I Got A Question

Now that we are all addicted to Facebook and it's not a secret anymore, lets talk about it a little.

If your not addicted yet please get on board. You will love it! Your family will love you glued to the computer or crackberry 24/7!

Specifically, lets talk about pictures posted.

Now none of my friends (that I know of) have put up bad pictures. When I say bad I mean not at all appropriate.

Photos of being drunk, naked, sexual, pot smoking, coke snorting, you get the picture.....

Thank you for that!

That's not something I need to see. I won't judge but it's just not something I need to see.

I have seen some unflattering pictures put up there, but HEY! that's how it is sometimes if your not a supermodel.

I suffer from unflattering photo syndrome myself. Again...I'm not here to judge.

So I was looking through some pictures last week. These aren't friends of mine they were pictures that my friends had been tagged in by friends of theirs.

I use the label friends loosely........in Facebook the term "friends" means something different. You addicts know what I'm talkin about.

I was just being nosey so I looked through ALL the pictures in that album posted by the friend of a friend.

Yes, you can do that!

If you think that tagging someone only lets them view it.........Your wrong!

Now there may be some way to block people from seeing... I don't know, and from the looks of these pictures.........nobody else knows either.

Now you're asking....."Why did she do that? She wasn't tagged it's really none of her business".

Why? Because I can... and I'm nosey!

So here is my question..............
If you see a friend, relative or a co-worker's kid(under of over the age of 18) that has been tagged in pictures that show them in an unflattering or illegal light, do you tell the parent?

If you see a photo of someone (over 18) that the picture will probably do them harm later in life when looking for a job, trying to get into college, wanting to join an organization or just how others view them, do you say something or just let it go?

The Hubs and I had this discussion. If the person is over 30 and posting stupid pictures I'm not going to say a word. Dumb is dumb! I'm talking 20 something and younger when being stupid can still be considered an unfortunate mistake.

What do you do? Is saying something being a tattletale? Being Nosey Nellie? I hate confrontation so saying something to someone would be really hard for me. If it's a really good friend I think I could but what if it's not? What does one do?

If you think potential employers, customers, neighbors, friends, enemies aren't googling your name, you are in SERIOUS DENIAL!
I do it all the time. I did it to a waitress that we had at a restaurant last week. She's not all peaches and cream like I thought!

When writing blogs, posting pictures or doing something stupid I try to subscribe to the advice my Dad gave me when I was a teenager.

"If you're embarrassed for us (my parents) to know about it or anyone to know about it then you ought not be doin it!"

What does one do? Blab or keep your mouth shut?

Thank God We Don't Own A Station Wagon

and

I Can't Crawl Over The Seats!

When I was a kid I hated going to the dentist. I was scared to death. Lots of anxiety. I never got numb, the dentist was mean, I probably removed all the fabric off the arms of the chair with my finger nails, and well......it just wasn't my thing.

Don't get me wrong I'm still petrified of the dentist. I have had the "it's not you, it's me speech" from several dentists. I now see Dr. Travis who, BLESS HIS HEART has figured out that me being asleep is the best way to enjoy an appointment with me. I now do sedation dental appointments. The greatest thing that ever happen to me.

Anyway.................

When I was a kid my parents had a Pontiac station wagon just like this.

The wheels weren't as fancy.

My mom would haul me to the dentist in this car.

I would be crying the whole way there. When she pulled up to the front of the building (she says it was right up front, in the front window where the receptionist could see everything) she would get out and I would immediately crawl all the way to the back of that huge station wagon. She would walk to the back of the car to open up the back and I would crawl all the way to the front locking all the doors on the way up. This ritual went on several times, me crying and begging her not to take me in there, her telling me she was going to beat my butt if I didn't open the doors.

I told The Hubs this story

Me: Thank God you're not driving me to the hospital in a station wagon

The Hubs: Thank God you can't crawl over seats!

Me: Good point!

Today this very early morning The Hubs is taking me in for my rotator cuff surgery. I'm hoping I won't have to be duct taped to the seats of the car to get me to my appointment. I'm hoping to handle this with some grace. Dig deep within myself to handle it with some maturity. Meaning no kicking, screaming, crying, and carrying on.

