RELAX! YOU'VE GOT PLENTY OF TIME

STOP THE PRESSES! The Christmas season is NOT upon us! Don't buy into the commercialism that has become our holiday season. It's just not true!

Grab yourself a glass of wine, your favorite magazine, a good book or your honey and kick back and enjoy the moments. Forget about the holidays: What to cook? What to buy? How to decorate? Which cookie recipe to use? How long the line is at Starbucks to get a peppermint mocha?........forget it all.

The man with more things to do than all of us added together isn't worried. He isn't stressing. How do I know? A picture is worth a thousand words:

Yes indeedy. That's him up there. Santa is at the post office picking up chicks in corvettes. Does he look stressed to you?

I apologize for the quality of the picture but I had to take it while in hot pursuit. Prancer caught me taking Santa's incriminating photo and was trying to run me down. But it's him. White beard, white hair, big belly. Who else wears red shorts, a red tshirt and red flipflops (slippers to Pseudo, Smitty and Pualani)? Oh yeah, it's him, alright.

Now go enjoy your evening and stop worrying about how you're going to get it all done. If Santa isn't stressing, why should we?

I NEED A BREAK

Hold the pickle. Hold the lettuce. Hold the phone. Stop the presses. Stop the insanity!

I think I may have just a bit too much on my plate. A little more than I can chew……….if you will. It all became crystal clear a few minutes ago.

People react differently to stress. My Harley Stud gets cranky and yells at everyone. Me………? I drop my basket. Not all at once but one egg at a time. I forget to do important things. I do things and then forget that I did them. I become distracted to the point that I can’t complete a coherent sentence. People begin to question my sanity. Let me give you an example.

I was talking with Daugher #2 about which one of us would pick up her prescription from the pharmacy when I realized that I dropped off a prescription for myself last week but never returned to pick it up. Or did I? Uh Oh! Imagine my embarrassment when I made the call. It went like this:

Me: Hi, this is Smart Mouth Broad. I dropped off a prescription last week but I don’t think I picked it up.

Pharmacist: Let me check………………………………….Yes, we filled that on May 14^th.

Me: Did I pick it up?

Ph: *pauses as she considers if perhaps I’ve been taking a little too much medication* Well, let me see…………………………………….No, it’s still here.

I need a break. You may not see me around for awhile. Or maybe you will. This blog just might be the one thing that’s helping me to keep it all together except that I’m not keeping it together. If you don’t see me here much or at your place, please don’t take it personally. I still love you!

Hugs,

SMB

SAVED BY THE DINNER BELL

(This is not my photograph but the meatballs look like this.)

My head is still spinning from Christmas. I'm trying to get ready for D1's birthday which is New Year's Day and can't seem to put one foot in front of the other without putting forth major effort. I'm feeling a bit guilty that while most of my bloggy friends took time off for Christmas, they are back at it and I've got ………….nothing. I've discovered when the creative juices fail me, a recipe post is in order. I feel a little embarrassed to even call this a recipe because it's so simple, I think the dog could do it if she didn't lack the required opposable thumbs to open the jars.

Every year since we moved to our current home, we have hosted an open house Christmas Eve celebration for our friends and family. Each year I've made this recipe for meatballs and it's become a tradition that everyone demands expects. While the menu varies each year, there is always beer, there is always wine and there are always meatballs. D2 has a friend that is also a neighbor. When she arrived home from college on Christmas break this year the first thing she said to D2 was, "Your mom's making meatballs, right?" One year they were in a little tiff and this friend actually made nice just in time to be welcomed back into the fold just for the meatballs. Personally, I like them but really don't see what all the fuss is about. All I know is that if you choose to make them ….say….for New Years Eve….be prepared to make them again next year.

HOLIDAY MEATBALLS

1 Large package of frozen meatballs (I've used homemade meatballs before and MHS prefers them but at this time of year, the frozen variety fit more into my schedule.)

1 Large jar of Ragu traditional spaghetti sauce (any brand will do but this is the one I use)

1 Large jar of grape jelly (I've also used a combo of red and black currant jelly)

1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Combine all ingredients in a crockpot on high and heat thoroughly. Stir occasionally. Reduce heat to low.

Enjoy!

Happy New Year, everyone!