makeup. That really intrigued me because I know some Southern gals who will not even go out to Walmart without being dressed to the nines, all jeweled up, hair all poofed and perfect and sprayed with enough hairspray to set their head on fire if a spark shot by them. And, yes, full out, going-out, all dressed-up, makeup from primer to foundation to finishing powder and everything in between. Well... ain't nobody got time for that either! I guess you could say that I'm not all that many more steps above those "Walmart People" you've all heard about. Okay... maybe I'm not quite that bad.

Pair of blue jeans or shorts with a modest cut t-shirt ... meaning boobs and cleavage contained and covered - a true rarity these days ... sandals, flip flops or even (gasp!) classic Crocs, hair brushed and pulled back, a little CoverGirl Olay foundation or powder (LOVE!), eyebrow pencil and quick swipe of lipstick and I'm good. Sometimes I even put on a little mascara! 5 minute routine, max.

Can you tell how much I love CoverGirl? Been using it since I was a teen!

Some of my further north Southern belle sisters must surely be on the edge of a fainting spell about all of that right now. Well... hold onto your petticoats Betty Jo and Billie Jo, because now I've moved into house dresses and I LOVE them!

I'm guessing that I'm not alone either. Doing a search for house dresses on Google showed me there are an awful lot of women who are also looking for them. I found these house dresses right on (where else) none other than my favorite shopping source, Amazon! And, they are a bargain.

They are comfortable to wear while you cook or do chores, they have handy and roomy front pockets for tucking away things as you pick up around the house, they are long enough to hold onto your modesty while you stroll the yard to pick up stray pine cones and cool enough that you can even wear them while you do your Walk Away the Pounds tapes to get in your daily exercise.

They launder beautifully, stay soft and don't shrink, and I could not possibly be more pleased. I bought the National Print Sun Dress version in the Grape, Floral Fruit and Turquoise Butterfly patterns (left to right above), and I am ordering more of them, although there are a number of different dresses available. Click here to browse them all!

Now, I won't go so far as wearing my house dresses to Walmart ladies, so I haven't gone off the deep end - at least not yet - but if you're around the house more these days than you are out in the corporate world, and you just want something to wear around the house that makes you feel like you've dressed, but is still comfortable, check out the house dresses from National!



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Material Disclosure: Unless otherwise noted, you should assume that post links to the providers of goods and services mentioned, establish an affiliate relationship and/or other material connection and that I may be compensated when you purchase from a provider. You are never under any obligation to purchase anything when using my recipes and you should always perform due diligence before buying goods or services from anyone via the Internet or offline.

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Fan Shoulder Wrap

Herbal Concepts Aromatherapy Comfort Neck and Shoulder Wrap as featured on Dr. Oz.

I don't know who it was that came up with this product idea, but God love 'em. It's like the old, basic flaxseed filled neck wraps that you microwave to warm and a product that many of us have probably tried at some point. I have one myself, but frankly it was always missing, well...  something. I didn't really know what, until now.

This fan shoulder wrap was featured on a recent Dr. Oz show - y'all know by now that I love his show, and I've purchased quite a few products and supplements that Dr. Oz has talked about and recommended. One thing that sets this wrap apart from many is that it's a fan wrap, that not only fits up higher around the neck, but also fans out down onto the front and top of the shoulders, and upper back of the shoulders, big problem areas for me.

When I was in my teens, and back when seat belts were only lap belts and inadequate protection, much less even required, I was involved in a minor accident where my head met the windshield. I suffered a whiplash injury that has left my neck without much curvature to it, and given me a habitually stiff neck. Pair that with carrying every ounce of tension or stress I experience in my shoulders, spending too much time on a computer, and not having the best posture while sitting either, and well... I'm not even sure I even know what a relaxed neck and shoulders feels like anymore.

When the package arrived it was quite heavy, weighing in at about 4 pounds, so the wrap is substantial in weight and loaded with plenty of flaxseeds in the neck band and the fan part that sits on your shoulders. The weight actually feels good sitting on your shoulders too, so that's really a plus. When I unwrapped it from the plastic, at first I was a little disappointed that there wasn't much smell to it. I knew that it contained herbs, and in fact, that was what prompted me to order it, but I couldn't really smell much of anything. Until I microwaved it.

