New in the Diet World

I've already confessed to being newly addicted to Pinterest and you can follow me there too - for some reason my little attempt to add a link is not working. Shocker. Really hate being computer illiterate. Need to do something about that. Anyway, back to New Diet News. I just came out of my Pinterest Coma and realized that not only had hours gone by, darkness fallen, dogs done God know what only God knows where...I had actually missed lunch and dinner and OMG HAPPY HOUR!!! All thanks to being on Pinterest and okay, trying to figure out how to PIN stuff to Pinterest which is different from just repinning all the cool stuff someone else pins first. I got cool stuff and ideas...just can't figure out how to make that pin it button work. That is how hours went by after I spent hours repinning all kinds of fun stuff.

So, here I sit, full of great ideas for all kinds of stuff to make my life richer and fuller and prettier. But, kinda hungry and definitely thirsty. Not to worry, thirst is being quenched. Mama got her priorities right. Hubs is playing tennis and Boy Child is slingin Pizzas for Dominoes. Hear the quiet??? Ahhh....

Back to new diet idea!!! The Pinterest Diet. Very simple really. Only one rule - NO EATING FOOD WHILE IN A PINTEREST COMA...which is the time that disappears when you take just a minute, you don't really have, to just check out one little thing on Pinterest. Right....three hours later - Pinterest Coma!! I figure if you are not eating while you are on Pinterest well, that is hours of your day you would normally be stuffing your face. So you can read and see great recipe ideas while you are on Pinterest - you just can't be eating any of them at the same time. Now...this might not seem fair but if it happens to be HAPPY HOUR somewhere then I think wine is allowed. Is this an awesome diet or what?? And every hour is happier with wine, don't ya think? Well, it's my diet and I do!! Now give me some push ups or jumping jacks or anything to make it look official. All the good diets include exercise tips. Here's mine. If you are drinking white wine, pour smaller glasses. Not only will it stay cold and crisp longer you will get exercise walking back and forth to fridge - make that lunging your way back to fridge. Do a couple of squats putting bottle back in fridge. If you prefer red wine follow same steps to counter and add squats there.

Also check out my two new additions to the blog - the search box - I am sooo excited about this!! You can check out things I've blogged about that you may have missed or can't remember ...for instance - type in liquid diet in the search box and you should find all the details for that very successful diet blogged about earlier. Or if you are worried about Wine Flu, which seems to be in season year round...you can actually Google - Latest Flu Alert pnn.com and you can read all about it there...Also, if you want to receive my blog to your email you can sign up for that on the email box...How cool is all that? And since I are computer stupid you can go to the blog's facebook page for pics, as I blog and want to share proof in picture form, as needed. Find it at thegoodstuffrocks on FB.

In closing, remember to love your body - God made us all and loves us all - wobbly bits an all...diet responsibly...

ELLEN

I was all set to blog about aging and women and Demi's trainwreck....I even tried to leave Demi out of it. Turning 50 is enough to send most of us into a tailspin...I can't imagine the problems of living in the eye of the media in Hollywood. Of course, I am fascinated by it and read all the latest and watch the tabloid shows. I am not throwing stones. I feed that machine. And, I go to the movies, watch the tv shows and in my own small way support their livelihood. That does not give me the right to judge or think I know what they are really going through. So I stored my earlier blog.

After a nice dinner out with my hubbs I came home and discovered on my Yahoo news feed that someone was messing with Ellen. Shit is about to hit the fan. Not that she needs my support - she is going to get it anyway. LEAVE ELLEN ALONE!! If you happen to be a homophobic freak hiding behind the Bible and Family values - think again. You are nothing but a bully. Calling yourselves 100 million MOMS is first of all an insult to the rest of us moms. Most of us are trying to raise children that are kind and accepting of others. Not slushy throwing brats afraid of anyone that happens to be different. Different is not a disease. I like boys - Ellen likes girls - we are both wonderful people - what is your problem with that? Life would be so simple if everyone could just agree on that. Right? Old, fat, gay, young, skinny, smart, funny....we are all just people. God made and loves us all. AMEN. Can we just leave it at that? If Jesus loved the sinners and the lepers - what part of being a "Christian" are you missing? Seriously, YOU are trying to get JC Penney to fire Ellen? Because she loves someone? Wow. It is really that simple. She loves someone that happens to be another woman. Why does that threaten you? She does her best everyday to make us smile. She is funny and smart and she helps so many people everyday, not because she is famous and can. But, because she wants to. I am angry for her that you chose to attack her, but I am more sorry for you, that you believe you should. As a mom, I will pray for you tonight. Because I believe MY GOD made us all. I believe he loves me, Ellen & you. I believe he wants us all to love one another. I respect Ellen and all the things she stands for. She brings so much good into the world. I will become a first time shopper at JCP because of her. And I will pray for you and your children. That you might learn to love those that are different and wonderful in their own way.

