rice recipe.

Welcome to the House of Skinny, a new feature on this blog. Inspired by my friend Randi (visit her for more yummy recipes), we're going to share favorite recipes here...yes we are! Why the "House of Skinny" you ask? I sarcastically used it to describe our home and I got a very big laugh from my handy husband. It's not a physical description of our home, but rather a portrait of its inhabitants. Insert the sarcasm and you'll understand. Let's just say we're very "healthy" people. Yes laugh, all you people who know us. I'll wait for you to compose yourselves...

Here we go. I am going to give you a recipe so simple, it's frightening. I gave it to my friend Terri, who uses her rice cooker to make it...she has everything! Our slender son (he's not a member of the House of Skinny) loves this dish. It's a regular on our menu.

French Onion Soup Rice

1 can French Onion soup

1 can water

1 cup rice

1 tablespoon butter

dash of Oregano or Italian seasoning

Preheat oven 350-degrees. Put ingredients in small casserole dish or pan, stir ingredients & cover. Bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until rice is fluffy and water is absorbed. Serve and enjoy.
*Recipe can easily be doubled, just use a bigger casserole dish or pan.

Now go and feed your family. Become a member of my secret society and send me a picture of your Skinny House!

day in the life of Tom.

Again, I am shamelessly photojacking one of my brother's excellent weekend adventures. Because, quite frankly, it appears that there are more interesting things to do in the Rochester area than around Jacksonville. And I am not above plagerism when it comes to "borrowing" material. Here we are, back in time enjoying a Sunday drive, a la carte. Get it? Carte? Buggy? ...Never mind.

Oh my, who's that with Johnny Appleseed? It's my sister-in-law, also a local groupie! Johnny's such a rebel, a knave, a cad. Watch out, Melany! You know how those famous men are! He'll toss you away like a, like a......like an apple core!

Oh, but how sweet is this?! My heart is melting all over the keyboard. It brings out every maternal instinct left in my body. This young woman/girl kissing the goat is my nephew's little wife. It's a picture of contradiction. I know she's a grown woman, yet she looks like a little girl. I do believe I could look at this photo every day for the rest of my life and never tire of it.

Thanks, Tom...you're a good sport. More pictures, please. I'm going to need more material.

time for "change."

I don't understand how a society will protect a miniscule insect, rail against global warming, protect illegal alien rights, uphold a tree's right to live, yet will not protect the life of God's most vulnerable of creatures. I want change...I pray for this nation to restore the values upon which she was built. The change I pray for is life.

God bless America...and all her citizens.

boring story.

A little smile for you! Did you have a good weekend?

We did! Would you like to know what we did? No? Too bad, I'm gonna tell you anyway!

Here we go...laundry, cooking, football, dusting, grocery shopping, laundry, going to Mom and Dad's, dishes, vaccuuming, mass, cooking, ironing, driving, VOTING, cooking, dishes, laundry.

Don't forget to get to the polls early tomorrow. And take a book with you, or some project that you need to get finished. It was a two-hour process. Yee-ha!

Now go and be productive. Or not.

Would you like to enter a delicious giveaway?

Check out Divine Domesticity and enter today!

YUM!

chomp romp.

That's about it. What more is there to say? Except, "GO GATORS!"

Halloween.

Best Halloween Hair.
Most frightening Halloween face.

Most realistic transgendered Halloween costume.

Happy Halloween, friends! Now go, distribute Halloween happiness to the world!

autumn scene.

Oh my. This view just makes my heart ache. Isn't that an absolutely beautiful photo? My brother Tom snapped it...how I wish I were there!

And this one. It takes my breath away. Tom lives in Brockport, NY. I love his neck of the woods. I love barns. I love cornfields. I love Brockport. I love Tom & Family.

Someday...I'll be back.

crash.

Yes, it happened. I went to juice-up the computer and BAM! Nothing. Nada. Zilch. All day, no computer. No posting. No email. No web designing. Cleaning? C'mon! Why would you even suggest that?! Fortunately, I'm married to MacGyver, who can also fix computers! I didn't mention that in my post about him, 'cause that would just be bragging. And I'm no braggart! My mom raised us better than that. MacGyver came home from a very long day at work and bless his heart, took my computer apart. He and our son drove to two office supply stores and eventually came back with a new hard drive. MacGyver worked on it until 11:30. We're not sure if the rebooting worked, as we went to bed. And Lord knows I'm not going to turn that computer on myself. Spell D-I-S-A-S-T-E-R with me.