The instructions said to microwave 1 to 2 minutes, increasing in 30 second increments to get it to your desired heat level, since all microwaves vary. The first time, I folded it to a manageable size and placed it on a clean paper towel, microwaving it for 1 minute on high. Then I removed it, unfolded it and refolded it a different way, just to prevent any hot spots that might burn, and went for another minute. My microwave is a small one with low wattage, so I went 30 seconds longer each time I heated it, and found for my microwave that 3 minutes was perfect. Your microwave may be much more powerful, so start with 1 minute and increase accordingly.

Another thing that sets this wrap apart is the number of herbs included. The wrap contains twelve, 100% natural, aromatic herbs and grains, including lavender, Valerian root, white willow, chamomile, rosemary, peppermint, spearmint, hops, yellow dock, lemongrass, yarrow and other natural ingredients. The fragrance is awakened and released when you microwave it, and, for moist heat therapy, you can water mist it with a sprayer before microwaving. You can also place it into a resealable bag and freeze it for cold therapy.

The cover is made from a very soft, plush material, and not removable, but can be wiped with a damp cloth to clean. The instructions indicate that storing the wrap in a resealable bag will also increase the longevity of the product. It's currently available in eight colors.

I instantly LOVED this product, and it really loosened up those neck and shoulder muscles. I do have to issue a warning about it though... but it's in a good way. The fragrance from the herbals will waft up to your nostrils and RELAX you. It might even make you sleepy. Between that, the weight and the warmth, if you suffer at all from tension and stiffness in your neck and upper shoulders, I think you will love this product too. It really does what it's supposed to.

Made in the U.S.A. by Herbal Concepts a company located in Clackamas, Oregon, it's called a "Comfort Neck and Shoulder Wrap." I purchased mine through my prime membership on Amazon, and you can still order them there, although if you want one right away, you currently have to pay shipping through a third-party company. Considering the weight, the shipping isn't too bad. Apparently Dr. Oz's show prompted some sales, as the free shipping from Prime Membership products are all gone and on wait list for 2 to 3 week delivery. Still, if you don't mind waiting, it's a great price with your Prime membership. Herbal concepts also sell a basic neck wrap along with a number of other products.

Material Disclosure: Unless otherwise noted, you should assume that post links to the providers of goods and services mentioned, establish an affiliate relationship and/or other material connection and that I may be compensated when you purchase from a provider. You are never under any obligation to purchase anything when using my recipes and you should always perform due diligence before buying goods or services from anyone via the Internet or offline.

Hot Spot Treatment for Dogs

According to Dr. Oz, apple cider vinegar may be a helpful tool for those itchy, irritated hot spots on your dog.

My little dog Boo gets hot spots on the bottom of his legs, his belly and in the crevices at the top of his legs, especially during the summer.

Hot spots are essentially a type of dermatitis or skin inflammation, and are common. Sometimes they are caused by allergies, including food related, sometimes fleas or other bugs, and sometimes even, simply nerves or stress. They are almost always initiated by constant licking or scratching, that leaves behind red patches of irritated skin and even cause small patches of bald spots. If your dog has these symptoms be sure to look for fleas, mites or other initiating insect bites and investigate other things that might be responsible.

My Boo lives inside, gets bathed regularly and doesn't have fleas, so I think his is caused by those short trips out to the yard where he is annoyed by those same pesky gnats and no-see-ums the rest of us are bothered by and come in itching from. His is also not a constant problem, but a more periodic one, although he was born with somewhat tender skin to begin with, so it takes zero time for him to bite or scratch in angry, irritating red rash like spots, and knock off a little hair too.

