I Want The Chocolate One

Good morning members of my blog family. Even if you’re visiting for the first time, welcome to the Chronicles of Nani family. As this is my coffee shop on the Information Super Highway, I need to take a break and get a cup of coffee!

While I’m doing that, I’ll share a scrapbook page I did with some shots I just love of Kaline:

Credits: Chill by Sugar Kissed Designs

Okay I’m back. Aren’t those pictures of Kaline nice? I’m pretty proud of the photography!

Part of this is me feeling a little guilty. I want to thank everyone on Carla’s behalf for the nice comments and birthday wishes. Where I feel a little guilty is I didn’t post anything on August 12, Kaline’s birthday! I did do a Facebook Status for her, but not a blog. Shame on me! She turned 7. She did mention her birthday on Behind Orange Eyes in The Cat Days of Summer where she used one of the photos from that layout. She thought it made her look cute; she is a Leo after all!


So I made a cup of Verona in the Keurig maker. I can see the bottom of the container the Verona is in already! After it’s empty, I’m going to put a new box of Vienna Coffee House, which is my everyday coffee. I have 3 boxes of Verona left, but Starbucks is pricier than most of the K-Cups, so I don’t want to use it all up and I’m not in a financial position to upgrade my everyday java. Besides, I prefer to keep my indulgences as a treat.

To go with the yummy cup of Verona, breakfast is definitely not my normal fruit, yogurt and whole grain cereal. I've been craving a donut like crazy for a couple of weeks. It got worse when I was chatting with Kelly a couple nights ago and we were talking about her impending visit next month. We agreed that we must go to the cider mill in Michigan for cider and donuts. Yes, there are places locally that we can get cider and donuts, but cider and donuts in Michigan taste better. It tastes like home. We’ll go visit Scotty for one of the days she’s here, and the three of us on a picnic table with cider and donuts will definitely happen! And for a little while, we’ll all be in our early 20s, single and not a realistic care in the world.

But that’s next month. For today, I found a box of pumpkin donuts at Kroger when we did our cupboard restocking trip last night. Now, in keeping good tack of my points in my diet, breakfast today is actually a little less than normal for a donut and a peach with coffee. It’s just maybe slightly less good for me than the whole grains and yogurt. But it tastes SO GOOD!


Okay, now on to the weekly Monday Quiz About Me fun, hosted by Heather at Acting Balanced!

1. What is your favorite memory you made while on walk?

I always walked to clear my mind so a memory on a walk would be counter-productive, no? :)

Actually, I went on walks with Tori and Rina a lot. They weren’t as impressed with my favorite trails at Maybury State Park as I was. I liked the dirt paths and the more challenging hills. They hated having to wear bug spray and they hated the bus. But they did like the wildflowers. The best memories are that while they weren’t crazy about the bugs, we did that walking to get to the picnic areas in the back of the park where we discovered a playground they hadn’t been to before! So I guess it’s not so much a single memory, but a bunch of fun memories of picnics with my nieces when they were little.


2. Do you prefer to live in the city, suburbs or country? Why?

Well, I live in the city now, but not downtown, just within the city limits. I have to say that out of all the places I’ve lived I remember loving being a kid in Southgate Michigan because of the plethora of affordable kids programs in the 70s. But I love living in Toledo, Ohio!; it’s a small city, but it has the cultural and sports of a larger city, albeit on a bit smaller scale. The public transportation is good and if you’re driving the traffic is much less congested than a larger it or its suburbs. When David and I started dating that was the most refreshing thing; leaving the always crazy and congested traffic of Novi for the much more pleasant driving in Toledo. We’re close to downtown for things we need to do in the city, live in a pleasant neighborhood and we’re not a far drive from parks and farmland. It’s really the best of all worlds.


3. Post the cutest kid/pet/whatever picture you have taken lately?

Technically I didn’t take it, I’m in it. David took it, so it’s joint effort, right? He did need me there to take it.

