Crap.  I totally wanted to show off my rockin new floors because I like to show off.  However I have been trapped in that part of  "The Shining" where it just keeps snowing and snowing and the sun refuses to show itself and my hair is greasy and Matt may or may not want to come after me with an axe.  I  cannot get a decent picture with my $88 Wal-Mart camera with no sunshine people.  Redrum indeed!

I guess I will just find something else to show you.  My law school friend Chris once told me this hilarious story about her cousin who (when they were kids) took Irish jig lessons. When they would get together said cousin would make everyone sit down and she would bellow out the command "WATCH ME JIG!! WATCH ME JIG!!" She would pinch you if you did not comply. It has become a common phrase in my house and when I am being an attention whore (rarely happens)  Matt just looks at me and says quietly "watch me jig."

So anyway, you all will now watch me jig!

Since I just started blogging, I have a whole backlog of  thrifty treasures I scavanged (is that a word?) in the past.














Have a great weekend. Do a jig would ya,  but no pinching.

Oh and I am not the only thrifty show in town, check out other frugalicous rock stars here and  here. 

If you follow me on Twitter, Whats that? You dont follow me? Um--get your butt  to the side of my blog and follow me pronto. Anyway, I tweeted that 27% of Americans think Judge Judy would make a good Supreme Court Justice. This hard-hitting bit of news I read on Fox News online.  Let me preface the Fox News part. (ugghh. Why is it that most of what I do and say in life needs to be "prefaced?") Anyway I was reading either Sun Tzu's "Art of War" or Perez Hilton (one of the two) and I saw something along the lines that you should know what your enemy  is up to. See, this is where I get confused because I could have been reading  about actual war strategy or it could have been something about Lindsay Lohan and Sam Ronson's twitter battles. Anway, my mom is always throwing out this ridiculous crap that I know could only have come from Fox News. Like when she told me that if the health care reform passed she could lose her citizenship to a Nicaraguan. Yes, she was born in the US and so was her great grandma x 15. You can read more about the problems my heritage caused me when I filled out the census here.  I usually need to know what the context of her (mis)infomation is or was so we can have some sort of meaningful conversation.  So that is a partial explanation of why I read Fox News. The other part is that it has a Weekly World News feel to it.  Terrifying if you don't have a functioning brain. You know how you stand in line at the grocery store reading WWN and laughing to yourself and asking:  I wonder what kind of idiot would believe this nonsense?

Back to Judge Judy.

She puts the "ass" in crass and I like it. Recently throned Sonia Sodapop-whatshername is Latina so I am sure that she is sassy, but I dont think she is really crass-y sassy like Ms. Judy. Can you just imagine the looks on the uptight ivy league lawyers who argue before the Court (it is ok I can make fun of Latina women and attorneys since I am both) when she yells out her catchphrase:

"BALOGNA!!!!"


Other great quotes by J.J.(these are way funnier if you imagine that they are said during Supreme Court oral arguments by the way):

"I you live to be 100, you will never be as smart as me."
"I am here because I am smart, not because I am young and gorgeous. Which I am."
"You spent $72 getting your hair done? You wasted your money."
"I'm the boss applesauce."
"Sir, don't pee on my leg and tell me it is raining."
"This is not Let's Make a Deal and I am not Monty Hall."
"What school of double-talk did you go to?"
"That's why they don't let people drink until they're 21 years old, because even 21-year-olds are morons. 20-year-olds and 19-year-olds are double-morons. They shouldn't even be allowed out of the house after nine o'clock at night."
"Do you know when a gift becomes a loan? When the relationship is over. Have you ever heard that, sir? Well, neither have I. I just made it up. I'm going to put it on coffee mugs."

Plaintiff: He signed me a promissory note...
Judge Judy: I don't care if he signed you the Declaration of Independence!


You get the point. Love me some Judge Judy. Oh and she is way more qualified to sit on the big old bench than Sarah Palin is to sit in the big old house.

By the way, this is not the first time that bologna has come up in my blog. Go here  if you want to read more about bologna and actual words from my mother. Great, now I am hungry.

Now go follow me on Twitter. I am the boss applesauce! 