I was watching a repeat of the Dr. Oz show recently and he had a guest on with one of those adorable Shih Tzu and Bichon Frise mix "teddy bear" dogs, who had a problem with hot spots. Dr. Oz suggested applying apple cider vinegar to help reduce the itching, heal the spots, and encourage hair re-growth. You can apply it direct by saturating a cotton ball with apple cider vinegar and dabbing it on the spots. If the spots are highly inflamed and irritated, make a mixture of equal parts apple cider vinegar and water and either dab it on, or use it in a small spray bottle.

Yesterday was a particularly itchy day for Boo, and when I checked I noticed a lot of irritated red patches from his scratching. I mixed up equal parts apple cider vinegar with water and applied it to all the spots, repeating it again a few hours later. By the second application, I kid you not, the red patches were completely gone!  Of course, as always, your results may differ, but for me this was another great tip from Dr. Oz and I can feel pretty good about using something natural.

I know a lot of you use organic vinegars such as Braggs containing the "mother," for a variety of health reasons - that was a big discussion back in the day when I was doing low carb - but for general household use and cooking, I keep good ole grocery store Heinz cider vinegar as pictured above, and that is what I used on Boo.

You could also use an apple cider vinegar rinse with your dog's bath that might help. After bathing your dog with a mild shampoo, mix apple cider vinegar with an equal amount of warm water in a small bucket or bowl. Towel dry your dog, then use a sponge to dab on the vinegar and water mixture, letting your pet air dry.

Another use for that same 50/50 spray mixture, might be to lightly spray your dog before they go outside to use the bathroom and when they get back in, or when you leave home and return with them, which may help deter those pests like gnats or even fleas.

I didn't worry too much about Boo smelling like a salad. I use vinegar in my wash and for cleaning and as far as my nose is concerned, I find that the vinegar smell seems to fade away after only a few minutes.

Disclaimer: I am not an animal expert. Information shared here is for informational and entertainment purposes only and any recipes, remedies, solutions, practices or other suggestions or information offered at this site is to be used at your own discretion and at your own risk and you agree to accept all such responsibility for any related liability holding this site and its owner completely free of liability.

Material Disclosure: Unless otherwise noted, you should assume that post links to the providers of goods and services mentioned, establish an affiliate relationship and/or other material connection and that I may be compensated when you purchase from a provider. You are never under any obligation to purchase anything when using my recipes and you should always perform due diligence before buying goods or services from anyone via the Internet or offline.
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Tired of Parenting YOUR Knucklehead Children

Boo, keeping watch for the knuckleheads.

Well, not your children of course, but other people's children, and more specifically children who happen to live in my neighborhood.

We seem to have an awful lot of them around here these days too. I've lived here long enough - because I apparently didn't have enough sense to take advantage of all those big loans that other people got, to buy big houses they couldn't afford, to impress who knows who (and now they want mortgage relief). If only I had known my neighborhood was gonna go to pot, I mighta gotten me one of those too. Well, I didn't and thanks to the real estate crash and greedy insurance companies, I am stuck here now.

Anyway, where was I?

Oh yeah...

...so I stayed in this far too little, cramped, but now paid for, house with the crappy tiny, galley style kitchen, full of old appliances, not nearly enough storage, and 1001 handyman problems (and still haven't stopped bitching about it either, although yes, even though it doesn't sound it, I truly am grateful not to be a bag lady and to have a roof over my head) long enough to see this transition of children happen around here a couple of times. When my son was in middle school and high school, there were a lot of kids around his age and not many younger. Then they graduated and moved on with their lives and left all us old folks behind. And, for awhile, it was just us old folks.

Since the greedy insurance companies used Katrina to pad their big fat greedy pockets, and rob homeowners blind by legal extortion, people abandoned their homes in my once lovely and quiet neighborhood, and moved away, or inland, but then when they couldn't sell, they turned into landlords.

We seem to have turned into a giant cesspool, I mean subdivision, of home rentals now. It's kinda like living in a college dorm, except spread out over miles instead of just floors. They are loud, obnoxious, they have no respect for the property they live in, their neighbors, or the neighborhood, because frankly they'll probably only be around 6 months, a year, maybe two. Who cares?! With the renters came a lot of folks who seem to have, well, a lot of children. A lot of rude, disrespectful, snotty, little  knucklehead children, apparently without a lot of sense, guidance or discipline.

