I Miss my Mind the Most

I don't know if any of you watch Donald Trump's hit show 'THE APPRENTICE", but the Islandartist household is fully enthralled with it. Last night I watched Jennifer C. Get FIRED and I went to bed pleased as punch. She was such a sh*t disturber who couldn't keep her mouth SHUT! She thought she was better than everyone else, which shone through her 50's inspired pinup-esqe makeup and hairdo. I actually wonder if Donald Trump didn't purposely select women that would clash personallity-wise to make it a little more exciting for TV. Like, come on, Why can't any of them get along??? They act like they are all in highschool- more concerned about their designer suits than actually getting their poop in a group and succeeding at a challenge. I'm embarrassed that I'm a woman when I watch them.
If you watch the show you'll know what the heck I'm bleeting on about... if you don't watch then pass go and collect 200$. LOL whatever that means.
Later Gaters,
~jen

This morning I started opening my bills which is usually a wholey unpleasant experience. Upon examining my Hydro (power) bill closely I realized that I paid DOUBLE last month and this month I only owe them 20$!!! How sweet is that?? I must have been looking at an old balance or something when I paid it last month, but I don't care, it really helps me out this month!!
Just try wiping this stupid grin off my face.

Hugs and grins,
~jen

Things I Love:
1. My Family
2. Fried onions
3. The Fall Season & colors
4. Good Music
5. Painting & drawing
6. Conversation with Good friends.
7. My Dog
8. A nice long uninterrupted sleep.
9. New shoes.
10. Blogging.
11. When my fingernails are all the same length.
12. Working on my own time.
13. Going for a drive
14. A good shower.
15. When someone says I smell nice.

Gosh, another list- what's happening to me??
What things do you LOVE, I mean LOVE not just kinda like. This list, as with all the others, is subject to change on a minute by minute basis. So enjoy.

Hugs,
~jen

***NOTE*** I thought of a couple more that needed to be added... Reading a good book, as well as a really good Belly laugh that hurts your abs. I really love that!

My hubby regularly gets a good laugh out of me when he reminds me that I think Eddie Vanhalen is good looking. Let me correct myself. I THOUGHT he was good looking. The other day i interupted my Mr. Island in a fit of laughter while he was on the computer. He said "Do you still think Eddie Van Halen is good looking??" while pointing to a picture on the screen. I didn't see MY Eddie anywhere... until, no, that couldn't be... What the HECK happened to My Eddie???
This is the Eddie I remember fondly from 1984:
[LINE]
this is the Eddie you would see on MTV now:


:::shudder:::
I had to make it obvious in the picture because I didn't want you to have the same problem locating him that I did.
Wow, it that is what a life of sex, drugs and rock 'n' Roll does to a person... I'm glad I stuck with painting.
I'm going to try and go on like I have never seen the old guy in the photo above... I want to remember Eddie like he was in 1984 so cute and big with the hair. So I'm never going to look at this blog entry again, and i don't mind if you won't be able to either.
Take it easy on yourselves- you don't wanna end up like Eddie!

~jen

When do children stop trying to stuff things up their noses?? During lunch today I told Paige 4 times (at least) to stop putting her egg noodles in her nose and I thought my message got through. A few moments ago, She was acting weird so I asked her if she needed to have her nose blown. She quietly said 'yes' and proceeded to blow out an entire broad egg noodle.
That's my girl.

