So last year I was at my sister's house and we were going through some old stuff that she had saved. One thing was a letter my mom sent to Sherry when she was in "college"  back in 1985 (at least she said she was in college--the irony of it all-- ohmy!). Well, if you know my mom at all, the letter is classic Mary Kelley.

Here is a little excerpt:

Dear Sherry,

It was really nice to have you home, even if it was for such a short time. . . I enjoy having you home to cook with . . . Lori has no interest in cooking or sewing. That is two things you do very well. Because she is five years younger than you, it seemed like she had depended on us for the cooking. But now that she is the oldest daughter at home, she still is not interested in it. . . I tell her what are you going to do when you have a family? She said we will eat bolony sandwiches on paper plates. I know she is just kidding! But still she is such a Baby! 

Everything about this letter is hilarious to me right down to the dot matrix print. My sister let me have the letter and I framed it and put it across from the dining room table.  I can cook okay, but I am nothing like my sister in that department - - - and so a little reminder to the family is nice and the threat of bologna is always useful. 

PS: It is not shown, but she capitalized "Baby" to emphasize the point : )

I missed my Sunday mediation yesterday due to the festivities. I am on it today, however.

Here is a quick report on how my water meditation of last week went.

On the off chance that you do not remember, the plan was to meditate on water as a way to curb the diet coke/wine habits.

First off, I thought I would be able to meditate for a full 15 minutes. It is hard to do. I imagined every water scenario I could think of and it only got me through six minutes. So I had to break it down to mini-meditations. I still think I only got to around 10 minutes total. What is my problem? Adult ADD?  Mental laziness?   Who knows. I have a new found respect for monks though. 



Oh well. I did drink a lot of water. All was going well on the diet coke front (I think I only had 2) until Saturday when I broke down and had (seriously) like 6 or something. oops.

I did better with the wine.  I did have a few glasses at my book club meeting and some wine two bottles on the weekend. (Oh crap,  that does not sound as good as I thought).  Well at least I did not have wine with dinner every night.

I am going to revise my meditation goals.  As I do not think I got enough out of last week's session, I am going to continue this week with my water meditation. I will move on to a new topic when I either have mastered the subject or I get super bored. 

Wish me luck.

My son does not read my blog because he thinks I say enough in real life.

However, today is his 21st birthday.

 . . .  oh how I love this kid,

I bought a 4-pack of canned biscuits a week or so ago. Turns out I do not like canned biscuits (or these particular biscuits at least).

This morning when I saw them in the fridge, I thought of the doughnuts that my dad used to make using our beloved Fry Daddy and canned biscuits. For those of you who don't know, the Fry Daddy is a giant bucket of grease that you store with a lid and then plug in when you want something deep fried. Every decent Southern momma has both the Daddy and the Fry Baby.

No, I do not own a Fry Daddy or a Fry Baby. But I did manage to make these.

I wish you could have been here to have one of these and a cup of coffee with me.

PS: I glazed these. They are not dripping in grease : )

Hope you are having a great weekend.

I went to the thrift store yesterday.  I was on a mission.

I just joined a bookclub with some gals in my neighborhood and thought I would swing by the FIRC and see if, per chance,a copy of  the selected book was there (the book has been out for a few years). It was not.

I did find some other useful books to add to my library though.

Let me back up a bit.  I don't know about you but I have been really worried about Armageddon lately.  You know with 2012 approaching, violent earthquakes occurring and talk of an imminent civil war spurred by the new health care law, the fear is in the air!

I have been stockpiling supplies (wine, beer and bullets) just in case.

Well, I thought I had my bases covered.  However, I think I have been taking a few everyday things for granted that might not be here-- things I might really need in the event that my Wal-Mart is closed due to it being the end of days.

I am talking about panties my friends. 

Luckily, my local thrift had a copy of Kwik Sew's  "Beautiful Lingerie," copyright 1990.

