Sorry, dear readers!

Just wanted to apologize to my readers for not having a lot of content for you this week. I realize that I am the center of your universes and that each morning you leap from your snug little beds quivering with anticipation as to my newest recipe, rant, or video clip. LOL

Between a sewing project that involved doing some minor work on my sewing machine, and helping out some of my shrike buddies, the blogging (and reading of blogs) has been pushed to the back burner. Luckily, I did have some posts already in the queue like Flashback Friday so at least there was that!

Things should calm down next week so that I can finally get those pictures up of my lemon pie, and my bam-tastic version of Emeril's pot roast. Whoot!

Tell your friends and loved ones how you feel about them, dance in your kitchens, and yell Whoot! at least twice a day.

Your friend,
Hairball T. Hairball

Flashback Friday!

For the month of April, Flashback Friday will feature selected music from the '80s.

80's Edition- Remember when MTV still played music and you would stay up to watch the Headbangers Ball?



Quiet Riot


Sammy Hagar


Ratt



Motley Crue


Twisted Sister





Have a good weekend everyone!

More to come...

I've been working on some other projects lately but, I do have some pictures from a couple of recent recipes that I will do some posts about soon. Didn't want anybody to think that I stopped cooking or anything!

Gagstastic emails part V

WARNING: The following gagtastic email concerns the events of 9/11, death, and is religious in nature.

A man from Norfolk , VA called a local radio station to share this on Sept 11th, 2003, TWO YEARS AFTER THE TRAGEDIES OF 9/11/2001.

His name was Robert Matthews. These are his words: A few weeks before Sept. 11th, my wife and I found out we were going to have our first child. She planned a trip out to California to visit her sister. On our way to the airport, we prayed that God would grant my wife a safe trip and be with her. Shortly after I said 'amen,' we both heard a loud pop and the car shook violently. We had blown out a tire. I replaced the tire as quickly as I could, but we still missed her flight. Both very upset, we drove home.

I received a call from my father who was retired NYFD. He asked what my wife's flight number was, but I explained that we missed the flight.

My father informed me that her flight was the one that crashed into The southern tower. I was too shocked to speak. My father also had more news for me; he was going to help. 'This is not something I can't just sit by for; I have to do something.'
I was concerned for his safety, of course, but more because he had never given his life to Christ. After a brief debate, I knew his mind was made up. Before he got off of the phone, he said, 'take good care of my Grandchild. Those were the last words I ever heard my father say; he died while helping in the rescue effort.
My joy that my prayer of safety for my wife had been answered quickly became anger. I was angry at God, at my father, and at myself. I had gone for nearly two years blaming God for taking my father away. My son would never know his grandfather, my father had never accepted Christ, and I never got to say good-bye.
Then something happened. About two months ago, I was sitting at home with my wife and my son, when there was a knock on the door. I looked at my wife, but I could tell she wasn't expecting anyone. I opened the door to a couple with a small child. The man looked at me and asked if my father's name was Jake Matthews. I told him it was. He quickly grabbed my hand and said, 'I never got the chance to meet your father, but it is an honor to meet his son.'

He explained to me that his wife had worked in the World Trade Center and had been caught inside after the attack. She was pregnant and had been caught under debris. He then explained that my father had been the one to find his wife and free her. My eyes welled up with tears as I thought of my father giving his life for people like this. He then said, 'there is something else you need to know.'

His wife then told me that as my father worked to free her, she talked to him and led him to Christ. I began sobbing at the news. Now I know that when I get to Heaven, my father will be standing beside Jesus to welcome me, and that this family would be able to thank him themselves .

When their baby boy was born, they named him Jacob Matthew, in honor of the man who gave his life so that a mother and baby could live.

This story should help us to realize this: God is always in control. We may not see the reason behind things, and we may never know this side of heaven, but God is ALWAYS in control.

Please take time to share this amazing story. You may never know the impact it may have on someone. God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called.

