Now, This is a First! . . . Birthday, That Is

Kimball, I know that this is after the fact, but the director (moi) and editor (Uncle Christian) of this video have been tweaking it to get it just right, hence the delay. We made it just for you with ginormous amounts of love thrown in :)

Happy, happy first birthday to

the doggone cutest, sweetest,

most precious grandson in the whole world!!!

Whispered in Kimball's ear nearly every time I'm with him:

"Grandmama loves baby Kimball"

I don't want him to ever wonder or forget. Ever. Ever.

Y? Because I'm a Queen

If you leave these Cake Bites out for Santa, I'll almost GAR-OWN-TEEEEE that he will treat you like a queen . . . or a king, depending.

On a side note, I've identified a sure-fire way to figure out if you are a queen or a king. It all has to do with The Three Stooges. Seriously. Listen up. If you love, and I mean LUV The Three Stooges, you carry an X and a Y chromosome. If you are like me and have all of your wits about you, then you ABHOR The Three Stooges with a passion. You are a queen with two X chromosomes and possess extremely good taste in movies.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch . . .

Cake Bites

1 chocolate cake baked in 9 X 13 pan

(a box mix works great)

1 canister cream cheese frosting (not whipped style)

Dipping chocolate

Skewers or lollipop sticks

After baking the cake, allow to completely cool in pan. Break cake into small chunks and place in large mixing bowl. Add entire canister of frosting. Mix thoroughly with wooden spoon. Roll mixture into walnut-size balls and place on a baking sheet lined with waxed paper. Place baking sheet in freezer for at least an hour or until cake balls are frozen. (At this point the balls can be placed in a freezer bag and placed in the freezer for up to three weeks.) Melt dipping chocolate in a narrow and deep bowl or glass measuring cup. Dip the frozen cake balls into chocolate using two forks and place on waxed paper. Alternatively, skewer the cake balls with a skewer or lollipop stick and dip the cake balls in the chocolate. Allow chocolate to set up then drizzle with contrasting chocolate. If you wish to roll the cake balls in crushed candy canes, chopped nuts, toffee bits, coconut, nonpareils, etc., do so immediately after dipping the balls in the chocolate; place on waxed paper to set up. Makes approximately 6 dozen cake bites.

And now, a deep thought for the day: "Nyuck, nyuck, nyuck."--Curly Howard

Sweetened Condensed Milk Book Reviews

I've been doing a bit of reading these last few months, so gather 'round kids because it's time for another edition of "Reading is FUNdamental!" All strapped in? We're going to take this fast so pay attention. Here we go:

A-D-O-R-E-D it yet again!

I can't say enough about my Jane.

A thought provoker nudging me

toward some serious self-reflection.

Very much enjoyed it.

I've always been curious about the Mrs. Pollifax series. Fun, easy escapism.

The previous book was fun, easy escapism.

This one was easy, fun escapism.

But now I'm good.

Deceivingly simple but actually very, very deep.

I liked it very much.

Now you're talking my language!

The best of Jane Austen in my humble opinion.

Absolutely the best.

After three tries at this book over the last few years, I finally conquered it. Harder to read than Jane Austen, but almost as satisfying. Almost. Thackeray lacks the warmth of Jane Austen. Still great, though. Oh, that little Becky Sharp!

I know I'm Johnny-Come-Lately in getting around to this title. It was a little difficult for me to read through some of the more descriptive parts, and it could have/should have explored the life lessons a bit more thoroughly.

So, yeah. I liked it but didn't love it.

So there you have it, gang. A parting shot: "She is too fond of books, and it has turned her brain."

