Stop Freaking Out

Last night I had an ocular migraine. I don’t get them often, maybe 2 to 3 times a year. It’s not painful, but it is unsettling. What I see is similar to the painting below, but the circle was closer to being complete and it was more colorful/prismatic.

I was trying to tell Starr what I was seeing and how it was frustrating me when she interrupted me and said “stop freaking out”…I wasn’t freaking out, I was talking!! Rude. Okay, maybe I was going on about it, but–dude!–I couldn’t see normally!!

*At some point this morning, I had a decent transition/connection planned for these two things, but I lost it! : ) Oh well.*

Now. This morning, Starr woke up with a swollen puffy face. It looks like fluid retention. We’ve both experienced similar before, but it has been happening more and more often lately and she is not happy. Today was the worst it’s been so far, her cheeks, eyes and lips were all puffy. She did not look like herself, she looked sick. Our morning consisted of ice packs, whining and Googling. She has been drinking water, her diet hasn’t changed, she hasn’t been sick. She has increased her workouts.

She asked me to post the problem to the blog (no pictures were allowed!) and see if anyone has any ideas or help for her.

We will keep an eye on it and if it continues I will make sure that she goes to the doctor.

It’s Josie’s Fault

Josie @ Yum Yucky‘s glowing review of Pillsbury’s Simply Buttermilk Biscuits the other day. It’s all your fault, because my mind was instantly all “oh yeah!! Biscuits and Gravy!!” Which aren’t good for me, but they taste so darn good!

I resisted a whole five days before giving in to those greedy thoughts and finally made Biscuits and Gravy for lunch today. We did not have the Simply Buttermilk Biscuits in our store, but did that stop me?? NO! I went for the usual Grands because by then, I was on a mission!

Here is my basic sausage gravy “recipe” (I don’t use a recipe, I just make…and eat!!):

Dragonfly’s Sausage Gravy

• 1 12 ounce package of your favorite “hot” bulk breakfast sausage. I generally use Jimmy Dean or Owens (whichever I have a coupon for!)
• 3 tablespoons butter (the basic idea is to have about the same amount of fat and flour)
• 4 tablespoons flour
• 2 to 3 cups or so of milk. Don’t use skim! I prefer to use some heavy cream…the more fat the better, this is not diet food. (Maybe 1 cup cream, and the balance 2% milk?)
• Fresh cracked pepper to taste…I use quite a bit.
• Salt to taste.
• Cayenne pepper for extra heat.
• Optional: maple syrup

Brown sausage in saucepan, breaking apart with spoon as it browns. After sausage is completely cooked, add butter and flour. Stir and cook for a few minutes, or just until flour starts to brown…just slightly. Slowly stir in milk (cream!) and as the sauce begins to thicken, add pepper and salt.

If gravy is too thick add more milk, or if after 5 to 10 minutes it is still too thin, add a tablespoon of butter mixed well with a tablespoon of flour, repeat or adjust until it is perfect for you. We like ours on the thicker side.

At this point I add a sprinkle of ground cayenne pepper and a tablespoon or two of maple syrup. Yum. If you don’t add too much, this adds a great additional layer of flavor and does not make the gravy sweet. Add a little, and taste it.

Serve hot with your favorite biscuits.

Serves 4ish

The Muppets: Pöpcørn

The Muppets: Pöpcørn
With subtitles!!!

Found on Neatorama….just when I needed it!!

Bebalance…Again

Bill Dan “Bebalance” – Balancing Rocks again at Sausalito waterfront.

Bill Dan was one of my first friends on Flickr and even though I never really used Flickr, I am glad that I know Bill and his balancing skills.

Makes me happy.

Cabin Retreat

I went with friends again this summer on a “girl’s weekend” get away. A few of my favorite faces from previous years weren’t able to make it this year and I missed them…a lot. However, there were a couple new faces and I really enjoyed meeting and getting to know them.

I took these pictures with my cell phone in a rare private moment on the patio.

I am still recovering a bit from all the food, wine, chocolate and late nights. I am so glad that I went!!

Starr stayed home with Sammy (the cat). She did manage to feed and water him, but refused to touch the litter box. Not that I blame her. Though it’s just one more reason that he is and will always be MY cat!!

Dan Savage on Marriage

Dan Savage answers the question “Why did you want to get married?”

As one of the Facebook commenters said:

He doesn’t even have to tell me why. The fact is he should be able to choose whether or not to, like anyone else.

It seems so simple.

Check out Dan’s YouTube channel…’tis good stuff! Dan Savage YouTube

Bright Tuesday

I am sorry for being a big whiner yesterday! I try not to give in to those feelings, but some days I just get so flippin’ frustrated!!

