Flashback Friday, part 6

In trying to keep with the "look at my hideous formals" theme, I found a picture that I actually like. I know that I'm normally very self-deprecating, but this time I can't really say too many negative things about this picture. I'm sorry, I tried.

This is my dad and youngest brother, too. In case you can't figure that out.

Obviously this was my Junior year of high school. Obviously I made the homecoming court. I didn't make queen because that was only available to the three Senior representatives. What isn't so obvious is that we only had fifteen girls in my class so it wasn't that big of an accomplishment and I'm wearing a bridal gown that was $25 on the sale rack of the bridal store where I was working at the time. Yeah, that dress had a train that my mom cut off. I believe the reason it had been marked down was because of some stains on the hem, because my mom cut off a couple inches from the front as well. She also put a slit up the front so I could walk without doing the geisha shuffle which was very helpful when I had to be escorted across the basketball court by my father during halftime. Oh, yeah, did I forget to mention that my high school is so small that they don't have a football team? They have Homecoming Banquet during basketball season and Junior/Senior Banquet in the Spring.

Anyway, I really liked this dress a lot. It was very retro in the way it was cut (for the early nineties anyway), and the neckline was fairly flattering for a girl with no chest. Hey, that's me! I had no chest, so it was fairly flattering. It's kind of hard to see the pattern, but it was a really pretty brocade stripe that lengthened. That was something my beanpole self didn't need, but I liked it anyway.

The one bad thing I have to say about this picture is- I have no idea why my hair looks like that. Whoever I paid to do my hair like that should have gotten a stern talking to. Don't get all up-in-arms about me being wealthy enough to pay someone to do my hair. I had a job, found a hugely marked down dress and bought my shoes at Payless. Plus, I was on court that year and was getting my picture in the yearbook. It was necessary. It does make my head look huge though, doesn't it? I look like a bobble-head. Oh, I almost forgot, the next night at the banquet, I matched the tablecloths. Yeah, they had off-white brocade tablecloths. Everyone else at my table was wearing black, so I stuck out like a sore thumb. Not something a shy teen-aged girl wants.

It's like when Maria made the kids clothes from drapes, except my mom stole a tablecloth. Not really.

You should recognize the girl sitting at my left, she wised up that year and went with something more subtle. No more Michelin Tire Sleeves for her! Sheesh, I'm really slumping over in the picture, too. I guess that's what happens when the person sitting next to you is a good six inches shorter than you are. I have to say too, that only three of us at the table were completely in dress code, one was right on the edge, one was in violation, and one kept her dress on her shoulders until the camera came out. That's one thing dress codes taught us- how to push it just far enough without getting caught.

So that's my Junior Year Homecoming Ensemble. If you would like to peek back at my Freshman and Sophmore years, feel free! I don't think I have any pictures of my Senior year Homecoming, which is sad. I don't even remember what I wore, but I do have a good story about that year and a casual picture of me and my date taken on a different day.

Join in on the Flashback Friday fun, if you're brave enough. Or just swing by Tia's blog and laugh at the rest of us.

I'm a multi-tasking procrastinator- watch me go!

It's Sunday night, and I'm just finishing up the coming week's lesson plans! Of course, I'm watching some movies on Netflix Watch Instantly so come tomorrow morning I may have to re-do some page numbers, but it keeps me seated so I'm not constantly finding other things to do.

This is really not like me to be this ahead of schedule. I'm normally making up the daily lesson plans over my morning coffee, and collecting all my supplies while the kids each their lunch. We have determined that it's easier for us to start school after lunch while Monster is taking his nap. At least that's the official reason. It's just a huge coincidence that it allows me to procrastinate as long as possible. I swear.

Now, if I was really all together, I would have the muffins for tomorrow's breakfast already in the oven, but I don't want to make y'all look bad. :)

Flashback Friday, part 5

Is it still Friday? I'm SO late, I'm sorry. I had a busy day and busy night, and I almost didn't post at all, but I already had a picture picked out, so here goes:




First let me apologize profusely to my dear, sweet friend who puts up with so much. (Psst- I'm fairly certain she had plastic grocery bags stuffed into those Michelin Tire sleeves. That's all I'm going to say about her while she is unable to defend herself.) And yes, I am wearing an ENTIRE. DRESS. MADE. OF. TURQUOISE. LAME'! You can't even see the shoes in this picture, but let me tell you they matched the silver pleather clutch peaking out from under my hand perfectly. As in they were also silver pleather. Silver pleather. So, not only did I have on a freaking turquoise disco ball for a dress, my shoes sent off little reflections of light so much that when my date and I passed a light fixture, we both had to cover our eyes to avoid being temporarily blinded. Oh, my poor date. That poor boy never knew what was coming. I should let him just pretend he had nothing to do with this, but he was actually quite adorable. And I need to show you the shoes.







