Sarah Cynthia Slyvia Stout

One of my favorite poems by Shel Silverstein is about garbage! LOL "Sarah Slyvia Cynthia Stout would not take the garbage out.  She'd scour the pots and scrape the pans, candy the yams and spice the hams. And though her daddy would scream and shout she simply would not take the garbage out."  

The poem goes on and on about the curdled greasy food that has piled so high it nearly touches the sky! I love this poem so much I have it memorized, I don't even have the hubs cell phone memorized but Shel Silverstein has such a way with words that I just can't forget...and I used to read his poems to our daughter when she was little.

As I drove around the corner to our driveway this morning I saw that hub had put the trash bin on the curb. What I saw wasn't just a green can sitting there, oh no...we had the leaning Tower of Plastic Bag Pisa! 

Ok that's a slight exaggeration but come on, that is a lot of trash... dontcha think?  In our defense we missed the trash pick up TWO weeks ago.  Mhmmm if you forget to set your trash out on the pick up day you have to wait 2 weeks before you can set it out again. One week is trash, then the next week is recycling and then trash again.  I HATE that! 

How often is your trash picked up? I've never lived anywhere (and I've lived in 6 different states and England) that only picked up every other week. The trash collectors won't pick up any bags that are placed on the ground next to the bin so if you can't get it inside your out of luck and have to save it until they collect again. I think my hub is pretty clever...he ties all the bags together that he cannot get into the bin and places them on top.  Hopefully the trash men will think it's acceptable because at this point if they don't take it away I'm afraid our neighbors will start to complain.

Say cheese!

Confession…I just don't get selfies! I don't know what goes through the selfie takers mind just before they snap one off of themselves. The car selfies really baffle me…are you in the car on your way to Target when you glance up in the rear view mirror and BAM! It happens…you look at yourself and think "Shoooooot I look so good and I'm just going to Target, I better take a pic and show everyone how good I look!"  Seriously, I need to know. WHY?!

FAIL!!!

I'm not trying to be mean or call anyone out on this narcissistic behavior, especially since I have several dear friends and family members who are daily seflie posters/posers and I'd never want to hurt their feelings but a very wise teenager once told me…"Anyone over 20 should not take selfies, ever!"

I, for the most part agree with a few exceptions... 

1. Selfie is acceptable if you are updating your FB profile picture.

2. You're standing in front of a WORLD WONDER (Eiffel Tower, Grand Canyon, Drag Queen who looks just like Dolly Parton) alone and have nobody to take your picture.

3. You've just put on an herbal face mask and want your friends to get a good laugh!

Ooops wrong kind of mask lol, but this is my BFF and this kind of selfie is OK as it falls into the "I'm just a dork category."

There that's much better…this also falls into the DORK category and yes it IS me behind the herbal face mask! What? It takes work to look this good.

The only other acceptable reason I can think of for a selfie when you're over 20 is..

5. You're selling something and I don't mean YOURSELF!!!  OR you're all dressed up for a special occasion, you do look incredible (for your age) AND you haven't posted a pic of yourself in quite some time. But there is risk involved, you may still come off a bit conceited but it might be worth it if you look that good…and there will always be haters no matter what.  lol

What is your take on SELFIES? I really want to know!  Like them? Hate them? Know someone who abuses them?

Happy New Year from across the pond!

Happy New Year!  

We rang in the New Year at our favorite local pub, The Green Man.  It only seemed fitting as we spent our first NYE in England at this pub and now our last NYE here. The Green Man felt like home the second we walked in 3 1/2 years ago, everything about it we love from the sweet family that owns it to the comfy cozy atmosphere inside it's several hundred year old walls.

Today we stuck with our "Southern" tradition of eating black eyed peas for good luck in the coming year along with one of our new adopted English traditions of drinking a glass (er...two) of "Buck's Fizz."  I'm not rocket scientist (although I am often confused for one) but from what I can tell "Buck's Fizz" is a Mimosa. LOL Whatever you call it I for one like them!

Buck's vs. Mimosa

See for yourself...the recipes are very similar...

See what I mean? So no matter how you pour it, shake it or sip it...it all goes down with orange bubbly goodness.

I mixed things up this year...literally and made a Black Eyed Pea dip instead of the way we usually eat them.  I gotta say the dip was FAB and I will be making it again next year, I may even make it when it isn't NY's.

I know someone will want the recipe so here it is, I got it from  "The Pioneer Woman" and my best bud Kathy.

• 1 can (14-ounce) Can Black-eyed Peas
• 1/4 whole Onion, Chopped Fine
• 1/4 cup Sour Cream
• 8 slices Jarred Jalapenos
• 1 cup Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese
• 3 Tablespoons Salsa
•  Hot Sauce, to taste
•  Salt And Black Pepper To Taste

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Drain black-eyed peas and partially mash, leaving some whole.

Add all other ingredients, stirring to combine.

Spread into a 1 1/2 quart baking dish and bake for 20 to 30 minutes until hot and bubbly.

Serve with tortilla chips!

*Note: if you have them available, you can use the canned black-eyed peas and jalapenos (they're canned together.) If you do this, you can omit the extra jalapenos.

Enjoy and Happy New Year!