My master bedroom is so small that I could potentially kick the window out with my foot if I tossed and turned too much. That's my sweet little Boo up there and he likes to lay at the foot of the bed where he can see out that window behind him and keep me informed about what is going on out there, with all of these darling children.

I've had to run teens off from congregating in front of my house, mostly because Boo goes nuts, but also because what starts as two of them congregating, quickly becomes a dozen in no time, kids with no concept of boundaries, throwing trash and candy wrappers in the yard, knocking things over, messing around with things in your yard. I've had to run their animals out of my yard because they think my yard is their personal toilet. I've had to holler at them from spinning wheels in my yard with their go-carts and tearing ruts into my grass. I've had to run them off from throwing balls around our cars. Mercy.

This morning about quarter till 10 Boo was raising all kinds of cain, and I had to go out to the box anyway to put yet another piece of government waste at it's best back in the mail to FEMA to let them know that yes, after I received my notice of insurance, returned my payment, to which they mailed me my policy, and then later, mailed me another piece of paper wherein I must sign and return to confirm that I previously received my flood policy, one of 3 insurance policies I now have to carry on my house thanks to those aforementioned damn greedy insurance companies.

So, where was I again?

Oh yeah. So I walk outside and see the cutest little blonde headed boy, maybe I don't know 10, with a gun. A BB gun I'm sure, but he's pointing it at something down the street. This is the THIRD child I have seen, and run off, walking the streets with BB guns since Christmas, which means one thing and one thing only. They are shooting innocent birds, squirrels and yes, apparently at least shooting at pets. But I'm ahead of myself. Two teenagers got smart with me until I screamed at them to stop or I was calling the law, and those knuckleheads took flight.

So I walk out into the street and see that this precious blonde headed little boy was apparently taking pot shots at the cutest little white dog, a Chihuahua or maybe even a Russell Terrior. And then, as if he has a pang of conscious for shooting at this dog, he calls the dog over to him by name, meaning the knucklehead at least knows this dog and maybe it's even his own family  dog!

Well, then the knucklehead must feel somebody staring him down, because he turns around and takes notice of this fat old lady standing in the middle of the street watching him, and he decided apparently that it must be time to go home and perhaps watch some cartoons or play video games, instead of shooting innocent animals. He walks away from me down the street, taking a few glances over his shoulder to see if I am still watching him. I am. Heck he even stopped once, turned completely around and waved at me. Or flipped me off. My eyesight isn't good enough to tell which one.

I don't budge, but I stand there, watching him, until he walked into a yard a few houses away, purportedly his own yard, I would assume, with the dog in tow. Knucklehead. If I would have had the energy I would have gone to his house to chat with his parents, but truth is, they're likely just overgrown knuckleheads themselves. To be honest I was sorely tempted to tell him that if he came back around here with that gun, that I might be tempted to show him what a real shotgun looks like. Yes. I have one. Yes, I sure do know how to use it. No I wouldn't really do that. But I just might have thought about it. Just sayin'...

Parents, if you must buy a BB gun for an inadequately prepared child, it is YOUR duty to teach them how to be a responsible gun user. It is YOUR duty to make sure that the gun is secure and put away when you are not at home, or I guarantee your child will be wandering the streets with it, shooting at innocent animals. It is YOUR duty to teach your knucklehead that a BB gun is solely for yard target practice on an inanimate target, to improve upon their gun skills for when they have a real gun later in life. That you don't just shoot a living thing for target practice. For God's sake, get your nose out of your damn iPhone or Blackberry for a few minutes and direct some attention to that child you brought into this world for a change, would ya? I done raised mine.

And y'all wonder why I haven't been posting? Geez Louise.

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Things That Make You Go Hmmmm....

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"This week was the 150th anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental telegraph. Back then, before the telephone, people could only communicate by laboriously typing messages... one letter at a time."   ~Jan Leno

Tell me life doesn't come full circle.

