What's Your Top 5?

Believe it or not I am not going to talk about my kids this time. It's too difficult right now. Everyone's fine, it's just the Biggest Baby is graduating and I'm struggling to deal with it.

I thought today I would tell you about my top 5 movies. You know those movies that it doesn't matter what point it is when you turn it on you watch it anyway? Those movies...

5. The Hangover - This was probably the first REAL date that Jeff and I had had in MONTHS and we saw this simply because there was nothing else to see. I haven't laughed that hard in a very long time. My older kids have seen this and quote it any chance they get. Jeff laughs so hard he suffers coughing fits. It's just plain, old, silly, fun. You can never have too much of that. We're waiting patiently for the sequel.

4. The People Vs. Larry Flynt - Weird you think? Yes - but I'm a junkie for anything historical and like it or not this definately fits the bill. Larry Flynt paved the way for MANY people to use Freedom of Speech for various reasons - good or bad. I am also mesmerized by Courtney Love in this film. I wish she could get herself together. I think she has the talent to do this again. Althea's death and their life together was a true Shakespearean tragedy.

3. New Jack City - I watch this EVERY time it's on. I found out a few years ago that this movie gets it's basis in a few true life, inner city happenings. I think anyone who's lives are affected by drugs - directly or indirectly - should watch this. It's a tragic story about how drugs take hold of even those that "know better". For those of us affected I think there is always the desire to know the history, where it came from and why it stays? Why are some lives destroyed and others survive? Wesley Snipes and Ice T? Fabulous. Chris Rock? Genious.

2. Boogie Nights - I'm a fan of the underdog. And Mark Wahlberg. Dirk Diggler? He earned the Oscar nomination. I can't really explain my fascination with this movie. All I know is that for DAYS I'm singing Roller Girl's theme song and that I even downloaded it onto my Ipod. If ever there was an underdog it was Dirk Diggler.

1. The Color Purple - I. Love. This. Movie. Here's another underdog. Here's some incredible acting. Whoopie Goldberg NOT winning the Oscar this year? That doesn't make sense. I loved Oprah before she was Oprah. Danny Glover played lost and sad amazingly. Margaret Avery as Shug? Tina Turner wouldn't have made sense. The rich history that African Americans have is incredible. I am moved by it. I finally read the book last summer and I thank Alice Walker for giving us Celie.

There are so many movies that I love but for me, these are my classics. What are yours?

The weather is getting nice here and my tulips are about a week from blooming. I'm not a green thumb so this excites me to no end. For those wondering about the kitchen addition we stopped for awhile to get through Christmas and birthdays and prom and graduation, hopefully we'll get back at it soon. Thanks for asking. I've still won NOTHING from the Pioneer Woman and my hopes of spending time on my Bestie Rae Ray's show seems to have ended. So I continue to bake for myself with my little hand mixers. I'm grateful for my friends Debbie and Maggie who are willing to deal with my neurosis and cart me around and listen to me whine about this graduation. Friends like them are few and far between and I'm so appreciative of everything they do for my and my kids.

Happy spring everyone!

Pancake Palooza!

Somehow I'm always up early.

After always being up late...

So I had a mission this morning.

Pancake Palooza!

My kids LOVE peanut butter on pancakes.

ACK!

I like mine OOZING with melted butter.

Nothing else...

Just butter.

But these were for the judges and not for me.

So I started with Sunni Anderson's PB & J Pancakes.

I ended up adding about a cup and a 1/4 of milk.

The batter was really thick.

I would also cut back on the salt a bit.

These were the hands down favorite.

Especially after chocolate chips were added to them...

I also made chocolate chip pancakes.

I chose a base recipe from the Food Network site that sounded like it would be easy and accommodate ANY additions to it.

Chocolate chip pancake base

These were very good too.

We added milk chocolate chips to the pancakes.

Why milk chocolate? Because that is what Husband brought. We consider ourselves lucky considering he's allergic to grocery stores. He did good.

Then I got creative and made blueberry pancakes.

We don't tend to have fruit in this house.

The base for them was Pioneer Woman's Sour Cream Pancakes.

We just need to take a moment and offer up a silent homage to this woman.
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Edna Mae's Sour Cream Pancakes

So we ended up with Blueberry Sour Cream Pancakes which were eaten but not as well as things with peanut butter and chocolate.

Please remember we do not have fruit and veggies in this house.

Unless it's onions and garlic...

The aftermath of Pancake Palooza...

Next Pancake Palooza will include Red Velvet and a Smores variety. :)

I'm not sure how long I'll love the Pioneer Woman

I love cookbooks. There was one this summer that caught my eye.

I have made LOTS of things from this book. Our favorite is:

This has got to be the BEST chocolate cake ever. Madame R & I ate it right out of the pan in our JAMMIES.

PW has not led me astray. I've made her chicken pot pie, her mexican chicken, and so many pies I can't even count them all.

Shall I tell you that when I got married 17 1/2 years ago that I couldn't even make mashed potatoes?

PW has been the answer to some of my prayers. And I love her. I dream about her ranch. I read her site SEVERAL times a day.

Am I a stalker you ask? Maybe. She's my dream woman. Don't tell my husband. I may pack up one day and head to the ranch.

I've been trying in vain to win a Kitchen Aid mixer. She gives them away regularly on the Tasty Kitchen website. In case you are unawares:

Isn't it beautiful? If I had my druthers I'd have yellow. She gives away a lot of red ones. Red is nice.

My friends think I'm nuts. They don't understand what would be so lovely about a stand mixer.

I think I'll keep loving the Pioneer Woman. For now. I think it depends how many contests I'm denied.

If you don't know who I'm talking about - her she is. Be careful though. She's addicting.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/