Napolean IS 007

One of the best mash-ups I've seen in a long time!



(As seen on hilarious Mindi's Word To Your Mother.)

"I found my thrill... on Blueberry Hill"

Blueberries are still on sale where we live, and in plentiful supply. Blueberry Boy Brian and I made these goodies over the weekend, and I have to say they are certainly tasty enough to share the recipe with all of you!

Blueberry Crumb Bars
Adapted from AllRecipes.com

Yield: depends on how small you cut them...

1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup cold butter (2 sticks)
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon salt
Juice of one lemon (3 Tablespoons)
4 cups fresh blueberries (2 pints)
1/2 cup white sugar
4 teaspoons cornstarch

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 9×13 inch pan.

2. In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup sugar, 3 cups flour, and baking powder. Mix in salt. Use a fork or pastry cutter to blend in the shortening and egg. Dough will be crumbly. Pat half of dough into the prepared pan.

3. In another bowl, stir together the sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice. Gently mix in the blueberries. Sprinkle the blueberry mixture evenly over the crust. Crumble remaining dough over the berry layer.

4. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until top is slightly brown. Cool completely (and chill if possible) before cutting into squares. (Store in the refrigerator.)

Once in a Blue Moon

During our recent vacation, we had the opportunity to visit our good friends, Steve & Mary, in Ann Arbor, MI.

Also over vacation, Brian had a very significant birthday on 08/08/08.
Not wanting the day to go unnoticed, Mary prepared a special birthday cake, just for Brian, and it looked something like this:It's too bad we didn't get a picture of it (my shoddy drawing does not do it justice), because it was really a sight to behold in all of its Blue Moon glory! Brian was in seventh heaven, natch, because Blue Moon is his favorite ice cream flavor of all time (I know, I don't understand it either!).

Thanks for being such gracious hosts, Steve & Mary... we had a wonderful time!

Let's get together...

Guess what?!


That's right... I'm planning a trip to UTAH! (And I'm really excited, if you couldn't tell!) I'll be there September 22-26th... will you be around??

I know I'm not a huge celebrity or anything, but it would be so much fun to see old and new friends (and all those new babies!) while I'm in town. I'll be staying in Provo, but plan on making a couple of trips to SLC for some shopping and stuff...

Lemme know if you want to get together while I'm there! :)

Dial-A-Human

I HATE dealing with automated phone systems when I have to call a company. Nine times out of ten, their voice recognition software doesn't recognize my voice until I'm screaming my response into the phone and losing all patience.

Enter Dial A Human. This handy dandy website lists all kinds of tips and tricks for hundreds of companies to help you reach a real live person on the phone, right away. Check it out.

IKEA Time Savers

Want to visit IKEA, but don't want to spend all the time meandering through the store the way IKEA wants you to? Check out QUIKEA for some great tips on how to get in and out in a hurry!

P.S. Parking near the exit and entering the store backwards is a definite time saver!

No strike on the horizon

TV is finally about to get back to normal... such a relief, huh? So that you don't miss the season premieres of your favorite shows, here's a list of upcoming premiere dates from E!Online:

Tuesday, Aug. 26
Greek (ABC Family), 9 p.m.

Monday, Sept. 1
Gossip Girl (CW), 8 p.m.
One Tree Hill (CW), 9 p.m.
Prison Break (Fox), 8 p.m.

Tuesday, Sept. 2
The Shield (FX), 10 p.m.

Monday, Sept. 8
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (Fox), 8 p.m.

Wednesday, Sept. 10
'Til Death (Fox), 9 p.m.

Tuesday, Sept. 16
Biggest Loser: Families (NBC), 8 p.m.
House (Fox), 8 p.m.

Thursday, Sept. 18
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (FX), 10 p.m.
Smallville (CW), 8 p.m.
Supernatural (CW), 9 p.m.
Survivor: Gabon (CBS), 8 p.m.

Monday, Sept. 22
The Big Bang Theory (CBS), 8 p.m.
Boston Legal (ABC), 10 p.m.
CSI: Miami (CBS), 10 p.m.
Dancing with the Stars (ABC), 9 p.m.
Heroes (NBC), 9 p.m.
How I Met Your Mother (CBS), 8:30 p.m.
Two and a Half Men (CBS), 9 p.m.

Tuesday, Sept. 23
Law & Order: SVU (NBC), 10 p.m.
NCIS (CBS), 8 p.m.
Without a Trace (CBS), 10 p.m.

Wednesday, Sept. 24
Criminal Minds (CBS), 9 p.m.
CSI: NY (CBS), 10 p.m.
Lipstick Jungle (NBC), 10 p.m.
The New Adventures of Old Christine (CBS), 8 p.m.