I was chilly and kicked back on the couch with my blanket and fell asleep. Kaline is 7 years old and 13 pounds, but she has always loved crawling up and relaxing on my chest. She’s just not the pound-and-a-half kitten she was when she discovered she liked that resting spot. The thing is because she’s always done it, I don’t wake up just because she crawls onto me. I wake up when I hear my husband taking pictures!


4. What is your favorite recipe made with apples?

Tori and Rina will tell you I make the best apple chips there are. My apple chips recipe is simple; sliced cored apples really thin (salad shooter is great for that) spread the apple slices onto racks for the dehydrator. Start the dehydrator and check on them tomorrow. The new dehydrator I got last year will do a full load, about a quart of chips, in a day and a half. It is the greatest, most nutritious snack chip little kids have ever fallen so in love with they want it still sent to them in college.

Now, while I like the apple chips, my favorite thing I do with apples is still Shortbread Apple Crisp; wonderful with a scoop of dulce de leche ice cream!


And don't forget to add a 5th Question on your own blog so we can answer as we hop around!

5. What was a favorite food of yours as a kid that you still love as an adult?

The easy answer would be chocolate. See the story here about my chocolate bunny when I was 3. (It’s the answer to question 4 in the Friday 5 Questions.)  I don’t lock myself in a closet and eat a pound of chocolate anymore, but my favorite of almost anything is still “the chocolate one.”

On a healthier note, I’ve always loved salad! That was my favorite part of dinner when we ate at Noni’s because her dressing was so awesome, but then and still now, put it on a bed of lettuce and I’ll probably like it.

Carla is 4!

Happy Birthday, Carla!

And Soon The Week Is Done

I’ll probably blog some more this afternoon when I take my baking break. This is going to be a big baking day for me. I’m making half-dozen packages of Mr. Goodcookies for the bake sale at Paws and Whiskers on Sunday. I’m making 10 dozen Mr. Goodcookies to package in half-dozen bags. It’s definitely a labor of love!

This week’s statements:
1. I wish I had ___ to ___
2. I stopped wearing ____
3. My favorite song right now is_________because________.
4. I always sing while________.

My Answers:

1. I wish I had money to hire a crew to come in and clean/remodel our house.

2. I stopped wearing skirts. Anyplace I’d go where a skirt or dress would be appropriate I’d use the wheelchair. Skirt in a wheelchair is not a good look!

3. My favorite song right now is Dear God by XTC because it’s a very passionate song. (PLEASE see more about this song in Fragments!)

4. I always sing while I’m baking!

1. What is your favorite fall family tradition?

Apple picking! We’ve, and by “we” I mean me and any members of my family that want to go, gone apple picking since Tori and Rina were a year old. They’ll be 18 next Thursday. Another great tradition that’s part of that is that I make apple chips in the dehydrator. This year I’ll be shipping apple chips to two different places for my college-girls!


2. If money weren't an issue, how many kids would you have?

Still none; money had nothing to do with my choice not to have kids.


3. If you were to get a tattoo, what would it be and where would you put it?

I’d never get a tattoo for real, but I wore a temporary summer tattoo in my teens and 20s; a rose on my ankle. Trite, huh? I’m glad I didn’t get it permanently put on.


4. What condiment is a must in your house?

David likes his mayo on ham sandwiches (mayo-ick). I am a mustard girl. Honey mustard is the number one for pretty much any kind of meat but I like others for sandwiches, cooking and pretzels. I have 4 bottles of mustard that do all get used; honey, spicy brown, Dijon and classic yellow.


5. How did your spouse/fiance propose?

He didn’t. I didn’t either. We were already living together and he was working nights the week before Christmas, so we “went to city hall.” Yes, David worked on our “wedding night.” I scrapped.

**  David and I visited Hollywood Casino for the first time since it opened in April on Labor Day. We both did the smart thing when going to a casino decide how much you’ll lose and when you’ve lost that, you’re done. I did that the first time, well only time, I went to Vegas and considered myself a winner because I only lost about a third of what I planned to lose!