Fun Faux Finishes

In the spirit of why I started this blog - to share some good stuff - I have to share something that may not be in my blog's best interest. Pinterest. If you have not discovered it yet it is time to join the party. Loads of fun for everyone and every interest. It is also so addictive you will probably never return to this blog again. You will also find entire days and nights spent sitting in front of your laptop while chaos, famine and mountains of laundry grow all around you. I apologize to members of your immediate family that will soon become victims of this latest time suck on your attention and ability to care about them and their needs. They thought Words With Friends was bad....nothing and I mean nothing compares to Pinterest. I think I'll get ahead of the curve and start a treatment center for Pinfiends to come to for rest and recovery. I think we are going to need alot of these. So check it out with the warning that it is a gateway to lots of lost time well spent...

I have become obsessed with decorating my house...I blame it on Pinterest and Donna Decorates Dallas on HGTV...check your listings and set your tv to record this wonderful show. She and her daughters do amazing decorating transformations in real homes in the Dallas area every show. So much fun and no matter what your personal style is - you will learn something that will work for your home. My new fav thing to do now is pause the tv and take a pic so I can remember something she has done or an idea I want to try. If I ever win the lottery I know who is coming to my house!! I made a trip to her store during Christmas break and was thrilled to meet her daughter Ashley who runs the store and helps with the decorating end too. She was AMAZING and excited to start working on season 2. I can't wait!!

I finally did a faux finish in my dining room this weekend and was thrilled with the results. I used Annie Sloan Soft Wax, paintable wallpaper and a little oil rubbed bronze metallic paint. I'll be posting pics to my NEW facebook page for the blog - I KNOW! Fancy!! I got this fab idea from my friend Madonna who also started a really fun blog for old people. I haven't read it yet cause I'm not old. Heard it was really funny though. It's called oldenoughtoknowbetter.com -anyway, she has a fb page for it so of course I had to have one too! I am also excited cause I can upload pics to fb but not sure how to do it here. Sad but true. I'll post pics there and plug my blog at the same time :)) And yes, I've read her blog cause I'm OLDENOUGHTOKNOWBETTER and YOUNGENOUGHTODOITANYWAY. So check my page out on fb - thegoodstuffrocks.blogspot.com - just give me a day or two to work out a few kinks.

Here are some of my fav products that I have been using to faux finish my face :)
1. Cannot tell you how important moisturizers are to older, soon to be older and never wants to get older skin. I've got so many people hooked on Pond's Dry Skin Cream. Wonderman loves it and his rosacea has never looked better. I also love Olay Regenerest UV Cream SPF 30 for daytime. And I finally got hooked on my little brush cleaner by Olay. I have friends that love the Clarisonic one but I can't make myself spend the extra for that one. Olay's really has made a difference.

2. Thanks to a sample gift from Sephora I am crazy about Laura Mercier products now. LOVE THESE - tinted moisturizer spf20 Illuminating in bare radiance. I just mix a dot with my Revlon Age Dyfing creme makeup and you get a soft glow without too much shine or glitter. And we ALL need a little glow. I also love her eye base product in Wheat. It really keeps my shadow on all day. And her mascara is fantastic. Sorry Stiletto - you are still the best priced mascara!! And my new fav lipstick ever is Brown Sugar. Perfect for everyone.

