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Have a laugh for Thanksgiving

My newest favorite blog to read is Cake Wrecks: When Professional Cakes Go Horribly, Hilariously Wrong. We have been reading for just a few days and some of the posts caused me to laugh so hard I had tears streaming down my face! Oh, they are good. Grammar mistakes, Spelling errors, complete lack of taste and class....all those things and more are celebrated on Cakewrecks. To me, the funniest ones are when the instructions given over the phone to the bakery employee don't translate well to the cake. For instance...if you say you want sprinkles on the cake, be prepared for the cake to show up with icing flowers instead and the words "I Want Sprinkles" spelled out.

OR....if you want to celebrate the Olympics, make sure you take a photograph of the Olympic Rings into the bakery or you're liable to end up with a cake that says "Olympic Rings" on it.

So, while I'm "off" for the next few days, catch up on some hilarious readings over there. She has a Thanksgiving theme going right now (check out the cakes that are presumably "turkeys" but don't resemble the bird too much...and read her captions to get the full effect.)

Ode to Sweet Potatoes

Forget every word I ever said about Christmas being so awesome.

Thanksgiving is where it's AT!

And this is why:

And now I'd like to show my love and support for this favorite dish by commemorating it with a haiku:

Sweet potato love

Don't want to live without you

You're my favorite "veg"

Centennial Post Celebration

Drumroll please.....

We've hit 100 posts!

I've been racking my brain for something fun and special to do to commemorate such a special event....but I've come up with NOTHING. The kids ate my brain and I have poured all my creativity into the Thanksgiving treats I've had to make this past week, so I got nothin' for ya. I asked for questions or requests to make this post oh so personal to all my readers. But the only people who responded were the same 3 "anonymous" readers from Jackson, Baton Rouge, and Toledo who submitted questions last time. I am choosing not to print those questions because I am getting a little tired of hearing from those three.

So, let's skip the Centennial Post Celebration and move onto talking about much more exciting things....like FOOD!

Next post, please. #101 shall be a tribute to sweet potatoes. Give me a few minutes and I'll download my pics. And yes, I do have pics of sweet potatoes.

EDITED on 11/27/08:
I've been told that my jab at the anonymous readers and the fact that their questions did not get printed has stirred a debate that I'm not thankful for all my fans, oops, um, I mean readers.

I have a confession to make. Truth be told, I don't have that many readers, so any time I refer to the "anonymous" readers who submit questions....well, that would be ME.

[honestly, I thought it was glaringly obvious that it was me all along! Didn't plan on having to clear that up...maybe I have more readers than I realize?]

Biggest Loser, Nov 25, Week 10

This week starts off with everyone acknowledging what I surmised last week...AMY!!! You will rue the day you did not vote Vicky off the ranch. Amy is under the impression that she & Vicky are all hunky dory...not so. Vicky will not rest until Amy is gone. She still doesn't trust her.

NFL Week
Jerry Rice & some other guy are there to teach them some football drills. Everybody gets angry at Vicky because she seemed to be "onto" the whole gig and knew they would have to do it again. She held back in the first round and easily improved her time on the 2nd round and won the prize (money for kids' school programs, I believe). This just made everybody else quite miffed.

Rocco Cooks
Good tips for reducing the fat/calories on Thanksgiving dishes. Amy is cute with her little crush on Rocco! I love how they're all toasting each other with.....glasses of water.

Weigh In:
Amy: Lost 5 pounds (168 lb)
Heba: Lost 7 pounds (224 lb)
Ed: Lost 9 pounds (252 lb)
Vicky: Lost 7 pounds (180 lb)
Renee: Lost 8 pounds (199 lb)
Michelle: Lost 10 POUNDS!!! (176 lb)

AMAZING. Oh my goodness. I cannot believe Michelle & Renee, black team, PULLED IT OFF!!!

Heba & Amy are up for elimination....and as you probably already guessed, I'm sure Amy is kicking herself right now--she completely messed it up for herself when she didn't vote Vicky off last week.

