Fort's Cancer Sux!!

Oh God dont even get me started!!!!!
Well, the good news is, we finally got some good snow! I would have been nice to have it over that mild Christmas though! My bosses caved and let everyone go home at 2:30 since basically every employer in the tri-state was doing so. Peer Pressure. They gave us the green light and I bolted! I had been telling mom that Ive been wanting her Veggie/Beef Stew recipie for the last couple days so she emailed me the recipie and I made plans to stop on the way home for all the supplies. The drive home was abysmal...TWO HOURS OF THIS: (my drive is usually 15-20 minutes)

What is the DEAL with people driving in the snow??? Seriously!! I guess that becuase we dont get the kind of snow, say, Buffalo gets and we all dont have chains on our tires, but give me a break people! There was only about 1.5" of snow on the ground....perfectly acceptable for AT LEAST 15 mph if you're being careful and paying attention. There is NO REASON for this 2 mph Bull$hit!!!! and then of course you get stuck on a hill becuase the dude in front of you isnt going fast enough to make it up. Im happy though that we're out of our old apartment in Blue Ash...that drive up could get really bad.

So Anyway! I take the back roads and got to the Reading IGA. Im not here to blast on Reading, but this is the grocery store that stocks about five of each item. They had just about everything i needed...but I couldnt find a soup bone.

So I call my mom. Now let me just start off by saying that her tone of voice says one thing: "Im going to talk all cutsey because I know how pissed off that you have to drive home in this when I had Monday off, Today off, and most likely, tomorrow off...but really, im not feeling guilty at all.

"Mom, can I just use a beef broth for the soup if I dont have a soup bone?"

"No! You cant! Just go ask the ladies at the deli - see if they have a soup bone. They should have soup bones. Ooohh...wait....I think thats Meredith beeping in..."

"MOM! Hold on! Can I just use a beef broth??"

"Hang on"

"Gaaaa! Mom!"

"ha ha...ok, Im back."

"MOM! Its the blizzard of '78 out there! Im trying to get back on the road here!"

This conversation goes on where Im trying to explain to my mom that I DO NOT, in fact, have access to a soup bone and moreover, do not want to take the time to stop at yet another store on the way home of this already pushing two hour drive. NOthing comes of this. I just get frustrated and head to the checkout. I guess Im going to have to stop at another store.

In the 45 min it takes me to get about 6 miles from Reading to the Finneytown Kroger, Mom calls me twice, and both times...

"Yeah".....

"Ya home yet?"""

Oh dear God. Noooooo!.....and then I start working the situation to my advantage...I start telling her about how bad the roads are and the potential danger of an extra drive to another grocery store in this weather. Why she asks? Because I HAVE to get this SOUP BONE!

"Well, I mean, I guess you could have just used the beef broth."

"WHAT? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?? I HAD YOU ON THE PHONE AND YOU INSISTED THAT I COULD NOT USE BEEF BROTH!!!! YOU DEMANDED THE SOUP BONE! NOW IM GOING TO RISK MY LIFE TO GET THIS SOUP BONE!! AWWW...MOM!!"

"Dont got to the store if its dangerous! just go straight home!"

"Oh, no SISTER!", I say, "You made the rules here....I HAVE to get a soup bone!"

We had a good laugh over the soup bone incident. Stopping at Kroger wasnt the Mt. Everest I had depicted earlier. Not bad at all. Got home to a BEAUTIFUL Backyard full of snow. Have I mentioned that I love this backyard?? I will never get used to it. I love it. Its very photogenic...Now if I could only get those deer to show up on que:

So I get home and follow the instructions and get the water simmering with the celery leaves and the soup bone. Done. Theres a soup bone in there....really. And yes, that is a huge pot.

Then it was onto cutting all the veggies....potatoes, celery, onions, shrooms, cabbage, carrots, tomato juice & ketchup...and of course the stew beef. As you can see, my husband has rubbed off on me - hey get your mind out of the gutter!!! - I was talking about the ginormous portions. Im cooking soup for what seems like forty people.

When I started using the cutting board, I could almost hear it say,

"Hey! Who are YOU??? Where is John? what is going on? Why are you skimming the fat off that broth?? John doesnt skim fat! Why are you squirting ketchup into that pot? John TOLD me about you and Ketchup."

John has quite a love affair with that cutting board and I felt somewhat like an unwanted stepmother using it. Here it is....all my work! Look mom! I can cook!

And while im patting myself on the back....I also shoveled the ENTIRE driveway and walkway up to the house after I got the soup going. John wasnt off work until 430 so he just drove nextdoor to a Chilis and had a burger and waited for the traffic to settle down.....He didnt even get to see me in action! He may still not belive it.

Happy Wednesday....and a big "Screw You!" to all my teacher friends well on their way to a FIVE DAY WEEKEND....

Wednesday Question of the Day:

What was happening the last time you laughed out loud?