Advice Forum Friday - Tea Sandwiches

Good morning, people. How's your Friday so far? I'm sleepy.

Tomorrow I'm going to a Ladies' Tea at church and I'm nervous, y'all. I have this teeny tiny anxiety issue and I have never been to a Ladies' Tea, so I'm anxious. Oh, and p.s., I signed up to bring sandwiches. I thought it was a great idea at the time, but now I'm obsessing about it. What if they laugh at my sandwiches? What if they're soggy or ordinary or stink?

Yeah, I'm a mess.

When I signed up, I thought "I'll make my wonderful chicken salad and bring some lovely chicken salad sandwiches!" Except. My chicken salad is pretty chunky and I've never actually put it on bread, so I'm not so sure any more. I usually just eat it with crackers or straight. I could dice everything finer so it's not so chunky, but I don't know.

So you see where I'm going with this, right? I want your ideas. What's your very best tea or finger sandwich? Does it have cream cheese, mayo, what? What kind of meat and/or cheese, if any? They need to be on square bread so I can trim the crust and cut into quarters, but other than that it's wide open.

So inspire me. Please.

And as usual, if you have a question, post it at your blog and put your link right down there.

American Idol - The Girls

Hey, American Idol fans! Hop over to the Entertainment Blog to read my scintillating commentary on the Top 10 Girls.

Some Doofus in my house deleted the Top 10 Guys show from the DVR, so I got nothing on the guys.

P.S. The Doofus was me.

Love y'all.

Yes, I'm alive.

People, I have been busy. Every time I think about writing a blog post, my brain goes on strike and starts bouncing around to the things I need to get done instead of helping me compile a decent post.

So in the interest of more regular posting, I'll just tell ya some random things that have gone on around the Dirty Laundry household in the past several days.

Big Daddy would not rest until he had a new smoker, so that was a priority on Sunday. Then it sat in the back of the truck until he went across the street and asked some guys to help him unload it. I stayed in the house, far away from the exertion.

I still haven't bought a laptop. I ordered a Dell, then found a better discount code and canceled the order. I'll reorder it today. Really.

BD and I did some spring shopping yesterday and it was exhausting! We went to the Outlet Mall (except it's not a mall, it's outside) and wore ourselves plumb out. I just love buying spring clothes for my girls, and BD kinda enjoys it, too. My best buys? Shoes for 3.99 a pair at The Children's Place outlet. Also, Carter's and Oshkosh rocked, too. Except? I couldn't find a purse at the Fossil Outlet, and What Am I Gonna Do Now?

I spent Saturday at my parents' house with relatives from out of town. I wish we did that more often.

One of my oldest friends in the world got in touch with me recently. We lost touch a few years ago, and BOY was it GREAT to talk to him again.

I know, my friends, that this post is disjointed. Because right now my brain is disjointed. But I'll be straight soon, I hope. See ya.

Advice Forum Friday - Late again!

Good afternoon, my people. How y'all doin'? I've been reading Paula Deen's memoirs and am consequently talkin' even more hickish than usual.

Yes, I'm late getting the ridiculously popular Advice Forum posted this week. Shoot me. I've been feverishly choosing a laptop, since our income tax refund was deposited into our sad little account this very morning.

Hallelujah to the King.

So my question for you this week is simple: What's your favorite website to find screamin' good deals? I've been all over Slickdeals.net, and I'm sure there are other sites that are just as good or better. Give it up, y'all. Tell me your secrets.

And as usual, if you have burning questions for the 'net today, post it down yonder.

American Idol - Top 12 Girls

Don't you want to hear my scintillating commentary about last night's American Idol? Check it out on my Entertainment Blog, and don't forget to tell me who your favorites are!

American Idol - Top 12 Guys

I'm talking about American Idol on my Entertainment Blog. Please come on over and share your opinions!

Save Friday Night Lights!

Y'all, Friday Night Lights is one of my VERY, VERY favorite TV shows. And Big Mama brings it to our attention that our beloved show may not be renewed for another season.

Please join the campaign to save my show!

And check out some episodes online if you haven't found this gem yet.

Advice Forum Friday - Lasagna

Hey, guys! How was your Valentine's Day? Ours was VERY low key; I just have no desire to fight the restaurant crowds on the actual day, so Big Daddy and I will go out for an evening alone this weekend.