Hugs & Noodles,
~jen

I'm freshly home from my last camping trip of the season.  Believe it or not I really enjoyed it!  Well we drove around for 2 hours looking for a campsite that was close to Mr. Island's work and still open.  We finally ended up at a campsite 5 minutes from home.  I ate one too many hotdogs (well actually the buns did me in) and gave myself a diebetic hangover headache for the entire night.  Paige also is sick so she snored in my ear and coughed up a lung.  I am so itchy lately I keep myself up for most of the night scratching like a cat wrapped in scotch tape.  We ended up sleeping in, and woke up to a gorgeous sunny and HOT day.  Paige and I took a small hike around the lake and looked for animals.  We didn't find any.  I played Yatzee with my inlaws and made 5 Yatzees!!  isn't that insane??  I'm so proud of that even though i'm pretty positive nobody else gives a HOOT. 
Paige was having a rough evening, bit her tongue at dinner and had a blister on her foot.  She played in the park next to our campsite and told me "I could Swing All Day Mom."  and when we tried to get her to put her coat on we had a big crying fit, So I decided that we would come home a night early and sleep in our own beds, or should I say cough, snore and itch in our own beds. 
And with that, I'm on my way to bed...

Hugs and Camfire smoke to all,
~jen

 

Well, My guests came in like a lion and left like a rabbit (quickly).  All in all it was a pleasant visit, probably because they did their own thing and didn't require a tour guide this time around.  If they had left their crapping dog at home, it would have been perfect.  Also, if Ken didn't have to work the entire time it would have been much more interesting, but these things happen when you are only given 2 days notice.  Now we again, find ourselves recouperating from 'holidays' though this time it wasn't our own.  Usually  I feel like a neglected 'outsider' when these friends visit- but this time I felt different and I actually enjoyed having them out.  Maybe pregnancy is turning me into and old softy???  LOL worse things could happen.  
I have spent and will continue to spend the afternoon decompressing before I tackle my house which is in a state of disaster. That sounds like a good friday job.  You all know how much I look forward to cleaning the house, but those times when my husband and I 'tag team' the duties make it go twice as quickly, hopefully I can talk him into it tomorrow!

The sun is shinging and already on its way down for the night- so I better make it quick and get out there to enjoy a little of it.  Thanks for coming by and kisses to you special folks who leave comments- I Love YA!

Hugs and love,
~jen

Don't you love it when you wake up at 8 in the morning and step in your guest's Dog's poop??? 

I really love it when that happens.

So everything is going great with the company.  My migraine is gone and have been replaced by gas pains LOL  I can't win, honestly.  I can deal with the gas pains though, not a big deal, just slightly annoying.  I'm not getting very good sleep, mostly due to the fact that Paige wants to sleep in OUR bed while company is here.  That sucks. But if you have read my blog for any length of time you know that I rarely get good sleep and because of this, I find that I'm in constant pursuit of sleep.  I nap everyday virtually without fail.  I know what some of you smarty pants are thinking... "If you didn't have a nap you would sleep through the entire night because you'd actually be tired." 
Yes, That makes alot of sense but this is the problem.  I skip my nap once in awhile because believe it or not I actually get busy on occasion.  That night I am exhausted and I lay down for a long winters nap only to be shot out of bed at 2, 3 and possibly even 5 in the morning by my daughter!!!  I could just vomit with the fatigue I feel on those nights but the only shining light that gets me through is the thought of the nap I'll be having the next day.  So the cycle starts over again with an even greater sleep deficeit (sp?).  Like I said before, I can't win. 
Don't even ask me what my daughter's problem is, because she seems to sleep fine at other people's homes but just not here in the same house with Me.  We recently changed her nightlight and we've noticed a few nights of good sleeping but now with the company, any sleep schedule we had her on is shot to hell.  It will take me a week or so to get her back in the normal routine maybe less because it's been getting dark so early in the day she actually asks to go to sleep!  I'll keep you updated of course in future ramblings but for today that's whats on my mind.  And with that I'm going to go and lay my head, my mind and even my brain down for a nap.

Hugs and lavender pillows,
~jen

Well my company is here, well actually, they are out flying kites and I'm home with a migraine.  I don't know what it is about having guests that screws with my system so badly but I get a major migraine everytime, and I mean everytime these particular guests come to call.  The visit hasn't been bad, actually it's been quite nice but still, my cranium splits.  Oh well, I'm going to blame it on the bad nerves that were passed down to me from my father and from my fathers mother.  Well I should go pop another couple tylenol and make myself useful...

