Harper Valley

The Ghost of Halloween Past

Happy Halloween! I thought it would be comical to take a trip down memory lane and reminisce about some of my zany Halloween costumes, circa 2001-2005.  Enjoy.  They always make me laugh! 

THE PICNIC TABLE: Yes, I actually dressed up like a table one year.  If you look closely on the left, you can see the abnormally large ant I created and added to the ensemble.   Ya know, so it would feel like a real picnic.  Boy, was he a nuisance.   

 

THE SEXY ALIEN: I discovered the styrofoam cup helmet idea in a Martha Stewart magazine and was determined to be an alien that year.  To complete the look, I wore a lab coat (actually my sister Janet's old nurse uniform), glittery body jewels, purple fishnets and of course, my purple wig and purple makeup. 

 

SUPER CUPID:  This costume was created with a shirt from the juniors section at Ross, angel wings, and a heart lawn ornament that I glued curled pipe cleaners to and declared my "magic wand" (basically a modern version of a bow and arrow).  A wild red wig, metallic red eyelashes, and red eyebrows round out the costume.  My shirt reads - WARNING: Not responsible for lost or stolen hearts.

 

THE LOVE DOCTOR: I threw this together at the last minute with a child's toy doctor set, some glitter/stickers, tin foil, a headband, and my recycled lab coat (see sexy alien).  p.s. No clue who the blond is.

 

ROCK-N-ROLL ROBOT: This costume was created with an obscene amount of silver body paint, gadgets from Home Depot, silver clothes/accessories, and a toy electric guitar.  Note to self - stock up on Brillo pads and sandpaper when trying to remove obscene amounts of body paint.

White Chocolate Ghosts

 

Try these White Chocolate Ghosts for Halloween.  I lined mine up in a bowl of sugar.. like soldiers.  Love!!

White Chocolate Ghosts

• 12 ounces white chocolate chips
• 1-1/2 TBSP vegetable oil
• Lollipop sticks
• Mini chocolate chips

Line a baking sheet with waxed paper; set aside.

Melt white chocolate in the microwave using a heat-proof bowl (or double boiler).  Remove bowl; mix in oil. 

Drop 1 tablespoon of mixture onto prepared baking sheet.  Use the back of a teaspoon to quickly spread into a ghost shape.  Place a lollipop stick at the base, spinning to coat.  Add chocolate chip eyes. 

Refrigerate ghosts 5 minutes, then peel off.  Makes about 15-20 ghosts.

God is Rad.

I am in total amazement at how God can meet our needs in such specific, creative, and intensely personal ways.  Last night, I was questioning some of the choices and changes I've made in my life over the years.  I was truly struggling, melting down, confused, sad, wondering where I belong.  These overwhelming emotions made me feel downright toxic.  I cried myself to sleep and begged God to take this mess away from me.  Then today, completely out of nowhere, He gave me EXACTLY what I needed, in such an unexpected way.  Some people say that God is good.  I say: God is rad.

Murder Mystery Party

Last night I went to a Murder Mystery Party.  The setting was the James D. Murder High class reunion (c/o '85).  My character was Molly Ringworm, the school drama queen.  I spent the past few years in a full-time acting job on the hit soap opera, The Brash & The Brutal, and won an Emmy for my performance.  I recently landed a part in a Disney movie, but have to avoid my old "friend" Steve Spielson because he knows about my colored past and could ruin my film career.  In the end, I'm the one who murders Steve by whacking him with my Emmy statue. 

Good times were had by all reliving the past and laughing at the band geeks, math club nerdies, jocks, prom king/queen and cheerleaders. 

 

   

 

  

Happy Hump Day!

I've been carrying around my camera more often in my regular every day life.  The day I took this picture, I worked all day and didn't find one single cool thing to photograph.  As the day came to an end, I walked out to the parking lot, pouting about my lack of snazzy shots.  As I approached my car, I noticed this "smile" on the asphalt.  And there it was.  My snazzy photo, staring back up at me and SMILING!  I found it interesting that someone drove over this tree branch just enough to split it down the middle, but not enough to pulverize it.  This smile reminds me of a friendly cartoon monster mouth or something like that.  What does it remind you of?  Next time you're out and about, look for something interesting in the ordinary! 