So for now, I'm working off MacGyver's old, slow laptop. I'm certain that he'll get my computer fixed soon. It's a matter of principle.

jolly Santa purse.

I finally finished my Santa face purse today. I'll be putting it in my store, check it out at therubia.com. It's too bad that you can't see Santa's sweet embroidered face. I have very limited camera/software capabilities. Poor Santa.

Wait! Here's Santa. How nice of you to show your face...yes, that's the face on the purse. And Santa, I've been very good this year.

*wink, wink.

find at the Farmer's Market.

Hot weather and I are not friends. I live in Florida. Ironic, isn't it? I don't like to be outside when it's a gajillion degrees, unless I'm in the pool. But when November approaches, the weather changes and spending time in the great outdoors is invigorating. We open all the windows and doors and let the refreshing breezes waft through the house, ridding the air of summer's oppression.

Off to the Farmer's Market! And what a lovely time. Those are greens. Just greens. A Southerner would know which variety, but I'm a Yankee and have no clue about various types of greens.

I do know what these are. Lemons. Pineapple. Yankees know fruit.

What a brilliant color palette. Lovely, vibrant colors. You won't see this at a grocery store.



Another beautiful find at the market. Lovely, salt of the earth. Beautiful bright eyes. A shy smile. She told me she didn't want to break my camera. I told her she was too beautiful to break my camera. I was right! A sweet treasure found at the local Farmer's Market.

day to be a winner!

You all play so well together! You're all so nice and thoughtful, saying nice things to me and about my little wristlet. Let me say some nice words about you: funny, creative, sweet, resourceful, amusing, happy, kind...the list goes on! That being said, I am pleased to announce that the winner of my early Thanksgiving Giveaway is...

Mindy! Congratulations, Princess! By the way, you can visit Mindy's kingdom right here. Mindy was lucky #5, chosen by Random.org. OK Mindy, I'll need your address...I'll be stuffing those Pilgrims, Indians and turkeys in the envelope...hope they all fit!

For those of you who did not win, I'm so sorry. I truly wanted you to win! Hang in there for the next giveaway. I know what I want to give at Christmas, but I need to think about now, today. Hmmmm.....

OK people, my blog looks boring, bland, bare-naked. I really need to pimp it out (up?). Trouble is, I'm not sure how to do it. Any suggestions from you way-more-creative-than-I people would greatly be appreciated. I am currently working on my web site, getting it Christmas-y. I need to publish it soon...

Thanks for playing along. Can't wait for divine inspiration to hit me with the next surprise. You'll be the first to know.

super-hero husband.

I stated in a post not too long ago, that I'm married to MacGyver. A nickname my friend Wanda gave my husband. And she's so right! He can fix anything, rig anything, build just about anything. Now don't be hatin', people. I know that some of you wish you had a MacGyver of your own. If you are married to a super-hero, you know what I'm talking about. My MacGyver doesn't have a mullet...I just want to be clear on that. Not that a mullet is a bad thing, but c'mon, it's the 2000's! The only setback to being married to a superhero is, I don't get new stuff when the old stuff breaks. Because the old stuff keeps getting fixed. And fixed. And fixed again. Which is often kinda handy, because I don't have to wait forever for a repair man to show up to fix and rob me. But once in awhile, it would be amazing to replace the old broken item with a shiny, brand-new (fill in the blank) ___________________.

So if something, anything, should go kaputt at your place, ask yourself this...


Hmmmmm...maybe get rid of that mullet?

blatant, shameless advertising.

I think this fabric is so stinkin' cute! I've had it for years and just couldn't bring myself to cut it. That reindeer is just so happy and energetic! I'll be posting it in my store this week. Take a look at that boy on the table. He's so stinkin' cute, too! Also a limited edition. But he's not for sale!

I'll be announcing the winner of the Thanksgiving Wristlet on Thursday. I will email the winner for their address...keep your feathers crossed!

next American Idols.

You really must watch this. Get ready, because it packs a really big punch. I don't care if you're a Whitney Houston, P. Diddy, Britney Spears, KISS, Harry Connick Jr., HIM, Kate Smith (for my Grandma), Faith Hill or any other singing legend/phenom fan, none can come close to these little ladies singing the National Anthem. They should be lauded, applauded, recorded, noted, voted, put upon a national purple/pink pedestal for the whole country to hear. If you're not moved by these little angels, you're just plain numb. OK. Listen. I'll wait..........

