RHONY DISH!

Luanne has been D-U-M-P-E-D.

OKAy, who's surprised? - raise your hand!

Really? Now, I'm surprised.

Come on, he was never there and she was too high up on her pedestal.

Gawker reports that the Real Housewives of New York CoUNTess has been left all alone in New York by her jet-setting Count husband, reportedly for an Ethiopian beauty in Geneva.

http://tinyurl.com/clx9xk

I wonder if she'll get to keep her title?

I didn't write this, but I could have.

Quick!

Go over to Secret Spineless Whine and read this entry.

I think she's been spying in my house.

Really, I could have written this.

Well, except that my writing skillz suck.

The Cheftastic Weekend continues

So, today Mickey and I shopped for the rest of the ingredients for his dinner project for Home and Careers - the fruit salad, apple crisp and lasagna.

The bill for this wonderful feast? $22.49.

Yes, for lasagna.

Not steak, mind you, but lasagna.

The fruit salad was $4.99, italian bread $2.25, a pound of ground beef, package of shredded mozzarella, lasagna noodles, cottage cheese, and 2 jars of spaghetti sauce. I already had apples, so we didn't need to buy those.

Is it just me, or does that seem high for one home-cooked dinner?

Anyway, here are the fantastic recipes:

Thea Connie's apple crisp:

8 large apples, peeled and sliced
2 cups sugar
Nutmeg, vanilla, & cinnamon to taste
8 Tbsp. Water
1 cup margarine or butter
2 cups flour, sifted
Vanilla ice cream

Preheat oven to 350. Spread apples in a 13 x 9 inch pan. Sprinkle apples
with nutmeg, cinnamon and 1 cup sugar; add water over them. Cream
margarine and remaining sugar with beater until crumbly. Add flour and
mix well. Pat this mixture over apples and bake 40 – 45 minutes until
bubbly and golden. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Enjoy!
Okay, I know the picture doesn't look so good, and the pan might be older than I am, but that missing chunk? That's from the "tastes" before dinner. He served it with vanilla ice cream and it was awesome.

Karen's lasagna:
Get a box of Barilla NO BOIL lasagna noodles. I LOVE that they were no boil - so easy!)
2 bottles of Prego spag. sauce with Meatballs. (if you can't find that, get it with meat)
1 pound ground beef
1 small tub (not sure the size) of cottage cheese
1 egg
1 small bag of shredded mozzarella cheese
italian spices (just a mixture of stuff)
worcestershire sauce

So, just brown the ground beef, add spices and dash of worcestershire sauce...drain. In a bowl, mix the egg and cottage cheese. Start to layer the noodles in a 9x13 pan. Layer some sauce, beef, then noodles, then cottage cheese and more noodles, sauce. When you're done layering, pour sauce over the top and sprinkle on the shredded mozzarella cheese. Follow the directions on the Barilla box to bake.
He doesn't like the clean up, but he LOVES the eating. :-)
(PLEASE ignore the crumbs and junk on the table.)

Inspired by Twitter - Favorite film quotes

So, Jen Lancaster from Jennsylvania does "film quote Fridays" (#fqfriday) on Twitter.

I don't know if she started it or I just see it from her because I follow her on Twitter.

But anyway, I got to thinking about those movie quotes that are thrown out so much when in the company of good friends that they are part of your history, part of your language.

So, I mentioned that on my Facebook status (yes, I am *that hooked to all things internet related) and got a *lot of responses.

For my amusement (and optimistically, yours too) I figured I'd throw the topic out here too.

What are your favorite - or most repeated - movie lines?

Here are a few of mine:

From "Steel Magnolias"

• In a good shoe, I wear a size six, but a seven feels so good, I buy a size eight.
• Well, we went skinny dipping and we did things that frightened the fish.
• Well, you know what they say: if you don't have anything nice to say about anybody, come sit by me!
• You are too twisted for color TV!
• I'm not crazy, I've just been a very bad mood for the last 40 years!
• The only thing that separates us from the animals is our ability to accessorize.
• I love ya more than my luggage
  

From "Meatballs"

• IT JUST DOESN'T MATTER! IT JUST DOESN'T MATTER...

From "Sandlot"

• If you'da been thinkin you wouldn't 'a thought that.
• You're killing me Smalls!

From "Caddyshack"

• We can do that; we don't even have to have a reason.
• Pool and a pond... Pond be good for you.

From "The Princess Bride"

• Oh, well, thank you very much, very nice of you. Your vote of confidence is overwhelming.
• INCONCEIVABLE.
• You mock my pain.
• I'll explain and I'll use small words so that you'll be sure to understand, you warthog faced buffoon.
• Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.

