Cheese Potatoes and Free Associating in List Form

1.  We've slid into the dog days of summer...triple digits...81F in the garage at 7am...are garages air conditioned in places like Vegas and New Orleans?  They should be.  I want one.  I also want a Jacuzzi.

2.  I was feeling much funnier this morning.

3.  It's the last day of Elvis Week.  Have you fried your pb&b?  When I'm done here I'm going to channel surf and hope for an Elvis movie marathon somewhere.  Debbie and I used to watch old Elvis movies summer afternoons after we swam in her pool.  See #5 if you don't know who Debbie is.  Do you know why today is the last day of Elvis Week?  Did you know the hubs and I used the commemorative Elvis stamp on our wedding invitations?


4.  Summer is not officially over until 2 things have occurred.  Labor Day and the arrival of the September issue of Vogue.  Which makes the first 18 days at the local public high school a complete sham.  Nobody should be expected to do Algebra when it's perfect pool weather.

5. My friend Laurie's birthday is today.  Debbie's was yesterday.  Lisa's was back in July.  Laurie and I have been friends since Jr. High.  But a few years back she moved to...wait for it...Texas.  She was the first to go there.  Debbie and I have been friends since 2nd grade when we were both 7 and lived kitty corner to each other.  Saturday I was hanging out at her house celebrating her 35th double digit birthday.  Lisa is my friend I've never met.  She is fabulous, compassionate, wonderful and funny as hell.  We're modern day pen pals.  We met several years ago on the Chris Isaak Message Board that no longer exists.  My PSA -  Kiddies don't try this at home.

6.  I've been reading the Ephron sisters.  They are brilliant.   You at least know them from their movies.  But there are books people!  Google if you have no idea who they are.  I, of course, became aware of their novels from a food blog that Amy Ephron has, Oneforthetable.  I was figuring out how to make grilled pizza.  Which is to die for by the way and you have to do it.

7.  Last night we had leftover night.  Which completely appeals to my thrifty German side.  As does rebuilding the screen door countless times rather than buying a new one every summer.  But leftover night overwhelms my inner slacker.  The dishes.  Oy.

8.    I might even delete this list entry so nobody knows a thing.

9.  If you read my last two blog posts you know I fail, sometimes, to be nice.  My grandpa passed away 2 weeks ago.  He was 92 and a permanent fixture on my very short list of people to whom I will listen without fail if they question some decision I've made.  Honestly I feel a little adrift without him.  My husband is a lot like him.  And that's a good thing.  So I've been thinking if that woman had offered her unsolicited school supply advice on another day when I wasn't feeling adrift...maybe I would have been nicer.  Or at least just ignored her comment.  But I was out of sorts.

10.  I love this time of year because they come out with new post-it note designs.  I got some today.  :D

11.  Cheese Potatoes   are a great accompaniment to Leftover Night because they are delish and fill in a lot of gaps...cheesy protein...sour cream for the dairy....green onions for the veggies...potatoes for the carbs and fiber...  This one came from my hub's family.  Probably his Grandma Mae, although I first ate them at his Aunt Dawn's House on Easter in 1988.  It was the first holiday meal I shared with them and they were all very gracious and lovely with me.  I loved them for it.  And still do.

Parboil, cool, peel and thinly slice 7 medium potatoes - red or brown work fine.

Preheat the oven to 350F.


In a large pot (I always just use the same one I boiled the potatoes in, less work) combine -
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1 can cream of chicken soup (I always use the healthy request)
8 oz sour cream (light totally works)
1/3 cup sliced green onions (seems to usually be about one bunch)
2 cups shredded cheddar (use at least medium, I think mild would be too bland)

Melt all those lovely ingredients over medium heat until they are bubbly.  Fold in the potatoes.  Put them into a greased 9x13 dish and bake 45 minutes.

12.  The nice attendance lady at my daughter's school, Miss Monica, told me she liked my red hair today.  Things are looking up.

xoxo,
~S

Maybe I should come with a warning label.

I must seem pretty approachable.  After all I've been sniffed at Walmart by Weird Guy.   It's true I'm completely comfortable striking up a conversation with a perfect stranger for the 3 minutes we have to wait in line together.  Exchange some pleasantries and pass the time.  But please, complete strangers, take note.  I'm no shrinking violet Pollyanna either.  Don't get all up in my business uninvited unless you want to feel the sting of being thrown out of the party.

Take the random science teacher who felt it was her rightful duty to let me know that the kind of notebook (a tidy little 5 subject Mead spiral, black cover) I was buying, was the wrong one.  Yes, she leaned right in to where I was standing with my kid, and said authoritatively..."You know teachers hate those.  The kids have to rip out the paper and it's all messy and doesn't stack up.  The 3 ring binders are much much better."  She looked at me expectantly.  As though I was going to thank her for generous pearls of wisdom, return the Mead to the shelf, and grab one of the 3 ringers she was gesturing at. 

I'm pretty sure it was her snotty attitude, that caught the attention of my Mean Girl.

I looked at her with a level gaze and resisted saying what first came to mind, after all I was still standing next to my kid, tossed my hair and said..."Well, the kids like these so I get 'em what they want and I figure the teachers just have to deal."

Her expression was a little shocked, but not shocked enough to shut the heck up yet.  She said, "Well, I MAKE my students get those nice 3 ring binders."  I looked at her, trying to decide whether she was the most ridiculous person I'd met so far in my 44 years, and pulled out my favorite Mean Girl face.  We all have one. Earned them in high school.   Finally as it seemed to dawn on her that maybe I could care less what she thought, she quickly and quietly added., "at least...for my biology class I do."

Snorting, I gave her that dismissive I'm sure you do and I still don't care nod and turned back to my kid.

Ah, so that was her little fifedom.  Her biology classroom.  The place where she felt important and probably took it out on her students.  But there, in the school supply aisle of Target we were back in the halls of high school and she was just an irritating, ruddy faced, overweight, dateless, bad-clothes wearing, busybody, who turned out to be a dorky science major but wasn't smart enough to get the grades for a good career in the actual science industry and ended up teaching high school biology out here in the middle of the sticks.  I know that's Not Nice.  Not one word of it.  Total Mean Girl.  I know.  But really I hadn't asked her opinion.  And maybe if she had offered up her opinion nicely...nope, even then she would've bugged me.  But I might not have gone all dismissive Mean Girl on her.

My general theory about people who are bugging me in any way shape or form is this...I'm not a throw the first punch type of girl.  I show up expecting to get along with everybody.  But neither am I one to take much crap. So if you push me, I'll push back much, MUCH, harder so you'll go away.  It's that lazy flaw of mine.  I don't want to waste my time messing with you more than once.  There are lots of great, fun, awesome, lovely people for me to spend time and energy on. 

So strangers, sit up straight and pay attention here:  Your mother was right.   If you don't have something nice to say, it's better not to say anything at all.  And we'll get along just fine. 

We might even exchange pleasantries in line.

xoxo
~S

P.S.  I happen to know and love a few people with science degrees and a larger than average number of my friends and family are educators.  I'm not grinding on those two professions...just this woman who really irritated me earlier today.

Everybody's vibin' so don't nobody start a fight, yeah...

Truth is I'm moody.

I can be volatile.

And sometimes I'm just straight out lookin' for a fight.

Thankfully, my husband is the man he is.

When he sees me coming, hair on fire...

He's got it in him to sidestep me and my wicked mood.

He's the bigger person in this relationship.

Well, most of the time.

xoxo
~S