And the Cats Choose....

Have you ever wondered whom your pets would sleep with if they had to choose?  My husband and I ALWAYS sleep in the same bed.  Since he is narcoleptic, it doesn't matter how much I cough, snore or wheeze - he sleeps through it all.  I'm a pretty sound sleeper, too.  If he wakes me up snoring (very rarely), I shove him and tell him to roll over.  Problem solved.

Our two indoor cats sleep on our bed and normally sleep on or near me.  I always thought that was because  Chris has wiggly legs and tends to get grumpy if they try to sleep on his head.

(This isn't me.  However, the cat's position seems pretty familiar.)

My daughter wanted to watch the movie Rio so I got it from Netflix.  I decided to make it a "Theme Night" and made a huge pot of Feijoada, Brazil's national dish.  I've never made it before since it takes multiple pounds of various meats and cooks for hours.  I found an abridged version of it that included meat that I could buy only forty minutes away from the house.  (I live in a food "desert".)

(The picture is from Maria's Cookbook but I used the recipe from here.  It didn't taste like Brazil Brasileiro's version.  That is a Brazilian Buffet near where I used to work.  There's is the BEST EVER.)

I spent all day, lovingly making the dish and spreading the aroma throughout the house.  My husband came home from work, took one whiff and turned green.  He had caught a stomach bug at work and was quickly quarantined to our bedroom.  (I had a baby shower to attend the next day and I didn't want to give the mom-to-be the present of the stomach flu.)

Meredith and I went ahead and continued on with the evening while I made visits to Chris and brought him things.  When it became bed time, I couldn't sleep next to him.  With a sad heart, I slept in our guest bedroom.  When I woke up, I was surrounded by our cats!  They had chosen me (much to my husband's dismay).  So, now the age-old question has been answered ... cats prefer their Momma.

(From Happy Pictures)

Holiday Hoppers

I have a big pet peeve - holiday hoppers.  There is ONE normal holiday that I really enjoy and it is Thanksgiving.  There are no forced decorations, buying of presents, parties, expectations, etc.  You just have to worry about not overcooking the turkey, having the television on the right channel for the football game and eating with family at a decent time.

Apparently, since people can't make money off this holiday they have decided to start promoting Christmas BEFORE Halloween.  Christmas decorations shouldn't appear until the day after Thanksgiving.  Why can't we just enjoy a holiday before we start trying to celebrate the next one?

(This is from Chuck & Beans at Shoeboxblog.com.)

We have people near us that have already put up Christmas lights and they've started lighting them at night.  My daughter and I have declared that they are "Holiday Hoppers".  Shame, shame on you...

Music Video Parodies

I know musicians spend alot of time, effort and money on music videos.  They pour their artistic souls into them trying create their inner vision of the song.  Unfortunately, these videos ruin their songs for me most of the time.  Take, for example, Lady Gaga's Bad Romance.  I loved the song on the radio and made the mistake of viewing the video on the internet.

What?  Huh?  I'm so confused...  Luckily, I'm not the only one who finds these videos funny or just plain bizarre.  My first experience with internet music video parody was with Rad Bromance.  (Don't watch this with kids around as it has some bad language.)

Now, whenever I hear the song I insert their lyrics in.  It is hysterical!  Of course, then there is just the straight parody of their video.

Of course, not all music videos at You Tube are parodies of the song.  While I was looking through the CS Monitor, I saw this clip from China.

Apparently, China also has a problem with extreme, excessive reality shows.  I actually like this video better than Lady Gaga's original, even though it is pretty strange.

National Corduroy Day

A rare day is approaching in history - 11/11/11.  This, of course, means that National Corduroy Day is approaching.  If you think I'm joking, just google it.  There is a big meeting in New York City to celebrate this day but to attend you have to wear at least three different pieces of corduroy clothing.  If I lived four hours away, I would HAVE to attend this.  (Texas, however, is just too long of a drive.)  It isn't that I love corduroy (although I do love a nice fine wale shirt), it just sounds like a really funny, offbeat kindof meeting.  Something that you could throw out at boring, conventional dinner parties.

Other:  "So, do you think the economy will improve if the Jobs Bill passes?"

Me:  "I don't know but I hope the economy recovers soon.  I really need to buy some new pieces of corduroy."

Other:  Look of extreme confusion.

Me:  "I'm a member of the Corduroy Appreciation Club and everyone has already seen all of my corduroy clothing options.  With the national event arriving, I need to wear as many pieces as I can find.  Hey, do you want to come with me?"

Other:  Look of extreme confusion.  Future plans to gossip about this with fifty acquaintances about that odd Sarah and her little "quirks".

It sounds like much fun.  I actually have some friends that would probably attend with me.  If anything, it sounds like an unusual event.

I thought about buying corduroy for everyone in the family but I am too cheap thrifty to do so.  My husband would never wear it again.  I've been mulling over food to serve for this day.  Twizzlers, of course, come to mind but they don't make a very good main course.  I guess I could make a Shepherd's Pie and comb the mashed potatoes on top into thin lines.   Hmmm....

Puss in Boots

We don't watch many movies but we try to occasionally see one that we know our daughter will like.  Puss in Boots sounded like the perfect match - it involved cats and humor.  We all loved this movie.  The music in it is spectacular, it is visually beautiful, it is funny, and the cat dance sequences are really fun to watch.  It was well worth the money and we all highly recommend it.

Unfortunately, I can't really talk too much about the movie or I will give things away.  We're hoping that there is a sequel in the works.

Jillian Michaels: Banish Fat, Boost Metabolism

Running along with theme of TV shows and DVD tie-ins, I thought I would give this DVD a try.

I like Jillian Michaels but there is NO WAY that I would want to work out with her.  She is really good at finding out exactly why people are eating themselves to death.  By pushing them physically, they seem to lose their guards on their pain and their unresolved wounds become exposed.  She is part trainer - part psychiatrist.  I would probably end up screaming "I hate you" at her if she was my trainer, though.

For those people that don't watch much television, she has been a trainer on The Biggest Loser.  People either love it or hate it.  It is a good show to watch while I'm doing the dreaded strength training.

Oktoberfest

Every October, we have our own version of Oktoberfest.  Out holiday is centered around the making of sausage.  I own a Kitchen-Aid Mixer (best wedding gift ever) and have the grinder and sausage stuffer attachments.  We were listening to Frank Yankovic & Friends - Songs of the Polka King at full volume.  (This is a very funny CD and we highly recommend it.  Here is one of their songs so that you can get a sense of their sense of humor.)

We had ground four pounds of various meats and were mixing in all the herbs and spices when we got The Phone Call.  Our house is for sale and we had potential buyers that wanted to look at the house.  Now, this doesn't sound like much of a problem until you realize how messy of a cook I am.  Add a six year old daughter, a kitchen strewn with equipment, all three of our arms up to our elbows in raw meat and the problem becomes more apparent.  The semi-mixed meat got throw in the fridge, the grinder got quickly disassembled, things hurriedly cleaned and put away, and then we were running out of the house just before they arrived.  We stuffed the sausage later and then got to eat it.

It was our first attempt to make Bockwurst and it was great!

(Picture from the Food Network)