2. Another well-known fact is that I love my iced tea. I'm a purist about it too---preferring to brew my own from loose tea---and it has to be less than 24 hours old or it starts to taste "funky". Butch thinks I'm crazy, but believe me, I can tell! I discovered my favorite tea at our country club a number of years ago. I asked then what it was. It was not available in stores. About 2 years or so, ago, Mindy introduced me to Starbucks iced tea. I recognized it as the same as that served at Richland Country Club---and they sold it in boxes! I was thrilled. Then, for whatever reason, they quit selling it to the public. Sooooo, to make a long story short, I've been getting it on-line. The blind taste-test that I watched today on NPT elected "my" tea the winner! If you ever see it, you should give it a try---TAZO Iced Black Tea.
3. Along the lines of the phone and my naps---how is it that every time I'm working in the kitchen, Butch decides to make his coffee/lunch/snack---and just generally be in my way at every turn? I think it's his way of annoying me. Believe me, he doesn't have to try very hard!
4. I've discovered I'm not as flexible as I thought I was. I'm definitely a creature of routine. I never realized that I really don't like it when someone messes with that. Case-in-point: All of a sudden, (okay, for 3 weeks now) Butch has decided to get on the tread mill every morning. That's how I start my day. I get on anywhere between 5 and 6. The first day it happened, I was sort of lost. What to do? I was getting worked up. I calmed myself down---"it's okay, Barb, just do what you normally do AFTER you work out, BEFORE you work out." Determined to be flexible, I didn't complain or even mention how I was being inconvenienced by this sudden turn of events---until day 3. At breakfast, I announced, "okay, here's the deal---if you are not on the treadmill by 6 a.m., I'm taking it!" I've mostly been able to beat him to it and be done by 6 myself. Starting my day at 7 a.m. is just not acceptable.
5. Who turns down free stuff? Talk about being a creature of routine, I go to the grocery store every Monday morning by 8 a.m. to take advantage of the 1 cent item. With a $10.00 purchase, you basically get something for a penny. I look over the ad, pull the appropriate coupons (part of my Monday morning routine after the tread mill) and head to the store. The store never seems to have the free items in the same place. When I find them, I always get 2 just to be nice to the person in front or back of me in the line at check-out. It's amazing how many people don't know about the free stuff. Well, last week, it was a jar of peanut butter. The lady behind me had about a 2 yr. old in the cart. I asked her if she'd gotten her free jar. She said, "no". I offered her my spare. She turned me down! I know we're taught not to take things from strangers---but come on---it's free peanut butter! Even if your child suffers from a severe peanut allergy, wouldn't you take the jar, and give it away? This gal was in no way related to Butch---he LOVES free stuff!
6. Last week, Mindy arrived on Thursday for the weekend---another wedding. To say she is frustrating is an understatement. The first time I saw her was on Thursday afternoon at 4-ish. Since it was my bridge day, Butch picked her up and they met Steph for lunch. When I saw Mindy, she had been shopping because she needed shoes for the wedding. OMG! I nearly lost it! How could she have waited until the last minute? Plus, now it's after 4 and she still didn't have shoes. She was planning to take a nap before her 6 p.m. hair appointment, then meeting a friend for dinner and off to meet up with the wedding party at a bar. She said she'd go in the morning and find shoes. I freaked. "Mindy, you have the bridesmaids luncheon at 11, nails and pedicure after and rehearsal starting at 4:30---just when do you have time to get shoes?" With that, she said, "okay, I'll run to Dillard's before my hair appointment. I found a pair, but don't really like them, they're $90.00 and I will never wear them again." Ahem, guess who's paying? I told her to get the shoes "just in case" and then be ready by 9:45 a.m. and we'd run to Stein Mart. Luckily for me, she found a cute pair there that she actually liked and they were 32 bucks! Then she remembered that she needed hose for her rehearsal dinner dress. That girl. Such a procrastinator---just like her dad. Makes me a nervous wreck. Yet she always manages to pull it off and look cute to boot.
