My Favorite Movie Quotes

Living in my house is always cause for a laugh.  We are six people with fabulous senses of humor, if I must say so myself.  One thing that you will always hear in our home is randomly spewed lines from various movies.  In fact, it happens so often that it can grate on one's nerves.  That is, unless you're in a super silly mood (which is most of the time).  Here are some of my favorites that we quote often...see how many you can identify by naming the movie they come from.

1.  Out of the clear blue, just for fun, Hubby will yell at the top of his lungs,

"LAURAAAAAAA!!!!!!!"

2.  Whenever a child of mine asks a question I don't have an answer for, I reply,

 "I don't know, Margo!"

3.  Whenever poor Big Sis complains that something hurts, her unsympathetic father replies,

"Your fingers hurt?  Well, now your back's gonna hurt 'cause you just pulled landscaping duty!"

4. Whenever a question is asked like, "When will dinner be done?" or "What time will you be ready?"  The answer is,

 "Afta."  The question asker replies, "After what?"  And the answer to that is "Afta afta!"

5.  This one has no rhyme or reason to it.  Hubby will occasionally just state (with a thick accent),

"Let me take you to my home. In Africa."

6. If I ever do something that requires thanks, Hubby can't just say, "Thanks." He has to reply (with a slight accent this time),

"Thank you, Priest."

7. And from the same movie, with a Hispanic accent, another line that has no purpose:

"I'll run up to Paris - bam, bam, bam, bam. I'm back before week's end. We spend the treasure. How is this a bad plan?"

8. And the last from this same movie, Hubby will tell me that I did please him some of the time. In my fake French accent, I faithfully reply,

"You never pleased me."

9. Another 2-person line we quote often:

Hubby: "All I have to do is squeeze"   Me: "All I have to do is scream."

10. From a movie I totally can't stand:

"It's that dang penguin again!"

11. We quote a lot from these two movies:

• "Billie Jean King, Bugbusters."
• "You call me when you want to know what time it is and I'll tell you."
• "Bob E. Lee, Bobby E. Lee. Schwartz."
• "Ed Harley, Harley Davidson Motorcycles."
• "I'll have a steak sandwich and a...steak sandwich."
• "Just put it on Mr. Underhill's bill."
• "It's me, Dr. Rosen Rosen." 
• 1: "Take your pants off." 2. "I don't even know your name." 1. "Bend over." 2. "Ben? Nice to meet you.  Victor Hugo." 

12.  This one is easy....

"...to generate the 1.21 jiggawatts of electricity..."

13.  "60% of the time, it works every time."

I'll take your guesses now!!!  Answers revealed tomorrow.

Monday's + & -

+  The Steelers did NOT win the Superbowl last night!  I'm not a Green Bay fan, just anti-Steelers.  Sorry Pittsburgh fans.
-  My house took a hit over the weekend and is now almost unlivable.  What is it about weekends that destroy my house?
+  Friday was my Grandma's 81st birthday.  Her dementia/Alzheimer's gets worse each time I see her.  She didn't know it was her birthday, but we actually had some very nice moments together.  My brother and I bought her a digital picture frame that I filled up with over 300 pictures of family.  She didn't recognize most of the people in the photos but I really enjoyed sitting with her and telling her who everyone was.  For a brief moment, it felt like having my old grandma back.  She's still a precious woman, even if she isn't quite sure who I am any more.  And I got to spend one more birthday with Grandma, the woman I named my daughter after.
-  I have to go out in the snow and buy groceries with a 2-year-old.  Enough said.
+  For lunch, I get to choose between leftover Sausage Gravy & Biscuits and Tortilla Soup.  Each made from scratch over the weekend, I really outdid myself.  I may have to snap some photos and share the recipes.  You know me!
-  Because of all the snow, I had to cancel a lunch date with a friend.  But hopefully we can reschedule.
+  The man who robbed my mother's bank (she's a business banker) was arrested today.  He only got away with $450 which totally cracks me up!  You should have seen how clear the security photo of him was...it blew my mind!
-  Tonight, instead of spending time with my family, I will be babysitting an unknown number of children.  It's actually not that bad, it was my idea anyway.  I decided to get my church group of teenage girls together and offer free babysitting so parents could enjoy a night away.  I thought some of the parents were going to kiss me out of sheer gratitude.
+  What goes around comes around.  My aunt has offered to keep all four of my kids Saturday night so Hubby and I can enjoy a hot date!  See, that's what you get for paying it forward!
-  Spring is still really far away. 
+  Speaking of paying it forward, I got to watch Hubby in another random act of kindness Saturday.  He noticed a woman attempting to scrape the ice off her car with a smashed water bottle.  He quickly jumped out of the car and scraped all the windows for her.  That's why I married him.  Well...that and how cute he is.  :)