Hugs, oh so quiet hugs,
~jen

 

My brother in law had the grossest thing happen to him yesterday and because it's been grossing me out ever since, I'm going to share the story with you all. 
He (I'll call him Doc, because he's a doctor) went fishing (can you see the grossness potential for this story??) and while fishing his hook caught on something under the water.  Doc proceeded to tug on his line with great force until the hook let go.  With equal or greater force the hook flew towards him and ended up hitting him in the eye.  The good news, his eye was closed.  The Bad news?  The hook went through his eye lid and into his eyeball ANYWAY!  Thank goodness he was fishing with a friend who was able to rush him to the nearest ER.  They were told that the ER wasn't equipped to deal with his type of injury so they rushed to another. to make a long story even longer... We found out last night that he should be fine and regain 100% of the sight in his eye which is a relief because my Sister & brother in law have been having the worst luck lately and this just seemed too unfair.  And Gross.

Onto other news, I am feeling the baby ALOT now!!  Last night while watching TV I felt my entire belly lurch toward the right LOL  That definitely was NOT gas!  I am going to my detailed ultrasound on October 1st and I'm really excited and anxious.  I hope everything is okay down there, I'm just a worry wart like that.  But Don't worry, I'll tell you all about it after I get back.  I visited the Doctor the other day and he's put me on a new type of insulin- the results have been WONDERFUL!!  My sugars are under control and I feel like a million bucks.  Yahoo for me!

Well I should run, my car needs to be vacuumed before our guests arrive later today. fun fun fun.

~jen

I'm a coffee lover from way back.  I can remember sipping the dregs of coffee from my mom's cup and savouring the sweet flavorful goodness of it.  I haven't been able to enjoy my cuppa for the last several months due to the fact that the baby I'm fostering within doesn't particularly fancy the beverage.  Silly child.  What I'm getting at is that I know a fair amount about the beverage and it's origins which is why certain comments by 'novice' coffee drinkers really annoy me. 
How many times have you heard someone say "Man, I'm so wired, I had a Vendi Mochaccino from Starbucks and now I'm bouncing off the walls."  I've heard it too many times to mention and I'm afraid the 'buzz' that person is feeling is probably more from the sugar and the chocolate than from the shot of espresso (that's ESSpresso NOT EXpresso, thank you very much) used to make the cappuccino.   See, espresso contains LESS caffine than a light roast coffee and I'll tell you why.   The green coffee bean, fresh off the plant, actu ally contains the most caffine, and as they put the bean through the roasting process (espresso being the darkest of the dark roasts) the caffine actually gets roasted OUT of the bean.  Don't get me wrong, there is still caffine in the bean but just alot less than when it started out.  People like to associate the mouth feel and tart flavour of espresso with high caffine content but it just isn't so.  Drinking several light roast coffees will have you running a marathon, but one large capuccino or other related bevy just won't do it.  Those chocolate covered coffee beans are the same deal.  The chocolate they are covered in probably contains more caffine than the actual bean but this I'm not scientifically positive of. 
So the moral of this story is, if you are going to tell me that you are feeling buzzed, make sure you've got some education and some real chemicals behind that statement or you'll have to endure 40 lashes with a wet noodle from yours truly!

Hugs & Java,
~jen

I am feeling great today despite the fact that it's still overcast and still raining.  Why you ask??  I had a full nights sleep last night!!  It's hard to believe the difference 40 winks can make.  I have already cleaned the inside of the fridge (which was gross!), removed all of the doggie dodo from the patio (also really gross) and moved the toys out of the rain and Yes, I'm saving the best for last, now I'm off to finish off my laundry::sniff::. 
I've got a killer kink in my neck this morning but I DON'T CARE!!!  I slept a full night! NO kink is going to ruin my enjoyment of this day.

Take it easy folks,

~jen

Does anyone remember me complaining about the heat and how there was no rain in sight??? Well now I am complaining about the rain.  I know I shouldn't complain, that is what OLD people do.  But you know what?  This is my blog and I am going to complain... Just a little bit of sunshine???  Please?