*Big huge sigh*

First up, snopes.com says the story is fiction. Secondly, to a anyone who lost a friend or loved one on that day, the story is cruel as it implies that your fictional wife was worth saving while their loved one was not. I'm not even going into the whole thing with your fictional father dying but accepting Christ before his death. In my opinion, that was only put in this story to make the reader feel that you had suffered greatly and therefore deserved to have your wife spared.

I'm going off on a little tangent here.

One of the most cruel and unloving things a Christian can do to another person is to smugly quote: "God is in control" when the other person has suffered a devastating loss. Even if the recipient believes the statement is true, it provides little comfort to be sobbing and have somebody tell you that. I know for me, I hear it as a rebuke to buck up and be happy. Even worse is when someone tells you to "You should be happy because your loved one is with Jesus." *facepalm*

So here's the deal, you either keep your big, fat mouth shut or you say something like "I am sorry for your loss". Even those who believe in everlasting life, struggle with the loss of those near and dear to them. Let them grieve in their own way, in their own time. It's a hard enough process to go through without having to deal with "comforting" comments that provide little comfort.

Don't judge a book...

I love how the judges and the audience just assumed that since Ms. Boyle is not a 20 year old with movie star looks that she couldn't sing! *rolls eyes* I hope Ms. Boyle wins and I will look for news online about how she is doing on the show.

Now some of you are freaking out right now as you I am most definitely not a fan of reality TV. Yep, aside from the PBS-y type reality shows where people go back in time I usually don't like the genre. This is one of those "Can we please let the underdogs have a day in the sun?" situations. So being a misfit/underdog type myself, I'm rooting for her.

Back when I used to watch CSI: Original Recipe, I turned over too soon one night and caught the last few minutes of Survivor. Someone was whining about how another contestant had *gasp* lied as part of their strategy. *rolls eyes* Dude, I don't even watch the show but, I understand the concept of using strategy to win a game.

I've joked for years that some moron will decide to make a reality show version of Russian Roulette and other morons will leap at the chance to go on the Tee-Vee and confirm their stupidity to the world. On the other hand, maybe all the people from Dancing with the Has-beens in Rehab, Swapping Wives and Bratty Kids Racing Around the World, Losing Weight while Looking for Love on an Island Eating Bugs with Donald Trump will go on there and we can get some good shows back on.

By the way, I'm still mad at ABC for canceling Homefront so don't think I can't hold a grudge!

Gagstastic emails part IV

As usual, if you want to see this email in it's original form, email me and say: Please show me the gagtastic sparkly crap.

(I stripped out GIFs of baby chicks doing various actions)

WE SISTERCHICKS NEED TO STICK TOGETHER - LOVE AND PRAY FOR EACH OTHER - STAND WITH AND FOR EACH OTHER - SUPPORT AND ENCOURAGE ONE ANOTHER - YEP - THAT'S WHAT SISTERS DO BEST!!!



YOU HAVE 10 MINUTES TO TELL 10 SISTERCHICKS
AND FRIENDS


(One more GIF of a baby chick was here)


THAT YOU LOVE THEM
(INCLUDING ME)
BECAUSE TOMORROW'S NOT PROMISED
SO.... I LOVE YOU!
GO!!!!


I really don't like being called a "SISTERCHICK" and this faux sisterhood business just annoys the crap outta me. I've learned over the 40 years I've been knocking around the planet, that women just like men, can be wonderful people or complete and utter buttheads.

I'm assuming in your little insane world that "SISTERCHICKS" are superior to mere "FRIENDS"? I don't have any close friends that I would dare refer to as "SISTERCHICKS". The women that I am close to don't like this faux sisterhood crap any better than I do. Secondly, remember I'm the one who didn't forward your earlier email to four of my friends, so what makes you think I'm going to round up ten suckers for this one? No, we are not promised tomorrow which is why I don't believe in wasting that time on forwarding stupid emails.


PS: You asked me recently why I don't have a MySpace account or join that online board you love so much? This article has summed it up much better than I ever could.

Flashback Friday!

For the month of April, Flashback Friday will feature selected music from the '80s.