ELIMINATION:
Amy is going home...just as we ALL predicted.

She looks just absolutely amazing after her makeover! I thought she looked fabulous before, but now she is just radiant.

G'night.

Dangerously close to 100 posts!

Yes, as the title suggests, we are getting very close to the Centennial Post Celebration (CPC) here on "Welcome to my Blog. Won't You Come On In."


This post is #98. Only 2 more and we'll be much farther along than I ever thought I'd be! I have officially posted about 94 posts MORE than I ever thought I would. I thought I'd try it; do a few posts; realize I didn't have time or material to keep it going; and then slowly fade away into the back of the web...

So, here I am 98 posts later and I still don't really know what I'm doing or why I'm doing it.

Why do I blog? I really don't have a great answer to that. I probably do it for a variety of reasons...I do it to keep my family up to date with our kids and their lives. I do it because I like to write. I guess I just do it because I can. It's a fun way to feel "published."

SO...for the next 100 posts, I welcome any comments, criticism, suggestions for topics...whatever you got, I wanna hear it.

I'll do a special "Centennial Post Celebration" (CPC) post in a few days to commemorate the event. If you have any Q&A you want to have answered...post a comment or email me and I'll do my best to get it on for the CPC.

Have a great weekend!

Over the top: HSM3 party

My friend/neighbor Hollye sent me the link to this:

It's a party that some mother who is not affected by the current economic downtown threw for her 10 year old .

They had it for the High School Musical 3 movie release a few weeks ago and I'll just say it was elaborate.

The invitations had red, white and gold M&Ms in a little case....(Wildcat colors, for those of you not yet in the know) along with a VIP movie pass thingy on a lanyard for them to wear around their neck. I don't know why they bothered with that, though, because I'm sure you could hardly see it for the red or white feather boa they had on as well.

What's that? A Boa?

Let me explain:

Here's a direct quote from the page:

"Gold purses double as gift bags (or “swag bags” in Hollywood terms!) filled with monogram jewelry and stationery, as well as plenty of HSM goodies. Chairs were backed with “Reserved” signs and red and white feather boas, which make for great party pictures!"

OK, ignore all my sarcastic jabs at the 10 year olds who don't know how good they have it. Truly, if I'm going to be honest, those of you who know me well....know....that....I....SO WISH I WAS THE 10 YEAR OLD's BFF!!!!

Apologies in advance

I just want to take a minute to apologize for your favorite shows being canceled.

It's all our fault. You see, we were selected to be a Nielsen Family for a week. They sent us $3 in the mail and I felt too guilty to accept it and not participate. Yes: $3. Not $30 or $300. Just $3. See how easily persuaded I am?

After reviewing our TV diary, I see that we are not really watching the most popular shows. There's lots of House Hunters International; of course we're watching Biggest Loser, as you know; and there are lots of random reruns of OLD college football games (John--he doesn't care if the game was played last year--he gets into the action and can't be pulled away).

And, because I think our viewing diary is going to be oh, so important to the Nielsen research (we are THE typical American family, right?), I think that we will be the ones to blame when your fancy schmancy "CSI" or "Ugly Betty" gets canned.

And thanks to me, "Making the Team: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders tryouts" will be renewed and you'll know all the names of the girls on the NFL sidelines by the time the Superbowl rolls around. That, my friends, is a great show. (It's on CMT...)

But look at the bright side, once all your favorite shows get canned, you'll have more time to read blogs and change your facebook status.

Biggest Loser, Week 9 Nov 18

Recap from last week: MAJOR drama. Amy voted Brady off--(Vicky's husband.) Vicky is viciously vindictive. (That right there was some good alliteration, huh? My English degree finally gets used!) Heba and Ed are very quiet during Vicky's rants and raves about her anger toward Amy. It's confusing because Vicky has been PLAYING the game this whole time and now when Amy makes an obvious choice to play the game as well, Vicky acts shocked and betrayed. HELLO! There's only ONE Biggest Loser each season.....

So, it's 80's Week. This should be entertaining.