This is going to put me out of the blog writing business for a few days. The doctor is saying weeks but I'm not seein that happenin!

In the mean time......................I'll be entertaining you (or not) with some old stories, maybe some guest blogger's, and The Hubs doing a little writing.

The King and His Wine

There once was a King. His name was King Nuckinfuts. He was the King of B'Land.

One day back in the fall, The King went on a wine tour with The King and Queen of WSU (and Bejeweled) and other royalty friends for Queen WSU's 40th birthday.

King Nuckinfuts had a little too much to drink on that fun wine tour. He got caught up in all the excitement. He bought A LOT of wine and signed up for every wine club this side of the Mississippi.
The King didn't care that his beloved B'Land was in a recession. Which to this day he reminds The Queen everyday so that she won't spend his fortune on silly items like food, clothing, and pedicures.

When the King married the Queen he acquired a lovely wrought iron wine rack. The Queen brought this with her to the marriage and she loved it. Even though it wasn't the best for storage of The King's fancy expensive wine, (The Queen liked 2 Buck Chuck and it was fine for that) he tolerated it.

The beautiful wrought iron wine rack

The King dreamed of a refrigerated storage that would fit in to this useless wasted space in the castle's kitchen

The King was thinking that maybe he could find a small "under-the-counter" wine cooler and find some place else for storing potatoes, onions and Franklin's food dishes.

One day The Queen was at Macy's spending The King's money when she came across a small 20 bottle wine cooler. The measurements were perfect for under the counter in that useless space. Not only was it perfect in size but it was a smoking deal!

The Queen bought it!

The King was so very excited. Not only had The Queen saved him a butt load of money but now he would have his wine cooler for his fancy bottles of wine.

The King and Queen brought the cooler home, took it out of the box and put it under the counter.

It looked stupid! Too small, too close to the ground, door didn't open right, just dumb looking in that space. We tried the counter top. Too big for the counter top. The next step putting it on the floor in the dining room.

Still too small!

It needed to be up on a table or something. The King decided that Queen would find something fabulous for it to sit on later. In the mean time he would load his wine in the cooler.

So The King emptied the beautiful wrought iron wine rack on to the dining room table. Then he went to the garage to get his cases.............yes I said cases of wine he had been hiding out there. Hiding so The Queen wouldn't know just how crazy he had gotten with the wine buying.

Baer Winery , Sweet Cheeks and Brian Carter are The King's favorites. Well that is what the Queen is guessing since that is what there is the most of.

The King's secret is out. He's a wine hoarder.

So The King works for hours deciding what wine is going to go in the cooler and what wasn't worthy. After being in the dining room agonizing for hours the conclusion was.......................................

The purchase of the wine cooler was not such a hot buy because it's way too small. So The Queen says "pack it back up and take it back and just go buy the cooler you want"

The Queen is good that way

The King is delighted! The next day The King loads up the small wine cooler and takes The Queen to town to look for a bigger one.

The King finds one he likes and wants but doesn't want to pay the money for it because................we are in a recession ya know!

So The Queen works her bargain magic and The King gets a new fancy top of the line 38 bottle wine cooler for the price of the small one .

The Queen ROCKS!

So here is The Kings new fancy wine cooler.

It's a good thing The King bought this one, he actually could have bought an even bigger one and it would have been fine.

As The King was headed home with his new fancy wine cooler he said to The Queen "I need to stop one more place on the way home" The Queen "ok, where?"

The King acting all embarrassed and not really wanting to tell The Queen turns to The Queen "Brian Carter winery, I have to pick up my wine club order"

This is why all kingdoms are ran by The Queen!

You let The King out unsupervised for just a moment and everything is mayhem! The King now has more wine than he will ever drink in a life time. The new month means more new wine from one of the many wine clubs The King signed up for.

The Queen has ordered The King to host a party!

Note*** The plywood board under the cooler isn't going to stay that way. It doesn't go with The Queens decorating taste.

On another note....................................................

When I was getting that smokin deal on the wine cooler I also got this new Martha Stewart cast iron Dutch Oven.I love my 5 quart pot that I got for Christmas. I use it more than I ever thought I would. When I saw these on sale I caved and bought one.

I was excited to use it.