3. Maybelline has a new eyebrow pencil out and it is fantastic. It is called Master Shape and I love the dark brown. Remember they frame your eyes and make such a difference. As we age we lose them and they also fade in color. Give them a little faux finish and erase years from your face.

4. And the best faux finish for your face is your smile. Keep one on and you will look 10 years younger. As long as you are not smiling with a mouth of dull dingy teeth. EEEWWW. Crest makes great whitestrips that really get the job done. My fav way now though is their AMAZING toothpaste. I haven't needed the strips in months. Crest Complete with extra white & Scope Outlast is the best toothpaste and whitener ever.

So go discover the world of Pinterest if ya haven't already, check out OLDENOUGHTOKNOWBETTER, thegoodstuffrocks.blogspot.com on fb, Donna on HGTV and keep coming back here for more Good Stuff.

Girls Gone Wild

Have you been watching TV lately??? Is it just me - or have you noticed that we the female population seem to be spiralling out of control. And it seems to start fairly early...We have the Toddlers in Tiaras, Pregnant Teenagers, Those I'm 16 and deserve the World Party Brats, Bridezillas, All of the Housewives, Bachelor's choice contestants and don't forget the Moms of the those Toddlers or any female with the last name Kardashian(or as I like to call them KarCASHin)...Joe Francis must be in shock - these women make his original Girls Gone Wild seem boring and tame. I think he is in jail anyway.

I was glued to my TV last night for the start of the latest Bachelor season of train wreck/guilty pleasure TV. I understand that Fairy Tale TV Love has a 99.9% failure rate. What I don't understand is first of all - Where do these women come from? What is their real life like when they get booted off this show after they have shown their CRAZY to God and everybody!! Are the nutjobs truly this crazy or are they "acting"? And if they are just playing crazy what is the end game of that? When and why would any girl want to be the crazy crying bathroom chick? AND she is a BLOGGER!! Fantastic. Of course, we all knew something was a little off from the get go with this chick. Carrie Bradshaw copy cat? I'm sure by the end of the season we will find out that she thinks she IS Carrie Bradshaw.

I'm not sure how many seasons of these shows I've watched but I'm just waiting for the Celebrity Bachelor Show...We've got celebrities dancing, working with the Donald, swapping spouses, in rehab and starring in their own this is my life shows. Why not Celebrity Bachelor?? Bachelorette? Every week we'd get to watch Jake, Ryan, Ryan, Bradley or Derek date crazy women looking for love. Kind of like a tv version of reading the tabloids. Can you imagine the line of people trying out for a chance to find true love with Jennifer( neither have a ring on it)Chelsea, ScarJo, Cameron or the previously mentioned boys?? I'd even be okay with just Celebrities Dating Celebrities...lots of them are single and worried about where have all the Good Parts gone...

I think the reality is people are crazy. Some are crazy enough to get on TV and share that with God and everybody. Some are crazy just to sit home glued to their tv watching and wondering why people are so crazy. Which one are you? Got to go watch my shows....

Happy Soup Day from the Christmas House...

Happy New Year...some of us have reached the age where the years are flying by so fast it really will be Christmas again before we know it. I had a big case of that this Christmas. By the time I wrapped my mind around the fact that it was here again it was gone. So yes, I'm ringing in a new year and squeezing a few last days out of Christmas inside my house. I know most can't wait to get it all down and put away. I'm never in a hurry to do that until the morning I start. I'm still trying to figure out a way to just keep it all up all year. So far there are a few snags in my plan. Like Halloween. I go all crazy on the decorations for that too. I'm thinking I need a couple of houses. One could be the Christmas House. We will live there from November 25th. til January 2. Then we will move to the Not Christmas/Halloween House and stay there until October 1st when we will move to the Scary House. We can just stay put til time to move to Christmas House. Wonderman is beyond thrilled with my plan. I don't really see the problem with it beyond the fact that it will take gobs of money.