Beverage Blues

Well my friends, I am sad to say that the el primo, most excellent, ready-to-drink Iced Coffee beverage made by Starbucks is now severely limited in stores.  This stuff is for serious coffee drinkers.  It's not watered down with milk and sugar.  I used to pick it up at just about any jiffy store or grocery store.  But after several recent recon missions, I concluded that this item must be discontinued.  So I wrote Starbucks about it.  Apparently their Iced Coffee is still around, but only at select retailers.  It's now distributed by Pepsi..here's the link to find where it's sold in Orlando.  I tried a few places on the list, but they still don't have it.  So..use the list at your own your own risk.  http://www.pepsiproductfacts.com/storelocator/

I also learned that I can order it by the case from a company called GlobalWorx Distribution, but do I really need to be ordering cases of this stuff???  That would mean I have a serious addiction (aaargh, I want cases and cases of this delivered to my doorstep tomorrow!!!!!)  It's probably a good thing these babies are near extinction because I don't need to waste my money on them.  I can make my own iced coffee, right?  It won't be conveniently packaged in this shiny slender can, but I am determined to replicate the recipe.  I'll let you know how things turn out.

Speaking of saving money, did anyone watch the Oprah with all the money saving tips?  After watching that episode, I vowed to grocery shop every single week, and to make 90% of my meals (instead of eating out, hitting drive thrus, etc).  I also made a pact to plan my meals around the grocery stores' BOGO items.  Last week, about 75% of my groceries were BOGO.  I saved $50  by doing this.  I was so proud of myself!!  I also plan to check out www.couponmom.com when I have some time.  She has some great strategies and online databases that help you match up the grocery store specials with current coupons, so you only have to print the ones you need...no clipping. 

Also, did you know that you can view the Publix weekly flyers online?  You can click on items in the flyer and they'll be dumped into a shopping list for you and then broken down into categories like produce, dairy, etc.  Stupid good.  Happy saving!

Lovin' Franklin

Just got back from some time in Franklin,TN.  My friend Denise took me in for a few days and showed me around town.  Franklin is the friendliest, most charming place!  Here are a few highlights from my trip:

• I drank an enormous amount of sweet tea
• I ate an enormous amount of Southern staples - fried chicken, fried okra, corn muffins, ho cake, creamed corn, cheese grits & shrimp, bbq sandwich, pecan pie, creamed chicken, cranberry congealed salad
• I shopped at the farmer's market that Keith Urban frequents (Denise has seen him there)
• I saw lots of historic Civil War sites
• I ate a gourmet gingerbread cupcake
• I saw Barbara Mandrell's estate
• I saw Carrie Underwood's neighborhood
• I made some new friends at Kimbro's, a local dive bar
• I tooled around The Factory, a shopping and dining area housed in a 1929 building
• I ate THE best guacamole on the planet at SOL (in TN...who'dathunkit?)
• I shopped in downtown Franklin and bought a vintage spoon necklace
• I drooled over the amazing antique shops
• I ate a fabulous Southern-chic meal at Cabana, a restaurant near Belmont University 
• I visited Cross Point church
• I hung out at the emergency vet's office for a few hours
• I drank the best champagne I've EVER had
• I saw lots of green leaves, and just a sprinkling of orange, yellow, purple, red
• I sweated vs. wearing sweaters
• I read an entire book
• I barely made my connection flight on the way home

   

 

 

 

  

 

Bioluminescent Kayak Tour

On Sunday this weekend, I jetted over to Titusville with some peeps from my Young Professionals group.  We were so excited for our Bioluminescent Kayak Tour!  I'd never heard of this phenomena until recently.  Apparently there are a few bodies of water in the world that host dinoflagellates, which are tiny plants that live in the sea and obtain energy from sunlight during the day.  In darkness, they emit bright blue light in response to movement within the water.