I tore myself away from Bejeweled long enough to cook a chicken. I have been reading a French Cookbook and found some recipes for roasted chicken in a Dutch oven that sounded really good. I liked this one I found on line that sounded better so I tried it. It was super easy and turned out fabulous! The Hubs has been asking for it again.

Then I decided to get really creative.

I made mashed potatoes with white truffle oil.

I received this truffle oil as a gift and had never used it or known what to use it with. So I started doing some research. Mashed potatoes seemed like the easiest to start with.

I just made mashed potatoes as usual. Then at the end I put VERY VERY little oil in them and mixed. White truffle oil has a peppery taste to it and a little bit goes a long long ways. They were very good! I will be looking for more recipes using truffle oil.

From there I went crazy with this menu

Brussel sprouts with bacon and caramelized onions. They were really good.

Gravy for the potatoes.

I'm a good gravy maker but this was defiantly some of my finest yet.

WINNER - WINNER!!! CHICKEN DINNER!!!

My fancy chicken dinner. Fit for a king!

Afterwards The Hubs picked the meat off the bones so we could make chicken stock out of it. I got about 12 cups of chicken stock. Put it in 1 cup containers and froze it. This will be great in soups, rice, and whatever later.

My Grandmother would be so proud of me for using everything. Even Charlie and Franklin got a little dinner out of this.

It's amazing what can happen when I get away from the computer!

Exciting News In Snohomish

You all know I love Annie's Antiques in Snohomish.

She moved!

Annie teamed up with her good friend Mary and moved to a much bigger store. Mary has been at another store for years and had wonderful things. Now they are creating fabulousness together!

It's just a block up from her old store so, still easy to find. Right next to the coffee shop. Get yourself a drink and wonder next door.

This store is filled with some beautiful things.

I stopped by the other day, the first day they were open and had to get a peak. It's freakin fabulous!!

Here are some pictures I snapped. My pictures don't do their new digs justice.

I suggest you stop in and take a look yourself.

Stop in and say hello

Spring is right around the corner
With any luck

Annie has lots of beautiful garden items.

Lots of jewelry and gifts. Annie has a great variety. Some handmade by local artists.

This should be your first stop when looking for a birthday gift for your girlfriends, mom, boss, sister, or ............who ever you need to buy gifts for.

Home Decor

She's got it all!

Lots of beautiful furniture pieces

Look for the big "A "estate flag hanging out front of the store.

An estate flag like this.................

You too can have one. They are only $65 WITH a pole. That's a great deal.

Mother's day, Father's day, birthday, new home, new RV, they are great gifts.

Go see Annie and Mary's new store

You won't be disappointed

Tell them you read about them on my blog.

It probably won't get you a discount but it will be a great ice breaker for chatting if you have never met them.

Get out in the sunshine........go discover Snohomish!

Rehab Is For Quitters!

As you all know I have a Facebook/Bejeweled problem. I have not been secretive about it. It's a damn problem!

Well last weekend The Hubs hauled me off to Oregon with my family to see Grandma and hopefully break me from the horrible addiction of being on Facebook 24/7 playing Bejeweled. We called it Another Rehab Trip.

I honestly don't know how this happened. When I originally got on Facebook I didn't like it. I thought it was stupid. Now it's my BEST friend.

Sometimes I get so engrossed in Bejeweled that I can't stop, get up or move. Just one more minute! That's all I need. My hair gets in my face and I have to grab the first thing that is handy to use as a headband. Yes, folks that's The Hubs' undies holding my hair back. It works! They're clean! This is what the addiction has done to me. Next it will be a Diet Coke fountain installed next to the computer and me wearing Depends!

It's bad!!!!

This is how The Hubs found me last Friday when he got home from work. I was suppose to be ready to go to Oregon. Clothes packed, Charlie to the dog sitters, Franklin ready for a weekend home alone, car packed, gassed up and ready to go by 11:00 am.

I was playing Bejeweled!

This is me telling him.................One more minute! That's all I need to beat these people! Now back off! We aren't' going until I at least beat WSU Laura!

See the purple highlight to the right of screen? That's me in second place on the little tournament that Bejeweled has. WSU Laura was the only person I needed to beat to be #1! I beat Ann!