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The Gladys Files - I Am the Grouchy Old Fart

Remember Gladys Kravitz on Bewitched? I'm feelin' a little bit like her these days. I know that I haven't written much lately so the few readers I did have are dropping like flies around here. Sorry about that folks - all that cooking has been keeping me very busy these days. Since leaving my Big Legal Career and working from home the past few years, it's not that I'm at a loss for material, believe me. It's just a time issue really. Besides, it seems that while I do get a lot of material to write about here lately, seems the majority of it has to do with my neighbors, and seems a lot of it is grumpy.

I swear y'all, I am a nice person. I get along with most people. I am compassionate. I have empathy. I have paid it forward. I have performed many random acts of kindness. When a disaster hits, I never miss an opportunity to reach out.

But these people who live by me make me want to spontaneously combust into a string of four-letter words most of the time! I guess it doesn't help when you are at home all the time and you don't get away from them. Ever. And there's always something going on. So.... seems I've become a bit of a Gladys here in my old age. Might as well write about it.

When I was growing up there was a fella who lived on the corner of the street, slightly catty-cornered to our house. He was, I believe, military retired and still sported a crew cut, though his was pretty gray. He was known as "the grouchy old fart" of the neighborhood, because for one, he didn't like the fact that all of us kids would tromp across his pristine front yard taking short cuts, or to retrieve a ball we accidentally kicked over there playing kickball. He also wasn't too fond of all those stray 4th of July bottle rockets that would accidentally pop in his carport over his car when the bottle fell over. I can't imagine what his problem was with all that!

Well, karma will always get ya in the end.

Today I ran off a group of about 6 boys who were, not all that well, throwing, or mostly missing a football in the busy, and narrow street in front of my house. My front yard is small and my house closer to the road than anyone else's house, and these boys who apparently can't catch, wanted to "go long." The football was bouncing all over the place, way up into other people's yards and consequently into other people's cars.

Now, in my defense, none of those boys live anywhere near me. In fact, I know where they live. Up a side street a few houses away. When I went outside and told them, while I wasn't at all opposed to boys tossing a football around, would they please take their football practice elsewhere, like perhaps, down the side street, OVER IN FRONT OF THEIR OWN HOUSES... they balked a bit. One would even say talked back. And then they ignored me. Like I wasn't there.

Two things I've learned I really dislike in my old age. Being disrespected. And being ignored. Especially from children who need to learn how to say "yes, ma'am." So I did what any modern Gladys would do.

I came inside grabbed my iPhone and got it on video. Oddly, they must've suddenly decided they were tired, because when they saw me, they left. And went away. Up the side street. On their own street. But I noticed they weren't throwing a football by their parent's cars.

What? I was just shooting a video of this beautiful day!

Course, yes I do realize that there is no telling what other mischief I'm liable to endure as a result of this pleasant encounter. But, in all fairness. That's only liable to make me even more grumpy.

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How Not to Do Housework

So today was going to be a catch up on housework/deep cleaning day. Since I blog full time over at Deep South Dish, I tend to neglect (and ignore) the house, and well things can get clutted up and dusty. And then I see an episode of Hoarders and it freaks me out.

I intended to start in the kitchen first, wipe down everything, put away everything and do a top to bottom cleaning including floors and walls. Went in there and decided that I was hungry so made some lunch. Checked the fan page for DSD on Facebook, got distracted, looked up some links & answered some questions for readers, worked on coding some old posts for the new recipe box before sharing the links - I'm in the midst of that on my entire site - finally an hour or more later, made my way back the kitchen.

The satellite started acting up and suddenly we couldn't get any channels at all. I remembered that we were supposed to be having some sort of geomagnetic storm for the next few days and knew that could be part of the problem but wasn't having any problems with cable (yes, we have both cable and satellite) or internet and we've been having trouble with our satellite 2 input. Already replaced the outside cable recently that was looking a little weary and thought that had fixed it.