I thought I better have a copy on hand-- you never know.

I also thought I would share one pattern with you.  Feel free to make copies of this to store in your Y2K 2012 emergency box.

I don't know about you,  but in the event of post-apocalypse hell, I still want to look sexy.


Feel free to print this as well.

You never know.

UPDATE: okay this volcano in Iceland seals the deal. what in the name of Tom Hanks is going on???

Okay, I am going to do a series on my thrifty finds. Since I am super-hyper blogger these days, I thought I would spread it out a bit and not show you everything all at once. You know, give you something to look forward to.

We are just getting to know one another after all. : )



I am going to reiterate that I live in the mountains, like really way up at the top of the mountains. So anyway, I feel a certain compulsion to decorate in a lodge-like manner. If I lived in a normal place, even Denver for example, I might not necessarily have a dead bear in my living room (more on that guy later) or be so rustic..


Anyway, back to the post.

These next few items are from my living room.

I got this cute little table at a garage sale last summer. The lady selling it is/was a stager or decorator or something like that. She had a bunch of cool stuff.  She had a price of $40 but I told her I had a  garage sale budget of $30 and I had already spent $5 so could I get it for $25??  She fell for it. It was more than I normally pay for garage sale stuff, but I really liked it.  My sister-in-law is still mad that she didnt get it.  Hey, you snooze, you lose or "all is fair in garage sale shopping"-- that is my motto.

Looking at that picture reminds me that the little basket is ugly. I need to remember to look for a cute one next time I am at the thrift.

Here is another recent find:


I got these balls of "whatever" for $2 /bag at the ARC.  The little plate was $2 as well. Both prices reflect the 1/2 off Saturday deal.  Does it make me cheap if I don't like paying full price at the thrift store? 

Alright, one more:



The picture with red matting is an etching of deer crossing the road.  It was matted and framed  and marked for$7 but I scored it for $3.50 at the Goodwill (they usually have 1/2 on Saturday as well). I like to shop the art department at thrift stores because I can find unique items and because I always secretly think I am going to uncover a masterpiece worth thousands.  Hey, I can dream right?

If you want to see other thrifty treasures over at Rhoda's blog, click here.

A few years ago I stole borrowed a book from my mom.

It was a book that she had around the house when I was growing up.

"Callanetics:  10 years Younger in 10 Hours"

It is basically pilates type moves, deep core muscle exercises which Callan Pickney, the creator, claims you only need to do 2 times a week for dramatic results.  She also claims that the 1 hour of Callanetics equals 7 hours of conventional exercise.

Here are some pictures from her "Portfolio of Proof"

These pictures mortified me as a teenager! But now, hey -- I don't think model Jeanne here looks too bad : )

Believe it or not these exercises actually work. Well here's the rub.  Yes there is always a rub . . .

My sister and I were doing these last summer, but I think we only made it through six sessions. We cried till we laughed.  Yes, I said that right.  .... You will see results after 2-3 one hour workouts if you really do them right--i.e. go to the depths of hell in exercise pain.(Oh and it usually takes me closer to 2 hours to actually do all of the exercises properly).  The thigh exercises make me want to kill someone. Seriously, they are that bad.   My sister and I would end up cracking ourselves up by screaming profanities at (and in the name of) Callan Pickney.

This is one of my favorite exercises in the book.



































 It looks pretty easy right? TRY IT!   I promise you that if you do all 100 of these the way she instructs, you, yourself, will curse Callan the next day because you will not be able to move your arms. FYI, this particular one is a good stand alone and one you can do while you are on the treadmill or just watching TV.

Since this book was written in the early 80s, it also has some laugh-out-loud worthy advice/tidbits:

"Belted exercise uniforms are more fashionable than functional, I have seen women cinch their belts so tightly their waists look gorgeous, but they can hardly breathe properly, much less bend over. "

"We are in the decade of the derriere.  American women and men are more concerned with their hips and rear ends than with their bustline. However, many beautiful women have let their buttocks lose their peach-like roundness, settling for a pear-shaped bulge." 