Moving on:

Music has always been a big part of my life and I have been sharing some of my finds here for a while. I finally decided to open a blog dedicated to my musical finds and spent a great deal of time this weekend futzing with it. I tried several templates that Starr rejected “that’s nice, but…” and she makes a face. The only one that she would approve is the same one I’m using here…so they are like twins!!

Since I just started it, there isn’t much content yet, but I thought I would go ahead and share the link today:

Bourgeois Blue – A Music Blog

Now, to groceries, laundry, cooking and cleaning…the fun never stops!!

And just for fun, I thought I would share this picture that Skye took of Starr recently. Starr is showing off her “perfect” umbrella and her fun rain boots!
A part of her looks forward to rainy days so that she can use and wear them!!

Not All Fathers Deserve a “Day”

I guess you could say the same thing about some moms, but I don’t have a deadbeat mom to deal with. I have Starr’s dad.

This year Starr and her dad are in the same place they were last year. He hasn’t tried to reconcile with her, he hasn’t caught up on child support–we haven’t received a payment in nearly 3 years, he hasn’t helped with any of the tens of thousands of dollars in expenses from her car accident (most of which were incurred because he failed to keep her medical insurance up to date, which he was legally required to do)…or even help with college for that matter. She needs braces again, because of the accident, to the tune of $3500, but we can’t afford it.

Nope, we didn’t celebrate him as a father yesterday. He is lucky I didn’t send him a hate letter. Hmm. Maybe tomorrow.

He has a new girlfriend. I don’t know about you, but who hooks up with someone who isn’t doing all that he can to do right for his children?? Oh well. Not my problem.

Thank you and much love to all those dads out there who do. Who support. Who love. Who care.

It’s Like Crack

Starr bought the first two seasons of Dawson’s Creek the other day. I guess she would have been about 8 years old when it started. Being the mom that I am, permissive but connected, I let her watch it and watched with her. She was so attached to Pacey, Dawson, Joey and the rest. I think it was the first TV show that she really cared about and wanted to keep watching.

We watched every episode.

It was cute, she was so excited about her purchase and now she has been spending her free time in her room or on the back patio re-watching Dawson’s Creek from the beginning. She said the moment the opening credits started it made her heart swell as all the memories and love that she had for this show came flooding back.

“I have to watch it all. It’s like crack! I’m addicted and can’t stop!”

Dawson’s Creek Opening Credits- Season One
“I Don’t Want to Wait” – Paula Cole

Thankfully this is the kind of addiction that I can just laugh at!

Another Word For Love

Starr sent me this message earlier today:

I was looking up synonyms for love and this is what the synonym dictionary gave me . . . just saying.

sleep together, roll in the hay, love, make out, make love, sleep with, get laid, have sex, know, do it, be intimate, have intercourse, have it away, have it off, screw, fuck, jazz, eff, hump, lie with, bed, have a go at it, bang, get it on, bonk

You’d think there would be more than one way to say it in a non sexual way, but I guess not.

Ha ha, but really?!? I immediately went to my usual source Thesaurus.com and found the following:

Main Entry: love

Part of Speech: noun

Definition: adoration; very strong liking

Synonyms: adulation, affection, allegiance, amity, amorousness, amour, appreciation, ardency, ardor, attachment, case*, cherishing, crush, delight, devotedness, devotion, emotion, enchantment, enjoyment, fervor, fidelity, flame, fondness, friendship, hankering, idolatry, inclination, infatuation, involvement, like, lust, mad for, partiality, passion, piety, rapture, regard, relish, respect, sentiment, soft spot, taste, tenderness, weakness, worship, yearning, zeal

Main Entry: love

Part of Speech: noun

Definition: person who is loved by another

Synonyms: Juliet, Romeo, admirer, angel, beau, beloved, boyfriend, courter, darling, dear, dear one, dearest, flame, girlfriend, honey, inamorata, inamorato, loved one, lover, paramour, passion, spark, suitor, swain, sweet, sweetheart, truelove, valentine

Main Entry: love

Part of Speech: verb

Definition: adore, like very much

Synonyms: admire, adulate, be attached to, be captivated by, be crazy about, be enamored of, be enchanted by, be fascinated with, be fond of, be in love with, canonize, care for, cherish, choose, deify, delight in, dote on, esteem, exalt, fall for, fancy, glorify, go for, gone on, have affection for, have it bad, hold dear, hold high, idolize, long for, lose one’s heart to, prefer, prize, put on pedestal, think the world of, thrive with, treasure, venerate, wild for, worship

Main Entry: love

Part of Speech: verb

Definition: have sexual relations

Synonyms: caress, clasp, cling, cosset, court, cuddle, draw close, embrace, feel, fondle, hold, hug, kiss, lick, look tenderly, make love, neck, pet*, press, shine, soothe, stroke, take into one’s arms, tryst, woo

Now that’s better! I thought maybe she was kidding, but I was able to find her original source. I’m not going to link  it, but it does exist…