I wish you more pluses than minuses in your day today!

All Aboard the Choo Choo Train!

Choo Choo Soul is Baby Girl's absolute favorite television show!  I wish it lasted longer than 5 minutes.  I would love to have 6 episodes back to back so she could experience sheer bliss for a full half hour.

Chuggington is Baby Girl's second favorite show.  Not quite as entertaining as Choo Choo Soul (which my husband would argue is due to the lack of Genevieve) but nonetheless a good show.  She has one train track and eight little Chuggington trains that she plays with constantly.  Gone are the days of the boring Thomas videos with the monotone narrator.  Clickety-clack, Chuggington is much better!

Today, I booked an actual railway vacation for my family!  I've never been on a real train before, just the scenic railroads that go 10 mph through the country in autumn.  I am so excited that we will be travelling on the Zephyr from Chicago to San Francisco!  I've never been that far west...I'm so excited that I can barely contain myself!  I will have to try because we are not departing until the end of summer. 

Today is just a traintastic day!

The Blame Game

I am really getting tired of people who constantly blame others for their own bad choices.  It started off with my children who didn't want to be held responsible for their messy rooms, lost possessions or incomplete chores.  I regularly heard excuses like "That isn't my mess all over the floor...it's my brother's."  or "The baby took my iPod out of my room and lost it!"  or "I was going to do my chore but Dad wanted me to see something on the computer."  I am tired of excuses and I am tired of blaming others for your own shortcomings. 

Then I began to realize that the problem is much deeper than the menial problems in my little family.  On a recent audition episode of "American Idol," a horribly tone-deaf woman questioned the judges' decision by asking if they said no because she wasn't skinny enough.  What?!  Are you kidding me???  Instead of coming to grips with the fact that she couldn't sing, she tried to place the blame somewhere else.

And then there are those who (I almost hate to say this) attribute every problem in their life to race discrimination.  This is a hot topic button for me right now.  It seems that everywhere you look, every news story you read, someone is saying that they were treated unfairly due to their race.  I am not in any way denying that racism exists.  Because it most definitely does.  Let me also state that I am, in no way, a racist.  I don't say that I'm colorblind either.  I see the various races in the world around me and I accept and appreciate that variety.  That said, I think something has to be done about the growing problem of people "playing the race card" in every situation in their lives.  This trend is being passed on to innocent children who are learning that when life gives you lemons, tell everyone you were mistreated due to your race.

I have been following a news story about a woman who illegally enrolled her children in a neighboring school district because she wanted to give them a better life.  I understand her concern.  And like her, I would try to enroll my children in a different district if I felt that it would provide them with a better education.  But this woman broke the rules.  She lied about her children's residence, stating that they lived with their grandfather.  She lied about her income to receive free and reduced meals.  She swore that all the information she provided was legitimate. 