I'm sorry, you dear man, hopefully this never gets back to you, and your wife and family don't start to question your sanity because you stuck it out and didn't run screaming into the night. (Breathe, Sara, it'll be over soon.) Look at my shoes. And oh, sweet lord, I have on flesh toned pantyhose. See, it's the little things like this that you have to block from your memory or you end up sitting in a corner, hugging your knees, and rocking back and forth.

On the plus side, my hair is good.

Can I just tell you that I couldn't lift my arms? I was afraid of tearing the dress. When Poor Date pinned my corsage on, he ripped a little hole.

So that's my Sophomore Homecoming ensemble. Once again, we didn't dance, so movement was not an issue. I'm thinking of making this holiday season all about my hideous choices in formal wear. Don't worry, I have more than enough to last for a few months. I may have posted a few already on this blog and at my Facebook, but you'll forgive me for mentally blocking out things like that, right?

Please join in on the Flashback Friday fun, go to Tia's blog for more info.

Flashback Friday, part 4

Just to let you know up front, I'm writing this post whilst supervising a second grader and kindergartner home schooling, so if I slip into "A says a, a, apple" mode, I'm sorry. I'm also drinking my coffee, and trying to keep my coffee breath away from the Princess who has made it known several times she does not appreciate the smell of coffee breath. I'm a multi-tasker, watch me go!

Tia posted her high school i.d. I thought about digging out my college one because we didn't get i.d.'s in high school, but I found something better. And by better, I mean hideously mortifying to all involved.





I don't have as many old pictures scanned as I thought. I'm sorry if I've shared this picture already on my blog. This is my freshman year right before the homecoming banquet. Yes, I said banquet. Remember when I told you I went to a private Christian school? Yeah, they don't believe in dancing, so I've never learned. So does the fact that there was no dancing might make the GINORMOUS train a little less odd-looking? Please? Yeah, there's really no excuse for that stupid train. It was a hand-me-down, but I asked to wear it. My mom offered to make me a new dress (there was a dress code that made store-bought dresses nearly impossible for me), but stupid me, I asked to wear that monstrosity.

I didn't have a date that year, we went as a group of girls, and had a slumber party after the big shindig. Why am I wearing a corsage if there was no date, you ask? My daddy bought it for me. Yeah, aw, whatever.

Those glasses alone are worth their own post. They're very Sally Jesse Raphael, huh? Although you probably can't tell in the picture, they had a deep red tortoise shell pattern. Ooo baby, I was stylin'. That was my last pair of glasses. The very next year, I got contacts, got my braces off, and got a boyfriend. Coincidence? I think not.

So yeah, I spent the whole night trying to keep my train out from under other people's feet, and I loved every minute of it! It was my first formal banquet ever, and I was dressed like a princess. Teenage hormones do crazy, weird things to you.

Join in on the humiliation, I mean fun next Flashback Friday! You know you want to.

I'm so late, nothing new, huh?

I want to win some Stevia. Tia is having a giveaway. Do you want to win some Stevia? Go to her blog and find out how you can enter!

It's supposed to taste like sugar. I'll believe that when I taste it. I'm one of those people that can taste fake sugar a mile away. In fact, we only buy Swiss Miss instant cocoa because the other brands use fake sugar, check it out. My tongue knows; it can't be fooled. So if I win, I'll do a taste off, and let you know.

Flashback Friday, part 3

It's Flashback Friday! I'm following Tia's example and posting a Halloween pic. Actually I'm posting two.

This is me and my oldest, Bubby. This was right before he turned four. My husband had just started working at the same place as one of my ex-boyfriends. It's a long story, but we had all been friends at one point, so it's not as awkward as it sounds. It was his office's party, and my first Halloween party. I've gone to plenty of Fall Festivals growing up, but we didn't celebrate "the devil's holiday". I don't remember ever dressing up as anything besides a cowgirl. We still raked in the candy, so I didn't really mind.