And, yes it is. These outfits are outrageous (more alliteration for ya).

Ziplock. Product Placement Palooza (What's the word of the day? Alliteration.)

Amy. Amy, Amy, Amy. Why are you making apologies to Vicky for voting the way you did last week? Really. Amy! You have nothing to apologize for! You voted to win the game!

Weigh In:
Michelle: Lost 8 pounds
Renee: Lost 8 pounds
Ed: Lost 11 pounds
Heba: Lost 7 pounds
Colleen: Lost 3 pounds
Amy: Lost 8 pounds (Yea! I like her.)
Vicky: Lost 6 pounds

Vicky & Colleen are below the yellow line. This will be VERY interesting...Amy has the swing vote once again.

And going home.......is Colleen. DANG. She didn't do it. Amy!!! You disappointed me twice this week! First the apology to Vicky about voting for Brady last week and NOW....you had a chance to clean the house out...and you didn't. Dern it.

Alright. Another week down. Just a few to go...

Call me Irresponsible

Back in October, my parents were in town. Dad asked how Will was doing with his sleep @ night and early morning rising. (Remember all those posts?) Well, I was happy and proud to report with a big smile on my face that he was over all that and sleeps in until the rest of the family is up and that all is well on that front.

Do you think my dad was glad to hear that? NO. Instead, I was....

CHASTISED! I was chastised for being an irresponsible blogger! Apparently, he was under the impression that we were still undergoing Tough Love: Operation Sleep Later here in order to get him to sleep longer in the mornings.


Dad was very concerned about the crying babies left in their cribs all over America whose mothers read the blog and were heeding my advice on how to get their babies to sleep in. (I didn't have the heart to tell him that my readership doesn't quite reach that far...)


SO, I am clearing the air. We are all good here. No more early morning wakeup calls. We've even made the turn on the time change and I'm very proud to report that we all woke with a frantic start at 7:00 am this morning (way too late to get John ready for school!).

It was frantic, but just wonderful in a frantic sort of way to wake up with the sun shining through the window. Well worth almost missing the bus!

Friday night--what it was NOT

Michael went out with the guys Friday night to see the new James Bond movie (which totally stunk, by the way--he said it was a huge disappointment!) so my friend and neighbor Anna came over to pass the time with her two little boys. Picture this: it was 2 adults, a 7 yr old, 4 yr old, 3 yr old and 2 babies. After she left, she left the following message on my facebook page:

My dearest Ellen: It was so lovely spending the evening with you and your precious family. I so enjoyed our quiet time together while the kids quietly played. Elias and Will built such an amazing tower of blocks...complete with a color coordinated pattern. You must tell me your secret of how you got Maddy to speak in French so fluently...that must have taken some convincing to get her to switch from Latin to French. And that John - what a piano genius! I need to get back to homeschooling Cohen now - he always gets stumped on long division problems. Oh - and I must have that recipe for that no fat, no calorie and cholesterol free dessert you made. It was delectable! Sincerely, Anna

;o)

Thanksgiving: Fact or Fiction

I realize that in all my excitement over Christmas, I seem to have glossed over the fact that Thanksgiving is still 2 weeks away.

I was reminded of this fact quite a bit this week as Maddy brought home lots of little tid-bits she learned at school about the Pilgrims and their journey.

To put you to the test, I'm going to list the pieces of information she told me. The information below represents what she brought away from her lessons at school.

So, now, I want you to participate in a little activity I like to call "Thanksgiving: Fact or Fiction."

1. FACT OR FICTION: The people who came on the big boat were called the Pilgrims.

2. FACT OR FICTION: They were on the boat for 30 days.

3. FACT OR FICTION: They didn't take baths at all and the boat got very stinky.

4. FACT OR FICTION: They couldn't take a bath in the ocean or they'd drown.

5. FACT OR FICTION: They ate beef jerky and soft biscuits.

6. FACT OR FICTION: Their boat was called the "Cornflower."

7. FACT OR FICTION: There were 70 hundred redults (that's what she calls "adults") and 30 kids.

8. FACT OR FICTION: They landed in Chicago.

9. FACT OR FICTION: They went to Africa too.

10. FACT OR FICTION: They made houses before winter and met nice Indians.

Biggest Loser Week 8, Nov 11

Another week at the ranch! Let's see how they're doing.