When her dishonesty was discovered, the school district sent her a letter stating that she needed to leave the school and pay back tuition.  She ignored the letter.  For two years, she kept her children in the school and threw away all tuition bills.  So action was finally taken.  The school district took her to court to sue for back tuition and fraud for misrepresenting sworn documents.  So, she played the race card.  She said she was being singled out because of her race.  But she wasn't being singled out at all.  She was only 1 of 48 families who were confronted by the school district for illegally attending its schools.  47 of the families complied by withdrawing from the school, paying back tuition, or legally moving into the district.  One did not.  So she was punished legally for her actions.

It just makes me so mad that she is now saying that she was discriminated against because of her race.  She was found guilty by a jury that included four people of her race.  Lady, you were wrong.  You lied and you falsified documents.  You were warned but you continued on with your behavior.  Quit blaming others for what YOU did.  Instead of blowing up your story into a national media frenzy, just close your mouth and try to make amends for your actions.  Grow up and take some responsibility.

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

Last night on his way home from work, I explained to Hubby that I planned to make homemade cinnamon rolls but had a problem with the yeast.  He very willingly volunteered to detour to the grocery store to pick up more yeast.  So even though it was very late at night, I got my cinnamon rolls!  I hadn't made them in years and didn't remember them being so wonderfully delicious!  You are in luck today because I am sharing this prized recipe.  It's a bit of work and somewhat time consuming.  But the result is well worth the effort!  Enjoy!

She's Cinnamon Rolls
1/2 C warm water
2 pkg. active dry yeast
2 T sugar
3.4 oz. pkg. instant vanilla pudding
2 C butter
2 eggs
1 t salt
7 C + flour
2 C + 1 T milk
8 oz. cream cheese
1 t vanilla
3 C powdered sugar
2 C brown sugar
4 t cinnamon

In a small bowl, combine water and sugar; stir until dissolved.  Add yeast; set aside.

In large bowl, prepare pudding mix according to package directions.  Add 1 stick softened butter, eggs, and salt.  Mix well.  Add yeast mixture; mix well.  Gradually add flour; knead until smooth.

Place in a greased bowl.  Cover and let rise until doubled.

Punch down and let rise again.

Roll out to 34" x 21".  Spread 1 C melted butter over surface of dough.  Mix the cinnamon and brown sugar together and sprinkle over top.  Roll up tightly.  Cut rolls every 2".

Place on a greased cookie sheet 2" apart.  Press down on each roll lightly.  Cover and let rise until doubled.

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until golden.  Do not over bake.

Mix together softened cream cheese, 1 stick softened butter, vanilla, powdered sugar, and 1 T milk.  Use to frost warm rolls.

*Tips:

The temperature of the water when adding the yeast should be about 80 degrees.  It should feel like a baby's bottle, slightly warm to the touch.  If yeast does not bubble up, you probably used the wrong temperature of water or the yeast was too old.

I used cheesecake flavored pudding instead of vanilla pudding and it was awesome!  You could experiment with pumpkin, lemon, or butterscotch flavors.

When adding butter to pudding, make sure the butter is very soft.  It will chunk up when added to the cold milk and become difficult to mix in.

If the dough feels too sticky after 7 cups of flour, you may need more.  I probably used an additional 1/2 C of flour.  I kneaded the dough for quite a while ('til my arms hurt).

I think I expected my dough to rise up huge.  It might have in the summertime but I don't think it completely doubled this time.  The rolls still turned out great!

I sanitize my countertop or kitchen table to roll out the dough.  This recipe yields about 20 large rolls.  If you want smaller rolls, only roll out half your dough at a time. 

To cut the rolls evenly, I measure from the center of my knuckle to the end of my index finger.  Use a sharp, non-serrated knife.

Make sure you roll the dough up very tightly or all the good cinnamon and butter will ooze out.

Make sure you eat a roll straight from the oven after it has been frosted.  Plan to die with a short trip to heaven afterward!

Salty Chicken for Mimsie



This picture is of cold, leftover chicken.
It looks more appetizing when fresh.