You can't help but get swept up in Callan's enthusiam with passages like this . . .


Laugh at yourself if your body wont cooperate. Talk to your muscles, caress them, cajole them, tease them and soon you will be able to get them to do anything you ask. Each hour of exercise you do, your body becomes stronger and firmer and lovelier.


That's it.  I am ready!

PS: I read somewhere once that Madonna does these exercises.

Put down the legal pad and relax that furrow in your brow. The 'new you' needs to do more than just make to-do lists. You need to do some shopping -- for clothes, cosmetics and anything else that will help you make your point. After all, if you're working on inner change and you want the world to see your progress, there's only one way to do it: Make equally stunning outer changes.


Yes, that was my real horoscope yesterday right on my Yahoo home page. 

Let's dissect shall we:

1. Put down the legal pad.  Uh-- big CHECK on that one.  Sure,  I am an attorney and I have oodles of legal pads and real work to do, but that did not stop me from wasting several hours yesterday trying to figure out the intricacies of this whole blogging thing. Yes, that  included a very important 45 minute conference call with Lorraine on the subject matter. 

2.  Relax that furrow in your brow.


3.  The new 'you' needs to do some shopping  . . . for anything that will help you make your point.  PERFECT.  I often try to prove points through my purchases.  I usually come home from the grocery store and hand Matt a bag and ask him to rummage through it and try to guess how I am feeling.  He is super understanding about stuff like that.

4. If you are working on inner change . . .  Clearly, Yahoo is spying on me through my webcam.-- or maybe they just read my inner change post here. Either way, that  is just creepy. 

5.  you want the world to see your progress. HELL YES I want the world to see my progress,  that is why I am blogging.  A reader from Malaysia stopped by my site the other day. WooHoo  --  Look at ME World!

And FINALLY the last bit of advice/guidance . . .

6. Make equally stunning outer changes. Obviously YAHOO is trying to tell me that I am off to a good start with my new fake pink nails as featured here .  Maybe I should get a tattoo???


I don't normally follow my horoscope, but this one just jumped out at me.  I felt like it was speaking to the new blog-tacular me.

On a serious note, I am having  fun with this whole blog thing.  Don't get me wrong. I want to be deep and introspective and reflective and all that and maybe I will be sometimes.  I am just not sure if that is my style. I had initially imagined writing about the law and politics in my little county-- but I started this blog almost 5 years ago and had only blogged 6 times so I guess that wasn't really a passion for me. So I decided that  I am just going to write about whatever strikes me and  I will see how and where it goes. 


Ciao for now my friends!


PS: I am not sure why my signature jumped up there, but I don't want to try to figure that out.

One really cool feature of my blog is that it has the ability to travel through space and time.

The Quantum Leap Time/Space Blog Button  is a super saa-weet high tech widget that I added.

Are you feeling adventurous????


(Okay, in reality it is really just an old photo album, my scanner and my memory).


But here we go. You never know where we might land.

It was a quick journey, and here we are . . .






How can we be sure that we are in 1974?

Well, 5 out of 6 subjects are sporting polyester outfits.  The little girl in the front (that's me) was the lone holdout.

How can we be sure we are in Oklahoma?  Well, you are going to just take my word for it.  These guys can't talk, but if they could,  ya'll would get a kick out of their ta-wwwangy drrraaaaawlllllls.

While we are here,  let's meet the family shall we?

Standing behind me is my brother, Mike .  He lives two blocks away from me with my sis-in-law Moraima and my hilarious 8 year old niece Sierra.  Their older two kids (Tara and Mia) are away at college.

The little guy in the front is my brother, David, whose elementary school dream was to be "rich."  Well he is, but it required a pact with Satan.  You know, to marry his daughter.  We have not spoke in 10 years.