Phillip got sent home last week....blue team couldn't be happier. Vicky & Brady--once again, being so incredibly annoying with their sly gameplay. THANKFULLY, the redeeming thought is that Bob is onto them and knows what's up.

OK--So, the eliminated players are back to try to win a spot at the ranch again. They're all very excited to see their family members.

How'd they do since they left?

Shellay: Started at 216, Current weight 177 for 39 pounds lost

Tom: Started at 314, Current weight 266 for 48 pounds lost

LT: Started at 357, Current weight 300 for 57 pounds lost

Adam: Started at 340, Current weight 305 for 35 pounds lost

Stacey: Started at 221, Current weight 190 for 31 pounds lost

Ed: Started at 335, Current weight 277 for 58 pounds lost

Amy: Started at 229, Current weight 182 for 47 pounds lost

Phil: Started at 331, Current weight 263 for 68 pounds lost


Phil & Amy have rocked it at home with both losing 20% of their bodyweight.

What is up with all the Phil-Hating!?!
Here's my theory:
I think the whole Phil-hating thing started at the challenge several weeks ago when they were put in the dark room and told that whoever ate the most calories got to divide the teams up however they wanted. Well...when Heba started to try to take control of that temptation and figure out how to divide the teams up and figure out who would eat the calories, that made Phil mad, so he just got up and started eating Reese's cups. Anybody else remember that? The blue team took that as him being sneaky because he wasn't on board with letting Heba call all the shots.

The sad part is that Stacey (green team) really wants to come back, but now with all the fighting in the house between Heba, Vicky, Brady, and Phil, she's not sure she wants to come back. AND....Heba is trying to convince her that it's all because of Phil. I have to disagree heartily!!! I think it's so negative because of Vicky & Brady.

The Challenge:
1000 steps on a step bench. First one to 1000 wins a place on the ranch.

I really hope Stacey does it! For the sake of the peace...really don't want Phil, Amy, or Ed back on. It would be too much drama each episode and I just don't know if I could watch all the conflict!

Stacey turns it on! My heart is seriously pounding at this last commercial break before the last 30 steps. It's Stacey & Ed...down to the wire.

ED.

Dern it.

My heart breaks for Stacey. Why, oh why!!! Why didn't she do it?!?

Will forever be an unsolved mystery.

Final Weigh In: The one that counts:
Ed: Lost 4 pounds
Heba: Lost 9 pounds
Colleen: Lost 7 pounds
Amy: Lost 6 pounds
Michelle: Lost 6 pounds
Renee: Lost 7 pounds
Vicky: Lost 8 pounds
Brady: Lost 6 pounds

Brady and Michelle are below the yellow line...REALLY hope that Amy comes to her senses and joins the old black team in order to vote Brady off. That would be fabuloso.

Let's see what happens....
BRADY BRADY BRADY BRADY BRADY BRADY BRADY BRADY BRADY BRADY BRADY!!!!!

I am doing the dance of joy.
Way to go AMY! So glad she is thinking for herself.

Bye bye, Brady.

Christmas Kick-Off

I've put it off as long as I possibly could. I did wait until after Halloween this year and though my aim is always to wait until after Thanksgiving, I consider it a success that I waited until today, November 11, to turn on the Christmas music.

I buy a new CD each year. Last year was a total bomb. Jars of Clay's Christmas CD stunk. So, I was a little nervous about making my selection--I didn't want to have 2 years in a row of new bad music and resort to listening to Bing over & over & over again. (***Not a thing wrong with Bing, but really, when you have your heart set on something new....well, even Bing gets a little old).

SO....I am pleased to announce.....that I made a GREAT selection this year!