I have never been able to beat WSU Laura. She is the QUEEN of Bejeweled.

So I know your sitting there saying to yourself.........Why in God's Name would she put these horrendous pictures of herself on the blog???

I lost the bet! The Hubs took them, and told me if I couldn't stay off Facebook for a weekend and at least one day after we got back I had to post them and tell everyone about my problem and how it has escalated.

I couldn't do it! I fired up the laptop and got connected to WiFi in the hotel room! Yeah, that's right...........the very night I made the agreement with him.

Have you seen Tropic Thunder? As I was posting these pictures it reminded me a scene in that stupid movie. "Don't go full tard! It will ruin your career."

I'm afraid this might be blog suicide. Outing myself and my addiction, the truth of how bad it is, and my inability to photograph well. If I had anyone reading this, wanting to pay me money to blog..........They are long gone now!

Oh well...................

So we finally got on the road. I swore I was going to take a ton of pictures so I would have something to blog about when I got home.

Leaving Seattle......that's Mount Rainer. It was a beautiful cold clear day here in Washington. Snow threat pending, perfect for a road trip!

This is mine and The Hubs' rest area. It's special to us. We stop here on every trip to Oregon.

I KNOW!

Your wondering............special?

What does that mean? Did they have wild freaky monkey sex in the car or something there?
NO! Get your minds out of the gutter.

This was our first overnight illegal rest stop stay in our trailer.

Lets hear an AAAAHHHH isn't that sweet!

Next stop..................

Because The Hubs promised if I would get my shit together and get off that damn computer!

We could stop at SONIC

As you know from other posts, we don't have a Sonic close to us. So it's always a treat to stop when you are near one.

The Hubs lookin over the menu

The Menu

Seeeeeeeee I'm such a good picture taker! I don't know why some photography places hasn't called me to come to work.

This was our server. How damn cute is she!

She was so nice and stood and chatted with us for a while. Wish I wasn't so engrossed in my Diet Coke and tots. I would have gotten her name.

This is the best part of Sonic. The Diet Coke with the pellet ice. I don't' know why but it's just the best Diet Coke ever!

The sunset driving down the highway in Oregon.

It was so pretty. It's been a long time since we had seen a sunset.

So that's where my picture taking ended.

I totally forgot to take pictures of the rest of the weekend.

We got to Grandma's. Hung out with her and the family for a few days. Did a little sight seeing in the Salem Oregon area. My Dad is a great tour guide. We drove around and looked at some of the old homesteads of my great grandparents, uncles, and Grandma's old friends.

Here are a few places we ALWAYS stop when in the neighborhood.

Bauman Farms

They have great produce, baked goods, preserves and when flower planting gets started some of the most beautiful flower baskets you have ever seen. It was a little too early for flower baskets but we did make it home with some Marionberry scones.

They were fabulous! As you can see I almost missed this photo opportunity.

Vogets Meats in Hubbard is a stop that The Hubs and my Dad never drive by. We had to pick up some summer sausage, pepperoni, and bacon. The Hubs would have bought half a beef or pig if we could have gotten it in to the VW Bug. We would have looked like the Flintstone's driving down the road with a side of beef sticking through the convertible top.

and of course Grandmas favorite........Sizzler. We always take her to dinner there when we visit. We actually kind of like it and look forward to it as much as Grandma does.

We didn't get to do much tax-free shopping. We had Grandma and Princess Spoiled Brat with us. They aren't the best shoppers.

On the way home Sunday The Hubs and I stopped at some old friends of mine. They just bought some property in Wilsonville Oregon and are building a house. They had their new barn and chicken coop built. It had been a long time since I had seen them and this was a perfect time to stop for a visit and viewing of their big new beautiful barn.

Sorry............no pictures yet again!

It was nice to see them and visit. We will try not to make it so long in between visits next time.

This is the last time I'm going to talk to you about my Bejeweled addiction and failed rehab attempts. Rehab is for quitters, which I am not! However..........I'm going to be better about posting blogs more regularly. Also getting some stuff around here. I need to find a happy balance.

If I go more than 2 days without posting a new blog I want you to e-mail me and say

WHAT THE HELL TIMI????