David is sitting in the lap of our mom, Mary Tyler.  She is not married to our dad anymore.  But she did serve almost 30 years under that regime.  She is remarried to a nice guy named Eric and  they live nearby in Breckenridge.

To her right is my dad, Gene Kelley.  He  lives in Cozumel Mexico and  is the great visionary behind  my  hilarious birthday cake featured  in a previous post. He is remarried to a sweet lady named Alma.


Finally, the girl standing up is my sister, Sherry.  I am saving her details for a future novel I plan on writing.  She is currently on an extended escape from reality living  in Cozumel with my 13 year old nephew, Calvin. She also has two daughters that are in college (Brienna and Samantha).  Sherry recently un-friended me on facebook for a second time.

Well, I hope you enjoyed your visit.  I look forward to taking another trip with you soon.

Dear Powerball Jackpot,

Hi there gorgeous. Its Lori. I just wanted to let you know that I am a little hurt about the way you have been treating me. Was it something I said?

Oh PJ, I know we have not been very close in the past and we have never had a serious relationship, but I want you to know that I am tired of your teasing. You really know how to keep me coming back for more. But I have to tell you, this little game you play makes me feel used and cheapened.

I cannot tell you the countless nights I have spent waiting anxiously to see if you would show me your love. Sure, there was that one time when you hooked up with three of my numbers, but it is not enough. I need to know what it feels like to be one with you-- to have you all to myself. Enough with these casual encounters!

I'm sorry if I sound desperate. It is just that I don't understand you. From what I have seen, all of your past serious relationships have been with losers. You deserve better.

I want to show you the finer things in life. Good food, fine wine and exotic vacations. I promise I will treat you with the love and respect you deserve. I want you to have it all-- and I promise you that if someday, we do take it to the next level, I will not share you with another.

Think about it. You are always in my fantasies!

xxooxxo,

I have decided to start a weekly series of meditations.

I was given the book "The Secret"  a couple of years ago.  While I think it is a bunch of crap, I do believe in the power of visualization.  I think it is a concept that is similar to setting goals, but works on a more sub-conscience level.  So anyway, I bought an "inspiration" board to paste pictures of things I wanted to do/accomplish over the next year.  Umm, that was in January and the damn thing is still sitting in my office. So I had the idea for my Sunday meditation series in which I will put that board to good use.

Every Sunday, I will pick something I want to accomplish and/or concentrate on in the week ahead.

I will spend a full 15 minutes meditating on my chosen subject that Sunday. (maybe I can increase that as I, hopefully, increase my attention span).

I will blog about what I am meditating on and post pictures representing what I am doing every Sunday.

I will re-read my post each day.

I will print the picture(s) off my blog and stick them on my inspiration board and add to that weekly.

I will report back the next week on how it went.   Then, I will report back in one years time on all my meditations. Of course, I am sure in one years time I will be fabulously thin, beautiful, rich and happy due to my meditations (wink).

Okay, so that is the plan. Oh and, since this is my blog, it is subject to change.

It is my own little, real life, science fair project. Take notes.





Yes, water.

You see, I like to fill my body with crazy amounts of diet coke and wine.

Not good.

 So I am going to concentrate on filling my body and  soul with pure refreshing water. My goal is to reduce my consumption of both diet coke and wine and feel beautiful, healthy and young.


Okay, here goes.



I will let you know how it works out next Sunday. Have a great week!

Yes. It is true.

Allow me to explain.  We recently received our census paperwork in the mail.  Mr. Census  is very interested in my race.  So are a lot of other people.


You see, I have olive skin.  Well, it is more of a creamy cinnamon (so says me), but most people call it "olive." When you are not exactly white people often ask "what are you?"

Ummm? A liberal. Agnostic. Brilliant.Ha!

I know what they are asking.  Is it rude to ask? Maybe. I don't think I would ever ask someone such an awkward question, but that is just me.  Other people do it all the time.