Sounds cool, right?  Well it would have been cool if the dinoflagellates hadn't died off for the season from our "cold snap" a few weeks ago.  Our guide told us this right before we hopped in our kayaks, and right after listening to lots of instructions in the pouring rain while darkness closed in around us.  Major bust. 

It was a rough start.  Me and my kayak partner had quite a few challenges (wailing into trees, inability to paddle straight, ya know..the basics).  Eventually we got the hang of it and caught up with the pack.  Kayaking is way harder than canoeing!  Since all the glowing dinos were gone, we pretty much just paddled around in the dark for over an hour.  In the rain.  With OFF dripping into our eyes.  And salt water splashing into our noses and mouths.  The best of times.

Then FINALLY at the end, we paddled into a school of mullet that went freakazoid when we shined our flashlights into the water.  Literally hundreds and hundreds of mullet were jumping in and out of the water at the same time all around us.  It was hilarious!  There were so many jumping that it sounded like a major thunderstorm.  I could not stop laughing.  And..several of the mullet became our new best friends when they jumped into the kayaks.  Oh  yeah, we're talkin' live fishies outa water here people.

It was pretty fun despite the conditions..and I got in my workout for the month. 

Camp Out Party

On Saturday, I headed over to Janet & Gus's house for Avery's "Camp Out" birthday party.  It was a blast!  The evening began with roasting wieners over the fire.  As you can see in the photo above, Meagan had a little trouble with hers...it fell into the ashes a few times too many.  Then we let our food settle and broke out the mini flashlights and glow necklaces/bracelets.  Up next, "smarshmallows" ...Meagan's favorite.  We made smores, but in the end, I always end up just preferring a good ole semi-burnt marshmallow.  Plain and simply delicious.  Here's a picture of Avery and Tori (her cousin) sporting their glow jewelry and sleep masks (such divas!)...

We finally made it to bedsy bye around 9:30ish, but it took at least an hour for those youngins to settle down.  Once they finally crashed, I thought I'd follow suit, but the electric bug zapper and Gus's hunting dogs kept me up til 2:30am. Oy!!  So I surrendered to the house and Gus took my place as tent chaperon.  I finally caught some ZZZZs and before I knew it..breakfast time.  Then I came home, took a nap and headed back out into nature for a Bioluminescent Kayak Tour.  I'll write about that in my next post.

    

Cooking Class #6

My last cooking class was this week.  So..here's one last recipe for you.  It's super easy and an interesting alternative to plain rice or potatoes.  Check it out!

CONFETTI RICE SQUARES

• 3 cups cooked rice
• 1 cup (4 oz) shredded Swiss cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• 1/3 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 cup chopped pimento
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1-1/2 cups milk

Lightly grease or spray an 8" square baking dish.  Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.  Spoon into prepared dish.  Bake at 325 degrees for one hour.  ***If you need the dish to cook faster, use a larger baking dish and it should bake in 30-45 minutes.***

My Day o' Birth

It's here.  The day you've all been waiting for.  Just 35 short years ago on October 1st in Hollywood, Florida..Harp Dawg was birthed into the world.  I thought you might enjoy seeing how I've evolved over the years.  Looks like I've made some progress in the looks department.  Actually, I think my newborn shot is kinda cute, but why am I so angry?  It's probably those miserable plastic sheets they've got me tucked into. 

To celebrate, I took the day off work and hung out at the Ritz Carlton Spa to indulge in an East Indian Lime Scalp & Body Massage.  I was WAY overdue for some R&R.  My guy, Henry made the 80-minute massage so glorious.  There's nothin' like a big strong man rubbing lime-ginger oil on ya to make a birthday girl happy!

After the massage, I ate lunch at the pool and soaked up some rays.  The weather was absolutely perfect today...and so was my lunch - sesame seared tuna with wild mushroom salad and soba noodles.  Deeeeelish I tell ya.  With my lunch, I had two perfect margaritas.  Then I got a 25% Florida resident discount on my massage (which really helps with the Ritz prices)...and a little birthday bath gift!  And on top of that, I saw two old friends who work there...one of whom I hadn't seen in several years!  What a fab day.

Here's the paradise pool....