This weird weather has me dreaming of Spring Proper.  You know with sun hats and lemonade (I wrote that with a British accent in my head).

Let's take a Quantum Leap shall we?

I was a student at Colorado State University and my sidekick was in diapers.   We were both rockin some big ol hair but Chase's  is covered up with a hat that looks like it was stolen from the set of Mary Poppins. Chim-chimanee!!  Do you think I can get him to wear a hat like that again for old times sake?

Sherry was visiting from Texas and sista was mucha embarazada!! Samantha was born that September. Sherry gained around 90 pounds with each of her girls.  Crazy.

Little Brienna is now a student at Colorado State.  Doesn't she look like a sorority girl in the making? Blonde and sassy.

Makes me want to put on some turquoise leggings, slip on a pair of Keds and head to the zoo.   



UPDATE:  I just saw on the news that a 23 year old polar bear died at the Denver Zoo today. She had been there for 21 years.  That means she was there on this outing. I have pictures of the polar bear exhibit. I am going to look for those. So sad : (

It is "mud season" here at the Summit. Mud season is the high-country phenomenon where it could be 60 degrees and sunny or it could snow at any minute (on our recently exposed earth). Mud is the result. Uggghh!!! What to wear?

My mom came by my house today. She and I do not agree on politics or religion, but apparently we are in agreement about mud season fashion.

Later, I made some fish tacos. It was a new thing for me.  It reminds me of being on a beach somewhere. I can pretend, right?





Hope you are having a happy mud season.

Y'all remember my "review" of the lingerie sewing book I did a few weeks ago in my post entitled Apocolyptic Panties right? 

Well, like a moth to a flame, I am sucked right back to the thrift store book section.  It represents everything I love about the thrift.  Total randomness and an occasional gem.

While perusing the FIRC the other day, I came across an entire section dedicated to microwave cookery.  Dozens and dozens of these cookbooks. The pictures in the books were nothing short of terrifying.  I was in awe.  Did anyone ever make any of these concoctions and who in their right mind would buy a microwave cookbook (besides me)? Now that the microwave is 40+ years old, we have all reached the consensus that the microwave is strictly for heating stuff up --not cooking, no? This should have been obvious to the authors and photographers of these books. 

So, without further ado, here is sampling of some of the tasty morsels you too can create. All you need is a a microwave and a weak gag reflex. I am not including the recipes, but I can if requested. I can also get you the name of a good eye doctor if you are so inclined.

You can click on any picture for a closer look.

I really appreciate the added touch of the celery eyebrows.  It is always best to animate your food. Especially fish rings. Representative of the circle of life. I get it.  I am deep like that.

I am linking up to  parties at Finding Fabulous and Southern Hospitality. and Fingerprints on the Fridge Come check out my thrifty hall redo.

This makeover is of the hallway that is going down to my first floor office. Just a few months ago there was a bare bulb, the walls were white and barren and the stairs were unfinished. My commute to my office was like going into the tunnel of doom. Not very inspiring.

So after Christmas I decided that I did not need a solid door. Let the light in!! So that prompted an entire makeover. (My brother Mike said I am the only person he knows that has made over a hall. Unlikely).

Here goes. My before is actually a half-way. 


My bro-in-law Dan called me from the thrift to let me know he found a green chandelier for $5 and did I want it?  Heck yes, I have spray paint!



Did I ever mention that Matt and I were married by Elvis in Las Vegas?? Well we were.  I hope it was legal.  Haha! It was a blast. I wore hooker shoes just for fun.







I am going to do a post about my floors whenever we get the trim finished. Remember these were just regular pine boards from the hardware.  They look old, si o no?

I am in love.

Happy weekend.

Y'alls I can make pasta!! Yes indeedee. It would have been a hell of a lot easier if I had an actual pasta machine, but I guess I prolly need to work out my arms anyway, so its all good.

Here is a photo essay esse. Oh yeah, it is snowing (arrgggHH!) so I thought some soup would be good for the soul.

Start with one of these.


While you get your carrots and veggies going, get working on your noodle.











Add noodles to your soup. Cook for about 8 minutes.




Here is the recipe if you are interested. Oh and I used a 1/2 whole chicken that I cooked in the crockpot instead. Cheers!

Click to enlarge.