7. Another Mindy-ism. She told me that she has "overdrawn" her vacation by 2 days. I asked her how that happened. She said, "well, I was told that I got a week's vacation after a year. I thought that meant 7 days. How was I to know that a week was only 5 days?" Such a naive baby in the work world! In her defense, I guess that is pretty confusing. By age 3 you've learned the 7 days of the week song.
8. Today, we went geo-caching---just Butch and I. We hit a "first to find" which is pretty exciting---and rare. That means you were the very first to find that particular cache. Turns out, this cache is one in a series of 8 that is part of a school project for the 5th grade class at St. Bernard's Academy. The travel bug is attached to a bear named Peaches. Right away, it reminded me of Mindy's class bear project years ago. I was so excited to be involved with this one. Their goal for Peaches is to attend a Jonas Brothers concert, see a Yankees game and finally see a Coldplay concert before returning home. I had just bought a Jonas Brothers "hoodie" for Victoria's doll as a Christmas gift. I decided that if it fit Peaches, I'd send it along with her. It was too big, but I took a picture that we'll post for the class to see. We're also taking her to the Titan's game tomorrow and will post those pictures too. Then, we'll drop her off in Kalamazoo next weekend when we visit Sandy and family.
We hiked to the top of Shy's Hill to find another. Butch had been there last winter, but couldn't find it. This is not an exaggeration when I say that the hike was a quarter mile UP the hill---Butch verified that. This is the exact thing I love about this hobby---you learn so much. I had no idea that this historical sight was here. Shy's Hill was part of the Battle of Nashville. Once we got to the top, you can see for miles---all the way downtown too. Since I was one of those kids in school who didn't understand why we had to learn this "old junk", I enjoy reading the information and learning stuff. Plus, Butch is a Civil War "buff", so he enjoys educating me too. Beautiful weather---a fun couple hours. Since January, Butch has found 232 caches around the world (I can say that since he found 5 all over Scotland when we were there in June---and even got our driver interested). It makes me really happy that he's found something else to be passionate about. I don't think you can have too many hobbies!
Oh and another thing, I love it how he leads the way through "the briars and the brambles and the bushes where the rabbits wouldn't go"---oops, got caught up in the song---so that I don't get zapped by spider webs, bugs or thorns. It still doesn't prevent those dang, little, triangle, sticky things from getting all over my clothes.
9. Are you tired of reading yet? One last thing and then a recipe. A few weeks ago, we switched our home phone service to bundle with our tv and internet. We discovered today that when the phone rings, the caller shows up on the tv! How cool is that? Of course you have to have the tv on to see it! I guess that's why I didn't know it.
10. Friday night Butch's poker group was here. I made a new recipe. Butch said he thought it was just "okay", but I had it for lunch today and thought it was great---and so easy. Try it and see what you think.
Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches
4 cups cooked and shredded chicken (I used all white meat)
1/2 bottle of hot sauce for chicken wings (NOT the same as Tabasco---I used Frank's for wings-- it wasn't too hot---the guys added tobasco to spice it up more)
Place in pan and heat through---or can be put in the crock pot.
Dressing:
6 stalks celery, finely chopped
1 cup ranch dressing
1/2 cup blue cheese
Mix and chill.
Serve chicken on buns topped with dressing as desired.
The recipe called for cheddar cheese to put on the sandwiches too, but I had it just with the dressing and loved it. Maybe the cheese is what made Butch think it wasn't all that great.
Do let me know if you liked it.
Done rambling now....
The recipe sounds delicious! Everyone in my family is a fan of buffalo chicken (no matter how it's made) and blue cheese, so I suspect that this will be a huge hit around here. And I am always looking for new recipes for the crock pot as it's a lifesaver with all the after school and evening activities we have. I can get dinner ready in the morning and it's ready as soon as we walk in the door. I'll let you know how it turns out.
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