Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Random eve

Are we ready for the holidays here at our house? Well, I don't want to be showy, but two bathrooms are clean...granted that is out of three, but I didn't want to seem braggy. I mean look at all of the food that was in my refrigerator the other day...
Apples are totally carvable! Well, unless these are from the recently publicized listeria tainted batch. Despite having already eaten nine of them (don't judge, I did not consume a single one by myself at any one sitting) with no issue, the rest are waiting in the produce drawer until my neurosis passes  the brands involved are confirmed.

Maybe I should've hired a feline personal chef for the holidays.
Instead, I am here with the Foz, who can't even find his way into, let alone out of, a hat! To be fair, it was a little small...
...so he passed it on to his friend Fitz, who clearly LOVES it!

Speaking of hats, here is Paddington tipping his.
Holy crap! Who creeped up Paddington?!?!?! I will not look after THAT bear.

Well I am feeling pretty on top of things and organized. I found the dining room table as well as most of the kitchen counter. As usual, I imagine that can mean only one thing...I have forgotten something major!

Be good to yourself, eat many cookies, sneak in one more latke, and have yourself a merry little Christmas and Happy Hannukah (with your choice of spelling).


Friday, December 19, 2014

Week 28 - Twizzlers are Great!

Hmmmm...I don't see a letter posted up over at the competition's place yet today. I hope she has not been involved in an altercation with a group of elves gone bad. Then again, if they could just occupy her long enough for me to get some more letters out and win this thing. That is just the kind of thought process that puts coal in my stocking. Let's move on to my letter for this week. Try to act surprised that it involves candy!

February 10, 2014

Dear Twizzlers,
I remember getting ready for a car trip and having a friend ask me if I had Twizzlers, as they were the only necessary road trip food. I happily declared that I had a bag in the glove department. Twizzlers have been a part of my family for as long as I can remember. Back in the seventies, my grandfather showed me where he hid his licorice stash in the kitchen cupboard. Strawberry Twizzlers, and Twizzler Cherry Bites if I was lucky.

Everybody knew where the bags were tucked, as my grandfather was always one to share, but it still felt like a rite of passage to be able to grab one’s own licorice. You also had to know that if you were sent to get some for my grandfather, he needed two. He held them close together and took small nibbles all at once until he got to the ends. Nobody ever turned down an outstretched bag of Twizzlers. It brought us all together. Still does.

My grandfather passed away in 2006, but we all still have Twizzlers as one of the things we hold dear to remember him by. This was most apparent this past holiday season. I was looking to bring back a few old traditions, so I made sure to put a box of Twizzler bites in each of the stockings I made up for the great-grandchildren. It was nice to see the knowing smiles on all of my cousin’s faces as they watched their children pull those boxes out. Even the two year old among them knew exactly what those candies were. There were other bags of licorice being opened as well, that had been exchanged amongst other family members. It brought me back to when all of those bags were getting handed to my grandfather, as we all sort of had that as a go-to gift idea.

As luck would have it, I married a candy-holic with a particular penchant for Twizzlers. There is rarely a time when a quick perusal of the pantry doesn’t reveal an open package of some variety. Both of our kids have been trained to never pass when the bag comes by. When I flash forward to the college care packages I will be sending in a couple of years, I know that Twizzlers will always be in them.

Your candy has been there in times of laughter, sorrow, munchies and memories. Thank you!

Twizzling away,
Andrea 

Mother, Queen of Candyland, Blogger

Did Twizzlers send some love back to me? Well, they are actually owned by Hershey's, so that is where my response came from...
...Now while I was directed to a website to find some coupons and such, I was still a little sad as I looked at the single sheet of paper I had pulled out of the envelope. Then I noticed that word at the very bottom..."enclosures"! Here is where the contest aspect of this project may have just taken hold of me, as I picked up the phone and dialed the phone number that Brandon had given me. I explained that I had gotten a letter that said "enclosures" but had none. Yes, I did that. Was it worth it? Well, that depends how you look at it. I did get a decent laugh when I found out what they were intending to send me.
Yes, my love of Twizzlers licorice got me a brochure on how chocolate is made, from bean to bar, and three chocolate candy wrapper print bookmarks.

I am not exactly sure how to score this one,  so I am giving it two points (since I can print my own coupons out and did receive something).
CURRENT POINT TOTAL = 62

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Random request...

The first wave of goodies to send in for the teachers is almost ready, provided I can magically get the magic bars out of the pan (the last attempt was a bit sticky)!
Can we random it up tomorrow? Thanks! I owe you a cookie!

Sunday, December 14, 2014

Friday, December 12, 2014

Week 27 - Stir up the Campbell's

In honor of the return of winter, and the first snow day of the school year we had this week, let's warm up with some soup!

March 12, 2014

Dear “Soup is Good Food” Folks,

Soup is good food, and after several trials with a variety of Italian Wedding soups, I was pleased when my teenage daughter announced that Campbell’s Homestyle Healthy Request is her favorite.

Let me set the stage for you. The predicted winter storm hit us here in Central New York, as the rain turned to snow, around 8:00 this morning. The kids had another snow day, but I had some errands to run. The slippery road conditions sent me home with a few items not crossed off of my to-do list, one of which was ingredients for dinner. I was surveying the cabinets to see what odds and ends I could come up with to satisfy everyone. My daughter announced that as long as we had a can of her favorite soup, she would be all set. Luckily, I found one last can.

The afternoon stormed by, and our driveway shoveling left us chilly and hungry. I was so relieved that I did not have to worry about dinner for at least one of the four of us. Plus, the added bonus was that I knew she could fix the soup herself when she was ready. The lid was peeled back, and as she poured the soup, she quickly realized there was no pasta…none. There were very few carrots either, which she said was unusual, but certainly not the deal breaker. She was not interested in this sad can of soup. It is still sitting on the counter, as there were no other takers.

