Tag: new jersey mom bloggers

  • 16 Candles

    Heather is 16 (SOB!)

    Happy 16th Birthday to my sweet, beautiful, bright-eyed baby girl, Heather Marie. I am in constant awe of everything you achieve and the absolutely gorgeous woman you have become, inside AND out. 

    I admire your quick wit and strong will (yes, THAT too!) and the way you meet life's challenges all in and head-on.

    You are brave, strong, loyal and unafraid to be loved for who you are, period (please don't ever change that!)

    You are also very protective of those you love (see last parenthesis!)

    Although you would never admit it (out loud) you have this sixth sense of knowing when and how to diffuse a sticky situation, by making a funny little face, cracking off a smarmy one-liner or throwing out a big-armed hug, just because, bless your squishy little heart.

    For ALL these things (and so much, much more) I love you, Ree-Ree!

    You will always be my most favorite Christmas present ever.

    © 2003 – 2011 This Full House

  • A Mom’s Letter to Santa (UPGRADED!)

    I first wrote Santa in 2006 (way back before Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest ruled the earth) it’s filled with typos and weird stuff after migrating my blog back from WordPress, no doubt.

    [clears throat]

    Aaaaanyway, considering my oldest is 18 and the middle girl is turning 16 next week (SOB!) and the rest of the kids are now at the age where they only pretend to believe in an effort to keep their delusional parental units (mostly me) happy.

    It’s time for an upgrade.  Here are my Christmas wishes:

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  • Wordless Wednesday: The Reflection Board

     

    The Reflection Board 2011
    Seeing as my eyes can get a little schmutzy (stupid allergies) and vision boards are so 2011 (SNORT!) I love this idea of reflecting on the past year through images.

    Inspired by my friend, Diana — she's wicked smaht like that 🙂

    © 2003 – 2011 This Full House

  • D’OH! A Deer!

    Liz and Garth (NHRN) at Jayne and Paul'sReason #3,922,199 why I love Garth (not his real name) for his gorgeous eyes, of course!

    My husband and I recently reconnected with his cousin and I was excited to be invited to their holiday party (the hubs, too!)

    Beeeecause, they really are a great couple (and they invited us back, anyway?) my cousin-in-law Jayne LOVES to dance (me, too!) and I've heard that they do awesome holiday.

    Aaaaand, they did.

    The Sax Guy
    But, this guy right here BLEW (buh-dum-bum) and single-handed-ly (mouth-ly, lip-ly, whatev) managed to put us in an awesome holiday-ish mood.

    UNTIL!

    The next day, when it was time to pick up our kids.   That is to say, we were happy to see our kids (of course!)

    The prospect of having to drive northbound on the Garden State Parkway (towards New York, if you're not from Jersey) on the last weekend before Christmas (when everyone and their mother is on their way home, too) um, not so much.

    So, we took "the back roads" and I bet you dollars to donuts you didn't think Jersey had back roads.

    "OH CRAP, LOOK OUT, DEER!!!!"

    Or, deer, right?

    We were introduced to 3 of them, up close and all personal like (so, how YOU doin'?) and, thanks to my husband's cat-like reflexes (also, the fact that he was driving and NOT me) the slowest one of the group is probably still limping.

    After loosening his ninja-death-grip on the steering wheel and making sure everyone was okay-ish, Garth (NHRN) got out to check the front of the car.

    "No damage, we must have just bumped that last one."

    The irony that we just picked my husband's car from the shop earlier that day, or the fact that, once the shock wore off, my son seemed to be more concerned about the deer.

    "WE KILLED A DEER!!!"

    Rather than the fact that it could have been much, much worse, was lost on no one.

    "They sort of looked like Santa's reindeer."

    Especially me, since Rudolph hit MY SIDE of the car.

    "Well, he did sort of fly over us."

    [blink, blink, blink]

    Stupid holidaze, dumbass deer.

    © 2003 – 2011 This Full House

  • TGIF! Even, when it’s really only Wednesday!