I always just start with the obvious answer.  Why I am Irish.  Hello-- my last name is (was)Kelley.



But wait, I have further proof of my leprechaun heritage other than just my maiden name.  My ears are a little deformed weird at the top. I have heard that this is considered lucky in the Isle of Green.

But that is not what they want to know.  What they want to know is ---where did you get that pigmentation?

I am sort of not sure.

My mom's ancestors were conquistadors.For real. In the 16th century, they left various countries such as Spain, Portugal and Greece and sought to conquer the New World (modern day SouthwesternUS) via Mexico City.

What were they seeking? Gold, silver, the fountain of youth?  No,  they proudly and bravely sought the title of "hidalgo"  which would make them noblemen. How very Don Quixote of them (or "quixotic" as I learned in college). Well,  at least they were adventurous.

That was a long, long time ago.   When they made it to New Mexico, the Native Americans were there.  According to old census records, some of my mom's ancestors lived on  "Indian" reservations.  AHA!  I am Native American right??

Does that make me entitled to start my own casino?



Um, apparently not. You see,  I am not pure enough for these snobby tribes.  I need to be at least 1/2 pure Native American to join up and start getting my casino cash.  I get punished because my ancestors were not too good to breed with their oppressors.  Not fair.

Which lead me to the census question that has me troubled:

Is person of Hispanic, Latino  or Spanish origin?

Possible answers are as follows:

No.                               
 Well that's not my answer.

Yes, Mexican American              
 My Irish dad does live in Cozumel, but that is not right either.

Yes, Puerto Rican
  I am not from New York so I know that is not the right answer.


Yes, Cuban
 Ahh Havana looks so pretty. But no.

Yes, another Hispanic, Latino or Spanish origin-- Print origin. For example, Argentinean, Colombian, Spaniard, etc. _____________________________________.

Can I write "New Mexican"  or is that not good enough. Should I go back to 1598 and list "Spaniard?"

I am so confused.

Oh wait here is a "Native American" option.

Sweet!  Wait. hold up. They want to know what tribe I belong to. Is there room to explain how they won't let me join?

I think I will print a copy of this post with a note that I am just me.  A little Irish and a little Hispanic.  Your garden variety Green Bean. 

In re-reading my last post,  I realized that I seriously overused the word "cute."

It seems to be a bad habit of mine.  Well, it is not "bad"  like smoking a cigarette bad--  I would say it is mildly annoying.

A few years ago, my husband pointed out my overuse of this word (in typical Matt fashion).

Me (being sweet) to Matt: "you are so cute."

Him:  " You don't say?  As cute as a candle from Target ?"

Me: "what???"

Him:    "You think everything is "cute."  When we were at Target the other day, no less than 20 things were cute, including a candle.  It kind of loses its meaning."

Me:  "hmmmm . .. now that I think about it, no, right now you are not as cute as a candle and certainly not as cute as a candle from Target."

I have a little obsession. Okay, I have a huge obsession.  I love free stuff, garage sales and thrift store.  I have always been a garage sale junkie for as long as I can remember.  My husband and I hit all the local garage sales every Saturday in the summer and then we go out  for breakfast or vice versa. It's a standing date.  Since we reside in a ski resort area, the garage sale season is very short (it usually snows in May and September and sometimes in June, July and August!). I have always loved thrift and antique stores too.   I  recently have been 100% diagnosed as having a serious PROBLEM. But that is a whole different story.

I have so many junky treasures that I have collected over the years, I am not sure where to start.  I will just start with a tiny room in my house.  My main floor bathroom.

Come on in.

Let's check it out.  That tin star by the door is from the FIRC, our small local charity thrift. I think I paid less than a dollar. I was raised in the lone star state,  so yee ha!


This cute little shelf is also a $2 FIRC find. The little lantern candle holder also from FIRC for 30 cents.