The truth is there’s only been one time that I went to a casino and left with more money than I came in with. John used to go the Motor City Casino in Detroit often enough that he got the occasional big coupon to Iridescence, the very hoity-toity restaurant there. That’s when he called little sis and asked me out to hoity toity dinner and some gambling. It was a chance to spend an evening with one of my closest friends, have a very nice diner with edible art dessert and donate my $20 to the casino while having a little fun with the draw poker machines. This was while John was playing the table games.

Well, that one night, after John has spent his donation to the casino for the evening, he found me having a jolly time at a machine not noticing what the total of credits was because I knew I was winning enough that it hadn’t asked for more coins. That was back when the machines still used coins; much more fun than putting paper money in and getting a paper slip if you win. John had looked at the credit total I was ignoring with huge eyes. “You know that credit total is eighty dollars’ worth of quarters, right?” I lost the next few hands after realizing how much was there, so I hit the cash button and listened to almost eighty dollars in quarters, with bells, spill out of the machine. That’s why I like the old-school coin machines better than the new-fangled paper ones. Like when I cashed out of machines in Vegas, you just feel like more of a winner when the coin cup gets too heavy to carry!

On Monday, because I didn’t really want to go because I didn’t have money I wanted to donate to the casino, David gave me a gambling stipend. We found a draw poker machine I liked and he put the bill in for me and left to find the poker room. I brought my Nook and our agreement was that when he was ready to go, I’d either be in this area playing poker or I’d be having a latte and reading. The machines are really set up so that you win often enough and big enough or almost big enough, to make you feel like you really did well, almost won, but after a decent while, they still get the money. I like that! Just next time I need to pick one of the machines for people who are there with people who play well and last longer! David found me reading the end of the current book and having just finished my latte. He wasn’t a winner that night either, but I think we might go again sometime.


**  We gathered up the cats for that annual trip that if you listened to them you’d swear we were going to the violin string factory. The greatest thing about choosing a vet that is less than a mile away is the ride with the cat chorus is short. We called it playing “Meowco Purro” as Carla would sound the desperate cry from her carrier and Kaline would respond with equal pathos from hers. Carla is 12 pounds and the paperweight that sleeps on my hip is 13! They said it’s average for girls and they look and sound great otherwise. It’s just amazing to me because in all her 17 years, the heaviest Azzie ever was, and that was only one time she weighted in that heavy, was 8 pounds. She was usually 7-1/2. I asked to be reassured that 12 and 13 pounds was normal and was told it’s normal. They eat light cat food, their preference, we tried to go back to regular; they were not impressed, run and play like crazy and don’t have a ton of treats, they’re not crazy about people food either. If they were overweight, I don’t know what we’d do.

Kaline’s seasonal eye problem is allergies. We were given the choice between eye ointment like last year, pills or children’s Benadryl. We’d had better experiences with liquids in the past, so we went with the children’s Benadryl. Yeah, that was a good idea! We got a drop of the first dose on her tongue and she was foaming at the mouth trying to get it out. Her eye is getting better and we’ll try the medicine again if it doesn’t keep improving, but adding that much stress isn’t going to help her.


**  The book I almost finished at the casino and did finish Tuesday morning was Blood and Bones by Austin Camacho. It’s the second Hannibal Jones book and I have all of the Hannibal Jones books; three read, two more to go. I love Hannibal! He is strong, smart and one of those champions for people. If you enjoy mysteries with a lot of action, some violence and great, but realistic, moral victories, definitely try out Austin Camacho’s Hannibal Jones mysteries!


**  About Dear God, by XTC: Don’t get this wrong! Dear God is an old song that I’ve recently become aware of and it is NOT a religious song, in that atheism is the lack of religion. The song has made me think a lot. Churches try to “save” atheists, but after listening to the lyrics, I wonder if those trying to save them have ever asked WHY they don’t believe. While people are starving, living in the streets, children and animals are abused, families are falling apart, many churches are fighting for superiority amongst themselves and government control. I really think I can understand why they don’t see God. We don’t always do a good job of showing Him. Maybe churches aren’t here to “save” the atheists; maybe the atheists are here to save the churches. Just a little food for thought.

