Ah the Good Life........

Being married takes certain about of adjustment for both parties. I was accustomed to a life of I suppose some luxury (I was raised that buying a high quality item on sale was a good thing, but to NEVER buy anything cheap) whereas Ken did not care what kind of things he furnished his home with so-long-as his tools were top of the line. How quickly he has gotten used to the “good” life. Am I a bad wife in the fact that I usually refrain from the “I told you so”s with Ken, but simply bask in my rightness quietly?

This morning, I happened to laugh out loud when the man, whom gave me the look of he could not believe I had the audacity to register for Egyptian cotton bathsheets (which were on sale at the time), pouted at the fact that all the “Big towels” were dirty and heaven forbid he had to use a regular oversized towel. This is also the same man who rolled his eyes when I talked about the thread count of sheets, was also asking why the “old sheets” were on the bed (I have never purchased anything under 250 count. TJ Maxx and Marshalls are my favorite places to go.) I just have to laugh at the fact that my manly man has tapped into a little of the metro man within. (Shhhhhh, he’d hate it if he ever knew I said that.)

Take our wedding registry again (We’ve been married for eight months and counting now) ………….. Being the planner, I pretty much knew what I wanted to register for. I invited Ken to go along (thinking he wouldn’t go) and he went. I thought that it might be a good bonding experience. (Famous last words…) In the middle of Target I was having to explain that a $350 coffee maker is not a wise choice when ….A. I already had a perfectly good coffee maker that matched everything. B. We each only drink one cup of coffee a day. This logic was NOT sinking in, so I let him scan it full knowing I would simply remove it from the website later. (Yes, I am evil, but a girl has got to do what a girl has got to do.) In place of his over priced java maker, I registered for an Ohio State (Ken is a HUGE fan) couch blanket, a great toaster oven (I was a toaster girl, but the man really likes toaster ovens.), a Tools of the Trade lobster pot (the boy can cook a mean mess of crab legs.), and a few Calphalon items.

A monster was born…..After receive one knife the man swore he needed more, so I took him to Macy’s to see the cost of one Calphalon knife. Upon sticker shock he happily goes to Marshalls and TJs so we can “hunt for” good stuff. It has become a fun game for us. My impulse buying man has learned that it is best to not buy an item because he wants it, but to wait and save until we have the money and find a really good deal on the top of the line items.

He even brags to other people about how I have gotten him used to a homey life style. Also, a laugh out loud moment when my manly man is explaining to other men how important thread count is when considering sheets, towels, etc. I must admit his conversations are more like, “Yeah, you don’t understand, these big towel things are so big and soft that you can wrap it around your whole body.” LOL. Gosh, he is so freakin’ cute.

LIVERS AND GIZZARDS, OH MY!!!!!!!

Its bullocks I tell you simply bullocks!!! So, Ken has a frequent shopper card to a local grocery store which is (such a ploy to spy on customers in order to do target marketing) great way to save money on food. At any rate, they were generous enough to give us a free twelve pound turkey (reasons why Ken should not do the grocery shopping because who the heck knows how much we have spent in order to qualify for a free twelve pound turkey). Yay, free food!!!!!! Since we are still really tight on cash we decided to cook the turkey this week and make several meals out of it (With just the two of us, I will be eating turkey up to my eye balls.) Needless to say, I have never cooked a turkey. Gu, my dad, normally smokes or deep fries it. (Amazing when injected with Cajun butter sauce.) Turkey cooking is a MAN job.

For the last three days we have been thawing the turkey in the fridge. So the little bugger, Ken, sneaks off to work this morning. Does he at any point offer to clean the turkey? Of course not!!!! Nope this Barbie has also NEVER cleaned a turkey. UGH!!!!! There I was at 8 am reading directions on the back of the turkey to figure out how “in theory” this is all supposed to work.

HELLO, you want me to put my hand WHERE and pull out WHAT!?????!!!! “Pull out part package located behind the neck.” EXCUES ME………..What the heck do you do with a neck!!!! Is this not something that should oh I don’t know be thrown away before you package, freeze and put in a grocery store? What self respecting Barbie puts her hands up a birds bum and is expected to pull out body parts. I say again, it’s bullocks!!! I have rubber gloves, but someone (might have been me) thought it would be a bright idea to take the gloves out of the box and just leave them under the kitchen sink. Can’t be used on food.

My hand goes in and grasps something (hard and long ……NO …slippery and long …………. BAD BARBIE! LOL. Ok there is just no good way to say it with out….well you know.) So it’s the neck. SO GROSS!!! Great and according the package there is more. Fun times. I am nearly elbow deep inside a bird’s bum and I cannot find the “parts” package. Must you have a degree in turkeys to do this? I have heard of the Butterball help line. I was not about to call up and ask where I might find the “packs” package.

Ah ha, another whole at the top of the bird!!!!! I must say, when something is referred to as the parts package I expect it to be sealed. Not so much! More like an open piece of parchment paper with one thing I could id as the liver (Yay, two years of pre-med) and a few other things I have no clue what they were. Yeah, recommended use by Ken……boil and make gravy OR feed to the uppies. I wouldn’t eat this crap, why would I feed it to the dogs? According to Ken they would like it and Gizzie grew up on stuff like that. UGH!!!! Well as much as they are my babies they in fact lick their own bums so……. (Did I really just talk about dogs licking their bums in a blog?) So, I suppose the dogs are getting a treat today.