I need you to kick me back to reality.

It's A Damn Mystery!

People I don't know what is going on around here.

The House of B's is usually in mayhem all the time. There is something always going on. Buying, remodeling, cooking, buying, road trips, buying and just general foolishness.

Lately..............NOTHING!

It's a damn mystery I tell ya!

Don't get me wrong, I'm kind of enjoying it but I'm also wondering what is around the bend. It's been a little too quite .....If ya know what I mean?

Facebook has been some of the problem. As you all know I'm totally addicted to that stupid ass game Bejeweled. I guess being in front of the computer has kept me off the streets and out of trouble. Of course I'm behind on reading all your blogs,commenting, and everything else I'm suppose to be doing.

The other part of nothing happening...........It's cold, wet, some snow, horrible allergies, and just nothin goin on.

WSU Laura and I have been making camping reservations starting in April. That's exciting. I can't wait for those trips. We will be busy all spring and summer again.

I'm trying to get mentally prepared for shoulder surgery on my torn rotator cuff this month. I haven't gotten to that place yet of not being scared out of my freakin mind so I've moved on to thinking about what needs to be done before I have no use of my arm for 6 weeks.

Things I have thought about;

How is my hair going to get washed and combed

How am I going to get my jeans on

How am I going to sign my name for the credit card

This is the most disturbing to me

Can I drive

What about the computer, how is that going to work

OOOOOh the list goes on and on. Until someone says "you will have no use of that arm" you don't think about how much you use them.

Another..........It's a damn mystery!

One thing about it.........if I can use the computer to write this should provide some good blog entertainment!

During the height of my Bejeweled addiction some of my friends started blogs and websites.

Please give them a blog land welcome by checking them out.

The Cock Crows

I have known Jenny since I was a kid.

Actually since she was a kid. Her older sister Suzy and I went to grade school and high school together and to this day Suzy is one of my dearest most treasured friends.

Jenny is just getting her feet wet with blogging and I think she is doing a great job. Her story of The Princess and the Chickens made me laugh. We have all soooooooooo been there!

Julie MacKenzie

Is another sister to Suzy and Jenny and a good friend to me.

She is my travel guru. She has booked many a trips for us and gotten us fantastic deals.
Check out her new website for all your travel needs.

Make sure you bookmark her and try her out next time you need to book a trip some where. You won't be disappointed I promise.

Bella Country

I met Kal and Angie at The Farm Chicks show last year when I ease dropped on a conversation they were having and butted in.

We have been e-mail and blog buddies ever since.

They are working on a website and getting acquainted with their blog and how it works. Say hello and keep checking back with them. I think great things are yet to come there.

Dianne Berst is a woman I had the honor of meeting last year also. We met through my friend Barb. I have mentioned Dianne and her fabulous cookbook I like Cookies before in my blog.

Well now she has a website with both her cookbooks available. Check her out. These make great gifts! Mothers Day and Fathers Day is just around the corner.

You won't be disappointed in the recipes and the story behind how I Like Cookies came to be. Tell her Timi sent you.

Mama Berst

The Hubs is checking me in to Bejeweled Rehab again this weekend. This time he has my family involved.

This should be good!

Have a fantastic weekend

The Weekend

The Hubs and I had a full weekend. Saturday we headed up to the beautiful Skagit Valley for a wedding.

The Hubs and I had a disagreement on posting pictures and blogging about this wedding. This blog post is a compromise. Sometimes that's what a girl has to do to get a ride back home!

I'm not much of a wild life watcher or a stop and enjoy your surroundings person. I grew up in some of the most beautiful country in our wonderful United States and I'll be the first to admit that I take advantage of it's beauty and don't usually notice it.

Saturday was a gray day but not raining and on our way to the Valley one couldn't help but notice the wildlife. It was POW! right in front of you every where you turned. It must be getting close to spring.

I snapped some pictures on our way up to the wedding. Some turned out, some didn't. So for the pictures that didn't.............I high jacked some good pictures off Google for you.

Here is a little of what we saw on the way ........................

This is a high jacked picture off the Internet. I don't know who took it but it's a hell of lot better than the one I took

Field after field of swans. These birds are HUGE and when you have hundreds of them in a field it's a noise like you've never heard before. It's a sight of beauty and a symphony.