--Louisa May Alcott 1873

Yes, Kimball, (and Dave), There is a Santa Claus

Since Kimball's curiosity regarding the actual validity of Mr. Santa Claus has reached a feverish pitch, I decided to give Kimball the gift of hope and optimism. I'll let you have a sneak peak by copying the address below and pasting it into your browser window. Go ahead. Don't be shy. Go on, now. You won't be sorry; this is so darling. C'mon and copy and paste. But remember to come back because I have more to tell you! (As if you ever doubted that I would run out of things to say. Right.) See you in a minute.

http://portablenorthpole.tv/watch/1d23d744d128875926c8a4bffd164400

Howdy. Sweet, no? So listen up. Dave's own belief in Santa has started waning of late. Dave has had to perform much of the work which would normally fall under Santa's official job description, thus questions have crept in and lingered. Apparently, Santa has become very addicted to Facebook and Twitter. Can't drag him away from them. Couple that with the lure of Mrs. C's holiday eggnog, with a big, and I mean BIG, emphasis on the nog part, and all this just screams INTERVENTION NEEDED AT THE NORTH POLE--STAT! Alas, Dave has had to pick up the slack for Santa aka Tipsy the Twitterer, and now Dave is coming perilously close to joining . . . gasp . . . THE UNBELIEVERS. I know! I decided he needed a bit of hope and optimism himself. So here is a gift to Dave to drag him back from the very brink of the "Abyss-of-Zero-Toys" where all doubters go. Santa does not reward doubters. And, I am happy to report, Santa does seem to be back in top form thanks to a nasty virus which infected his FB and Twitter accounts rendering them basically useless freeing up much of Santa's time. In a cruel twist of irony, Santa now has more doubters than ever thanks to the hackers who continue posting pictures of Osama Bin Laden claiming he is the real Santa all dressed up in his desert-wear collection. So here you go. Whew! My work here is done.

You know the drill: copy and paste. http://portablenorthpole.tv/watch/ed2dc6b5f15e5a195b806696f27ff6de

Seventeen!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE MOST

DARLING, FABULOUS, AND UNBELIEVABLY

TALENTED 17-YEAR-OLD IN THE WORLD!

NAY, IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM!

NAY, IN THE UNIVERSE!

NAY, IN THE ENTIRE REALM OF INFINITY!!!

Uh, in case you didn't notice, I adore my boy! I'm the luckiest mom ever!

I need someone

Older and wiser

Telling me what to do

You are 17 going on 18

I'll depend on you

Bonus points awarded if you can identify

the classic movie musical for which these song lyrics

were written.

Wrong. The movie is not Transformers 2, Revenge of the Fallen. Sheesh.

Jack Be Limbo

Another gift from heaven for me to study, scrutinize, and savor!

Hey! I think somebody's been pulling my leg about Seanie being in Honduras. Looks to me like he is livin' life large down in the red rock country of St. George right along with all of those other uber-tan retirees. My proof? Besides that tell-tale red dirt? See that twig structure in the background? (Click on pic to get a really good look.) I bet you think that it is a homemade soccer goal. Me too. At first. But then I began having my doubts as I was looking at it with the handy-dandy magnifying glass taken from my Hasbro Sherlock Holmes Super-Sneaky Sleuthing Kit for Boys and Girls, ages 12+. So now, I've totally done a 160. Or a 170. Whatever. So, no, that isn't a rickety soccer goal sticking up in the middle of some odd field. Nuh-uh. It's a LIMBO STICK! A limbo stick toward which those wild and crazy retired geezers of St. George flock after their big Saturday morning Bingo Blast. No wonder Sean has such a whittled-down waist.

Every limbo boy and girl

All around the limbo world

Gonna do the limbo rock

All around the limbo clock

Jack be limbo, Jack be quick

Jack go unda limbo stick

All around the limbo clock

Hey, let's do the limbo rock

Limbo lower now

Limbo lower now

How low can you go

GO, ELDER, GO!

Tryptophan-dango

By my reckoning, we should all be about half way through our stash of left-over-and-gradually-drying-out-to-Sahara-like-aridness Thanksgiving turkey meat (white and dark) lurking in the recesses of the old Frigidaire. And, just for curiosity sake, who likes that dark meat anyway? With its muscle-y stringyness and myoglobin protiens floating around? Ew. Say! I have an absolutely brilliant idea! Why don't they sell only the white meat part of a turkey? Seriously! Yeehaw! I think I smell a very lucrative marketing idea bringing me fame and fortune . . . . What? When? Oh. Geez. Why am I always the last one to know? Darn that Jennie-O, anyway.

But wait. If there is no dark meat . . . how does a turkey strut around without any drumsticks . . . I'm confused.

Click on images to better read a couple of my

Thanksgiving vocabulary words and definitions

(I have more, but I don't want to outstay my welcome)