I had to call my mother-in-law to find out how long to cook this thing. For those of you whom do not know. You bake a turkey for 30 minutes for every pound. This bugger has been buttered under the skin along with sage thyme and other spices, and oiled on the outside with a rub I concocted out of items in the spice cabinet.

Here is to hoping tomorrows headline does not read, “BARBIE GIRL RUINS BIRD” I might be a little domestic goddess on some things, but this is so not it!!!!

REAL men eat QUICHE

They wear pink too, but that is a whole other blog entirely. (Lol. Ken disagrees and is still not too keen on the powder blue polo I bought for him in the early months of dating. But, I like it so he wears it about two to three times a year. Oh the power of the woman!!!! Teehee.)

Perhaps, it is a girl thing, but one of my favorite things is a good quiche, salad, and a bowl of soup; especially on a cold December day. OK, fine it is in the 70’s here all week – EAT YOUR HEART OUT NORTHERN READERS!!!! No, the Missouri girl does NOT miss the snow! I’m in capris, a t-shirt, and denim jacket and LOVING it!

So, I made quiche last night. Mmmm broccoli cheese quiche. I altered my recipe a bit to try to entice Ken into liking it. REALLY easy recipe, but it changes all the time depending on what we have in the house. Here is the basic frame work. Make sure you mix and match to suit your tastes, because this is ONLY a frame work.

Meiko’s Quiche Basics


• 6 eggs (I used 3 and some apple sauce yesterday. Had exactly 6 eggs in the morning and had the bright idea I wanted to boil 3 for breakfast and a snack, before I planned dinner.)
• ½ to 1 cup of milk or half and half. (You are going to have to eye-ball this. If using 6 eggs go with the whole cup of milk.)
• 1 ½ cups of Bisquick (Ok so I cheat! You can also use pie crust or flour.)
• 2 cups broccoli (can be frozen or fresh. If fresh make sure to blanch a little.)
• 2 cups of cheese (Cheddar, Colby/Jack, Mexican blend. Whatever.)
• ½ cup of onion
• Pepper
• Garlic salt
• Mrs. Dash
(optional)
• 4 strips turkey bacon
• 5 mushrooms chopped
Mix eggs, milk, Bisquick, and seasonings in a bowl and set aside. Then place all other ingredients in a glass pie plate. Pour batter mix over the items in the pie plate. Bake at 350 F for 30 minutes. (servings: 4)
(Ken’s addition) Serve with One dollop sour cream

Well, Ken wasn’t thrilled with it, but he liked it enough to eat it all. VICTORY!!!!!!!! Ken now eats quiche, I don’t think he’d eat it everyday, but he said it was pretty good.

Scootie Scoo and Gizzie Too - The Very Uppy Day

Hi my name is Scooter and my big sister is Gizmo we are the puppies (children) of people known to you as Mieko and Ken. Our mommy calls us uppy puppies ‘cause all though we are very cute, we also can get into a lot of trouble. ‘specially me ah ‘cause I’m little and like to play lots. Mommy is writing a book about us, IF she EVER finishes it and we have our own blog, but….Mommy has been using this ‘puter thingy like she owns it or somefin’. So, here is a story about us.

We woke up this morning at 6:30, pottied and had breakfast. I thought it was a regular day, but something deep in side me wanted to do back flips off of Mommy’s head. I don’t know, I just felt uppy. Gizzie and I feel asleep on the couch while Daddy slept and Mommy made the lunches and cleaned the kitchen.



I don’t know what happened during my morning nap, but by the time I woke up I was even more uppy. I ran around the keeping room like a wild man. Jumped at the refrigerator and almost pressed the button to make cubies fall out. Gizzie and I LOVE cubies. Then Daddy woke up so I ran toward the bedroom, jumped on top of my house, bit the back of Gizzies leg, then jumped on Daddy’s head and bit his nose. Mommy wasn’t happy. She yelled and I got my nose smacked. Then Daddy went to work and Mommy, Gizzie and me went to the office.



I tried to tell Mommy I was sorry for being so uppy, I just couldn’t help it today. I could not stop bitting Gizzie’s ears or legs and she was biting me back. We fought over the ball. We have two but I always want the one Gizzie has. It tastes better. Then we were rough housing, but Mommy was on a conference call. Oops. So then we were REALLY in trouble.

Mommy took me outside to burn off some of my uppines.


Mmmm I love acorns.

We played ball. I dug holes in the yard and got into trouble again, but then I found a stick.


We came back inside and I decided that I was going to try to be REALLY good and not be so uppy. Gizzie hardly ever gets in trouble,so I tried to be just like her.


Money See Monkey DO

Then Daddy came home early a little after lunch.



We LOVE hanging out with Daddy. Other than Mommy, he is one of our favorite people. I was still trying to be good and I guess it worked, because Mommy gave me a peanut butter kong later. They are my favorite!!! I promise to be extra good tomorrow.




Anyone who has not experienced unconditional love, has never been loved by a dog.