I went to Borders with a 40% off CD coupon and purchased Kristin Chenoweth's new Christmas album A Lovely Way to Spend Christmas. I love her voice and she's cute as a button, so I was already leaning toward that over Tony Bennett's new album...but when I saw track #8 listed on the back along with track #12....well, I was headed to the check-out register straightaway.

#8: She covers Evie's classic "Come on Ring Those Bells." YES! Come on Ring those Bells! Light the Christmas Tree! Jesus we remember it's your birthday! Yes, that's the one. I love that song--grew up listening to that, along with "Merry Christmas Darling" a la Karen Carpenter. Kristin Chenoweth does this song with a country-western feel which I didn't love at first, but now I'm cool with it.

#12: Sleep Well Little Children/What a Wonderful World. I am a sucker for anything "What a Wonderful World." Love that song. Doesn't matter who is singing it, it just conjures up a very grateful heart.

So....with that, it's all begun. And I love it! I love Christmas.

What's your favorite Christmas album (new or old)? Maybe this year I'll buy TWO new ones...

Christmas photo session

My friend Sarah takes awesome pictures and has done our family/kid shots over the last few years. She's so good....that when you go to pick up your pics at Walmart, they will often sequester you behind closed doors and demand that you sign a release form stating that they are not professional photographs and are not copyrighted. We always chuckle...yes, they are great pictures, but, people, really--we stand in her garage in front of a white or black bedsheet! No, Walmart, these are not copyrighted!

Anyways, today our family took a little trip to Sarah's garage to attain the following:
A. 1 year old pictures of Will
B. A family Christmas card photo
C. "Generation picture" and "Grandkids picture" with Mimi

We worked long and hard and I think it's safe to say we accomplished Goal C. See below:

HOWEVER....Will was unbelievably uncooperative and screamed his head off through most of the shoot. The only time he was happy (as in the photo above) was when we fed him Nerds candy and poked his belly with a broom all while Michael jumped up and down behind Sarah.

So, we have lots of shots that look like this:

And, more shots than I could possibly count that look like this:

But, there were definitely some good ones too....

Honestly, I think the family picture sums up our life pretty well for 2008 and I'm thinking I'll use it anyways for the Christmas card!
Joy to the World?
Peace on Earth?

Other caption suggestions, anyone? Post a comment if you've got any ideas.

Montana Bound? Sure hope so!

OK, now that the contest entry dates have passed, I can share with you my next big thing.

I have entered an essay contest to win a fabulous get-away for me and 11 of my closest friends/family....but I didn't want to tell you until the entry dates had passed because I'm real competitive like that, you see? I didn't want you to come along and snap it out from underneath me with a bigger, better essay.

I was perusing the latest Land's End catalogue (a personal favorite) when I came upon a discreet page in the middle announcing an enormous grand prize. A trip for 12 to Paw's Up Montana. Outfitted in complete Land's End gear. Wilderness adventures. Surely there's a spa and a massage involved in this somewhere. Surely.

So....I answered the question in exactly 300 words: "what was your best family get together?" I took the posting I wrote here several months ago ("Vacation? What Vacation?") and polished it up a bit, adding an extra tug at the ol' heartstrings, prayed over it and hit "submit."

AND I'M A NERVOUS WRECK!!! I want to win it so bad. It's a package valued at over $30,000. How great is that?!?

December 1 is when we'll know. You can bet I'll post the results here...

2nd & 3rd prizes aren't so bad either. The Land's End Cashmere collection for 2nd prize and the Land's End Fleece outerwear collection for 3rd.

The best part is, if I win this, I will SO be off the hook for Christmas shopping for 11 people. And that, my friends, is what Christmas is all about.

Well, not really, but it would be pretty rockin'.

The Christmas Miracle

Please, please, tell me you kept the receipt and can take back whatever you got me for Christmas. I received my Christmas miracle this morning when my children all slept until.....drumroll please....

6:30 A.M.

That's all I really want.

Reason #93: Why I hate the time change

John and Will have been up since 4:30 a.m.

Unfortunately, I think that has less to do with the time change and more to do with the stomach bug John has contracted. Lovely.