Another high jacked picture from Google

We saw 4 or 5 Bald Eagles. I never get tired of seeing them. I probably would if they were carrying off my animals out of the back yard at my house but they really are a spectacular bird. I have seen millions of them and I still get excited when I see them.
OK, maybe not millions but a lot!

Geese.................Oh Lord for geese!

All the fields looked like this. I have never seen so many geese in all my life. The fields were filled with ducks Mallard ducks also. They are every where, more than I have ever seen in these fields.

All the white you see in this picture are geese!

Yeah that's a turkey in the flower bed.

This just made me laugh. On our walk to the old church for the wedding there were turkeys roaming the neighborhood.

I get all annoyed with the big dogs in our neighborhood crapping in our yard. It's hard enough to keep up with my little dog and his crap, let alone a dog that makes piles the size of a cow pies. Can you imagine turkeys in your yard? These guys would be in my oven in a second if they were in my yard, on my porch, in my flower beds, and roaming around making a big mess. Turkeys scare me. When I was a kid some friends had a turkey and that thing was huge and mean!

WOW! I have become the cranky neighbor!

To the Wedding........

after not reading the invite and driving to the wrong place, walking around wondering why nobody was there we finally got to the right location.

TOTALLY MY FAULT!

I just looked at the date, the time, and the town. That was all I needed to know. I knew everything from there. Everyone knows where weddings and receptions are held in this town. Yeah, apparently there are more than just the two places I know of.

The bikes starting to pull up in front of the old church.

This was a sight to see. The front of the church was full of bikes all the way across the front by the time everyone arrived.The alter where the ceremony was preformed.

In front of the bike with the baskets of beautiful flowers.


The cake

I didn't get a picture of the live band that played Another One Bites The Dust as the bride and groom walked down the isle together after being pronounced man and wife. It was cute.

I love this picture.

The groom giving one of his buddies a hug after the ceremony.

I'm not much of a huggy person. I won't turn down a hug but you probably won't ever see me running toward you with my arms open looking for a hug. This is what I found so funny, touching, ironic, interesting, whatever you want to call it...........all these big burly tough guys (one of the guys had been in a fight and was black and blue in the face with stitches) dressed in leather, carrying guns, and knives were such a huggy bunch. It touched me and .......just reiterated that everything isn't what it seems!

It was touching to see my big burly tough ass friend so happy and sick with love. I'm happy for both of them and was honored that they would invite their Lands End Cardigan Sweater wearin friend and her label-whore (he wore Tommy Bahama) husband.

Sunday.....................

We headed back up to the Valley and went for a drive over to Whidbey Island with my parents and Princess Spoiled Brat.

I love going on road trips with my Dad. He has done a lot of work and playing in this area and he knows the history, what's happenin and what's goin to happen.

We didn't go anywhere exciting or see anything exciting. It's just a nice drive over there and I learned some new history and about some new million dollar homes going in. It was something to do on a rainy Sunday.

Thought I would share some pictures of some of the sights on your way to Whidbey Island. I know, I have shared before about this drive but it truly is one of my favorites.

Deception Pass

These are pictures that I high jacked off Google. They must have been taken in the summer. When we went on Sunday it was low tide, windy, gray, and hard to see. Still beautiful even on the crappiest of weather days.

This is the bridge that goes from Fidalgo Island to Whidbey Island.

Click here to see more fabulous pictures that I saw on Google.

If you like a road trip or camping I highly suggest you put this on your list of places to see.

The State Park at Deception Pass has been voted the best, most beautiful, and largest in our state.

These are some pictures I took last summer.

Of course we had to go to the Naval Base and drive around a bit. This is The Hubs last debt in his military career and I think sometimes he misses it.

The planes flying over head makes me giddy with excitement.

I love it!

Then we went to the Old Seaplane Base which is full of history and my Dad has great stories of being on this base when civilians could go on the base to fish, crab, and drink beer.

A fun weekend was had by all

I have to leave you with this picture...............................

Charlie and The Hubs watching TV.

Charlie really does like to watch TV. It would be interesting to know what he's thinking when he's watching AX Man on the History Channel