Today is New Years Day and I always look forward to a day of just hanging out and reflecting on the year gone by and the exciting one ahead. And soup. So happy we had a week of beautiful weather with a little cold snap overnight. Soup is just a little bit better when it is chilly outside. I know we are all supposed to be thinking about working out and hitting the gym to work off all the Christmas goodies we've been enjoying but you have to have your greens and peas today for luck and wealth. I like to make ours into a soup. It's fairly healthy - just a little bacon juice to add flavor...I thought I'd write it down and pass it on before I forget what I did. Kind of like my tequila soup - promised that recipe a few blogs back. Been so long not sure what I threw into the pot (blaming it on the tequila) cause that is usually how I make soup. Just dump whatever is available into chicken stock/broth and it is usually delicious. I also made a really great beef stew last week from a Rachel Ray recipe and I'll pass it on too. Might as well post several favorites - we are all going to become gym rats soon so lets feast and store some energy for these future workouts.

New Year's Day Health & Wealth Soup
5 slices of bacon
andouille sausage
1 bag of frozen turnip greens or mustard greens - for wealth in the new year
1 bag of frozen black eyed peas - for luck, good fortune and health in new year
1 carton of vegetable stock
1 carton of chicken stock
1 can of Rotel
salt, pepper, garlic, cumin to taste

Brown bacon in soup pot. Remove bacon and all but about 1-2 tablespoons of drippings. Eat bacon. Chop up andouille sausage and add to drippings - brown on ends. Add all remaining ingredients and bring to a boil for about 3-5 minutes. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20-30 minutes. Enjoy :) tastes better if all items are purchased in advance. That way you can wake up - put the soup on - and enjoy in your jammies while watching football/chick flicks. Remember to share with any friends that stop by.

Here is the Beef Stew Recipe - Thanks Rachel Ray!!

2 bulbs garlic

EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil, for drizzling

Salt and pepper

1/4 to 1/3 pound bacon (not too smoky in flavor), cut into lardons (fat matchsticks)

1 stick butter, divided

2 1/2 to 3 pounds beef chuck, cut into 2-inch cubes

Flour, for dredging plus 2 tablespoons

3 carrots, sliced in 2-inch chunks on an angle

2 apples, such as Honeycrisp, peeled and chopped

2 to 3 ribs celery, chopped

1 large onion, chopped

2 fresh bay leaves

2 to 2 1/2 cups cloudy organic apple cider

2 cans beef consommé

Herb bouquet, a few sprigs each of thyme, parsley and sage tied together with kitchen string

2 1/2 pounds (about 5 potatoes) russet potatoes, peeled and cubed

2 to 3 large parsnips, peeled and cubed

1 1/2 cups sharp white cheddar, shredded

1 cup whole milk

Freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 cup chives, finely chopped



Directions

Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut ends of garlic bulbs to expose cloves. Drizzle with EVOO, season with salt and pepper, wrap in foil and roast to tender, 40-45 minutes. Remove garlic and reduce heat to 350°F. This part does take preplanning but it is so good!! Roasted garlic is much sweeter and you can use this in other recipes. It is also fantastic smeared on bread with olive oil...



Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add a drizzle of EVOO and bacon. Brown and crisp bacon then remove and reserve. Pour off some of the fat out of the pan and add a couple of tablespoons butter. OMG - bacon juice and BUTTER!!



Pat meat dry and season liberally with salt and pepper. Dredge in flour and add to hot pot in batches. Cook to crispy and deep brown. Add more butter as needed, 2 tablespoons at a time. Reserve browned meat with the bacon.



Add carrot, apple, celery, onion, bay, salt and pepper to the pot and partially cover. Cook to soften vegetables for a few minutes then sprinkle with 2 tablespoons flour. Stir a minute then add cider, consommé, the roasted garlic cloves and stir to combine. Add reserved beef, bacon and herb bouquet to pan, bring to a boil then cover and transfer to oven *. Braise meat for 2 hours, until very tender and the sauce has thickened. Let stand 20 minutes while you cook potatoes.



Boil potatoes and parsnips in salted water until tender. Drain and return to hot pot; mash with 2 tablespoons butter, cheese and milk. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg; stir in chives.