Hugs & liquid sunshine,
~jen

While I was in Vegas I had lunch several times at the Tony Roma's restaurant located inside the Fremont Casino. I became reacquainted with the 'Baked Potato Soup' that they serve there... oh goodness it had been way too long. Today i bought a prepackaged potato soup and added bacon to it, not only was it delish but my blood sugars managed to stay virtually unchanged- which is EXTRA lovely. I decided to go on a google search to see if I could find the recipe for the ACTUAL soup from Tony Roma's and I found it. I'm going to make it myself as soon as I buy some Spuds! Fall is around the corner and this is the ULTIMATE comfort food out there. If you are a soup fan, you have to give this one a try. Here is the recipe... enjoy!
Top Secret Recipes version of
[b]Tony Roma's Baked Potato Soup[/b]
by Todd Wilbur
Menu Description: "A house specialty full of baked potatoes and topped with Cheddar cheese, bacon and green onions." The thick-and-creamy texture and rich taste of Tony Roma's best-selling soup can be easily cloned with basic ingredients. This TSR version is thickened with a little flour, some half-and-half and, most notably, instant mashed potatoes. Give yourself an hour to bake the potatoes and around 30 minutes to prepare the soup. Garnish each serving with shredded cheese, crumbled bacon and green onions and you will have a home kitchen Tony Roma's recreation that will surely impress.
2 medium potatoes (about 2 cups chopped)
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup diced white onion
2 tablespoons flour
4 cups chicken stock
2 cups water
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 1/2 cups instant mashed potatoes
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/8 teaspoon thyme
1 cup half and half
Garnish:
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup crumbled cooked bacon
2 green onions, chopped (green part only)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and bake the potatoes or 1 hour or until done. When potatoes have cooked remove them from the oven to cool.
2. As potatoes cool prepare soup by melting butter in a large saucepan, and sauté onion until light brown. Add the flour to the onions and stir to make a roux.
3. Add stock, water, cornstarch, mashed potatoes, and spices to the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
4. Cut potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop out contents with a large spoon. Discard skin. Chop baked potato with a large knife to make chunks that are about 1/2-inch in size.
5. Add chopped baked potato and half-and-half to the saucepan, bring soup back to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer the soup for another 15 minutes or until it is thick. 6. Spoon about 1 1/2 cups of soup into a bowl and top with about a tablespoon of shredded cheddar cheese, a half tablespoon of crumbled bacon and a teaspoon or so of chopped green onion. Repeat for remaining servings.
From: http://www.topsecretrecipes.c...
Serves 6 to 8.

Hugs & Spuds, ~jen

We are back!  We had a wonderful time, but I think we've had enough Vegas to last us several years.  We walked through nearly all the casinos and left a few dollars behind in each.  We visited Hoover Dam, which was really interesting.  The temperatures were a constant 105 F while we were there and that really cramped my style.  The pictures you see were taken in the very few minutes we spent out doors on our way between casinos.  I couldn't handle the heat and ducked into the nearest air conditioned doorway every few minutes.  We saw and learned alot about Vegas that we would never have known unless we had been there ourselves.  Like, for instance, did you know that 'the Strip' isn't actually IN vegas???  Its located outside city boundaries in 'Clark County', we were told this was for taxation purposes (of course).  You can pick your choice of prostitute out of 'catalogues' that fill every empty newspaper stand, or take a hooker's 'business' card from the many mexican immigrants handing them out all over the streets, lovely.  If your not being harrassed by the sex dealers, your being harrassed by the casinos trying to get you to buy into their time shares, it's soo soo annoying.
On the bright side, we saw 'The amazing Johnathan' and he was Hilarious!  Crude but hilarious, I haven't laughed that hard for a long while.  We also went to see Mama Mia, which was brilliant as well.  The musical is candy for the eyes as well as the ears and I wanted to see it again as soon as it was over.  Not to mention that Abba songs are terribly catchy and you can't help but leave there with one *or several* songs rolling through your head.  Some of the casino/resorts were magnificent sights to behold and others were well past their 'Best By' dates. My personal favorite was the Ventetian which was the only casino I wanted to see, it was magnificent.  I also really enjoyed walking through the Bellagio and the fountain dance afterward.  The others were interesting but a casino is a casino is a casino.  We stayed at the Golden nugget which is Downtown in 'old Las Vegas' or 'Glitter Gulch' it was very nice and our room was awesome.  We gambled a little bit every evening and broke even in the end.  Ken discovered the black jack tables and that kept him occupied for several hours where as I tried my hand at nickle slots- so much fun!  We are NOT big gamblers so we didn't plan on doing much, but Vegas has other plans for you.  Eventually, you discover that there isn't that much to do there OTHER than lose a few dollars in a game of 'chance'.  Either that, or they are just THAT good at drawing you in and confusing the heck out of you.
All in all, it was a good trip.  I really wish I hadn't been pregnant, that would have been alot more fun for me.  My diabetes was screwed up most of the time and my digestive tract was going haywire, who needs the extra stress right???  My only word of advice, don't go with Children  OR while pregnant.  You'll have MUCH more fun.
Enjoy our Pictures!!!