Moving right along:



This cute vase was 79 cents at, you guessed it,  the FIRC.  Ignore the weird arrangement, I just threw out the dying flowers.  The branches are from my yard that were mixed in there. That flat rock was painted by my aunt. It is a bear with a trout in his mouth.


I already had the frame, but I purchased the Grandma Moses print for 75 cents (two for 1.50) at the ARC in Denver.  Oh how I love the ARC.  It is the best thrift store ever.  There are around six locations in Denver, but I wont tell you which are the best : )  Everything is half off on Saturdays.  Or,  take your young self, mom or grandma and go on a Tuesday (half off for seniors).



See the wooden pedastal bowl with lotions etc?  That was another $2 ARC find.  Finally, I got the good quality  mirror at "Curbys" (that is code for junk placed on the curb with a "free" sign).  My husband made the frame with scraps from the garage.

Don't get me started on my craigslist habit.

Luckily for me, my husband is like-minded. This is a true story that happened just this very week.
 
I am driving to the store and  I spot a bench on the side of the road in my neighborhood. You know, at "Curby's." As I whizzed by I got a brief glimpse. I think to myself, I should call Matt and have him swing by and take a closer look. I knew he was busy though, so I refrained. About an hour later my cell phone rings:

Matt:  "Hey did you see the bench at the front of the Cove?"

Me: "Why yes I did. I was going to call you, but I knew you were at a meeting."

Matt:  "Well I saw it on my way to my meeting and am just driving by it again."

Me:  "I think it would work in my office."

Matt: "Okay, I'm on it."

Disclaimer:  For anyone concerned,  we are not going to end up on a two-part special episode of "Hoarders."  I also donate a lot of crap to the thrift on a regular basis.


If you want to see some more from lovers of junk, check out Rhoda's thrifty treasures party here.

I  decided that my little law firm needs a new logo. After 5 years,  I want a new look for my website, letterhead, cards, etc.  I started a contest on Hatchwise.com where pro graphic designers compete for your business.  There have been 15 entries so far, but the contest runs for 8 more days. I cant wait to pick a winner and get moving. If you have a small business and need a logo, website, etc, you can host your own contest at Hatchwise (formerly elogo contest).

I have been wanting to make the Pasta Pie from Noble Pig for over a year.  If you have never seen this website, you must check it out. It is a food blog with beautiful photography.

Well here is my version, modified to make it a little easier.

Here is what you will need:

1lb Italian sausage (or ground beef)
1 box rigatoni
1 jar good quality pasta sauce (I used sweet red pepper and roasted garlic to complement the spicy sausage)
1 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
1-2 cups shredded mozzarella
olive oil
cooking spray
Spring form pan


Directions:  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Spray pan with  cooking spray.  Boil pasta until slightly undercooked, then rinse and coat in olive oil. When pasta has cooled, mix in the grated cheese.  You must have the cheese to act as a glue to stand the pasta up. Meanwhile cook sausage, making sure there are no big chunks, because ideally you want to stuff the meat sauce into the pasta tubes.  After the meat is cooked, add the sauce.  Next start standing your pasta up in the spring form pan.  I found it easier to pour a big pile in the pan to keep the upright pasta from falling over.  When all the pasta is packed tight, start filling the holes. If I were to do it again, I think I would use a funnel and shove the meat with the the end of a spoon.  Bake in the over for about 10 minutes.  Take the pie out of the oven and cover the dish with as much cheese as you like.  Put back in the oven about 12-15 minutes or until the cheese starts to brown and bubble.  Take out of the oven and wait about 10 minutes.  Run a knife along the edges in case any pasta is stuck and remove the outer ring of the pan.

Serve on a pretty cake stand and wow your family. It was really easy!


Enjoy.  It is a really cool presentation. 

The other day I mentioned that I was heading to my friend Paul's birthday party. I also mentioned that today is his actual birthday which got me to thinking that I know a lot of St. Patty's Day babies.