     

    Just a few afterthoughts:

    • Yes, I really did videotape this on Wednesday, pretending like it was Friday and trust me when I tell you [looks into mirror, quickly turns away for fear of turning into stone] it's a good thing.
    • I really do obsess about my hair way too much.
    • Bast should really be a real word.
    • Middle girl's appointment went well-ish.  No emergency procedure necessary.  Being treated for a wicked infection.  Will re-evaluate next step(s) after the holidaze.
    • I really didn't know how yesterday was going to play out.
    • Spent the rest of the day at the mall.
    • My feet STILL hurt.
    • Still, was out at the buttcrack of dawn driving middle girl to school, 30 minutes away.
    • So, vlogging on Wednesday, pretending it was Friday, worked out well (see bullet, above.)
    • Oh, and SO GLAD I didn't take my husband's car:  he got a flat tire on the way to work, this morning.
    • Also, if you're still here, you really do deserve a GREAT weekend…oh, and chocolate…lots and lots of chocolate.
    • Special shout-out and virtual hugs to my friends Patty of A Day in My NYC and Heather!

    Peace out and have a GREAT weekend (for real!)

    © 2003 – 2011 This Full House

    Freshly-brewed elsewhere:  I'm donning wings, playing an AT&T phone fairy and giving away a Samsung Focus Flash, this week!

  • Wordless Wednesday: When Killer Dust Bunnies Attack!

    Killer Dust Bunnies are Shedding!
    See, we are so raising killer dust bunnies AND oh man how they shed (the nasty little buggers) no worries, we've sort of grown used to living with each other and you can't even really notice they're around, once the sun goes down.

    © 2003 – 2011 This Full House

    Freshly-brewed elsewhere:  I'm donning wings, playing an AT&T phone fairy and giving away a Samsung Focus Flash, this week!

  • George Bailey Meets Clark W. Griswold, Jr.

    Liz and Garth (not his real name) Christmas 2011
    My husband, Garth (not his real name) works for a bank.  Don't worry, he's still a really, really nice guy. 

    In fact, his customers think he's gosh-darned decent enough to switch from the much BIGGER bank he used to work for.

    Previously known as, "the bank that shall not be named."

    Now, he works for a small local community bank and I often times joke about my being married to George Bailey (look it up, youngsters) oh, and how my husband is REAL GOOD with OTHER people's money.

    Still, I decided to invest in a new dress for their holiday party, seeing as I wore the same dress for the last 2 years and, even though I'd be hard-pressed to remember what the heck anyone else wore (unless it was REAL shiny or SUPER short!)

    I took my 16 year-old dress shopping with me, just in case.

    Christmas Party Getup 2011

    Okay, so it is a bit shorter and a whole lot shiny-er than I would have picked (did I mention, the kid is 16?)

    Still, it was nice to be able to dress up and pretend like I know how to walk in heels, without fear of breaking my neck, climbing an elegantly-carpeted-and-ever-so-winding-staircase, on the way to the bathroom, for a few hours anyway.

    Aaaaand, we had a really, really great time together (see pic at top of post) UNTIL!!!!

    "BAH!!!! WTH??? THESE STUPID LIGHTS WERE WORKING YESTERDAY!?!"

    When my husband, Garth (not his real name) tried to quickly finish putting up the Christmas lights before heading over to my parents' house for dinner and, well, have you seen the movie Christmas Vacation, yet?

    "Maybe, I shoulda done a drum roll, or something?"

    [blank stare]

    George Bailey, meet Clark Griswold!

    [sound of crickets]

    I blamed the kids, don't judge.

    © 2003 – 2011 This Full House

  • A Hungarian’s Recipe for Hungarian Gulash: You Say Goulash, I Say Gulyas – Let’s Just Call it Soup!

    Hungarian Gulyas (the real one!)

    This is what Hungarian Gulyas (a.k.a. Gulash, Goulash) is supposed to look like (for real!)

    You may or may not know that my twin brother Steve and I are first generation born Americans. 

    Yep, we grew up in the kitchen, breathing in the delicious aromas of my mother's and grandmother's Hungarian cooking.

    Feel free to trust me when I tell you that there is absolutely NOTHING better than a big old steaming bowl of happiness, served up with some crusty bread, on a cold, wet, gloomy, or slightly sad sort of day.

    Hungarian comfort food, baby!

    You know that reddish-brown-gravy-laden stew-type dish served over noodles and featured as "Hungarian Goulash" in cookbooks and cooking magazines?

    Nope, that is actually called Pörkölt (purr-curlt) although, also filed under Hungarian comfort food, it is very versatile and can be prepared using beef, veal, lamb or chicken (a.k.a. chicken paprikash!)