I had a nice response to my list of 'Things that sound better than they really are' so today i'm featuring my list of 'Things that sound bad but are good'.  Please feel free to add any of your own choices, I love hearing those!
Here we go:

1. Pot stickers
2. Meat Pie
3. Tatoos
4. Pedicure (the word sounds gross, no??)
5. Spam (oh come on, it's okay)

My list is predominantly food items even though i tried hard to think of other things... I may suprise you with a few additions to this list when I'm less preoccupied.  We leave for Las Vegas tomorrow!!  Yahoo!

~jen

After reading Chicalookate's blog entry the other day, I was inspired to write a list of Things about me. The list usually has 100 points but I'm all about quality over quantity. Besides, I don't have time to think UP (and then type) 100 things you would care to know about me OR that I would be willing to share :wink: So,  Here it goes:

1. I always read magazines from back to front.
2. I actually wanted to be a librarian when i 'grew up'.
3. I was voted the 'friendliest' person in highschool.
4. I love to travel.
5. I wish I had done more with my free time before I had kids.
6. If spagetti was the only food on earth I would be in HEAVEN.
7. I type 90 words per minute.
8. Rollerblading used to be my favorite exercise (can't really remember why I quit).
9. I hate being criticized (even constructively).
10. I don't have great Friend skills.
11. I love to garden and grow things.
12. I miss painting.
13.  I hate being pregnant (I dislike 'growing' babies).
14.  I am a slow grocery shopper.
15.  I love Root beer.
16. I prefer things that smell nice.
17. I NEVER watch daytime TV.
18. I love watching stand up comedy.
19. I miss living close to my family.
20. I HATE being sick.

I may slowly add to this list or revamp it as I see fit... I hope you learned something new about me today.  LOL!
~jen

Things that sound better than they really are:
1. Antipasto
2. Martinis
3. tblog PRO
4. Snow
5. Fudge packing (ha ha)

I borrowed this idea from a Rita Rudner book (Naked beneath my clothes) that I'm reading.  Thanks Suz for lending it to me!  I had originally thought of several good ones but of course promptly forgot them when i sat down to type out the blog.  Oops.  What things DO YOU think sound better than they really are??

~jen

I have always been a nut for these vintage posters. Maybe it is the artist in me that appreciates the creative impact of the ads, or perhaps I was living a past life during the 20's and 30's and these bring back memories of the 'good ol' days'... I don't know. 

Doesn't this one make you wanna dress up for a night on the town and drink a bottle of something????

Maybe it's just me.  I recently purchased some vintage magazines and found myself chuckling at the advertisments inside the pages.  One of these days I'm going to take the time to scan a few of them and share them with you.  Beleive me it will be worth the wait.  Until then....

Enjoy the eye candy.

~jen