Last night we were going to get take-out, but finally decided it was just as easy to make a lasagna. Big Daddy ran up to Target real quick while I got some ground beef out of the freezer and thawed it out. Hey, maybe I'll just run through my easy lasagna "recipe" for you.

Here's what we used:

1 lb ground beef, browned and spiced up (mostly garlic)
2 8-oz packages of Italian Cheese blend (we like the cheese!)
1 carton of ricotta
No-bake Lasagna Noodles
2 jars of Prego chunky garlic and tomato sauce

Here's what we did:

Dump one jar of sauce into the ground beef
Spread a think layer of plain sauce on the bottom of the pan
Lay noodles on the sauce
Spread ground beef/sauce mixture on the noodles
Use a small scooper to plop hunks of ricotta all over the place
Cover it with lots of cheese
Lather, rinse, repeat

Cover with foil. Bake in the oven at 375 for 30 minutes, then remove the foil and bake for about 20 more minutes.

I finally realized that lasagna is just not that big a deal to make, y'all. I used to get so confused about which layer goes where and what if I don't have the right ingredients, and I tell ya, since I started throwing this together, we have enjoyed lasagna MUCH more often. And it tastes just as good, I swear.

You may be wondering, "Lori seems to have it all together; what could she possibly want from me this Friday?"

You couldn't be more wrong.

Here's the deal: I told you my lasagna secret; now I want to know YOURS! I don't always want ground beef in my lasagna, and it will horrify you to know that I don't always like Italian sausage. So what else could I throw in there that would be good? Please don't say zucchini, because ICK. Other than that, bring it on.

And of course, if you need a little info or help this week, post your question at your blog and put your link down below.

And have a great Friday!!

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day, y'all!

Here's hoping your day is filled with love.

I watch too much TV.

I'm so behind on my TV watching, cause Big Daddy had a double-header at softball tonight. I didn't go to his game (too cold!), but neither did I watch our shows without him. So I'm behind on American Idol, The Biggest Loser and the season premiere of Jericho!

I did watch Big Brother, though, and my commentary is here.

Now I've got to figure out how to get caught up, while still caring for my loving family.

Random Randomness

In the interest of more frequent posting, here's what's bounding around in my head and my life right now:

Tink now has an additional teacher in her classroom. Today's just the 2nd day, so we'll see how that goes. We still consider pulling her out almost constantly, but we're taking it one day at a time. After calling me with her concerns, the school counselor has not followed up with Tink or me at all in the past two weeks. Nice.

I'm finally getting a laptop! Now comes the daunting task of choosing which one. My uncle, the computer geek, says don't get an HP, get an Acer. My dad says don't get an Acer, your uncle has problems with his all the time. Oh, the decisions!

The income tax refund should be pretty, which is why I can get a laptop. After we repair the Air Conditioner, pay off the ER bill from December and clothe our children, of course.

Big Daddy's getting a smoker, too. He's the designated rib smoker in our circle of family and friends, and his smoker is rusting out and too small, anyway. Those suckers are expensive, y'all!

On Sundays after church, the girls love to run through the grass on the way to our car. They stop and check out the pretty yellow flowers (weeds) and dandelions. Last Sunday, Scooter picked a dandelion and got ready to blow. "I wish...I wish...I wish for...a big chocolate cake." She IS her Mommy's daughter!

I hope y'all are having a great week. Hopefully I'll have something more interesting to write about soon. OOH, like tonight's episode of American Idol!

Advice Forum Friday - Peeling Potatoes

That's right, people. Peeling Potatoes. Well, actually cutting potatoes. I don't peel 'em except for the really ugly parts. But peeling sounds more alliterative, right?

What I want to find out from you is, do you have a magic tool or method for cutting potatoes? I made some scrumptious fried potatoes with onions last night, and it took me 30 dadgum minutes just to cut the dang things up!

That's boring, y'all.

So as I was chopping, I was wondering, what's the secret?

Please enlighten me.

And as usual, post your questions at your blog, and then link up right down here.

You might be lazy if...

Your daughter comes to tell you it's raining, and instead of getting up and looking out the window, you surf to the local TV station's website and check the radar.

Yep, it's raining. See all that yellow stuff on the map? That's rain.