    You can find my family's recipe for Pörkölt HERE!

    Gulyas (ghoul-yah-sh) on the other hand, is a soup. 

    Backstory:  Gulya in Hungarian means herdsman, or cowboy.  Gulyas (a.k.a. Gulash, Goulash) means "of the herdsman," who would have prepared this dish in a cast iron pot hitched over a stone fire pit while working the puszta (pooh-stuh) or the Hungarian prairie, if you will.

    Although, they probably didn't include dumplings in their recipe (I don't think.)

    I mentioned something on Facebook about making Hungarian Gulyas (et al) yesterday and then promised to share my family's recipe here with everyone, too!

    So, to set the record straight:

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  • Dressing Room Conspiracy (The Vlog)

    Just a few afterthoughts:

    • Yes, my nose is always THAT itchy (I swear!) It is a nose of substance (SNORT!)
    • Turns out, schlub is a real word after all (thought I was being all cleh-vuh, shoulda known beh-tuh, DER!)
    • But, it's not what I meant (less mean like and more Jabba the Hut-ish.)
    • See thumbnail above (seriously?)

    I will post "the dress" my almost-16yo picked for me (it's like this one, only in black/silver) before I go out on Saturday AND once I shave my legs, of course!

    © 2003 – 2011 This Full House

     

  • Feeding Your Inner-Grinch

    You know what's annoying, besides the thought of people gifting Lexus-es and diamonds the size of my mortgage, I mean, or is that just me?

    Oh, and those stupid "don't jiggle it, when you wiggle it" Old Navy commercials, I mean, seriously, isn't that the reason most people are wiggling it, in the first place?

    Because, no amount of active wear is going to keep me from jiggling like a friggling vat of jello, most especially, from the knees up.

    Condescending asshats.

    Which brings me to my original point (I think) because, I really did start out having one.

    [glances at wall calendar]

    Oh yeah, now I remember.  What IS it with people this time of year?

    I get it.  It's hard to feel all festive around the holidays, when life hands you a bag filled with crap and stuff. 

    Still.  It's no excuse for folks to act like asshats, is it?

    Like, walking across the parking lot at the mall yesterday (a death-defying act, here in Jersey, anyway) helping my SIL shop for new work clothes (she's doing fabulously well with her new wellness plan) and nearly getting run over (twice) by asshats who clearly saw us coming and hit the gas, anyway.

    Maybe, because I was jiggling, when I should have been wiggling, no doubt, DAMNIT.

    Aaaaand, that's another thing.  What is wrong with jiggling?  What if I like my jiggle?  I mean, raising 2 teens and 2 pre-teens (soon to be 3 teens, hold me!) some of us work REAL HARD to look this jiggly.   

    Unlike, the poor woman I ran into at the grocery store (literally, vertically-challenged people should like carry a flag or something) as she was tearing into a box of protein bars.

    "I didn't get a chance to eat, today."

    It was nearly 4 o'clock in the afternoon and, well, been there, done that.

    "Yeah, I hear ya', at least it's something healthy, right?"

    Then, the poor woman insisted how she really "did eat more than a normal human being should," at Thanksgiving (didn't we all?) she also lost her job, right before Thanksgiving (UGH!) but, is thankful to have friends who will pay her to watch their children (sort of) and how, at this rate, she will NEVER get rid of the extra 10 pounds, yada, yada, yada.

    Did I mention, she looked to be about 30 sizes smaller than me?

    "Well, sounds like you have enough on your plate already."

    [eyes go wide]

    "I mean, maybe you should give yourself a break."

    Honestly, why do we (mostly, women like you and me) put such pressure on ourselves, all the time?  Especially, about our weight?  Most especially, around the holidays?

    "Sounds to me like you could use a real good hug, too."

    She then apologized, telling me I had a nice face, for which I thanked her for, REAL HARD (lucky for me, she turned out to be a real good hugger, too) and then we went on our merry-ish way.

    Morale of the Story:  Don't judge a person by their jiggle (or, lack thereof) just wiggle alongside, even better, hug them REAL HARD instead, or something like that.

    You know, thinking on it some more, maybe people aren't such asshats, afterall…just hungry. 

    [sound of crickets chirping]

    Stupid holiday commercials, dumbass Old Navy.

    © 2003 – 2011 This Full House