Thursday, Sept. 25
ER (NBC), 10 p.m.
Grey's Anatomy (ABC), 9 p.m.
My Name is Earl (NBC), 8 p.m.
The Office (NBC), 9 p.m.
Ugly Betty (ABC), 8 p.m.

Sunday, Sept. 28
Amazing Race (CBS), 8 p.m.
American Dad (Fox), 9:30 p.m.
Brothers & Sisters (ABC), 10 p.m.
Cold Case (CBS), 9 p.m.
Desperate Housewives (ABC), 9 p.m.
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (ABC), 8 p.m.
Family Guy (Fox), 9 p.m.
King of the Hill (Fox), 8:30 p.m.
The Simpsons (Fox), 8 p.m.
The Unit (CBS), 10 p.m.

Monday, Sept. 29
Chuck (NBC), 8 p.m.
Life (NBC), 10 p.m.

Wednesday, Oct. 1
Dirty Sexy Money (ABC), 10 p.m.
Friday Night Lights (DirecTV 101), 9 p.m.
Pushing Daisies (ABC), 8 p.m.
Private Practice (ABC), 9 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 3
Everybody Hates Chris (CW), 8 p.m.
The Game (CW), 8:30 p.m.
Ghost Whisperer (CBS), 8 p.m.
Numb3rs (CBS), 10 p.m.
Supernanny (ABC), 9 p.m.
Wife Swap (ABC), 8 p.m.

Monday, Oct. 6
Samantha Who? (ABC), 9:30 p.m.

Thursday, Oct. 9
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (CBS), 9 p.m.

Tuesday, Oct. 14
Eli Stone (ABC), 10 p.m.

Thursday, Oct. 30
30 Rock (NBC), 8:30 p.m.

Interesting PostSecret this week...

Have you heard of PostSecret? From their website: "PostSecret is an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a postcard." Every Sunday they post the week's most intriguing "secrets". Sometimes the secrets are funny, sometimes they're heartbreaking.

This was one of the more interesting postcards this week:

Sunday Sustenance

"Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength."

- Corrie Ten Boom

Breaking news...

ABC has announced that Jason Mesnick will be the new Bachelor. Yippee yay!

Here's hoping he won't come across as shallow as the rest of them... he was one of my favorites this past season.

The Bachelor will air beginning in January 2009.

31 years ago today...

Mom & Dad got married.

Happy Anniversary, you two!

(I can't remember right now why Brian was crying... perhaps he can leave a comment?)

And we're back...

I know, I know... missing in action again. :(

But, we have been busy... between a fun getaway to see friends, family, and the world's largest Christmas store; to a little home improvement; to a lot of Olympics watching and everything in between.

I think I'm finally caught up on all my blog-reading... now I just got to get back to the blog-writing!

DIY Purdy Pendants

Do you remember this post?

If you're so inclined, I found a tutorial online for how to make your very own pendants out of Scrabble tiles!

I sure wish I was more crafty...

Check it out!

(As seen on Make And Takes.)

Extra! Extra!

Check this out...

Tanja, of On That Note, is hosting a fantabulous giveaway of a 3-month subscription to ListPlanIt.

I'm all over that. (And, you should be, too!)

Time flies...

This guy is 36 today!

Happy Birthday, Brian!!

And we're off...

...for just a few days.

We'll be road-tripping it to here:


And here:


And here:


And trying not to get too lost in here:


And then a quick night here:


Have a good one!

Funny from Andi

Recent Read

Just finished up this book. It was good, but I didn't like it nearly as much as I enjoyed her first book, The Friday Night Knitting Club.

Comfort Food
by Kate Jacobs

From Publishers Weekly
Jacobs follows The Friday Night Knitting Club with another multigenerational tale, this time on the foodie circuit. Popular Cooking with Gusto! host Augusta Gus Simpson, a widowed mother of two adult daughters who's about to turn 50, is tiring of her many obligations, which include throwing an annual birthday bash for herself. That trial pales, however, in comparison with the introduction of saucy former beauty queen and YouTube star Carmen Vega as Gus's cohost: Carmen is younger, hotter and very tight with the boss. It's soon apparent on the set that this new situation isn't working, so the two are packed off, along with a forgettable cast of secondaries, to a corporate team-building weekend, complete with New Age guide. When the resort's head chef calls in sick, a team-building opportunity presents itself.

I have a confession to make

Coming out of the closet for this one...

I don't love these books.

I tried to read Twilight, I really did, but I couldn't finish it.

I don't know if it was vampires as the subject matter,
the writing for tweens, or what...

I just didn't like it.

Please don't hate me.

Yes, I own this...

The "workout" video... not the leotard.
Try not to get too jealous.