80's Edition- Dance Songs

* In the distance, an early 80's era Chevy Camaro Z28 can be seen coming down the road. The t-tops are off and hands can periodically be seen thrusting up towards the sky. You can feel the bass of the music as the car approaches. Inside the car are two women with really big hair and Risky Business style sunglasses. The driver fishtails to a stop and asks if you'd like a ride to the next town. You accept and hop in the back while the passenger smiles at you and asks if you'd like to pick out some songs for the ride. The driver turns to you and tells you that her name is Hairball. Then she smiles mischievously and yells out Whoot! as she punches the accelerator.*












*Hairball stops in front of a convenience store and thanks you for selecting some fun 80's dance songs and says she hopes you have a nice weekend. She drives away off into the sunset with her friend.*

Happy Easter to all of my readers that celebrate it!

Beans and Cornbread, Y'all!!

I grew up eating pinto beans and cornbread. It's a cheap way to feed a whole crowd of people and it's just plain good! My Grandmother on my Father's side of the family was not very interested in cooking and because of this, she was not the best cook. One of the few meals she excelled at was beans and cornbread. Now, she always used salt pork in her beans, but today we will be using some smoked sausage.


First up, we will measure out three cups of dried pinto beans and put them in a colander. Give them a good wash and discard any cracked, broken, or shriveled looking beans and debris.




Next, put your beans, chopped garlic, chopped up smoked sausage, salt, and pepper into your crockpot or slow cooker. If you look closely, you'll see that my sausage is still frozen. When I buy smoked sausage, I divide most of it up into 1/2 lb portions, chop it up, and freeze it for later use. Next, pour in your water so that it is about 1 1/2 to two inches above the surface of the beans. Cover them and set on low and cook all day (8-10 hours or so) until soft. When they are ready, it's time to make some cornbread.

Cornbread
This was originally from a bag of Aunt Jemima Yellow Cornmeal but, it seems that the folks at Aunt Jemima no longer make the plain cornmeal, just the cornbread mix. *grumbles*
1/4 cup vegetable shortening, oil or drippings
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup all purpose flour
2 Tbs. sugar, (optional)
1 Tbs. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt, (optional)
1 cup milk
1 egg, beaten

Preheat oven to 425°F. Place vegetable shortening in 10 inch ovenproof skillet, or 8 inch square baking pan. Heat in oven 3 minutes, tilting skillet to coat bottom evenly. Meanwhile, combine dry ingredients. Stir milk and egg until blended. Stir in melted shortening and mix thoroughly.


Pour batter into hot skillet.


Bake 20-25 minutes, or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.




Homemade cornbread never lasts long with Mr. Hairball around. *grins*

Another Semi-Ho Enchilada Recipe...

A while back, I made some beans and threw in some leftover brisket and we ate it with homemade corn tortillas. There was some of the bean and brisket mixture leftover, so I froze the leftovers for another day. Recently, I pulled some of this out of the freezer, let it defrost, and made up some enchiladas. I know some people prefer to make a new dinner every night but, I like to make larger quantities of some things with the intention of freezing some for another day or purpose.



Preheat your oven to 350F and round up a 9x13 baking dish. Open up your can of enchilada sauce (28 oz) and pour some in the bottom of your baking dish. Open up your package of tortillas and put 12-15 on a plate. It would be best to heat them up to make it easier to roll. (I didn't because I was feeling lazy and they were going to be covered up with sauce and cheese anyway. LOL) Cover and heat them in the microwave or wrap them up in foil and heat in the oven till warm. Dish out about three tablespoons of the brisket/ bean mixture down the middle of a tortilla and roll it up and place in the bottom of your baking dish. If the tortilla tears just do your best to roll it up. Nobody will know after it is baked!
Repeat with your remaining tortillas until the dish is filled. Then pour the rest of the enchilada sauce over the top.

Next, sprinkle as much cheese as desired on top.