From "Ghostbusters"

• Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together... mass hysteria!
• We came, we saw, we kicked its ass!
• I don't have to take this abuse from you, I've got hundreds of people dying to abuse me.
• Well, there's something you don't see every day.
• You're short, your bellybutton sticks out too far, and you're a terrible burden on your poor mother

Your turn!

About those lemons....

So, Number One Son has to plan and cook a meal for his family for Home and Careers class this weekend.

Being the ambitious soul that he is, he has decided he wants to cook ALL of his favorite foods.

Smart boy, that one.

But he has given no thought to the amount of prep each dish requires so here is the menu he has put together.

Fruit salad (when I asked what he wanted he rattled off grapes, oranges, peaches, pineapples - should be interesting)

Avgolemono Soup - A Greek lemon-chicken soup that involves separating and beating egg whites, mixing broth with corn starch, a lot of stirring to avoid curdling the eggs and lemon juice, etc

Lasagna - Karen's recipe because he loves it so much. (Thank God it uses no-boil noodles)

Apple crisp. His Thea Connie's recipe.

Oh, and his original menu included spanakopita which involves sauteeing spinach and layering and buttering sheets of thin crumbly phyllo dough. I convinced him that peas would satisfy the veggie requirement just fine, thankyouverymuch.

So, anyway, even with this pared down menu, I was getting hives thinking of all the pots and pans and general mess that all this would create for one dinner.

So I convinced him to make the soup for tonight's dinner.
It was oh-my-God-YUM!!!!!!

Here's the recipe, YiaYia would be proud. DH LOVED it!
Avgolemono Soup
(Avgo = egg and lemono = lemon)

• one large can of chicken broth (or 4 small cans)
• add 1/2 cup of rice (or 1 cup of orzo)

boil slowly with cover on loosely until rice is softened
whisk together

• 1 tblsp of cornstarch with a bit of the broth

Return to a boil.

While that is boiling, beat together

• 2 egg whites
• 2 tblsp water

Add

• the 2 egg yolks and a bit of salt
• juice of 2 lemons (or 1/3 cup of lemon juice)

Beat together, then slowly add some of the chicken broth mixture into the egg mix.
Stir as you keep adding broth, then transfer that back into the pot with broth and rice.
Slowly stir for about 4-5 minutes (so the mixture doesn't curdle)

Serve with lots of love. And a lemon wedge or two. Or a half a lemon if you lilke a lot like my husband does. It's good with pita bread or crackers.

:-)

And just for fun - these were next to the driveway.

RaNdOM RaNtS

So, I went to the grocery store this afternoon.


I know it was my fault that I went at 5:30 PM.

No one should go to the store then unless they're 24 years old and grabbing a six-pack and pre-cooked meal on their way home from work or on their way to Happy Hour.

I know that.

Still, I needed lemons.

NEEDED. lemons.

It doesn't matter WHAT I cook, DH needs to squeeze lemon juice on it.

He's Greek.

Do I need to explain further?

Anyway, I picked up my lemons and what-the-heck a bag of cat food since I was already there.

Now, you know most large chain grocery stores have spent a lot of money hiring people who are experts in consumer traffic flow and setting up multiple check-out lanes to accommodate most everyone.

There's your regular lanes, the wheelchair lanes, the NO CANDY lanes, the no coupon lanes, the express lanes.... You get the point.

Now, many express lanes are further split up into "less than 20", "cash only", "10 or fewer", and for those really in a rush - "7 or fewer".

Now, I consider myself pretty good at math. Especially simple math tasks like adding.

So, I look at my lemons and my cat food and go into the "10 or fewer" lane. Bear with me, it was shorter than the "7 or fewer" lane.

The woman in front of me had at least 14 items. Yes, I counted. And I know she can read, because as I was subtly shooting her darts with my eyes, she reached past me and picked up a Time Magazine.

That made 15.

One would hope that one who can read Time magazine can also count.

QLF is wrong with some people?

I know it wouldn't be very customer-friendly, but I wish they would station one of their "Helping Hands" guys at the bagging station with a wooden ruler and have them wrap the knuckles of the people who think their rush is more important than my rush.

Hope you enjoyed your day.

Yes, I want my cake and to eat it too!

And also, I'm lazy.

There.

That felt good to get out.

Anyway, if all my FaVoRiTe Bloggers (that's all of YOU) were also on Twitter, I could catch up with you ALL (y'all) and chat with you too, throughout the day.

Sort of like multi-tasking, but without all of the tasks.

I'm just sayin'.

And, yes, I know some of you do (waving hi:::) but some of the rest of you signed up and now you never Tweet.

Even Ellen tweets (twitter.com/theellenshow) and Ashton Kutcher (twitter.com/aplusk) and Shaq and Diddy.