She did not want the can of store brand Italian Wedding soup we had, nor the can of Chickarina. She is brand loyal and likes what she likes. (I believe I mentioned that she is a teenage girl.) I hope this has not caused her faith to waiver, as this variety is a little tricky to find where I typically like to grocery shop, so I have to seek it out elsewhere.

Pasta la vista,
Andrea 

Mother and blogger

Did they respond? Yes they did! Do I still feel compelled to poke a little fun at the letter? Yes I do!
Not completely satisfied? Her soup was completely missing a key ingredient! I also like how the first paragraph knows exactly which soup we purchased, but in the second paragraph it's a toss up. Thanks for the coupons that got us some free soup though (even if we did have to brave the cold to go get it.)


I am taking 5 points for my free soup!
CURRENT POINT TOTAL = 60 POINTS


Stop by and see how the competition is doing!

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

RandYUM!!

Are you feeling that warm tingling of the holidays? No, not the stress induced heartburn, or cookie related indigestion! That glow that makes you want to hop on a motorcycle with Santa...
…or curl up next to that sultry side-posing snowman. (I thought he had just fallen over, but the propped up on his elbow and come hither look made me realize otherwise.)

Are your chestnuts roasting on an open fire? Are you brave enough to eat ones like these from a NYC food cart?
I still regret passing on the pretzel! Oh to be young and non-germaphobic again!

They probably aren't much more sketchy than scalp potatoes…mmm, flaky?

Does all of the craziness have you in a pickle?
(Oh my gosh, these were soooo good!)

Have you made poor choices for on the go lunch eating? 
If so, I hope you loved every minute of it like I did!!

Please, treat yourself to five minutes of sanity and funny by reading this Hater's Guide (to a very special kitchen store)!

Stacy Uncorked

Sunday, December 7, 2014

Superhero Sunday - Regret

Perhaps if I had chosen to wear my cape, instead of just the wrong shoes, for the past two days, my back wouldn't hurt so badly.

Feel free to add your own holiday season grievance/kryptonite that threatens to undermine your superheroness.

Friday, December 5, 2014

Week 26 - Did you miss your fix?

After a one week hiatus, explained by several poor excuses, the contest lives on! Are you busy trying to find your kitchen counter after the holiday? Are you trying desperately to bust some clutter before the next wave of decorations come out? Let's celebrate the glory of housework with Swiffer this week!

June 30, 2014

Dear Swifferific Folks,

I do not like to dust.
I do not like to sweep.
Mopping alone,
Makes me want to weep.

The dust it flies.
The crumbs can’t be tamed.
Company is coming!
I must not be shamed!

But where is the glamour?
Where is the flair?
“In a secret box” you say,
Oh please, do share.

Cloths? 360s?
Opinions are differing.
But one thing’s for sure…
I’m not dusting – I’m SWIFFERING!

Thank you for saving me from the doldrums of housework, wayward dust particles, uncooperative dustpans and drippy mop water. I no longer have to use such sad words like dust, sweep or mop when I can say “I’m Swiffering!” and leave a little mystery surrounding exactly what I am up to.

Swiffering,
Andrea a.k.a. Pedomemom
Mother, blogger, keeper of the house

p.s. Such a great alternative to getting the edges of my cape dirty! Thanks for the return tweet on that one, by the way. It made my day!

Did they respond? Why yes, they did, in standard form letter style. The catch is that I cannot find the letter! Come on, don't be like that. My very fancy documentation system (a.k.a. yellow legal pad - see "legal") has a distinct "x" marked under the letter received column. Plus, I may recall being a little sad that there was no coupon included. So I will just take my one point and Swiffer off!


Current point total = 55

Stop by to see what the competition is up to!

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Random excuses...

Let's see, where to begin...seems I may have neglected to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving, so now that there is barely a smear of cranberry sauce or crumb of stuffing left, I hope you had a wonderful holiday. 

That covers Thursday, now as for Friday and the contest? Marianne might've requested that we take the week off, but my intent was to ambush her while she was still doing the backfloat in the gravy boat. Well, I was so prepared to travel that I loaded my letter up ahead of time, but forgot to take a picture of the response. In case that wasn't reason enough to not post, I actually had no idea it was Friday in that tryptophan haze until I woke up on Saturday. I can't even blame the trip into Manhattan on Black Friday for my distraction as we kept it simple and sane, just wandering on the fringes of the madness. 

Moving on...I did lose my voice somewhere in the festivities though, and apparently that rendered me unable to post on Sunday. I do understand that I should have still been able to type, but this is the excuse I am offering so can we just go with it? There is a rumor going around that yesterday was Monday, so I have no choice but to believe that this is in fact Tuesday. Let's do a little random check in on the Flats...

We packed up to head into the eye of the latest snowstorm. The Flats were so worried about the forecast that they forgot to pack sensible clothing. One of them even left in what might have been her party outfit from the night before (ahem). The pilgrims would have been so taken aback.
Even Flats have dreams, and occasionally get to live them out in an actual dream house. Yeah, that's right, move over Barbie cuz someone else is riding that elevator now!
My little princess niece was very pleased to meet these new friends, but thought showers were needed.
After dinner, my stepmother found some festive fabric so the Flats could be more appropriately dressed for dessert.
Lillian's pantsuit is rockin' and what doesn't go with green boots, I tell ya - so versatile! Just for the record, Kari was provided some fancy fashion flair for the Christmas season that she wore home. (I was slightly relieved to see another adult fall victim to the fun of the Flats.) I only hope the "ladies" can resist the magnetism of the elf on the shelf...stay tuned!

That's all for now, as I guess this place isn't going to decorate itself...rats!

Stacy Uncorked