Serve stew in shallow bowls with potatoes alongside. Got to admit this one is more complicated than the one I made up but it is worth the effort. *I also added some red wine to the meat after I brought it all to a boil. During the making of this stew we had a game plan change that involved a movie and dinner out - no worries, we just put it in the fridge and had a great dinner ready the next night. It just got better everytime we reheated it over the next week. Just add more beef stock as needed to keep it going. We actually never even bothered with the potatoes either. Just soup in a bowl = yum! I do want to try the potatoes soon.

All this talk about food is making me hungry - time for more soup! Check back in a day or two for a delicious breakfast casserole that is super easy and really good.
Hate to run but - the soup is on!!!

Time for Christmas - AGAIN!!

Well, I had big plans to share all the fun things I did for Halloween with you...parties, recipes, costumes, etc....Then Thanksgiving happened and it was fabulous - Fried turkeys for three days and there is nothing better! And now I am in Christmas Crazy Mode. I don't leave the house unless there is something I can't live without as in it is necessary for decorating purposes. You should have bought stock in Michaels and Hobby Lobby. Too late now. We were home for Thanksgiving this year and it really threw me off my game. I will call it Christmas Denial. Usually, we fly back to Georgia and South Carolina for Thanksgiving and I try to decorate the inside of my house before we go. Works like this...take down all the Halloween crap and clean then put up all the inside Christmas crap. Invite no one in and no one will know you have Christmas up mid November. We will have a lovely normal Thanksgiving in South Carolina - come home and enjoy having the house ready for Christmas. Works for me. This year since we stayed home it went more like this. Halloween - awesome!!! I live for Halloween. The decorations, candy, costumes, candy, vampire movies, books, shows, candy and big adult costume party blowout...100% totally in to it. November 1, it all comes down. This is when I normally start putting up Christmas - kinda relaxed and slowly...I am calm and really enjoying Thanksgiving at Cindy's and just hanging with all my Atlanta friends & Family...I've got 90% of Christmas done. Lots of time for baking and shopping and wrapping when I get home.

Back to THIS YEAR. Halloween rocks! Blah, blah, blah, lots of candy, zombies and scaring cute little kids in amazing costumes. Not only were they the cutest ever they were also the nicest most polite children and teenagers ever. We take great pride in having the scary house in our neighborhood. I really get into it and so does the hubs. We have the scary music rocking the street and the car with dead people all in and around it. I let the kids get close enough to look in then I hit the car alarm and they LOVE IT!! Gets them every time. Due to a malfunction this year the music almost didn't happen. Great neighbors loaned us their boom box and then we realizied it was a blown fuse problem. Anyhoo - got the scary tunes going and passed out all the candy.

Next, day all zombies returned to storage and it was time to think about Christmas. Except we were staying home for Thanksgiving. I think we've stayed in Texas for maybe two Thanksgivings now. Very weird. We have always gone to South Carolina. Always. Bye Bye Halloween and hello Turkeys!! I turned those jack-o-lanterns around and brought out my meager little Thanksgiving collection of pilgrims and Indians and started working on my Thanksgiving Feast Menu. Borrowed a friends turkey fryer and OMG! Talk about the best Turkey ever!! If you have not had fried turkey you are missing out. Super easy. First - ELECTRIC turkey fryer is your FRIEND. You must buy one. Key word - ELECTRIC!! As in won't burn your house down. No scary propane tanks. That just freaks me out. Not to mention who wants to sit outside babysitting the frying turkey - not me. I plugged that baby up in my dining room - we hardly ever eat in there so it was nice to use it for a change. Gave the oil an hour to heat up, injected my thawed turkey with garlic butter sauce, rubbed the outside with a Cajun dry rub and fried that baby for 48 minutes. Since this was my first time frying a turkey (myself) I got a 12 lb. turkey. Plenty for just the four of us. NOT!! We almost picked the bones clean standing up in the kitchen while John tried to carve it. It was amazing!! The skin alone was my favorite. Along with the sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, creamed corn, stuffing and cranberry relish followed by pecan pie with Blue Bell Pralines n'Cream ice cream and punkin pie (my kids love punkin pie)- no one went hungry. Since we barely had enough leftover to make leftover sandwiches (our fav thing about Thanksgiving) I ran an got another turkey breast to fry and one to fry and take to our tail gate party for the A&M vs. UT football game on the actual day. We did family dinner on Sunday before. That is why I fried three times. One big turkey and two breasts. The whole thing makes a pretty presentation but honestly, we only eat the white meat so in the future I'll just fry the breasts. So here I am all fat and happy on turkey skin. As for Christmas - I was way behind and starting to freak just a little. Especially when we got back from A & M game - nevermind who won - on Friday and instead of shopping and helping the economy like everyone else I was looking at a house full of not Christmas. Total denial. More like panic.