Hodge Podge

1. In your opinion what's the most important job in the world? Oh, and parenting is a given so besides parenting, what's the most important job in the world?

The warped society we are, you’d think the most important jobs are athletes and celebrities followed closely by politicians and corporate CEOs. In my opinion, they are all the most overrated jobs there are. Well, at least with a corporate CEO they’ve worked their way to the top, usually, but even with that to get to the very top, it is either willingly or unwillingly on the backs of lots of other people who don’t get rewarded for carrying you.

I think the most important jobs are doctors and teachers. My opinion, everyone has a right to a healthy mind and body and the people who dedicate themselves to those two things are the ones who make this a better world one student and one patient at a time.


2. Share a favorite or not so favorite memory from a childhood birthday.

My absolute favorite childhood birthday memory is bittersweet, but when you say childhood birthday it’s the memory that jumps out in my mind and warms me, usually with a tear or two.

When I turned 6, my grandfather was at home after they had done everything they could at the hospital for his cancer. He was fed through a tube directly into his stomach and Noni prepared his meals in the blender. We had my 6th birthday party at their house so we could see Nono. I adored my grandfather and as the first grandchild, it was pretty much a mutual adoration. When it was time for cake, I asked Noni if she could put a piece of my cake in the blender so Nono could have some too. Everyone was saying “no,” but a voice, suddenly stronger than it had been, came from the bedroom, “YES!” Nono wanted cake. Noni put a small piece of cake in the blender for him

I vividly remember asking and hearing him say “yes” louder than everyone who was saying “no.” The other part I remember vividly is after cake I went to his room again and he hugged me and in his broken English said “Best birthday cake I ever eat.”


…And I‘ll answer the next question after I regain my composure; it always happens when I tell that story.


3. Peanut butter-crunchy or smooth?

PB2!

I’ve traditionally always loved crunchy for PB&J sandwiches or just eating by the tablespoonful right out of the jar. That explains the need to fins lower fat alternatives and the plus size clothing catalogues now! I use creamy peanut butter to make Krisp Kringles at Christmas and now that’s the only time there is regular peanut butter in our house; 1 jar a year.

PB2 is real peanuts with most of the fat taken out. Just add water and it has real peanut butter taste and texture. I often have my toast without jelly when we eat out and I’ll take home a single-serve grape jelly because it matches perfectly with PB2 when I need a little childhood comfort food.


4. William Butler Yeats is credited as saying, "Happiness is neither virtue nor pleasure nor this thing nor that but simply growth, We are happy when we are growing." Your thoughts?

I don’t think that describes happiness. It describes satisfaction which can be one of the things which creates happiness, but it’s not the end all and be all of happiness. Happiness is a choice; a state of being that comes from everything and anything you decide will make you happy.


5. What's something that makes you cringe?

The phrases “It is what it is” and “bucket list.” The former is an excuse to be lazy and the latter putting an expiration date on yourself. They are both incredibly pessimistic and I cringe when I hear them. To me they both sound like a cry for emotional help.


6. Name a song that always puts you in a good mood?

One Step At A Time by Jordin Sparks



7. The answer is yes. What's the question?

“Would Nani like some chocolate?”


8. Insert your own random thought here.

I had a winning August. In the peel sticker Olympics thing at McDonalds, I got 2 free snack wraps and a free small smoothie. The snack wraps are things I actually eat there from time to time and the smoothie was something new. I had a pineapple-mango smoothie. I loved it! Wonderful flavor and a good points value for an occasional snack, but at the price tells me I’ll wait to win another one or find a large sum of money on our doorstep to have it again. It was still very good!