So I pull out the tv and check the connections behind there. Noticed the dust and start dusting the curtains, wall, all behind the tv. Had to go get the vacuum cleaner to get all that up. Found the cable that runs outside, followed it and discovered the frayed cable we replaced recently was actually for satellite 1, not 2. In between having to come inside to cool off every 5 minutes, got the ladder and started checking all the connections at the switchbox outside, then at the satellite, still no signal. Grab the remote start running tests, find a problem, rerun the satellite test and in the midst of that the satellite comes back on.

Back to the kitchen.

I have cathedral ceilings that extend into the kitchen and I store cookbooks on top of the cabinets. A LOT of cookbooks but we won't go there right now. I was reshelving some of the ones that I had been browsing through for ideas. By the way {forthcoming hissy fit warning} if a blogger of food never credits another source for any of their recipes and says things like I don't watch any of the cooking shows on tv, I don't have but a handful of cookbooks I've owned forever, I don't subscribe to any of the food magazines yada yada yada, they are 1) lying through their teeth or 2) stealing recipes from cookbooks or other food bloggers, changing one insignificant detail and calling that recipe their own. Well, I don't do that.

If I want to write a new recipe, I usually have a base of an idea that just comes from experience or is inspired by something that I have seen on tv, in a book, or in a magazine. I subscribe to several magazines, some because I want to learn to write better. Others because I want to learn to photograph better. Others because they inspire me in other ways. From there, I research using those same resources - online, television, magazines and cookbooks. I have hundreds of cookbooks, some very old. I watch a lot of food television. A LOT. I write up an idea and get in the kitchen to experiment and cook it. Sometimes it's perfect, others it's not quite there. I make some revisions, rewrite, and yes, I hit the kitchen again. I know some bloggers do, but I don't want to publish failures or recipes I don't like that much, so I keep making them until they are the way I want them. To me, unless a food blog is made up of adaptations of and fully attributed recipes, that's the way a food blogger should write recipes. It's the only way to be authentic in my opinion, and that is the kind of food site I want to convey with my work. {tucks away soapbox}

All that to say, I work from the family room and there are constantly books and magazines all over the place. I like being in here with my husband rather than tucked into another room, isolated and by myself.  So I went in the kitchen to start re-shelving some of the cookbooks and let's just say things are a bit tight up there. Truth is they have also moved onto a shelf in the family room too. But anyway, I have a few Christmas cookbooks so thought, these don't really need to be in here so I'll move them to the office. Pull them down, take them in the office, decide I have got to vacuum in there. The cat litter box is in a corner of that room and although I do clean it out everyday, I just don't understand how these cats manage to spread litter all over the floor in there, but they do. So I put the Christmas cookbooks on the shelf in there and vacuum - floors, corners, top, bottom, edges, everywhere. Decide since I'm vacuuming might as well do the family room too - floors, corners, top, bottom, edges, everywhere. Might as well dust some things while I'm here too.

Finally back to the kitchen. To shelve the cookbooks I made room for. Was thinking about a photo styling project that I'm doing for Foodbuzz & thought Mama's old punch bowl cups would be nice (my cousin has the punch bowl itself) thought the box was in the office closet so back to the office. Straightened up the closet a little while looking, found a purse that had stuff in it, no money except change, started cleaning the purse out. Dug around the closet some more but never found the cups.

All that stretching, stooping, bending from vacuuming had me exhausted. Hey that's exercise - I'm not used to that! Decided I wanted some tacos. Went outside with the pup, came back inside and started intensely itching on my back from who knows what. Looked in the mirror and there was a huge red rash across my back. Apparently having some kind of rash reaction to something. What the heck? I literally just walked outside & came back in. It's not like I rolled around in anything. Took a shower, had hubby put cortisone cream on my back, put fresh clothes on and decided to take a break, started this post, checked Facebook, answered questions and looked up links for a reader.

Back to the kitchen. To shelve the cookbooks I made room for. A hundred bazillon hours ago.

Went back to the office to get an envelope for the receipts tucked in the corner. Back to the kitchen. FINALLY shelved the books and started on the kitchen. 9 hours later.

Funny thing is ... I know I'm forgetting many more distractions that happened along the way and I sure didn't make much progress. Oh well. There's always tomorrow.
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