a nod to the duke and duchess

If you were anywhere on the face of the earth today you know that Prince William and Kate Middleton were married at Westminster Abbey. Maybe you even rose from a deep slumber well before the crack of dawn here in the States to watch the pageantry. Miss Priss and I have been waiting for this day for some time now. Apparently over two billion other people were watching, too.

Two billion?? That is so crazy to me. But theirs is a happily ever after tale after all. And to honor their nuptials, Miss Priss donned a fascinator of sorts...


She's been waiting weeks to wear this ruffly, fluffly headband for the occasion.

I drank my morning joe from this cup...

It was a gift from a dear friend many, many years ago who is a Brit that grew up in a castle (that's another story for another day). I needed the six cups to stay awake in the wee hours of the morning. Then I had a caffiene crash in the early afternoon, fell asleep on the sofa, and almost forgot to get Miss Priss and her fascinator from school.

Sample, Sample

the mail has been rather crappy lately. made me want to stop using capital letters, so i have for a while. his royal highness was out of state. miss priss is a preteen girl - nothing more to explain there.

just when it was looking bleak and dreary and turning out to be just another day in the neighborhood minus mr. rogers and his really cool train, my postman delivered a slick box...


start sampling is a service of the postal service...see?

i was one of the lucky ones...


the box included some coupons and samples of wisk detergent, nonni's biscotti, secret deodorant, coffee mate, and dental picks.

i promised to tell my family and friends about the box. tag, you're it. head on over to the website and sign up. you can't ever tell when you'll need this little pick me up to show up in your mailbox.

Low Country Boil

Shrimp. Conecuh sausage. Red potatoes. Corn on the cob. Served with lemon wedges, bread for soppin' and plenty of wet-naps for afterwards. And none better than at the original Wintzell's Oyster House in Mobile, Alabama. Yes, there are several other locations throughout the state but the atmosphere on Dauphin Street in historic downtown is hard to beat.

Oh, and if you're searching for oysters, you can get 'em fried, stewed or nude, just like the sign says.

Here's a recipe that may just hold you over til you can get it some of their good stuff...

Low Country Boil
Two keys to a successful Low Country Boil: Stagger the addition of the ingredients and don't overcook the shrimp!

2 Tbsp. crab boil seasoning per gallon of water (or more to your taste)
several lemons, halved (optional)
redskin new potatoes (3 or more per person depending on the size)
Conecuh sausage, cut into 1-inch slices (1/4 lb. per person)
fresh corn on the cob, broken into halves or thirds (1 1/2 ears per person)
shrimp (1/2 lb. per person)

Fill large pot halfway with water. Add crab boil seasoning. Add the lemons here if you are using them.

When the water comes to a boil, add potaotes and boil for 20 minutes. Add sausage slices and boil for 5-10 minutes. Add the corn and boil another 5 minutes. (Begin timing immediately. Do not wait for it to boil again.) Then add the shrimp. Cook for 3 minutes. Drain and pile on a table covered with brown paper.

Serve with melted butter (corn), cocktail sauce (shrimp), and sour cream & ketchup (potatoes) if desired.

leavin' on a jet plane...

i'd rather have my face in a book than be on Facebook

Seriously, don't call me old fashioned. Maybe a hold out, but not old fashioned. (I don't care if you spend your time on Facebook. I won't hold it against you.)

I do find it was a great idea for its original concept to help college students connect to others on campus, an especially useful thing for freshmen. I get it. I even get that you can share lots of photos or find a long lost high school sweetheart and all that hokus pokus.

(I would definitely not be looking for my high school sweetheart, for the record and all. Been there, done that, and have the divorce papers to prove it.)

Sure, I'd looooovvvveeee to know where that dreamy hunk from 12th grade is...oh wait, he was on TV for a while and now lives in Raleigh, yep! And I already know that the short Indian dude from my debate class is now a pediatric oncologist and a professor of radiology at an MAJOR Ivy League school and another guy was a producer for the Frasier show and now writes for Psych all after graduating from MIT? Really, Facebook might make me feel all inferior and junk. Not.

The truth of the matter is there are some people I'd rather not find me. Let sleeping dogs lie, right? That way they don't yap out all your secrets...hmmmmm. And think of the time you spend on Facebook -- what else could you accomplish? That virtual farm does seem addictive, though, and I must admit if I ever started, I'm not sure I could stop.

All that said, stop the presses, it's about to happen. I found out you can get free stuff and samples and coupons on the Facebook. Wiggle a one-time use eye shadow sample or a mini, mini lotion tube in my face and I'd likely sign up for anything. Even the Facebook.

It's unlikely you'll find me. But if you do, I don't want to be your friend. I'm just in it for the freebies!

Party Like It's Your Birthday

did you ever have a birthday party where the whole senior class got all dressed up and rolled out the red carpet and showed your baby pictures and stuff while you ate prime rib and talked silly high school things with all your friends? me neither. kids these days...

He's All Legal and Junk

long ago (like eighteen years, duh),

bread was 75 cents a loaf,

you could get a gallon of gas for the same price as a dozen eggs

(one dollar and seventeen cents, can you hardly believe that, huh?),

mailing a letter would set you back a whopping 29 cents, minimum wage was $4.25/hr.,

slick willy was in charge, and the DOW average was 3,754

(what chaos that would cause this day, right),

and a girl had a baby boy and named him cody because she liked it.

he's called his royal highness now because he likes it.

HRH went and grew up and i'd like to announce that as of today he is completely responsible for whatever, whatever he gets into and i'm here to say happy birthday to the world's newest adult. scary.