P.S. Maddy would like to say "Graduations to O'Bracka" upon becoming the President-Elect, even though she is quick to tell you that she voted for John McCain in her school's mock election.

(Translation: "Congratulations to Barack Obama")

Happy Election Day!

If you haven't already done so, make sure you get out and perform your duty as a citizen of this great nation and VOTE! In Tennessee, they have early voting, so I've been there/done that already this year, but it's still very exciting to wake up today knowing that we'll have a new leader elected by the end of the day.

I grew up in Kentucky politics--the year I was born, my dad ran for the state legislature. He retired the year I graduated from high school, so it was really all I ever knew growing up. Thankfully, most years, he ran uncontested, but there were a few campaigns that I've lived to tell about.

Dad's campaigning strategy involved going DOOR-TO-DOOR--as in EVERY DOOR of our hometown. This was his version of "Get out the vote." A group of friends and family would gather at our home around 5:00 each night of the week during the campaign and we'd map out our route for that night. We'd try to cover a precinct each night if it was small enough or we'd stretch it out over a few nights if we couldn't get all the houses. Dad would assign everybody a couple of streets, arm us with brochures and stickers and off we'd go! My BFF Andee and I partnered together most of the time [total aside--can you imagine letting 2 pre-teen girls go around to houses asking people to vote for a certain candidate these days!!! My, how the times have changed!]

Here's our script:
[ring doorbell. wait for someone to answer door. pray that they were fully clothed and they had no mangy attack dogs.]
"Hi. My name is Ellen and this is my friend Andee. My dad is running for state representative and we wanted to see if we could count on your vote....."

Oh, the stories we could tell (and actually do tell) about those days. There was the time that a precinct walker got bit by a dog. And, of course, there were houses that Andee and I would skip. SHHHHH!!!!! Don't tell anybody! We always felt guilty about this, but the houses with grass up to your waist and a Harley parked in the front yard next to the chained up bulldog...well, we just weren't sure we needed their vote. But, we still felt this enormous responsibility...."what if dad loses by 1 vote and it's all because we weren't brave enough to face the heavily tattoo'd, shirtless man on that one front porch..."

All the precinct walkers were fed a good meal afterwards. At Wendy's. Yes, at Wendy's. This was back in the days when Wendy's had the SuperBar. (Remember that?) So, it was a good deal. When I got a little older and too cool to walk the precincts, I'd show up just for the Wendy's portion of the festivities and my Uncle Don would tease me, "No walk, No eat." I think that's in the Bible.

Thankfully, dad never did lose and served about 18 years in the House of Representatives. He was the kind of man that Frankfort, KY hated to lose--he stood up for what was right. He was the same behind closed doors as he was in front of the House or the media. He taught me much about the political process, but most of all, he passed onto me the love of his country. He is such a patriotic man! He taught me the importance of letting your voice be heard on election day and all year around.

So, what are you waiting for? To the polls!!!

Reason #82: Why I hate the time change

Kids were up at 5:00 a.m....AGAIN.

Reason #46: Why I hate the time change

It's dark before you eat dinner.

Weekend Discoveries

A few things I learned over the past few days:

1. Daylight Savings Time. The whole "you get an extra hour of sleep" thing is a myth. If you have children, you know what I mean. The only people who get an extra hour of sleep are people without kids. Our offspring were rising and shining at 5:00 a.m. (Don't try to console me by saying it's really the old 6:00...it's still early.) We've eaten breakfast, bathed, dressed for church, watched a movie and we still had a couple hours to spare.

2. Nestle Crunch has made some really awesome new versions. The traditional Nestle Crunch Bar is just fine. However, the new "caramel" version is AMAZING, as is the Nestle Crunch Crisp bar, which is basically the marriage of a Nestle Crunch and a Kit Kat. Check it out.

3. The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything. Marginal, at best. I ordered it "Comcast On Demand" last night to keep the kids up a little later in order to make them sleep later this morning (backfired, see Item 1 above). Veggietales has had a great run, but I'm wondering if their time is up?