So here I am - day four of Christmas Crazy mode....about 75% done. I am thankful to be celebrating another one with all my friends and family. That is the important part. Not the food, decorations, presents or parties. It's the people. And as I get all caught up in the whirlwind of it all I just needed a little moment to stop and think about the people that make it all worth it. Thank you! And Happy Holidays :)

I'm Just Saying...

Yes, if I had a twenty dollar bill(inflation)for every time I've SAID that...been trying to think of a way to write about a whole bunch of stuff that is on my mind but not really connected in any way. Pretty much what comes out of my mouth on any given day. Trick is to tie it all in and keep you reading. Here goes!

1. Stick with me on this one - It is October and as we know by all the pink it is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I can't imagine anyone on the planet that hasn't been touched by cancer. One in four either has it, has had it, has a loved one with it, or is no longer with us because of it. All four are scary. And WE ALL want to wipe Cancer off the face of the earth. We are getting closer everyday. Research is making amazing breakthroughs and we all pray to see a cure in our lifetime. Here is my thought. I know the pink campaign has raised a lot of money, attention, and focus on finding a cure. But, we still don't have a CURE. People are still getting and dying from cancer every minute. Don't we have enough pink stuff? Can we just put all the money into research for a cure and a way to make this miracle drug available for everybody???? I really don't want or need another pink hat, sweater, watch, lipstick, fancy dinner with auction items, or walk a thon. Let's just put the money on the cure. At the least a more humane way to detect breast cancer. I'm just saying. Money on the problem and not going to the business of raising money. Just imagine if ALL the money went towards fighting cancer. I'm just saying...

2. Now, I've either lost you or not - hopefully, either way you are scratching your head and still reading. One of my favorite things about October is the return of regular tv. Reality tv VS. Real tv...wait that is confusing me and I'm writing this. Reality tv VS. Tv with actors. Scripted doesn't really work cause even reality tv is scripted. Come on!! YOU knew THAT. I admit I have my little train wreck reality shows and yes, I need a 12 step program for all the other shows I tape and follow. THANK YEW sweet baby Jesus for Direct TV or whatever you use to record your shows. Second to a cure for cancer in my lifetime. Amazing. By the way, in case you are freaking about me leading with cancer - let me tell you this. THE ONLY WAY TO DEAL WITH THIS F'ING DISEASE IS TO FIND THE FUNNY! Gonna go off on a tangent here...laughter really is the next best thing to a cure for cancer. Pity party should last about a minute and finding a way to laugh will get you through it. When Wonderman and I spent about 18 months in Cancerland along with the amazing support group of friends & family that carried us thru it with meals, rides, walks, & calls...what got us through the daily grind of cancer treatment was the amazing staff, patients and humor. We decided that if we were going to have to be there everyday for treatment then let's get this party started. We made the most amazing friendships while we were there. Staff, family and patients. Everyday. Somebody laughed. Most days even the sickest person there felt like they too were at the party. Steve Jobs just left the party. He was there and he did amazing things. I guess I'm saying no matter where you are, what you have, make everyday a party. Find something to laugh about. If you can do that in a cancer ward with an IV into your heart you can do that anywhere. Back to the funny...

Train wreck tv/reality tv - Toddlers and Tiaras - wow THIS is real tv with real people that actually spend the hard earned dollars they don't have to dress their little precious baby girls like Las Vegas Strippers. For a cheap crown I'm SORRY TIARA that cost about $2. Yes, I have watched it. I think my hell on earth would be living next door to someone on this freakin show. How do you pretend to relate to these people??? Here is the show I want to see - Toddlers to Teenagers with Tiaras...can you even imagine what is in store for these children. And their very disappointed moms when they don't go home with the Tiara or happy future??