What did you think? Are you in awe? Did you love them? I wanted to jump through the monitor and hug each one of them. Share this with your friends, it'll put the love-of-country right back into their psyche. Oh, and one more thing...God Bless America!

question.

Do any of you know if there's a giveaway on anyone's blog for this baby? 'Cause I want one. If you don't know of anyZune giveaways, I think that one of you bloggers should put this up on your blog as a giveaway. I honestly think it would be a good thing for you to do. What? Why don't I give one away, you're asking? C'mon, I'm giving away a wristlet!!! And a key fob!!! Gee, isn't that enough for you? Who's leading this rebellion....Mindy?!

Have you entered a chance at my giveaway? Just click HERE. (SUZY, JUST CLICK THE RED WORD OVER THERE...GOT IT? NO? EMAIL ME...)

Have a great Sunday, people. Relax, drink lots of coffee, sit outside and enjoy the delicious weather. Bask in God's great creation. Meet me back here on Monday.

horror!

How d'ya like my cleaning machine? The poor doggie keeps her distance from the evil before her. My husband bought it for me (himself) when I was pregant, seventeen years ago. The salesman came by our house one evening to demonstrate this monster, I mean, vaccuum and he ended up moving in. Not really. But he was there a long, long time. So long, that I ended up going to bed. Because I was tired and pregnant. I wasn't interested in evil that would help me with my housework. And quite frankly, I didn't understand why McGyver (that's my husband) would be interested in this monstrosity. But the next morning, this apparition was living with me. Invading my home. It's huge. It's clunky. It cost a lot of money. You know why McGyver bought it? Because it has a motor like a Mac truck. Like a NASCAR. Like a John Deere riding mower. Because it can suck up a pile of screws like...never mind. And you know what? This evil is always going to be with me, because I just can't break it! It's horrible to pull around the house, it falls over, it bumps into things. Ya know what? It can imbibe, absorb, & inhale like nobody's business!

blogging friends.

I know! I've double posted today. Can't help it, I have to share with you. I headed over to I Have to Say... this morning and again, Randi has supplied an interesting list of wonderful links. She has a great recipe for canned jalapenos, which I'll be making for my jalapeno-loving husband. Check out her "hot links"...one of which is a chance to win this beautiful quilt. I've put a link on my sidebar, but you can just click here. It's a stunning quilt and so fallish. I can't believe she's giving this baby away. OK, I know what you're all thinking! Wow! A quilt! And all we're getting at It's A Wonderful... is a little wristlet! I hear you! I look bad, cheap, stingy. I'll take care of you on the next giveaway here on this blog. Sheesh! Now go over there and enter to win!

"Courtney."

Meet the "Courtney," my newest wristlet. I've named it after a very special friend, who happens to be the biggest Dawg fan south of Georgia. That is, she was at the age of 4. Then 5. She's now in Middle School and I just am not sure if she's still a Dawg. *Sigh. That's OK. If she's not, we'll keep the name the same to remember a little girl who would rather play football with her big brother and his friends. A little girl who didn't want to wear anything but jeans. A little girl who was as tough as her police-officer, SWAT-trained Daddy. A little girl who is growing up and now cares about clothes and hair and, oh gosh, dances. Whose birthday is a few days away, hint-hint, wink-wink.

Happy Birthday Courtney and Christy!

Please head on over here to enter the Thanksgiving Wristlet giveaway. I hope you win!

getting ready for Christmas!

Yes! I'm getting ready for Christmas! For Hanukkah. For the holidays! If you take a look at the picture, you'll see two and-a-half Santa faces. They're all saying, in unison, "ho, ho, ho." This will be the front of a Christmas purse. A very good seller, I might add. I'd love to have this little guy added to my web site by the end of the week. I have some other holiday purses to add...so much to do! AND. I. AM. WAITING. FOR. OUR. SON. TO. GET. HOME. WITH. THE. CAR. The purses being made will be very holy, for all the prayers being said in my sewing room today. No, I'm not going to add to the cost of the bags for being so holy. I'm going to throw that in for free.

Now I'm off to start dinner. The fun here never ends!

Don't forget to enter the Thanksgiving Wristlet Giveaway. Just click here.

obsession.

If I have to have an obsession, what better than to love sisters? It's a topic I never tire of. Why does my heart skip a beat when I look at them? Maybe it's the way they walk in a line, with purpose and resolve. Maybe it's the serenity in their countenance. Perhaps it's the joy in their faces, their radiant smiles. How they embrace life and know how to laugh and have fun. Whatever the reason, I shall never, ever grow tired of these remarkable women of God. Amen.