We had to dress up, and even though I wasn't really interested in going at all, I had to find costumes for me, my husband, a four year-old, and a one year-old. Let me add too, that it is nearly impossible to find a costume for an infant that isn't made of fake fur or any other material that is conducive to 90 degree heat. It is still FREAKIN' hot in October in Florida, but because most of the country is cooling off, apparently we have to improvise. Monkey, my second son, ended up wearing a Superman pajama set. I gelled his hair into a little curl on his forehead, and he looked adorable. I wore black cigarette pants, a black corset top (I was working at Victoria's Secret at the time, and I worked those sales racks), cat ears, a bowtie, and a tail. I think I also had black knee-high boots. At any rate, I had just recently dyed my hair black, so I thought it fit. The party was awkward, nobody was having fun (who has fun at their boss' house?), and it was over soon enough. One of these days, I'm going to throw a fun Halloween party just so I can say I've been to one.

This is my oldest younger brother. Catch that? There are five of us, three girls and two boys in that order. He's the one my kids call Uncle Bubba. Growing up, he was called Bubba because he was the only boy for almost ten years. He enlisted in the Army Reserves, decided to join full-time, got moved from Supplies to Helicopter Repair, got sent on two tours to Iraq, and decided no more. He lives in Virginia now, with his kids, and I miss him very much. We're the only normal two in the family, and that doesn't say much. Or speaks volumes, depending on how you look at it.

At any rate, I painted his face with glow in the dark paint, and I'm really proud of it. I think my Hubby was working because he ended up taking my oldest trick or treating with me. I was very pregnant at the time with my second, so I mostly sat on a bench, and he did all the walking.

Funny story about my brother, every time my husband had to take a business trip, he would come stay the night, so I wouldn't be alone pregnant with a baby. I swear, my neighbors gave me looks because every time my husband left town, this other guy showed up. We don't really look that much alike, either. Yup, good times.

Join in on the Flashback Friday fun, I'm sure you've got good stories to tell!

"They call me tater salad."

I need to stop cooking like this. I'm not going to have any clothes that fit by the time Thanksgiving rolls around (see what I did there?). I can't help it though. Fall makes me want to cook. Christmas may be the time of year for baking, but fall is soup season. Here's another one of my favorites, and guess what, it has pork products and potatoes! Big shocker.

Baked Potato Soup
serves an army

• 1 pound of bacon, snipped into bite-sized pieces with kitchen scissors (Use the good stuff, go ahead, you deserve it.)
• 1 medium onion, chopped (Baseball-sized is good.)
• 2 cups carrots, diced (Look, it's a vegetable!)
• 5 pounds of potatoes, diced (You can feel healthier and leave the skin on, or go completely unhealthy and peel them first.)
• 1 T dried chives (If you have 3 tablespoons of fresh chopped chives, that's fine, too.)
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 to 2 cups milk
• Sour cream to garnish, if you need a little extra fat

Get out your big pot. We're cooking for an army here, there's at least 10 servings in this recipe. Saute the chopped bacon on medium heat until it starts to render its fat.

Add the onion and carrot, and cook until the onion is translucent and the bacon has given off all it's yummy fat. At this point, you can drain off most of the oil, but what's the fun in that? I'm sure cardiologists everywhere are cringing, but bacon fat makes me happy.

Add your potatoes and dried chives, and stir to coat every last piece with goodness. (If you are using fresh chives add them with the cheese so they don't get too nasty.)

Add enough water to cover everything. You can use chicken stock if you'd like, but definitely use low sodium or no salt added chicken stock. Bacon is plenty salty. Taste the broth to see if you need salt or pepper. I always add tons of pepper- I love a peppery potato soup!

After you've adjusted the seasoning, cover it with a lid, and let it cook on medium until the potatoes are starting to fall apart. It's probably going to take about 20 minutes, depending on how big you've diced your potatoes.

Right before serving, add the cheese and stir until it has melted completely. This is when you add the milk. If your soup is too thick, add more milk; if it's just fine, add less milk. Your soup will thicken as it stands, so err on the side of thin rather than thick.

If you've had a really rough day, serve it with a dollop of sour cream and more bacon on top. In my opinion either naked or dressed, this soup is a winner!


I know the title has little to do with the actual post, but it's one of my favorites clips by Ron White.