A recipe by special request:

Salty Chicken
This isn't really even much of a recipe.  Just a procedure.  I use bone-in chicken pieces, usually breasts for the adults and legs for the kids.  Dark meat brings more flavor to the white meat, which dries out easily.  Wash each piece of meat and salt generously.  Place in a baking dish in which the meat fits well without too much extra space.  Bake, uncovered, at 300-325 for about 3 hours.  The meat gets very brown on top and turns out crunchy, salty, and very tender.  If the meat begins over browning, you can cover with foil and continue baking until ready to serve.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

What is it about a snow day that just makes me want to eat and cook?  For breakfast yesterday, I made Palacsinta.  For lunch I made Broccoli Cheese Soup and for dinner I made what we call Salty Chicken.  I was going to make homemade cinnamon rolls also, which I was really looking forward to.  But when I crumbled my yeast cake into the warm water, there were several dark spots in it.  It looked like it could be mold to me.  I did a little googling, which said good cake yeast is smooth with no dark spots.  So I threw the yeast out....better safe than sorry.  So we have no delicious, heavenly-smelling cinnamon rolls in our house.  Bummer. 

Here is my super easy Broccoli Cheese Soup recipe.  People think I slave all day over this fabulous soup...please don't tell them how easy it actually is!

Broccoli Cheese Soup
1 10 oz. pkg. frozen chopped broccoli
1 can cream of mushroom soup
8 oz. Velveeta, cubed
1 C milk
1-2 handfuls skinny noodles, optional

Steam broccoli according to package directions.  Add remaining ingredients and simmer until cheese melts and noodles and broccoli are tender.  Take care not to scorch the soup.  Add salt to taste. 

*Tip:  If you prefer a smoother consistency soup, you can puree the soup (minus the noodles) in a food processor or Bullet blender.  I actually prefer the large pieces of broccoli.

*Tip:  If you use noodles, you may want to add more milk.  Soup will be awesomely thick if you don't.  So, it's your call!

Snow Day Breakfast

In our family, events like birthdays and snow days call for a special, traditional Hungarian breakfast.  This recipe has been handed down in our family since my Great-Grandma.  My Grandfather recalls requesting this food as a little boy anytime he was sick.  I would never make it for sick children, for the simple fact that I consider it more of a snack than a meal, but a special day warrants a special treat.  We call it "Polacheton," but upon further investigation, it seems to be spelled "Palacsinta" (pa-la-CHEEN-ta).  In fact, Grandpa would probably be irritated that I haven't been properly pronouncing it.  Anyway, here's the recipe for today's special snow day breakfast.

Palacsinta

1 t sugar

1 C flour

2 eggs

dash salt

2 C+ milk

Butter

Cinnamon & Sugar mixture

In a medium bowl, combine sugar, flour, and salt.  Add eggs and milk and whisk together.  Batter will be very thin. 

Grease a large, hot skillet or spray well with Pam.  Pour batter into center of skillet, tipping the skillet to spread the batter as thinly as possible. 

When the bottom is lightly browned, flip and lightly brown the opposite side.  Carefully transfer to a plate.  Butter one side well and liberally shake cinnamon and sugar over top.  Roll up and serve immediately.

Do ahead tip:  Place each rolled Palacsinta into a 9x13" baking dish, cover with foil, and leave in a warm oven until ready to serve.

Variations:  Fill Palacsinta with jam, whipped cream and sliced strawberries, or Nutella and sliced bananas.

"I Got You Babe..."

In honor of a movie I've seen far too many times...

Happy Groundhog Day, everyone!

The Facebooker

I've stated before how Facebook users get on my nerves, yet I continue to log on daily just to check if one of my 402 "Friends" posted something interesting.  Well, one of them finally did.  It was this article from CNN.com.  I laughed out loud as I thought of an actual person who fit in every one of these categories.  (I even fit in one myself...see if you can guess which.) 

