Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Spring Chicken

I called my grandma & pap-paw the other day and learned they had a tift over a woman who was flirting with my gramps. The other woman offered to let my grandpa use her dock (they live on a lake). Evidently, the other woman made a comment my grandma didn't like. Granny was mad as a hornet.

Now, my grandma is no spring chicken, she's about to turn 86, but she has a lot of spring in her step. We were talking about her upcoming birthday and how almost all of her eight brothers/sisters, and friends are dying. I asked her why she was still kicking it strong and she said she thinks it is because she loves life. She doesn't sit around and mope. She tends to her garden of tomatoes and corn and peas. She socializes. She plays cards. She goes to church. She loves her huge family. She gives grandpa hell and makes him get out of his favorite chair to do a little this and that. She has been workin' her skirt for 86 years and I dedicate this entry to granny, who will always be a spring chicken...

Basil SPRING Chicken Roulades - HOW TO VIDEO >>>

Basil Chicken Roulades with Mustard/Yogurt Sauce
Grocery Items: 6 thinly sliced chicken breasts, plain (Greek) yogurt, Dijon Mustard, Chives, Bunch of Fresh Basil, Bread Crumbs, Parmesan Cheese, Shallot, Veggie & Rice

Preheat oven 400, either butter baking dish or spray with non-stick Pam

Dipping Sauce to serve with meal -1/2 c plain yogurt (Go Greek if ya can + 1 tbs Dijon mustard (I use coarse mustard + 2 tsp chivesMake production line: 6 thinly sliced chicken breasts, bunch of basil chopped, 1 shallot, chopped, 1 cup bread crumbs + 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, mustard/yogurt sauce - 1/2 cup plain yogurt + 1 tbs Dijon mustard

Dip chicken breast in sauce, roll in bread crumb/parm, lay flat on baking sheet and layer basil + shallots, (drizzle melted butter on top of basil if you want to be naughty), roll breast, put on baking sheet, repeat

Bake at 400 for 35-40 minutes

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Hey, Lekker Ding


Isn't it crazy when the world collides, like wearing a very popular nail polish color "Dutch Tulip" and meeting a bunch of people from Holland stuck in New York City because volcanic ash is grounding them?! I was in "the city" for my Womanly Arts conference - imagine 300 women digging for treasure in a massive clothing swap with the likes of Gucci and Tocca. There was also an inspiring talk given by money expert Barbara Stanny. She lost her inheritance from her father, the R in H&R Block, and rebuilt a fortune by following the steps of successful women earning six figures. I'm about to take her class. Here's her website for more info - http://www.barbarastanny.com/ And, speaking of classes, I took a burlesque class and learned a thing or two about tassles.

After a full weekend of "conferencing," it was time for a tip toe through the tulips with some girlfriends. We went out for dinner/drinks and encountered the Netherlanders as we were heading home to our hotel. They ribbed us about our super white teeth and we teased them about losing the coolest island on the planet (New York City was formerly known as New Amsterdam). They gave us nicknames that resemble bowling leaguers. I was dubbed "Shirley" and later given a more attractive moniker, "Vonda." The Dutch taught us how to say "lekker ding" which supposedly means "good looking" but without accurate translation, wonder if it really means "Shirley." Here's to workin that skirt with girlfriends!

The cutest video from a colleague is below- he produced it with his 6 year old daughter singing an original song, "Hanging With My Girls" She is a pro, especially at the end!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKdf30h3Jts

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

My "Friend" Came to Visit

My "friend" came to visit last weekend and it made me want to twirl around, wear white, kick the seashore, and do leg kicks. You know the saying and you know the ridiculous ads for that most glorious time of month that my buddy in LA refers to as, "the time I'm bleeding like a stuck pig." Sorry to be graphic but let's get real. And finally Kotex has. Check out these hilarious ads.
A real friend, a human, did come to visit last weekend from Sag Harbor, NY. Liz Joyce is a Jim Henson award winning puppeteer and one fine singer. She performs Minkie the Monkey shows at her Goat on a Boat Theater in the Hamptons and if you have any connections to the children's TV world, bring 'em on. >>>> see Minkie Time promo >>>>

Although I coaxed her down to Maryland with puppet show performances, we also had an extraordinary night at our local and only restaurant in Old Town Kensington - Cafe 1894. It was Boovie Night (book/movie club) but we didn't talk so much about Girl With a Dragon Tattoo because there was a piano player and Gina B's crutches became microphones while Liz belted out the Boss' 10th Ave Freeze-out. That's when I actually did leg kicks in my white pants and twirled for joy that my friend came to visit.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

The Bee Charmer

A Southern peach exudes a thing or two about beauty that makes her one nice piece of fruit. Here is the know-how that came rushing back as we enjoyed a bluegrass hootenanny.
  • The higher the hair, the closer to heaven. While the days of Final Net are thankfully over, they served their purpose. Many a gal had pageant hair and some had to support a tiara back in the day. Now it is about BIG SEXY HAIR and it is inspiring. I bought the hair spray as a consolation.
  • If there's music, shake your money maker. My pappy doesn't walk around, he jigs like there is a soundtrack playing through his day. There were lots of people feeling the music, including my Gigi who was workin' her skirt on the dance floor.
  • Wear lipstick - the redder the better. It makes your teeth look whiter. Now if you know me for 5 minutes, I'm re-applying my Plum Dandy or Viva Glam. Mama n'em told me "presentation is everything."
  • Find your nature in nature. The sign at the Wetlands said, "You may touch the beaver... very very gently." Had to get a close-up...
  • There are lots of uses for the phrase "bless your heart." We have an 80 year old relative who pats a man's bottom instead of hugging him while she bestows her blessing. I figure, when you're 80, you can do whatever you want. She initiated Dan into the family at the Cecil Family Fish Fry a few years back and he liked it enough to stay. It is especially useful to use the line when someone needs a hug OR OR OR if you find them offensive. There was a lady at the bluegrass festival holding a 3 month old baby with a litter of other toddlers around her. She asked the snake wrangler at the reptile exhibit, "Do you have a small python, I have little kids." I sent her a bless your heart thought, as much for her question as for her Mohawk. (She's not in this picture but there is the python.)
  • Charm and good manners open a door as good as an ivy league education. There is no other way to explain the opportunities I had in my career - working in London, Hong Kong, promotions, management positions. It's about respect for others in this "me" world. More times that I can shake a stick at, my kids hear my recording, "Say, thank you. Say please. Try again with your manners." And at the hoedown, we got extra BBQ sauce! It made me repeat one of my favorite movie lines from Fried Green Tomatoes, "You are a bee charmer." Towanda!