OK, who is Meredith going to choose, McDreamy or the vet? While I think she SHOULD choose the vet, my money's on Patrick Dempsey!

I've been asked why I deleted most of my blogs recently. It's because of someone who was becoming a little too obsessive about meeting me, obsessive enough that it scared me. Although I've never shown my full face here in pictures, I've revealed quite a bit about myself in my blogs. So D and I decided it would be a good idea to remove anything that could possibly help identify me to someone bent on finding me.

And from now on, I'll be keeping my blogs fairly superficial. I know blogs are an excellent way to get to know someone but I figure anyone who's interested in knowing me already does! I'll no longer talk about that certain family member who's sick except to say the condition is worsening and more aggressive treatment will be started soon.

Just wanted to let you know...

but that was one helluva game tonight. Way to go, Blue!

...when I actually MISSED Al Michaels. Pathetic! lol

I’ve long posted pics in the Mature category here on NN, but no more. Starting tonight I’m posting in the category in which I truly belong: BBW.

Yes, I’m a mature woman and yes, I have large tits so I could easily fit into those groups. But if I had to pigeonhole myself, the bottom line is I’m a Big Beautiful Woman. I have big full curves, front and back. I have a round belly, strong but soft arms, broad hips, thick thighs, and my skin has dimples and folds. I’ve always tried to hide my size somewhat in the pictures I choose to post, but not any longer. This is me. Like it or not, I’m a BBW and that’s where I’ll be hanging out from now on.

...to go to Super Walmart for a couple of items and NOT end up with at least 20 things in my cart? (And of course there's only ever one checkstand open for more than 20 items!)

I guess cuz I just can't resist a good bargain. I'm so weak!!! lol

Can't believe it, I got two Christmas catalogs in the mail today. And it's only mid-August! If I'm not mistaken, Christmas is almost FOUR-AND-A-HALF MONTHS AWAY!

Now, don't get me wrong, I love the holidays. But Christmas is just about the last thing I want to think about right now. And I'm sure I'm not the only one. Do the mail-order companies honestly believe people want to start their Christmas shopping during the dog days of August???

We went to a pot luck dinner Saturday, my contribution was a scrumptious potato dish that I've been making for years and that's gotten kudos every time I've served it. Saturday was no exception - everybody raved about it and every single woman there asked me for the recipe.

It's another fast & easy dish that I know you'll love. Trust me!

* * * * *

SHREDDED POTATO CASSEROLE

2 boxes of frozen shredded hash brown patties (8 patties per box)
1 stick of butter (1/4 lb.)
1/2 - 2/3 c. thinly-sliced green onions
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 soup can of milk
2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1 pt. sour cream (2 c.)
1/2 reg. size bag of potato chips
approx. 3 T. butter, melted

Defrost hash brown patties; crumble onto paper toweling and allow to drain while you prepare the sauce.

Melt the stick of butter over low heat in a medium size saucepan. Add green onions; cook for a minute to soften. Add soup, milk and cheese; blend well and heat until cheese has melted. Stir in sour cream. If you wish, add salt and pepper to taste.

Put potato chips into a gallon-size ZipLoc bag. Seal the bag and finely crush the chips using a rolling pin. Combine crushed chips and the melted butter; set aside.

Place shredded potatoes in very large mixing bowl; pour sauce over and mix well. Turn into an ungreased 13"x9" baking pan. Top with potato chip mixture. Cover pan with foil and bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes, or until bubbly hot.

Everything's shaved, D's set up the lights, we're ready for an all-afternoon photo session. Hope to get lots of good new pics. And, yeah, you better believe we're backing them up on a DVD as soon as we load them into the computer!

Happy Thursday! xoxo

Had a very nice visit with my mom on Saturday. Great lunch at a little neighborhood Italian restaurant and hours of Rummy in the afternoon. And, yes, once again she beat D and me at cards.

Mom’s very competitive, never believed in letting us kids win at anything. There were no cheap victories in our house. We always had to try our best, so then when we won we’d feel good about it. My siblings and I grew up with that competitive spirit. We all wanted to win at whatever we played – and we still do. None of us really believe in cheating, but let’s just say we’ll do anything and everything possible to be the winner.

A perfect example is a family softball game we had a dozen or so years ago…

It was during a holiday gathering, can’t remember if it was Thanksgiving or Easter. We were all at my youngest sister’s house. There’s a nice park less than a block away from her place that has a baseball diamond, and before dinner some of us decided to have a softball game. Out of all the siblings and significant others we could only get nine people interested in playing, so we formed two teams of four with a brother volunteering to play permanent center field. D and I were on one team along with another brother and my youngest sister. As an aside, whenever we’d play softball (or basketball, for that matter) I always tried to get that sister on my team. She’s nearly six feet tall, strong, and can bat and throw like a man. I’m no fool, I want to win!

Because we all bat right, our four-man teams that day consisted of a pitcher, catcher, shortstop and left fielder. I was my team’s pitcher. The game was friendly but very close. As I recall, it was nearing the end of the game when the other team tied us. There were two outs, a runner on second, and one of my sisters came up to bat.

She hit a hard grounder right back to me. I picked it up and, since there was no first baseman to throw to, I took off running after her. I was much fleeter of foot back then, weighed dozens of pounds less, but I knew this sister was a little bit faster than me. She’s my same height but has always been on the lean side.

I had to get her out or the other runner would score and my team (and ME) could lose. I was running as fast as I could, but she was almost at first base and I still couldn’t reach her with my glove. Desperate for the out, I launched myself and my outstretched glove at her, hoping to touch her back with it. Instead, I smacked her across the face (guess she wasn’t as fast as I thought *lol*) and knocked her to the ground. I went tumbling down after her…but I hung on to the ball and got the out!

My team went on to win, and my sister didn’t talk to me for the rest of the day (that was fine by me, she’s my least favorite sibling *lol*). But, hey, I didn’t do anything she wouldn’t have done in the same situation. We all play to win!

So, anybody up for a friendly game of cards? hehehe