Real Tv - with real actors, scripts, wait what is the difference again? Lots of new shows this fall. Some have quickly bitten the dust - Playboy Club anyone? Call me crazy but I thought it was very tame by tv standards(snicker) today. I read that "people" were outraged by it's offensive material. Guess they weren't watching American Horror Story. Or anything with the word Jersey or Housewife in it...We consider True Blood family viewing at our house - our kids can drive so cut us a little slack. Yes, It does make us all cringe most of the time. I guess if they are old enough to drive and almost go off to war we kind of slack off on the whole vampire porn scenes. Got to tell you though even our almost 17 year old son decided he probably won't watch any more American Horror Story, but if he does he won't with us around. Far enough. Totally get that. I loved Jessica Lange's character and her creepy daughter...but Coach Eric Taylor is ready to hit someone in the head with his very much deserved Emmy for what is happening to our beloved Tammy - I'm sorry this is real tv...Connie Britton is doing her thang and even though this is light years away from her role on my ALL TIME FAVORITE TV SHOW EVER YET...If you did not watch Friday Night Lights you are a MORON...stop reading this blog - go buy the entire series and thank me later. I'm just saying...love Connie Britton and want to love her new show but me and Wonderman will be watching without the boy child. Maybe.

Other new funny shows - Happy Endings, New Girl and Two Broke Girls. Is it just me or are we finally getting that Lucy, Marlo and Mary weren't the only funny women on tv that kept us all watching. Why is it taking so freakin long for the Hollywould Hotshots to realize WOMEN are funny and people love watching funny women. We will even pay MONEY to go to see movies with funny women. Funny. Who knew. I'm just saying...Bridesmaids, Horrible Bosses & anything with Kristen Wiig, Martha Plimpton, Betty White, Tina Fey, Kathryn Hahn or Melissa McCarthy in it?? Gilmore Girls shout out to great TV...another one to go buy the entire series and watch it with your girl children instead of spending money chasing 2 buck tiaras! I'm just saying!! And did she rock Saturday Night Live or what???

As usual I'm on a roll and someone is begging for food - Dinner again??? All I do somedays is feed these people. Speaking of food and feeding people - I promised to share my AMaZing Brownie recipe...and Tequila Soup. Only have time for one so here are the brownies and just keep coming back if ya want to know more about Tequila Soup...Blog Blackmail :)

Best Ever Brownies So Far - confession I use a box mix. Do whatever let's you sleep at night. Life is short use a box, except for wine - that is just wrong. I am finally getting over my cork only snobbery. Don't push me with the freakin box stuff. Back to brownies:

Box - I prefer Ghiradellis's (you know what I mean - do not make me go to pantry to get correct spelling...fancy chocolate place in San Francisco - brownie mix at Sam's in big box. Use two bags for 9 x 13 pan. Just double your box mix of choice. Thicker & bigger is better. Brownies people - focus.

Add to whatever mix you use 1 tbsp of Expresso Powder. Finally found it a Williams and Sonoma. No it is not instant coffee. That will not work. Trust me. Mall, W & S. $10 worth it. Then pour into pan and sprinkle Fluer de Sel salt - fancy sea salt FLAKES -good luck finding that - took forever. Go to fancy grocery stores or online. Again worth every penny. Use it on anything chocolate. Delish.

After salt add any topping of your choice - I used caramel candy corn this time and let me tell you. Major hit. Feeding frenzy. Don't worry when they disappear into the the brownines. They are there. And people go crazy trying to figure out what makes these brownies so good. This is also an excellent time of year to use leftover Halloween candy on top of brownies. Obviously, not the crap no one wants to eat. That is just nasty and should be thrown out. Use the good stuff. Life is short. Chop it up and after salt sprinkle it on before you bake.

Then undercook your brownies by at least 5 minutes. Allow to completely cool before you cut. There ya go...the goodstuff of life - I'm just saying!