Then, bake uncovered for 30 minutes or until everything is hot and the cheese is melted. Yes, that is a blend of Cheddar and Monterey Jack that was in that bag at the top. *hangs head in shame*





Sorry about this one. I wasn't thinking and dished these out with a spoon so it's not that pretty. They were very good! Mr. Hairball likes lots of light sour cream on top of his enchiladas. *grins*

Gagstastic emails part III

I stripped out all of the pictures after the trouble I had last time.
_________________________________________________________________

Who you are to me...
A true friend
And if I don't get this Back I'll take the hint.

Umm, I really don't think so since you send me one of these at least three times a month. You have grudgingly figured out though, that if you write me an actual email, I will reply with what is going on with me.

Tonight at midnight
Your true love will
Realize they like you


Uh, I've been happily married for over 13 years. I think it's a pretty safe bet that Mr. Hairball likes me.

Something good will Happen to you at 1:00-4:00 PM
Tomorrow.


There was a slip from the UPS guy on my door when I got from the library saying he had a package for Mr. Hairball. He will be coming back tomorrow and he usually comes by here in the afternoon. It's so spooky that you knew that!

It could be anywhere
-- at home, Yahoo, outside
Of work, anywhere.

You should go on the road with this whole predicting the future business!

Get ready for the Biggest shock of Your life.

The biggest shock of my life would be you not forwarding these stupid emails to me anymore.

Please send this to 5 People in 5 minutes.


Why? What have my friends done to you??

Remember:
'A good friend will Come bail you Out of jail....
But a true friend will Be sitting next to you Saying WE screwed Up, but we had fun!'

Ya know, I'm kinda past the whole "let's do things that have a good shot of getting me arrested" so you go ahead without me.

Proud To Be
Your Friend!
Make sure you read All the way down to The last sentence, And don't skip ahead..


What fresh Hell have you got for me today?

I've learned..
That life is like a
Roll of toilet paper.
The closer it gets
To the end, the
Faster it goes.

I've learned that it's unwise to eat yellow snow and stick metal objects in electrical outlets.

I've learned....
That we should be
Glad God doesn't
Give us everything
We ask for

I can't argue with you there.

I've learned....
That money doesn't Buy class.

Wrong. Money does buy you class. It buys you a seat in first class on the airline of your choice.

I've learned...that it's those small daily happenings that make life so spectacular.

Yep, like getting an actual email instead of a stupid email forward.

I've learned...That under everyone's
Hard shell is someone Who wants to be Appreciated And loved.

Well, forwarding stupid emails isn't going to achieve that goal for anybody.

I've learned...
That the Lord didn't
Do it all in one day
What makes me
Think I can?

True. Letting go of perfectionism, learning to set realistic goals, and accepting yourself are laudable goals for everyone. It doesn't have a blessed thing to do with these idiotic emails though.

I've learned...
That to ignore the
Facts does not
Change the facts.

The fact is that these emails are annoying as Hell. When are you going to accept that fact?

I've learned....
That the less time
I have to work,
The more things
I get done.


Hey! Did you know that water is wet?

To all of you..... Make Sure you read all the Way down to the
Last sentence.

I have a pretty decent short term memory so you don't have to keep reminding me every five seconds to read the last line.

It's National
Friendship
Week.

Oh Hell, not again?!? You do know these idiotic things get forwarded around over and over until somebody like me pulls out a gun and puts it out of its misery, right?

Send this to everyone
You consider a FRIEND!


Nope, because they would write me back asking why I sent them this stupid BS and to expect a welcoming email from the kinkiest pr0n site they were able to find.I would deserve it too!

Even if it means sending
It back to the person
Who sent it to you.


Nope, I don't want to encourage you to keep sending out these emails.

If it comes back to you, Then you'll know you
Have a circle of friends.

No, I would know that I have a circle of folks who constantly need reassurance from others because they have very low self-esteem. Healthy people don't seek constant reassurance from others because they know they have value as a person.They go do their own thing and if others like it that's great and if others don't like it that's okay too!

HAPPY
FRIENDSHIP
WEEK TO YOU!!!


I'm really tired of this.

YOU ARE MY FRIEND AND I AM HONORED.

If you would write me an actual email yourself, I might just believe you.