And Jen Lancaster from Jennsylvania. and The Pioneer Woman.

Come on, people, drink the kool-aid!

I'm StiLL HaNgiN' ArOuNd

And honestly... reading blogs and Twitter like I have a thirst that can't be quenched.

But for some reason, I can't think of much to post.

You'd think that this would be the opportune time to catch up on Real Life.

You know, helping the kids with homework, spring yard clean up, cleaning, laundry, etc.

But, um.

No.

That really hasn't been happening.

Well, I did organize one linen closet and got rid of at least half a dozen old white vinyl shower curtains.

WTH?

What did I think I was going to do with them? Even after washing them, you can never get out the old mildew stains and I'm sure that they all had at least one torn grommet-thingy.

I also got rid of an old duvet cover, and about 4 sets of valances.

That was such an arduous task that I immediately poured myself a glass of chardonnay and hit the laptop.

I did watch Twilight last night and if you ask me, Edward looks a little bit skeavy. I liked my mental image of him from the book a lot better.

Despite that, I found myself lusting after his character.

And wth? Why was Bella's Dad so young? And her Mom, too.

(Don't you DARE say it. I know what you're thinking)

I also saw Big Love and Desperate Housewives. What will I do when my favorite shows are over!?


What have you been up to?

WeEkEnD UpDaTe

As IF you're just dying to know, right?

ANyway, I survived and enjoyed the church retreat.

Up way too late, laughed too hard, prayed hard enough, and raced back Saturday afternoon for a night of torture.

What? Torture?

Yes.

Evidence below:

Oh sure, they *look cute.

But look at the height of the heel:

Torture, I tell ya.

We went to the Mayor's Ball last night to mingle with the muckety-mucks. Our esteemed Mayor announced he was running for re-election yesterday.

That's all well and good. But,

My feet were ScReAmInG by the end of the night.

Today, it's back to flats.

I LoVe FrIDaYs

Yup.

First, I had a pedicure.
Yes, I know my toes look like they belong to Fred Flintstone.

But do you like the color?

It was a hard choice. All that Razz-berry, Boris and Natasha, Makes Men Blush, Bubble Bath, Spring Fling - okay, I made that last one up, but the names are always so amusing, I get a kick out of them.
I got to watch "The Price Is Right"
This is Ben. You can't tell, but he's smiling.
If you live in Fairport, and need a nail salon, go to Perinton Hills Mall - to Fashion Nail and Spa. They're super nice, have great massage chairs, and always offer me bottled water or soda. I feel like it's a non-alcoholic version of Cheers.

Also, you can see the Fairport schools K-12 art show.
I wonder if DD has anything up? I'll have to check it out later.

Then I went to Mykonos for lunch with Karen from WubsNet.
(She's not doing "jazz hands", she's waving "hi".

We ate a LOT.

Moussaka for me
and a "salad" for her. * Yeah. Guess who weighs more?
(sorry I didn't take the time to flip the pic - I have to pack for my church retreat. Sue me.)

Then we had chocolate mousse cheesecake and strawberry short cake.

Yum.
We even brought a little bit home. Really.

Next time? Andi? Heather? Lea? Y'all come on over!

Hope you enjoyed your day!



*Obviously moi

SnOw. FrEaKiN' sNoW.

HaPpY FiRsT DaY oF SpRiNg!

Woohoo!

Not.

Yeah, umm...

Mother Nature?

WTH?

Yesterday Emma wore shorts.
(this was last Sunday, note the BARE arms)
Today there's snow on the ground.
I know this early Daylight Savings gig might have messed up your internal clock, but come on....

We're supposed to be breaking out the cute new Spring shoes, the light jackets, basking in the sun and new warmth.

....not muttering and breaking out the drab, dark, heavy coats and boots.

It's just. not. right.

Yesterday afternoon I saw the crocuses peeking up in my yard.

I commented to Emma that I should take a photo.

I didn't get a chance.

This morning they're hiding under a crust of snow.
I'm heading off to a retreat this afternoon with the board from the church where I work. I was looking forward to sitting on the porch of the retreat center and looking out onto the beautiful Skaneateles lake.

Instead, I think I will be huddled inside, bundled in a blanket (Snuggie anyone?) by the fireplace.


And it's FriDaY!

Do you know what that means?

Yup.

Another blogger lunch!

:-)

This time with my Real Life friend and neighbor, Karen, from the WubsNet. Check her out for all the latest GH scoops and soap news.

Have a great weekend.

Enjoy the day.

Looking for love in all the wrong places...♬

Come on people...

I know you're out there. I just can't find you.

Come play with me.

Follow me on Twitter.

twitter.com/kwr221

or

@kwr221.

And Tweet yourself.

Save me from domestic boredom.

ThAnK YoU.