I don't usually post things here that aren't my own words but this article is so funny and worth sharing.  Just skip it if you've been living in a cave or for some reason aren't familiar with Facebook.

Here are 12 of the most annoying types of Facebook users:

The Let-Me-Tell-You-Every-Detail-of-My-Day Bore. "I'm waking up." "I had Wheaties for breakfast." "I'm bored at work." "I'm stuck in traffic." You're kidding! How fascinating! No moment is too mundane for some people to broadcast unsolicited to the world. Just because you have 432 Facebook friends doesn't mean we all want to know when you're waiting for the bus.

The Self-Promoter. OK, so we've probably all posted at least once about some achievement. And sure, maybe your friends really do want to read the fascinating article you wrote about beet farming. But when almost EVERY update is a link to your blog, your poetry reading, your 10k results or your art show, you sound like a bragger or a self-centered careerist.

The Friend-Padder. The average Facebook user has 120 friends on the site. Schmoozers and social butterflies -- you know, the ones who make lifelong pals on the subway -- might reasonably have 300 or 400. But 1,000 "friends?" Unless you're George Clooney or just won the lottery, no one has that many. That's just showing off.

The Town Crier. "Michael Jackson is dead!!!" You heard it from me first! Me, and the 213,000 other people who all saw it on TMZ. These Matt Drudge wannabes are the reason many of us learn of breaking news not from TV or news sites but from online social networks. In their rush to trumpet the news, these people also spread rumors, half-truths and innuendo. No, Jeff Goldblum did not plunge to his death from a New Zealand cliff.

The TMIer. "Brad is heading to Walgreens to buy something for these pesky hemorrhoids." Boundaries of privacy and decorum don't seem to exist for these too-much-information updaters, who unabashedly offer up details about their sex lives, marital troubles and bodily functions. Thanks for sharing.

The Bad Grammarian. "So sad about Fara Fauset but Im so gladd its friday yippe". Yes, I know the punctuation rules are different in the digital world. And, no, no one likes a spelling-Nazi schoolmarm. But you sound like a moron.

The Sympathy-Baiter. "Barbara is feeling sad today." "Man, am I glad that's over." "Jim could really use some good news about now." Like anglers hunting for fish, these sad sacks cast out their hooks -- baited with vague tales of woe -- in the hopes of landing concerned responses. Genuine bad news is one thing, but these manipulative posts are just pleas for attention.

The Lurker. The Peeping Toms of Facebook, these voyeurs are too cautious, or maybe too lazy, to update their status or write on your wall. But once in a while, you'll be talking to them and they'll mention something you posted, so you know they're on your page, hiding in the shadows. It's just a little creepy.

The Crank. These curmudgeons, like the trolls who spew hate in blog comments, never met something they couldn't complain about. "Carl isn't really that impressed with idiots who don't realize how idiotic they are." [Actual status update.] Keep spreading the love.

The Paparazzo. Ever visit your Facebook page and discover that someone's posted a photo of you from last weekend's party -- a photo you didn't authorize and haven't even seen? You'd really rather not have to explain to your mom why you were leering like a drunken hyena and French-kissing a bottle of Jagermeister.

The Obscurist. "If not now then when?" "You'll see..." "Grist for the mill." "John is, small world." "Dave thought he was immune, but no. No, he is not." [Actual status updates, all.] Sorry, but you're not being mysterious -- just nonsensical.

The Chronic Inviter. "Support my cause. Sign my petition. Play Mafia Wars with me. Which 'Star Trek' character are you? Here are the 'Top 5 cars I have personally owned.' Here are '25 Things About Me.' Here's a drink. What drink are you? We're related! I took the 'What President Are You?' quiz and found out I'm Millard Fillmore! What president are you?" You probably mean well, but stop. Just stop. I don't care what president I am -- can't we simply be friends?

Now excuse me while I go post the link to this story on my Facebook page.