Men's Skinny Jeans?

You've got to be kidding!

Thanks For Your Patience

I know that some of you may be wondering where are the after pictures from the landscaping project we had done a few weeks ago. I will take some just as soon as I fix what the landscaper did. The whole job and day was a mess. We were both angry, disappointed, & frustrated about the whole thing. I have put off blogging about it cause it just makes me all pissed off to bring it all back up again. I hope you all understand. I still have to fix most of it so the pictures may not be posted for awhile. Sorry!

Grandma Mary's Pistachio Salad Recipe

Secretly planning to have the whole fam damily over for a birthday celebration for my husband. His grandma used to make this pistachio salad that he just loved. Not my favorite but I usually have a little. I'm sure you've had it before it is light green and fluffy with miscellaneous chunks in it. I asked my step-mother-in-law to make it for that day. Here's the recipe in case somebody out there wants it.

1 can crushed pineapple with juice
1 package pistachio instant pudding
9 ounce Cool Whip
1/2 cup walnuts (chopped?)

Combine pineapple and pudding mix. Fold in Cool Whip and walnuts.

A Friend Stopped By While I Was Working In The Yard Today

How Ya Like Your Ice Cream?

OK, I was at my in-laws recently and was appalled when I saw that they were setting the ice cream out on the counter long before we were going to have dessert. I said nothing but thought to myself, 'What on earth are they doing, the ice cream will be ruined?' I then mentioned it to my step-mother-in-law (she and my father-in-law are my favorites in my husbands family). She said she likes to do that too. She'll even go so far as to stick hers in the microwave for a bit to get it all soupy/sloshy melty. Yuck! I could not believe it. I am a huge food texture person. I really hate when I get ice cream that's melty. I recently tried Culvers frozen custard and could not stand it cause it was melty and drippy within seconds of receiving it. I LOVE hard ice cream. Hard enough that I have to chew it even if it does not have chunks in it, but not too hard where the ice cream is out of deep freeze and you can hardly scoop it or taste the flavor. I am also a fan of totally real full fat ice cream. Don't give me that low fat crap. If I'm gonna have me some ice cream it's gotta be the real thing, otherwise I'll pass. We have a dairy in Chicagoland called Oberweis Dairy. They have little ice cream shops throughout the burbs (maybe 10?). They also have dairy items available for sale like fresh milk, butter, etc. They have maybe 20 flavors of ice cream. They are all very good, but when it comes to ice cream I am very much a "Plain Jane." I tend to like a more plain ice cream with a touch of something. My favorite is still chocolate chip after all these years but Oberweis chocolate chip is my favorite. If an ice cream is loaded with stuff I'll like it but can only eat a small amount before I get overload. If I ever get crazy and order some sundae with junk all over it, I always regret it after a few spoonfuls. It's just too much for me. I will get soft serve from inferior ice cream places on occasion but I don't enjoy it as much as real ice cream from Oberweis. Most grocery store ice cream is OK but often overly sweetened and lacking in density. Haagen Daz is good. I would rather have a scoop of vanilla with my birthday cake, definitely not ice cream with a bunch of stuff in it. I would tend to buy a quart of really good vanilla from the dairy and throw some fresh strawberries on it or possibly drizzle some chocolate syrup on it. Can't stand if I go to my MIL's she usually has LF ice cream loaded with fudge swirls and chunks of some sort to have along side some type of bundt cake that she's made. I think it's overkill, but that's me. The ice cream should not upstage a fabulous dessert, it should accentuate or compliment. Once in awhile I will order cinnamon ice cream or even pumpkin ice cream that is offered seasonally at the dairy. It is really good. I usually get this in their homemade waffle cone. They are so good. If you ever go inside to have your ice cream the whole place smells like intense vanilla cookies from the waffle cones being made. YUMM! My husband is not so hard to please. He will happily go to Dairy Queen and order a Blizzard with M&M's or Snickers that is made with chocolate soft serve rather than vanilla. He will also order a very delicious brownie sundae from Oberweis They are out of this world. Everything real! Real whipped cream on top, a warm brownie on the bottom, butter roasted pecans on top and drizzled with real hot fudge. Then he ruins it by getting butter pecan ice cream rather than their fabulous vanilla. I think there is so much going on in a brownie sundae that vanilla ice cream is the best flavor option.

So tell me what you like. What flavor(s)? What is your absolute favorite? Do you like soft serve or traditional ice cream? Do you like it cold and firm or melty and soupy? Tell me/us all about it. In a cone or in a cup? A sundae? What along side a piece of birthday cake? On top of pie? I'm curious. This is the season for the cold stuff. Ever make your own? Does the ice cream in your town stink?

Todays Blooms

I love the irises but they are on the side of the house that faces the nasty neighbors :( so I don't see them very much. I am shocked how my brunera has gone absolutely wild. I first found them around my deck about 3 years ago. They were pathetic. I thought they were weeds. They were scorched from the sun and light yellow. I had no idea they were anything special until I was walking through a cute nursery near my house and spotted them in the shade area. I quickly dug them all up and transplanted them to the shady side of the house. 3 summers later and look how well they are doing. Not all of them are this grand but the others are not far behind. I absolutely love their teeny tiny turquoise flowers. Wanted to get a closer picture but my camera doesn't do close-ups.

My Goofy Little Buddy

Little Buddy gets into everything these days. He found this hat in our hat/glove/scarf basket in our hall tree. It is too small for him now. He missed the season on this hand-me-down. I forced it onto his noggin and I laughed so hard he just kept it on and kept standing in front of me like this with this goofy little look on his face. Normally he rips hats right off his head now. Maybe he kept it on seeing as though it made mommy laugh and smile so much. He's so funny sometimes!