I goT It BaD

Spring Fever, that is.

In college, this kind of break in the weather often led to a RoAd TriP.
Yes, that's what I've got a hankering for.

Any ideas?

Random pics

I know old news is about as popular as leftovers in your fridge, but here are some pics I took recently.

Yes, that is my too-cool-for-himself teenager suffering through being at the parade with his mom. In public. The horror.

Look! A leprechaun!
For $8, totally worth it. Wait until I do a video montage for his graduation. Hah!
I don't know this lady, but she said yes when I asked if I could take her picture. I might have been mumbling when I said I had a blog.

When the heck did my eyes get so squinty? And no, it's not just the sun.

And don't get me started on that neck.Hope you all enjoyed being Irish for a day!

ToTaL RaNdOM NoThInGnEss

Really.

I went to the mall on Friday.

Twice.

I know, I considered taking my temp, but decided it wouldn't do any good.

I got a make-over from the Clinique lady. I'm a total Clinique-bonus whore. After I left Lord and Taylor, I went to Macy's. Unfortunately, their bonus doesn't start until March 30th and I got conned into "pre-buying" the bonus.

Also hit Sephora, Eddie Bauer and a few other places. I have done my part in this economic stimulus plan. You're welcome.

Lost an earring while shopping.

Half-heartedly retraced my steps when I went back with DD later that night. Checked the make up counters, dressing rooms. Went to The Shoe Department to show her some fake uggs that were $9.97 and MY EARRING WAS ON THE FLOOR right where I tried on the boots. Woohoo!

Weekend was beautiful. Went to the ST. Patty's parade here in Rochester. I was the only one without a beer. I'll post pics when I get home.

GORGEOUS days on Saturday and Sunday - I did NO outdoor yardwork. So there.

But I did spend 3 hours outside at my son's end of season hockey party, sitting in a folding chair basking in the sun. I think I got my Vitamin D dose.

My cupboards are bare. Children forced to eat expired cereal. Nothing worse than stale Oh's. I almost gave them sandwiches on old hamburger buns.

Watched Big Love - Bill Hendricks is a sleaze and needs to make up his mind. That Green guy gives me the willies. Barb's right, Nikki IS a psychopath. I feel sorry for Barb and her obvious pain about leaving the religion she was raised in. Margie still cracks me up.

Watched Desperate Housewives. Don't remember as much as I should. Is it because I was half-asleep or was it non-eventful?

Have to watch Brothers and Sisters tonight.

Desperate for snacks at work today. After a search of my desk, I found wasabi peas. Still regretting that find.

Have Spring fever. Bad. Not sure if there's a cure.

Wearing spring flats and bright colors today. Result? Cold feet.

It's supposed to snow on Thursday or Friday. If you've read here that I love upstate NY and its weather, I lied. Really. Enough is enough.

Not sure if I could get ANYMORE random and boring then this. I'll BBL with pics.

Love ya!

Mwah!

Oh NOoooooooo

You have GOT to be kidding me!!!!!!

My pathetic plea not only DIDN'T get me any more followers, I LOST one.

I'm down to 41.


What did I do?!

WHat did I say!?



Could you at least wave good-bye when you leave?

WhAt'S yOuR FaVoRiTe CooKiE?

Yes, I totally stole this post idea.

From helloself


What's your favorite store-bought cookie?

Here's mine (only because I HAD to stick to 5, otherwise, you know, I could rattle off a dozen)

1. Pepperidge Farms soft-baked white chocolate chip macadamia nut.
2. tag-alongs (the peanut butter GS ones)
3. pecan sandies
4. vienna fingers
5. GS shortbread cookies ( I forget the official name)

A giveaway from HipMOm

Wouldn't you like to win this?

From: HipMom:

Here's something even better: not only you have a chance to win your own Clarisonic here, but the latest model, the Clarisonic PLUS, that just came out last month and is only available at Sephora!

The PLUS model still uses sonic technology to deeply (but gently!) clear pores of daily impurities, but it also has several additional features:. So if you win, this is how your Clarisonic will be better than mine (this is how much I like you):
- the Clarisonic PLUS comes with a special brush that allows you to use your Clarisonic on other parts of your body, not just your face
- it has 3 speeds, with separate control buttons
- it has an international charging cradle, so you can use it no matter where you are
- it comes with the Refining Skin PolishOne lucky reader of Diary of an Unlikely Housewife will win a Clarisonic PLUS bundle, including the Refining Skin Polish and 3 different cleansers (for dry, normal and oily skin), and of course the extra brush for the body.



..... okay, the truth? I'm only blogging about this so I get extra chances to win. I don't REALLY want you to enter and decrease MY chances to win this. It looks great. :-)

Isn't my honesty refreshing?