As part of my winning August, I also won a book! I read Pam’s review of The Divorce Girl, by Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg at Empty Nest. It sounded like a good book and she was offering a free copy to a random commenter, so I left a comment to be entered into the drawing. I got an email telling me I’d won! The book came in just after I’d started Blood and Bones by Austin Camacho. I love the hero; Hannibal Jonas and I’ve collected all the books in the series to read. I finished Blood and Bones a couple days ago and decided to read The Divorce Girl next.

I’m only 21 pages in, but I like it so far. My greatest challenge with the book is that it’s a paperback; I’ve been using an e-reader for the last 2 years with the wonderful benefit of no dyslexia! I had forgotten how much slower I read when the background is bright enough to draw my eyes into the problems I have. I’ve taken a couple semesters off from school too, so for the last year, reading on paper has been newspaper and magazine articles, much easier than a book. But this book is definitely interesting enough to keep me making that effort!

I wanted to make a point of publicly saying “thank you” to Pam and every blogger who has freebies and random draws for gifts on their blog. It adds a little tangible fun to our community! I’ll give my thoughts on the book when I finish it!

Tuesday Night Quiz About Me

Today was the first day of classes for Acme Feline Obedience School. Carla starts this year, but she hasn’t sign on at all today. Kaline took her classes online and so is Carla, but I never knew that Kaline skipped the first day of school! I read it in their blog, Behind Orange Eyes. Carla talked about Baggle having warned them to not go to school on the first day. I guess it’s just not something humans understand.

I’m trying to get back into a normal week; David is working late, it’s the day after Labor Day, I’m not even sure what day it is!

Okay, it’s Tuesday. I have a pretty cool barn photo that I think I’ll post next Tuesday for Barn Charm Tuesday at Bluff Area Daily. It’s a very cool barn set from our Fourth of July trip. If you like barns, come back next Tuesday!

Now with my schedule the last few weeks, I’ve skipped a few things I usually do. Since the Linky is still up at Acting Balanced, I’m going to answer Heather’s Monday Quiz About Me questions, except it’s a Tuesday Night Quiz About Me.

1. What was the toughest job you ever had?

Well, I could say Digitalegacies, my video business, because it didn’t even last 2 years and I had to close it. I did a LOT of work and really believed in my concept for it, but I was really bitten by the Detroit-area economy; laid off workers change their minds about using disposable income when none of it’s disposable anymore. Closing my business was tougher than any job I've ever had working for someone else.


2. What one characteristic makes a good boss?

TQM – I am SUCH a believer in Total Quality Management; getting employees involved in suggestions and understanding changes that are made really gives them ownership and pride in their work and the quality as a whole benefits. I learned this from my boss at Omnicom. She was awesome and we all had an opportunity to input into the department. Her staff meetings were always empowering.


3. How did you celebrate 'the end of summer'?

Okay, with limited mobility I spend a lot of time in the house. While we had a HOT summer, I spent more days bundled up because I was cold than I did sweating. I enjoyed the really hot days when I was outside; even if the heat was mean to my legs, it was pleasurable to the rest of me. So my tentative “last hurrah” was going our for a day trip with David, but as long as the possibility for hot days still exists, summer’s not over! If I get the opportunity to go out on another 80s or 90s day, I’ll do it. I worry that after the really hot summer, we’ll have a really cold winter and we don’t heat as much as we cool the house. I can bundle up, but I sure like it better when I don’t have to!


4. Do you follow the fashion rules about Labor Day being the end of wearing white etc?

Yeah, kinda, I have white shoes and black shoes, but my white shoes have always been more comfortable. But I don’t like shoes anyway. I did wear white shoes in December when we got married. We both wore dark blue, but I wore white shoes; I was a bride, I deserved to wear white, but I deserved more to be comfortable on the day I got married! :)


And don't forget to add a 5th Question on your own blog so we can answer as we hop around!

5. What is your favorite thing about fall?

For me, and everyone who reads this blog knows, it’s PUMPKIN SPICE SEASON! But really, I love all the harvest flavors of fall. Eat ‘N Park has their farmer’s market soup again this year, oh so good!!